Army of Isengard

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Army of Isengard
Leader	Sauron (nominally) Saruman
Formed from	Wargs of Rhovanion Uruk-hai Orcs of the Misty Mountains Mordor Orcs Isengard Orcs Isengard Trolls Dunlendings
Affiliation	Sauron's forces
Location	Isengard

"Sauron will use his puppet, Saruman, to destroy the people of Rohan. Isengard has been unleashed." —Galadriel to Elrond, The Two Towers

The Army of Isengard, also called Saruman's army, was a massive army of Isengard Orcs, Uruk-hai and Dunlendings mustered by the corrupted Wizard Saruman, the chief vassal of the Dark Lord Sauron, during the Third Age's War of the Ring.

The main army of Isengard was built as Sauron's second army that would mount his conquest of Middle-earth by invading Rohan, whose king, Théoden, stood in the way of Mordor's dominion. Aside from raising fresh legions for Sauron, Saruman bred his own loyal hundred-strong elite troop which he sent after the Fellowship, hoping to seize the One Ring first and try cheat his Lord. The ranks of Isengard's forces were swelled by the Hordes of Dunland following an alliance with their leader, Freca. Orc warriors and Dunlending marauders burned and pillaged their way across the Westfold, while also slaying Rohan's prince, Théodred, in the Battle of the Fords of Isen. At Sauron's command, Saruman unleashed the 10,000-strong Uruk-hai army of Isengard in a final attack against the Rohirrim in the Battle of Helm's Deep. The confrontation saw the vanquishing of the corrupted Wizard's legions, weakening the Dark Lord's forces.

Description and history

"Build me an army worthy of Mordor." —Sauron to Saruman, The Fellowship of the Ring

Defecting to a new Lord's service, Saruman mustered forces to impose Sauron's, or his own, rule over Middle-earth.

Following his defection to Sauron's service, Saruman began assembling forces around Orthanc, drawing his manpower from the Orcs of Mordor and the Misty Mountains, as well as his own pit-bred Orcs. The veteran Orc-chief Sharku and his Warg-riders were also housed at Isengard, as allies of Saruman. Deeming all these common Orcs poor soldiery due their weakness to sunlight, the corrupted Istar further improved upon the prime Uruks, making the "perfected" Uruk-hai, which he kept cocooned for the upcoming war. Though breeding this fighting force mainly as a second army for his Lord, Saruman believed he could to turn it into his own army if he acquired the One Ring first and supplanted Sauron as Lord of the Ring.

The "Hand of Saruman" was the symbol of the army of Isengard, a white hand painted on shields, helms and faces as well as appearing on banners. It had two meanings: on one hand, it was the epitome of Saruman's delusions of grandeur: he believed himself the quasi-equal vassal or successor of Sauron; on the other hand, it was a "stamp" of Saruman's ownership of the Uruk-hai.

Dismissing common Orcs as a worthy fighting force, Saruman used Sauron's foul craft to improve upon the Uruks.

During the War of the Ring, Saruman was charged by Sauron with fashioning the Orc following of Isengard into "an army worthy of Mordor", that would then invade Rohan. As the forging of arms unfurled in smithies, Saruman had his Orcs awaken the Uruk-hai from their slumber in the water caves. Behind his Lord's back, the corrupted Wizard kept most of the first batch for his own loyal elite fighting force, through which he would seek to claim the Ring first for himself. Choosing Lurtz as the commander of the Uruk-hai scouts, Saruman sent these lightly-armored warriors to hound the Fellowship and capture the Ring-bearer.

After a bloodpact with the leader of the wild men, Freca, the growing army of Isengard was joined by the Hordes of Dunland. Abetted by Saruman, the Dunlending rabble and Isengard Orc raiding parties made incursions into Rohirrim territory, wreaking havoc in the Westfold villages and slaughtering the defenseless peasants that had long stood against Sauron. Within the ringed walls of Isengard, the legions of Uruk-hai warriors, berserkers and captains were readied with pikes, swords, banners and crossbows, shields, helms and armor while an arsenal of siege ladders, ballistas and battering rams was also prepared for their use. Through basic drill training and weapons handling, the Isengard Orcs had molded the Uruk-hai into the ideal army by which to crush the world of Men. Further r2efining Sauron's grandiose but antique art of warfare, Saruman also devised the Fire of Orthanc, an explosive powder that, carried in metal shells, would blow up walls upon ignition. A few Uruk-hai were also strapped with barrels containing the Fire of Orthanc for sacrificial attacks meant to take with them as many Rohirrim as they could and make way for the rest of Saruman's warriors.

Unbeknownst to Sauron, Saruman kept the first 100 Uruk-hai for his own loyal elite fighting force to seize the Ring first.

