Why hold'claim Osgiliath?

[The Might]

Of course Osgiliath was important, but at least in the movies Denethor isn't really himself when making this decision. Plus, what he sends in the movie is clearly too little to do any damage to Sauron's troops. The only smart thing to do would have been to keep them for the upcoming siege.

[Nerwen]

Which, I suppose, is why you're never told why it's important in the film.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I think, in the film, attempting to retake Osgiliath is important because such a ludicrous suicide mission is the most convenient way for Insane Mean Daddy to kill off Misunderstood Younger Son.

[Nerwen]

Well, I wasn't going to put it quite like that...

[Araréiel]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I think, in the film, attempting to retake Osgiliath is important because such a ludicrous suicide mission is the most convenient way for Insane Mean Daddy to kill off Misunderstood Younger Son.

EXACTY how it appears in the film.

Time to re-read the trilogy, methinks.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

In the book it's much more straightforward: Sauron had to take the crossings, and Gondor had to defend them. Once lost, retaking themwas of course not an issue: the Men of MT fell back on the Causeway Forts- bastions covering the Road where it crossed the marshy land and passed through the gate in the Rammas- a barbican, really. It was this defense that Faramir took command of (pretty logically, given that he was now Captain-General), and in the retreat from the Causeway Forts after they fell that he was wounded. Leading that defense was not conceived as either a murder or a suicide, and quite-sane Denethor very correctly covered the retreat with a well-timed cavalry sortie. He certainly didn't throw away 200 good heavy cav on a pointless charge against prepared defenses!

Tolkien, unlike PJ, was a soldier.

[Quempel]

Osgiliath was strategically needed. In both WW's one of the main goals was to destroy bridges so the supplies and access would be cut off.

My main contention is that Denethor should have destroyed the access across the river before Saurons troops arrived. Faramir could have easily defended from that point. But there are so many other issues in both the book and the movie that don't make sense militarily that I don't really question them anymore.

I really hated what was done to Denethor and his two sons in the movies. I never did really like Denethor in either, but the movies made him out to be worse.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Quempel, the Osgiliath bridge had been destroyed (by Boromir) the previous June. In March Sauron forced an amphibious crossing.