[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by mormegil

This is from the appendix and would indicate, to me at least, that hobbits did not make great soldiers in general.

I would beg to differ. It does not follow from their failure to return that they were not effective in the battle.

We know from Concerning Hobbits that they were difficult to daunt or kill and that they could “survive rough handling by grief, foe or weather in a way that astonished those who did not know them well and looked no further than their bellies and well-fed faces”. It is also said that they could still handle arms at need and, indeed, that they routed an Orcish invasion at the Battle of Greenfields. They are said to be particularly useful with the bow, being “keen-eyed and sure at the mark”, and that, if ever a Hobbit stoops to pick up a stone, trespassing creatures would do well to take cover.

I would suggest that there are qualities in Hobbits that would make them very good soldiers, if organised to play to those qualities. Being difficult to daunt or kill is an admirable quality in a soldier and it seems to me that they would likely have a higher than average morale, both in terms of the conditions they might have to put up with and in terms of their ability to hold firm in the face of the enemy.

Their small stature and therefore lesser physical strength would limit their effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat (unless against weaker foes) and preclude their use as cavalry (unless on dog-back ). But they clearly made effective ranged troops, armed with short-bows or perhaps slingshots. Such weaponry would limit their effectiveness against heavily-armoured foes, but they would undoubtedly have their uses.

Finally, the fact that they not only defeated, but routed, the Goblin invasion led by Golfimbul shows that they could be highly effective against certain types of enemy and when well-organised by one such as Bandobras Took. Similarly at the Battle of Bywater, when organised by Merry and Pippin. I should imagine that they made particularly resolute foes when on home ground and defending their homes.