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The Sauron Strategies: One War to Win Them All, Except... - Page 9

© Michael Martinez

If Bolg was therefore to be Sauron's proxy in the north, Sauron would himself be able to return to Mordor with all the forces of Dol Guldur. Instead of spreading his resources across three major bases (Mordor, Dol Guldur, and Erebor), Sauron could have consolidated his strength in two very defensible regions, both of which could be easily reinforced and resupplied from the east. Hence, because he had not risked everything, Bolg's defeat at Erebor only delayed Sauron's plans. Tolkien says that three-quarters of the Orcs of the north perished in the Battle of Five Armies. It would require several decades for them to recover their numbers. In the meantime, as the Northmen rebuilt the Kingdom of Dale and the Longbeard Dwarves rebuilt the Kingdom of Erebor, Sauron returned to Mordor. Sauron declared himself openly in 2951. He now felt confident enough, despite his failure to recover the One Ring, to withstand any assault the West might launch against him. The psychological effect of "I have returned" upon the Elves cannot be underestimated. Many of the Eldar simply lost hope. Perhaps most of them believed that Sauron had recovered the One Ring, or that he was on the verge of recovering it. By the year 3,000 Dwarves began moving west, and they brought out of the east reports of the movements of peoples, of predatory wars, and of Sauron's increasing power. Many of the remaining Eldar joined a massive wave of migration over Sea, leaving Middle-earth forever. The Silvan Elves remained steadfast, but Lindon and Imladris could no longer raise armies. As the Orcs of the Misty Mountains recovered their numbers, new enemies threatened the eastern borders of Dale. Mordor forged new alliances with Easterlings and Haradrim, and Saruman fell under Sauron's influence when the wizard used the Palantir he had found in Isengard to spy on Mordor. Although Saruman's allegiance to the West had already vanished, he had until this time opposed Sauron. It therefore served Saruman's purpose to help the White Council drive Sauron from Dol Guldur in 2941. He wanted to search for the One Ring freely. By the time of the War of the Ring, Saruman had found Isildur's remains, but not the Ring (which, of course, had been taken to the Shire). Gondor had continued to decline under the repeated attacks from Mordor and Harad, but Gondor's military strength was no longer vital to Sauron's strategy. The Ring itself became Sauron's chief priority. He finally learned the fate of the One Ring from Smeagol, and in 3018 he sent the Nazgul to the Shire to seize the Ring and bring it back to him. Although he was preparing for war no one believed he could lose, Sauron needed to ensure his enemies would not use the Ring against him before he launched that war. His captains might shift allegiances if someone powerful enough to wield the Ring rose up and took possession of it.

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