The Battle of the North Downs was an enormous battle, and the penultimate battle of the War of the Gem, fought between the Alliance and Kashaka. By far the bloodiest battle of the war, it saw the combined forces of the Alliance, the Dúnedain, the Rangers of Lindon and the Hobbits of the Shire fight against the armies of Gondor and Rohan, under the hypnotic command of Kashaka.
Background[]
When the Alliance finally reached Eriador, they joined with the Free Peoples who still resisted Kashaka's control, including the Elves of Mithlond, the Rangers of the North and the Hobbits. Plans were made to fortify the land of Evendim to the north-west, where the Alliance hoped to prepare themselves before they attacked Kashaka's wall, an enormous structure built from her dark magic.
While the Alliance was travelling through the North Downs, they were set upn by Kashaka's thralls, containing the armies of Gondor, Rohan and enthralled Dúnedain. While the Istari, the Maiar Mallien, Olórin and Ilmare and the three Elves Mageth, Giniriel and Cendrolom went to fight Kashaka head on, the Alliance, under the command of Chellon the Ranger and the Elf twins Elladan and Elrohir, remained to bring an end to the war.
Course of the battle[]
The North Downs were split apart by a narrow but deep river, shallow at only two points in the centre and the south. Chellon took the Dwarves, the Avari and the Dunedain to the North, while Elladan and Elrohir commanded the Easterlings, the free Gondorians, the free Rohirrim and the Hobbits. When Kashaka's archers were forced to retreat by Avari cavalry, Chellon took his chance and led his force against a second vanguard of over 2,000 Gondorians, half of whom were killed by the battle-raged Dwarves, while the rest were captured and later healed from Kashaka's spell.
In the south, Elladan and Elrohir used the Easterling chariot riders to break across the river, unfortunately killing hundreds of Kashaka's slaves in the process. As the battle on the eastern side of the river pressed on, the Alliance started to take casualties. The Rangers of Lindon, who the Alliance's leader Mageth had once been a part of, were all killed in the battle, while the Easterlings lost a third of their numbers, as well as their leader Chakin, though the latter died in a different manner. Elladan and Elrohir, accompanied by Faramir, the Steward of Gondor, found that Kashaka had recruited Orcs of Morgoth himself, who had not long before raided the Dúnedain home of Esteldin, killing hundreds of Men, women and children. Chakin, hoping to kill an Orc for the first time, cut down dozens of the creatures, but himself was killed.
Aftermath[]
Mageth and the Maiar were able to rout Kashaka from the ancient fortress of Carn Dum, at the cost of Cendrolom, Mageth's closest friend. Kashaka was later discovered roaming the Weather Hills, and was executed by Mageth in front of the Alliance, bringing an end to the War.
The casualties were enormous on both sides. While the Avari and the Dwarves only took light casualties, the Easterlings lost over a half of their army by the time the battle was truly over, also losing Chakin, their High Marshal. The Dúnedain also lost many men, with many serving Kashaka as mindless thralls and others fighting their own kindred. The Rangers of Lindon were wiped out, Cendrolom being their leader, and the enthralled armies of Gondor and Rohan also took many casualties. The only side to take barely any casualties were the Hobbits, who only lost two or three of their kind in the entire fight, though dozens were wounded.