Hobbits as soldiers?

[ManofDale]

We know the Hobbits lended their aid in the use of archers in the battle against the witch of Angmar, what other kinds of soldiers do you think that the hobbits would make? I see them especially good as trackers, scouts (like Bilbo was used in the Quest of Erebor).

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I believe it was Napoleon Bonaparte who said that an army marches on its stomach. Of course, he was rather short and round, and may have had hobbit blood, which is why his statement about army catering could have been drawn straight from the Thain's Regulations and Shire Field Manual (Gen. B. "Bullroarer" Took, ret.) Of course, this brings me to the very nub of my gist: Hobbits are indeed excellent scouts and competent archers, but their true field of excellence is catering. Hobbit cuisine is simple, healthy and served in large portions; they can live off the land effectively, and cooking is the most important art in their society. The one problem would be restraining their enthusiasm during a siege or when rations were short.

I suspect that the King's Own Shire Battalion was seconded to the Third Ithilien Division's catering corps in the early Fourth Age, although I have no evidence for this whatsoever.

[Bêthberry]

I believe our estimable The Squatter has it correct that Napoleon made such an observation, no doubt based upon his own predilections during battle.

However, this did not hinder the little Frenchman from buying army boots from the English, even during war time. How the English mercantile class missed this opportunity to aid the war effort and deliver substandard boots instead of their superior boots is probably a strategic debate related more to late Seventh Age military tactics than early Seventh Age. However, it does raise another aspect of Hobbit nature.

Hobbits, of course, gambolled, walked, ran, danced and marched shoesless. Think of the great costs saved in not having to import boots and buy them at a premium price from an enemy! The usual ills and infections normally associated with footware would also be lessened by this airy habit, although I suppose there might be the added difficulty of dealing with body lice in hairy feet.

I think there would indeed be room for them in the basic infantry, where the added benefit of their short stature would enable hobbits to run easily between the tall hulks of orc bodies.

(I do hope this particularly detailed reply does not offend our usual Downs Syndrome of decorum and I apologise prolylactically for any offense some may feel at these thoughts.)

[mormegil]

The Shire-folk survived, though war swept over thema nd most of them fled into hiding. To the help of the king they sent some archers who never returned; and others went alos to the battle in which Angmar was overthrown.

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

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

To be fair, Tolkien doesn't say that the first group were killed in the battle: they might have been so deadly that they began a lucrative career as mercenaries and assassins. The second group were fighting in a victorious army, so I'm not sure that says much other than that hobbits are good at choosing sides. It does seem unlikely that hobbits would ever have enough martial spirit to make good soldiers, though. Sadly, it's also quite probable that any money saved on footwear would have to be sunk into rations, so I'm not sure how much of an advantage their barefoot predilections would be either. I suppose one could always feed them their boots.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

"Fobbits" in Todays Army

[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.