The AI plays first, and Mordor wastes no time and attacks Osgiliath: a winged beast swoops down on the fortress, but no damage to either side occurs except for the distinct smell of soiled pants and cold sweat. At lest 4 Mordor units are spotted approachingOsgiliath, so it looks like a battle is shaping up.
Denethor and his son Boromir are at Minas Terith near Osgiliath along with their army, so he moves them towards Osgiliath – only Boromir is fast enough to make it to the fortress, but the defenders of Osgiliath next to the fortress should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive. Denethor yells ahead to Boromir not to expose himself needlessly.Osgiliath must NOT fall, and the fate of Middle Earth may well depoend on the upcoming battle.
Faramir is to the South in South Ithalian near Belarguer with his small army, and as he hears reports of winged beasts seen near Osgiliath, he quickly starts to move North up the road hoping perhaps to catch the Mordors near Osgiliath from the rear. His cavalry is much faster than the rest of his force, and could almost reach the Mordors, but he orders them to hold back, not wanting his cavalry to be wiped out before the rest of his forces can reach the battlefield. Faramir is unhappy because his HQ doesnt have enough horses and lags behind the others, and he gives orders to find horses fast –or else...
At Linhir on the Southern shore the local commander surveys his environment and see that he has a fleet and some infantry. There is what appears to be an unoccupied town on the nearby island Tolfadas to the south, so he boards some infantry on the fleet and sends it to the island. The nameless town is indeed unoccupied, so the infantry will disembark next turn and occupy it. He is worried about the pirates of Rohar showing up though...
At Dol Emroth along the shore to the NW, Imrahil is too far to participate in the battle at Osgiliath, and he decides to use his forces to scout a bit North. He has heavy cavalry, which would be better used at Osgiliath, since light cavalry is better for scouting, but on the other hand, he might be able to link up with the forces of Rohan to the North. Along the shore to the NW is Edhellend where he also has a smaller mixed force that will take the lead in the scouting. Gondor has a huge amount of land between the Southern shore and the White mountains, and since it is largely unoccupied, Imrahil would not be surprised that some neighbors would poke their noses into the land. Of course Rohan would be welcome since they are allies, as long as they don’t get greedy and try to take over towns without permission.
Far to the North, along a narrow sliver of Gondor land West of the Misty Mountains is the Wizard Gandalf with a small force of 3 units around Tharward.He decides to split his force to explore, and sends an infantry unit East to probe the Southern Entrance pass where he expects to meet the Elves of Lorien, and a group of rangers South to scout the environs of Rohan around Helms Gate since they are faster and it is farther, and he leaves a unit occupying the town as a reserve. Unfortunately none of the units have horses except Gandalf himself, but the Rangers are fast and Gandalf’s horse can’t run fast. Gandalf’s Eradwaith HQ is not subordinated to any other because of the long distance to the main HQ on the other side of the territory.
The king of Rohan Theoden controls his much smaller territory from Edoras, but he has heard that Sauron is back and that evil is stirring to the East. Visitors report seeing Orcs, terribe flying beasts, and there are claims that the Nazgul have been seen. His general Erkenbrand has a small army to the West in Helm’s Gate, that he will use to cross the river to the West at the Fords of Isen to try to link up with Gandalf’s scouts. His son Eomer is to the East keeping his eye on the dark horizon still further East. Everyone is to scout around and report on any suspicious activity. Reports of an impending attack on Osgiliath have already reached Edoras, so Theoden is hesitant, and has no wish to worsen relations with any of his neighbors. He wishes that Gandalf were here to give him advice. His daughter Eowyn thinks his father is too soft and that the best strategy would be to aggressively search for the enemy and to stomp them out before they have time to do it to them. When a smirking soldier asks her how she proposes to beat the enemy, she replies “You grab them by the nose and kick them in the ass!”, a sentence that will be repeated centuries later by a famous general who claimed to be her reincarnation, among others.
The elves of Lorien are known for their stealthiness and for their ability with bows and their ferocious flying eagles, so although they are weaker than most, they are usually avoided by evildoers – at least until now. But today a ranger and bowmen unit has reported a unit coming out of the Mirkwood forest on the Eastern border that is still unidentified but that sounds like Orcs. This is a bad omen, along with rumors about evil stirrings to the East and south. The Elves would be particularly vulnerable in a war, because they could have enemies on three sides. Their leader Galadriel at Lothlorien orders scouting parties to find out what the potential threats are.
It is indeed a powerful Orc unit, and two more are seen coming up behind it. There will be war! A large eagle is sent out to scout and finds that there are three more Orc units in Dol Guldur right behind the other three previously spotted. Two enemy large eagles attack the Elven eagle, who manages to get away. Galadrien sends out orders for the units near the Orcs to retreat, but one of the units fails to receive the order in time.The Elven forces are dispersed all over their territory and their units are no match for the Orcs in open field combat. Galadriel sends out a call for help to Rohan.
Henri