A large Orc warband out of Isengard clashed with the defenders of Rohan in the Battle of the Fords of Isen, where they slew every man to the last, including the prince, Théodred, per Saruman's orders. These warriors bore helms with a painted white hand, the heraldry of the disgraced White Wizard.

Saruman's own loyal Uruk-hai troop, led now by Uglúk following Lurtz's demise, had managed to capture two Hobbits in an ambush at Amon Hen and headed back to Isengard, although slowed down by tensions with Grishnakh's Mordor Orc warband sent by the untrusting Sauron. The Orcs were all destroyed on the eaves of Fangorn Forest by Rohirrim Riders led by Éomer, foiling Saruman's upstart plans to try take the Ring first. The Lord of Isengard thus became bolder in striking against the weakened king of Rohan; Saruman was driven by fear of losing Sauron's favor, thus hoping that Théoden's defeat would allow him to bargain for the clemency of the Lord he tried betray.

He dispatched Sharku and his Eastern Warg-riders to waylay Théoden and his people on their way to Helm's Deep. According to Éowyn, the Dunlendings continued their raiding in the Westfold, reducing "every ric, cot and tree" to ash and spreading terror among Saruman's adversaries.

Bidden by his Lord, Saruman built Sauron a second 10,000 strong army of Uruk-hai in Isengard to overrun the Men of Rohan.

Having raised a 10,000-strong Uruk-hai army, Saruman awaited Sauron's command to let them loose upon the world of Men. The bloodthirsty warriors zealously chanted, hailing the Dark Lord as "Lord of the Ring, Lord of the Earth" and welcoming his Wizard vassal's speech with horn-blowing and drums. Entrusted with ushering in the ascension of the "new power", Isengard was unleashed in a final push against Rohan to take the land by force and destroy its people. The Uruk-hai host led by its general marched towards Helm's Deep, where Théoden and the Rohirrim had taken refuge, before the very eyes of the Ent Treebeard and his Hobbit wards, and were also seen from afar by the Ranger Aragorn, who guessed their purpose was to herald the end of the world of Men.

During the heated Battle of Helm's Deep, the Uruk-hai warriors held the advantage, not only due to their ferocity and armor, but also thanks to the devices of Saruman, which allowed them to overrun the Rohirrim and Galadhrim defenders as they climbed over the walls, broke the main gate and breached the deeping wall with the explosive Fire of Orthanc. The Elf captain Haldir fell by the Uruk soldiers' swords, as did most of the Galadhrim warriors of his company. Saruman's forces managed to force Théoden and his allies into retreating to the keep. Just as victory for Isengard seemed near and the entrances of both the Glittering Caves - where women and children were hidden - and the keep were about to be battered down, the tide of battle turned. Théoden and Aragorn led a horse charge that caught Saruman's servants by surprise and pushed them back. The defenders of Helm's Deep were then joined by reinforcements brought by Gandalf, who charged and broke through the Uruk-hai ranks. In the ensuing chaos, thousands of Saruman's warriors fell and the rest fled into the nearby "forest", which proved to be a trap: the Huorns there slaughtered the Uruk-hai to the last.

Abetted by Saruman, the army of Isengard raises arm to usher in a new age and destroy the world of Men.

A small portion of the army stayed at Isengard and fought at the Battle of Isengard. These Orcs were destroyed by the vengeful Ents led by Treebeard, who flooded the entire ringed fortress and made Saruman's war machines and breeding pits crumble. The allied Hordes of Dunland had presumably already been destroyed by Rohirrim defenders or the army led by Gandalf and Éomer.

Saruman himself would perish soon after at the hands of his footman, Gríma Wormtongue, whom he had mistreated one too many times. Sauron would fume over the loss of his "puppet" and the army, before preparing his eastern forces to besiege Gondor's capital of Minas Tirith, partially as retribution for the defeat at Helm's Deep.

The Army

Leaders

• Sauron (nominally)
  • Saruman

Commanders

• Gríma Wormtongue
• Freca
  • Wulf
  • Zegrid
• Sharku
• Glasha
• Lurtz
• Uglúk
  • Lugdush
  • Mauhûr
• Saruman's general
  • Ugthak

Groups

• Lurtz's hunting party
• Sharku's Warg riders
• Hordes of Dunland

Units

• Uruk-hai
  • Uruk-hai scout
  • Uruk-hai swordsman
  • Uruk-hai archer
  • Uruk-hai captain
  • Uruk-hai berserker
  • Uruk-hai sapper
  • Uruk-hai pikeman
  • Uruk-hai crossbow-man
  • Uruk Deathbringer
• Isengard Orc
  • Isengard Warg rider
  • Orc Taskmaster
• Mordor Orc
• Orc of the Misty Mountains
• Dunlending
• Wargs of Rhovanion
• Isengard Troll

Appearances

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Reference list