tumblr cross-post: 2013 - Mini-rants that culminated in 'Napoleon Trolls the Noldor'

[heget]

Nothing will make me laugh more than that the elven smith-work of the First Age is never anything but second-rate shoddy imitations of Dwarf work.

“Therefore Thingol took thought for arms, which before his people had not needed, and these at first the Naugrim [Dwarves] smithied for him; for they were greatly skilled in such work, though none among them surpassed the craftsmen of Nogrod, of whom Telchar the smith was greatest in renown. A warlike race of old were all the Naugrim, and they would fight fiercely against whomsoever aggrieved them: servants of Melkor, or Eldar, or Avari, or wild beasts, or not seldom their own kin, Dwarves of other mansions and lordships. Their smithcraft indeed the Sindar soon learned of them; yet in the tempering of steel alone of all crafts the Dwarves were never outmatched even by the Noldor, and in the making of mail of linked rings, which was first contrived by the smiths of Belegost, their work had no rival.”

And good lord, the idea that the newly returned Noldor exiles have better weaponry than the dwarves or the Sindar is hard for me, with my anti-“Noldor as best elves” viewpoint, to believe. Better metal-working techniques, maybe. But not really- because see above canon line about dwarves. But better tactics and skill to win battles in the beginning of the age with those swords? Eh….no.

The Battle-Under-the-Stars is because of story-telling reasoning my least favorite of the Battles of Beleriand. Also, why I used teh semi-facetious tag 'Fëanor is a village idiot'.

There is no way that the Noldor should have any practical knowledge of tactics or field-strategy, and Finrod was one of the few elves there with the slightest idea of logistics -he carried some wealth with him across the Helcaraxë, which at first seems stupid or greedy, but then I remember he isn’t reenacting Julian II burning his ships in enemy territory. That treasure isn’t there for material greed, but to pay for alliances and building his stronghold. As for serious fighting experience the Kinslaying at Alqualondë should barely count; that was a sack of a peaceful town whose inhabitants were even more unused to the idea of violence, so both sides were novices to bloodshed. The elves in Aman had no knowledge to build upon for war-like matters. Unless we fabricate some veterans from the March -and the Valar wouldn’t be providing any knowledge. Oh, wait. Melkor might have. Talk about drinking from a poisoned wellspring.

But the Sindar and Nandor have been living in a world under the normal, real-world conditions of fighting hostile enemies and in close trading contact with a war-like race. They fight a battle that is more like a long campaign, a series of battles, against an overwhelming enemy- both in numbers and weapons tech. And thank god for the realistic detail of mismatched levels of weapons and armor affecting the outcome of a battle (Amon Ereb).

But the initial swords of the Noldor have to be crap. Oh, well-made metal, exquisitely beautiful, the swords themselves might be okay. Then again- showpieces. Without the practical knowledge of use, of what stresses a sword must bear when used a certain way, of building tactics on how to train soldiers, to train horses (The Noldor will have better horses, one point to the Fëanorians) to handle the smells and sights and sounds and violence of battle, to train the soldiers to handle that -the battlefield and the effects afterwards- to know the tectics of the enemy and suit your weapons and armor to counter that, to know how to set up the small army of logistics to run a small army…

Just, you can’t be a successful general without studying battles; the Noldor had no battles to study beforehand.

And to give tonight a theme, I’m going to quote Napoleon throughout, starting with this one:

“Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. … This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war.” (1)

Why am I doing this? Because I think this will be hilarious, and because most of these quotes are one s that I’d heard before. Because while I was never in the military myself and never formally studied any of it in-depth, both of my parents are graduates of the United States War College, I read “The Causes of War” as relaxing summer reading (the first two chapters are “What are the causes for peace?”, because logic!), and a lot of the cheesy SF and fantasy series I read and love are fantasy AUs of a military flavor. So while I can’t tell you much about Waterloo (most of the series preferred to name-drop Gustav Adolphus and his combined flying artillery), I can pepper a rant with lots of attributed Napoleon quotes.

