Quote:
Even though Thingol was successful in the east, might a better strategy have
been for the Green Elves to withdraw to the Ossiriand rivers and the Taur-im-Duinath (reminiscent of the Russian use of the Pripet Marshes in World War II), with Thingol also harassing the orcs with sorties from Menegroth,
while Thingol sent the bulk of his forces west to help Cirdan?
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I would say that no matter what Thingol or anyone else had done, Morgoth would have taken either the east or the west. The question then is which you would rather yield. My view is that if Morgoth had taken the east, he would have cut off the trade routes that had recently been established from Eriador beyond the mountains, through Nogrod and Belegost, and to Doriath. This would have isolated the Sindar and cut them off from the metalwork of the Dwarves. Of course, no one could have foreseen the imminent arrival of the Noldor.
I like the idea of considering each of the battles of Beleriand in turn. I wonder, though, if you might also include those battles that did not warrant a number - some of them are quite important. I mean, for example, the Battle of Lammoth, the attack of the Orcs on Hithlum from the north, the Battle of Tumhalad, the Fall of Gondolin, etc.