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| Battle of Mirkwood |
| Date |
March 11-22 3019 T.A. |
| Location |
Mirkwood |
| Result |
Elf victory |
|
| Combatants |
| Wood-Elves of the Woodland Realm |
Mordor, Dol Guldur |
| Commanders |
| Thranduil |
Unknown |
| Strength |
| Total strength unknown, certainly far lower than the enemy. |
Vastly superior to the Wood-Elves |
| Casualties |
| Unknown |
Utter rout of attacking force |
The Battle of Mirkwood was a major and prolonged series of battles in the War of the Ring. The Orcs of Dol Guldur tried to take Mirkwood and defeat the elves there but were repulsed. Sauron's main objective in the northern theatre of the war was the assault on Lothlórien, and the majority of the forces from Dol Guldur were used to attack it. Dol Guldur used its remaining forced against Thranduil's realm, to try to secure their flank. Sauron's plan was that his Easterling allies would join the attack on Thranduil, overwhelming them, thus allowing Dol Guldur to focus all of its forces on Lothlórien. However, the Easterlings were occupied with besieging the Dwarves at Lonely Mountain, and were never able to join the attack on Thranduil. Fierce fighting raged throughout the forest, and there was "great ruin of fire" as woods were set alight during the battle. King Thranduil led his elves to victory and defeated the orcs, then with the help of Galadriel advanced on Dol Guldur after Sauron's fall, and destroyed the evil place.