So that Second Battle Under the Stars- the fact that “All the hosts…for the conquest of Beleriand no more than a handful of leaves”?

That is my big bullshit, disbelief is now suspended moment. I can only handle the success by breaking it down and trying to make sense of why the orcs are defeated by this arriving Noldor force.

First of all, it has to be a small group of Noldor, relatively speaking, these Fëanorian partisans from the surviving stolen swanships. And they arrive in Beleriand as Melkor is using his orcs to besiege the Falas (he himself still in disarray from Ungoliant’s attack at Lammoth). Actually, the first orcs they meet in Mithrim are drawn by the sounds of Morgoth’s screaming and the burning at Losgar, so this isn’t a planned campaign but a tentative scouting mission. The orc leadership for this battle is obviously poor (see later more successful wins for the forces of evil when they aren’t attacking ahead of schedule).

Now they come upon the Fëanorian Noldor who are outnumbered and unware of the attack, but are still able to fight the orcs off. Now I do wonder if the Noldor have at least a vague idea of what to expect when charging after Morgoth (I’m assuming Fëanor is clever enough, but then again he was foolhardy enough to think himself equal to challenging a Vala, plus that he could do the job with far less than half his possible troops and after burning his only viable escape route and effective transportation. Please let him have some loaded supplies on-board, and then unloaded them before burning. I know it must be a pitifully underestimated amount compared to what they would really need (amateurs with no knowledge of the continent or foes), but I am trying to give him a brain for warfare before he Leroy Jenkinshimself to an anticlimactic death. He is pushing with “over-haste” and “little foresight… for so dark a road” out of fears about his tenuous hold over the Noldor, so I can’t accept much pre-planning or supplies on his part. Also: ships were the best -easier, quickest, cheapest- way to transport troops and supplies until the railroad. Even if it was just to go up and down the coast. And also- Tolkien? Information on the navigability of Beleriand’s many rivers! Why not more mention and use of them? Why?)

“An army marches on its stomach.”(2)

Where are the elves growing the food, again? Why is this the question I find myself repeating? Where are the farms to supplies these fortresses? And why aren’t armies attacking supply lines?

Back to the Second Battle- two parts:

So the Noldor have longer swords- longer reach, does that mean? What troop tactics might there be? Are they just two disorganized mobs because neither side has the leadership and training? Therefore if victory comes down to drive and physical strength, the Noldor can win? If “Victory belongs to the most persevering”(3), then it is simply then that the Noldor are the fresh troops and have what they see as the righteousness of their crusade of vengeance and reclaiming that stupid shinies. The forces of Morgoth are controlled by fear and hatred and are not the most willing of troops. So an ambush on an unknown enemy turns bad, they fall back to regroup and report back to HQ about the new foe. Remember, why would Morgoth be expecting the Noldor to arrive as they did? His problem involve the moon and sun coming down the pipeline. He is forced on those that can seriously defeat him- the Valar.

Also - “The moral is to the physical as three to one.” (4)

The orcs are besieging the Falas, when Celegorm leading a portion of the troop comes up behind from the protected hills, slamming into the unprotected flanks of the orcs. Nothing is more demoralizing than a surprise attack on the rear by completely unplanned-for forces. This is 100% believable that the orcs would have been routed from the field. It would take an almost-unbelievable about of discipline, good leadership, and skill for any army not to break down when faced with that, so no complaints. Plus, it’s Celegorm leading the attack, so Mr. Gaston here can at least be counted on having good woodcraft in order to sneak his troops into position. Actually, the idea of a large host of armored and armed men riding horses moving silently through the woods is ludicrous, but Celegorm at least has what passes for experience, plus he was the pupil of Oromë, so let’s give him some tactical knowledge.

