[Rumil]

Hello again,

good points on the Nazgul and their aquaphobia. I'd also agree that this battle was instigated partially to test the defences and preparedness of Gondor.

The point has been raised in a different thread that Sauron's grasp of strategy sems to be rather weak. The smart thing to have done in the War of the Ring would have been to concentrate all available forces against Gondor and Rohan. After all, due to the distances involve and general lack of communication, its unlikely that the elves of Lothlorien, or the Lakemen, for example, could have come to Gondor's aid. Sauron seems to suffer from trying to emulate his ex-boss!

On bridges and fords, as many have pointed out, bridges have been viewed as valuable throughout military history, not only for practical reasons, but as symbols of military success. Eventually Sauron's forces had to build rafts and boats and a pontoon bridge to carry them across the Anduin. The Corsairs did not travel so far upriver.

I've noticed, however, that 'fords of Osgiliath' are mentioned in RoTK. Seems like a bit of an effort to go to if you can just wade across the ford, while the Nazgul, by this time, could fly across. Perhaps bridges were necessary to move the heavy equipment such as Grond and the artillery across.