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Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

With the notable exception of those infernal Hyena-Lemming things in TTT, of course ...

What's wrong with the Wargs? You'll note that Wargs love water, and will jump at any chance to go for a swim. Isn't that why Saruman dammed the Isen? Can't see any other logical reason, and so I assume that the Isen was blocked up either to make a swimming pool for the Wargs, or to restrict their access to water, making them ill-tempered.

Hehe. Now I have you explaining quibbles. You are learning well from Essex ...

That's why I took on the SbS. It's kind of a penance for all of the quibbling I've done. Now it's my job to quibble out of both sides of my keyboard. And, truly, you, Essex and others have taught me a lot...though I still can't believe the world doesn't share my point of view.

Surely the Mumakil would have been useful to protect the rear of the besieging army from ... oh, I don't know ... something like a charge of frenzied Rohirrim, say.

Keeping the mûmakil behind the main army may have been dangerous. These evil folk turn on each other as well as the good folk, and one could see where the oliphaunt army, afraid that they will be left out of the spoils, decides to charge forward and in doing so, crushes all of the orcs waiting their turn to enter Minas Tirith.

But seriously, the Charge of the Rohirrim makes Sauron look more doofy than I would have thought. Typically the Big Eye has a plan, and seemingly for the Rohirrim, he was caught by surprise - no lookouts, orcs initially take heavy losses, Nazgul don't see approaching 7000 or so horses. Luckily the mûmakil were available, or there would have been nothing for the Army of the Dead to do.

And I see little point in marching troops from Rhun all the way round to the south of Mordor and back north so that they can approach the Morannon from the west, only to hold them in reserve!

They obviously need the exercise. If Gothmog would have had the mûmakil out and about during the initial big rock-throwing contest, he would have lost this weapon yet would not have been able to use it. Fire might not catch on Grond (or the siege towers) but oliphaunts are somewhat flammable. A few well-aimed rocks (interesting that I don't remember seeing any of Gondor's rocks laying on the Pelennor when the Rohirrim fight the mûmakil...hmm) from the Minas Tirith trebuchets into the oliphaunt line (which was perdendicular to the line of the Wall) would have been devastating.

But I quibble.

It's the SbS; what else do we do?

Thanks for posting.