Should Saruman have accompanied Mauhur and his "lads" ?

[Andsigil]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheHalflings

Right, and the attempt to send the Ring to the Cracks of Doom would have been more successful if Frodo had 1000 companions, instead of the paltry eight who were sent.

Saruman's aim was secrecy. If he suddenly sends a massive force across Rohan to the Anduin it's not going to just rouse the Rohirrim - it's going to rouse Sauron as well!.

Maybe I wasn't clear: On one hand, if Saruman's aim was secrecy, then he sent too many orcs under Mauhur and Ugluk . It's obvious he did because the warbands were tracked/discovered and annihilated. This is in contrast to the Fellowship, which only had 9 members and did have the objective of secrecy.

On the other hand, if Saruman's aim was to get the Ring no matter what, then the force he sent was too small; it couldn't defend itself from roving bands of Rohirrim cavalry.

Saruman made something of a "split the difference" decision, which was bad either way. I spent a few years as an infantry officer, so I'll say a few things about his strategy from that perspective: it lacked a clear objective, it didn't commit the proper forces for whatever his objective was, and it had too many moving parts.

I'd also add that just being a Maia and having lived a long time doesn't make one a good commander.