So the orcs are routed, and the Noldor get cocky and think it’s going to be a cakewalk. Fëanor acts like Julian II again, rushes after a fleeing enemy, only to learn like Crassus and the Parthians that an amateur seeking martial victory for gain of riches, wounded pride, and vengeance is going to make stupid mistakes and get himself killed. Sigh. Right on schedule.

Oh- my other point of supreme disbelief: the elves of Aman until the Darkening literally had near to no experience whatsoever with the concept of darkness. No practice moving around at night (which we in a world of normal physics do). So the Noldor’s communications and coordination must be severely hampered. I guess Alqualondë was at least practice for them fighting and moving around in the dark- hence a reason why it lasts so long and turns so chaotic. Back to Beleriand. Thank goodness for those portable Fëanorian lanterns. (yes, I am impressed by a few of his inventions- and at least the lanterns were a technology he must have shared with other Eldar, right? If not their making, then at least he didn’t hoard those.)

“The secret of war lies in the communications.”(5)-palantir! Both the problems they could have solved, but as Denethor in Lord of the Rings showed, they are a double-edged sword when in comes to misinformation or making the wrong conclusions from insufficient data.

Back to the Battle-Under-the-Stars.

After those ten days, I refuse to believe it was the Noldor wiping out all the orcs. First of all, the Sindar, while not victorious in destroying the orcs or holding them off in all territories, have still killed heaps and heaps of orcs and are safe behind fortifications from the orcs. Menegroth and the Girdle was a good, smart thing to do. You cannot attempt to hold the enemy off everywhere, even if you try you won’t have the troops and energy and coordination for complete coverage (See siege of Angband for Silmarillion example). You pick your locations, force the enemy to come to a field of your choosing. And why is it only at Gondolin we start to see siege weapons? Why didn’t the Noldor do more fortifications around Angband- and also made counter-lines to guard the rear? Or any elf bring a ram to the assaults on the doors of Angband? Sauron remembered a ram. Oh- and the note on Cirdan- enemy never able to act by sea. Note on Doriath- it is not orcs that cause either attack on Menegroth, and it is not the malice of Morgoth except very indirectly that destroy it. And that attack is only successful because an inside attack severely weakens it. (The only reason the Third Kinslaying isn’t as bad for me as the others is because some of the Fëanorians are starting to turn against the wrongness of their actions, starting to make something like ammends afterwards in the adopting of Peredhil twins. And most of them are gone by now).

But say the orc armies are in disarray, Morgoth is hesitant on how to face this threat so is not commanding his minions, so they scare like leaves in the wind. Then it turns out Morgoth was actually doing the thing he should have, because this overconfidence leads Fëanor into a prideful charge ahead, thinking his position is stronger and the enemy’s far weaker (gonna see this again and again), getting himself too far ahead of his troops (DISPLINCE!), isolated and alone and then ambushed by balrogs. And then dead.

So if the Second Battle wasn’t such a cakewalk for the Noldor, they wouldn’t have this initial false impression of how the war is going to go. They are filled with this false hope that victory through the arms they have and can gather is going to do it. Maedhros thinks he can double-cross and overpower Morogth in the next move. (Give the boy a hand there for at least plotting a strategy). For the Noldor victory through arms is a big resounding no way.

“This counsel was wise according to the measure of his knowledge; for the Noldor did not yet comprehend the fullness of the power of Morgoth, nor understand that their unaided war upon him was without final hope, whether they hasted or delayed.”

And two more quotes for the road home, (by the way, Fëanor, Mr. Bonaparte is more impressed with the creative mind of Saruman. He’s been yelling for his artillery all night, and only the White Wizard was kind enough to bring the gunpowder to the field):

“The fate of a Nation may sometimes depend upon the position of a fortress.”(6)

“It is easier to brave and threaten, than to conquer an enemy.” (7)

Both strike me as applicable to the war in Beleriand, but I’m too tired to pinpoint and elaborate why.

This is all just gut feelings on why I’m not a big supportor of the Exiled Noldor war efforts in Beleriand, so I tagged this post the way I did. Might delete it later…