Balrog vs 200 000 dwarves ?

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Chuck Norris could do it.

And the phantom could do it standing on his head.

Originally Posted by Inzil

I still think this question comes down to the Dwarves having a lack of understanding of what they were dealing with, coupled with the unmanning fear surrounding the Balrog.

I agree with this. I think the Dwarves never got a clear idea of what is Durin's Bane. And the idea of fear also - the example with Nazgul that you bring up is dead on.

But I would also add that the Balrog fights not only with physical weapons (ie swords etc), or even psychological ones (ie fear), but also with that inner "force" that you can't block with any shield or weapon. When Sauron walked out of Barad-dur wielding the Ring, he didn't suddenly have better sword-fighting skills, but he had this metaphysical power. Similarly with the Balrog. I am of the opinion that Gandalf and Balrog had a battle of wills, both at the door (duh), but mostly on the bridge. The Balrog had a power even Gandalf had a hard time resisting. What could a group of Dwarves do against it? Their power was mostly in physical weapons.

...Or I just like to imagine a metaphysical part to everything.