The Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved franchises of all time, having influenced countless other fantasy works. Despite the fans’ devotion, many facts are still unknown to them. An example of this is where the dwarves were during the events of the War of the Ring.
Dwarves in Middle-earth have had a reputation for being ill-tempered, self-centered, and concerned only with riches since the middle of the First Age, sometimes with good reason.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Elrond tells Gandalf that the One Ring cannot stay in Rivendell because the Elves are leaving Middle-earth for their final journey to the West; Elrond asks, “Who will you turn to when we leave? To the dwarves? They hide in their mountains in search of riches, they don’t care about other people’s problems.”
The Lord of Rivendell is not entirely incorrect in making such a harsh comment, and there is some merit to his opinions.
As such, readers/viewers assume that, with the exception of Gimli, the Dwarves are absent from The Lord of the Rings because they have no interest in defeating the Dark Lord of Mordor. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The dwarven kingdoms were busy fighting one of the greatest battles of the entire War of the Ring, leaving only Gimli to aid the race of Men.
Dwarves also warred against Sauron’s forces
Before the War of the Ring, the Dwarves participated in the Battle of the Five Armies, an event covered in the third and final chapter of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. Although this war ended in victory for the Dwarves, many lives were lost, including that of Thorin Oakenshield. There was no conflict for the next few years, at least until Sauron began to gather his forces for all-out war, and the Dwarves began to rebuild their kingdom beneath the Lonely Mountain, with Dáin II as their new king.
This proved to be extremely important in the subsequent War of the Ring, which explains why Gandalf sent Thorin’s retinue to reclaim the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit.
If the Dwarves controlled the Mountain, it could serve as a powerful fortress. If Smaug the dragon remained there, however, it could become a fatal liability. Fortunately, the plan worked and the dragon was killed. The newly recovered kingdom of Dwarves ended up fighting in The Lord of the Rings, but their conquests were not detailed in the main story.
After they refused to cooperate with Sauron, he sent legions to attack the dwarven kingdoms, including the great city of Erebor. The allies Sauron sent were the Easterlings, humans whose ancestors had served the first Dark Lord, Morgoth.
They were more than happy to support Sauron’s plans of conquest, possessing the largest army of the entire war. With over 200,000 troops, the Easters completely eclipsed any army that opposed them. However, that didn’t mean the Dwarves wouldn’t fight.
The battle was bloody for the first three days and saw heavy casualties. The area that Bilbo had traveled to during The Hobbit all those years before—Esgaroth and the nearby city of Vale—was invaded by the Easterlings, and the kings of Vale and Erebor were killed, causing panic throughout the region. This led both Men and Dwarves to flee to the Lonely Mountain and seal the city. Although the situation seemed bleak, the dwarven fortress proved nearly impossible for the enemy to penetrate.
With Sauron sending his largest army to face the Dwarves, he probably thought the battle would be over quickly. But the Dwarves kept the Easterlings distracted throughout the war, which meant they could not return to defend Mordor. This gave Aragorn enough confidence to distract Sauron at the Black Gate and allowed Frodo to enter Mount Doom undetected.
The Lord of the Rings films are available on Max.
