Q: How Many Armies Did Gondor Have?
ANSWER: The armed forces of Gondor have sparked much discussion and some controversy through the years. J.R.R. Tolkien seldom provided exact numbers for any military forces in his stories but on those rare occasions where he did provide such information it was usually relevant only to a specific period within his fantastic histories for Middle-earth.
Gondor’s history extended back more than 3,000 years by the time of The Lord of the Rings. As with all true historical nations its military forces would have undergone changes in size and organization through the centuries in order to address the needs of the various times. The structure and size of Gondor’s forces should thus be seen as fluid throughout the Third Age.
But there are specific events where Tolkien divulges some information; in these cases, we should keep in mind that he was not providing complete information, but rather only sharing as much as was needed to develop the stories or anecdotes he was composing. One of the most widely read accounts — never finished or published in Tolkien’s lifetime — is the story of how Gondor’s Line of Anarion was very nearly wiped out in the wars of the Third Age’s 20th Century. In the section of Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth concerning “Cirion and Eorl” Christopher Tolkien included an unfinished narrative of how King Ondoher and his sons died in battle. In this account (briefly summarized in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings), Gondor has two armies, the Army of the North and the Army of the South. The Army of the North has a Vanguard (which may or may not have been a formal military unit), the Right Wing and the Left Wing (which may or may not have been formal units), and a Center.
All of these terms are very generic and have been used by military historians and commanders to describe the dispositions of their forces for thousands of years. Historically, such divisions of armies arrayed for battle would have been made up of smaller named units, often designating their places of origin. Even in the pre-Roman classical world professional standing armies would have been comprised of highly specialized forces raised from specific provinces or cities. Hence, the Right Wing of the Northern Army of Gondor might have consisted of Swordsmen from Calenardhon, Archers from Ithilien, Cavalry from Lebennin, etc.
Whether the wings and vanguards of the armies had formal commanders or merely commanders appointed for specific battles is not clear. In historical practice men at the level of Colonel and General or Marshal would have been assigned different forces according to their needs. Even in classical history famous conquerors such as Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great often divided their armies into different groups at need in order to obtain an advantage in battle or to provide sufficient food and shelter for their troops. These divisions may have been formalized through written orders but they were subject to change dependent upon the needs of the armies.
So to conflate all of Gondor’s 3,000 years of military history into a few events makes little sense. On the other hand, many fans are simply curious about the disposition of Gondor’s forces at the time of the War of the Ring (for example). Although Tolkien did not provide precise numbers or descriptions, he mentioned a few forces and we can infer that some were comprised of professional, full-time soldiers while others seem to have been levies drawn up in a time of emergency.
As Steward of Gondor, Denethor II appears to have maintained several permanent forces in or near Minas Tirith. For example, there were the Guards of the Citadel, special forces who were charged with guarding and maintaining the White Tower of the Stewards in Minas Tirith. We know there was a Third Company (Beregond’s company) and it is reasonable to infer that the First and Second Companies may have still been in existence (although in historical armies units may be retired or scaled down at various times for administrative purposes).
There were also apparently regular soldiers charged with guarding the city, especially the men defending the gates and the outer walls. But the narrative of The Lord of the Rings says that the women and children of Minas Tirith were for the most part sent away prior to the Siege of Minas Tirith — hence, we can conclude that many of the “soldiers” defending Minas Tirith at this time were citizens of the city who had been called to arms.
There were also the garrisons of the outer walls, the Rammas Echor and the towers guarding the road between Minas Tirith and the ruins of Osgiliath. Boromir tells the Council of Elrond that he led a force defending Osgiliath which was driven back by Sauron’s forces in early 3018. After Faramir returned from Ithilien in 3019, Denethor sent him to command the defense of the Rammas. It seems apparent therefore that at least some of these forces were professional full-time soldiers; but again it is reasonable to infer that as Gondor’s peril increased Denethor reinforced the outer garrisons with men from the city and nearby “town-lands”.
Faramir’s Rangers of Ithilien also appear to be a professional, full-time standing force of soldiers. They were recruited from families that had fled Ithilien centuries before and they maintained hidden sanctuaries throughout Ithilien to use as bases from which they harassed Sauron’s own forces. Their numbers were not great but Faramir had enough men to conduct large raids and fight small battles.
Faramir also mentioned sending his men to reinforce the garrison at Cair Andros, an island between northern Anorien and Ithilien where the river could be forded. This garrison also appears to have been a permanent full-time force of professional soldiers.
In both The Lord of the Rings and an essay titled “Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor” Tolkien refers to permanent garrisons for the beacon towers (which extended north toward Rohan through Anorien and south or west along the coasts). These beacon tower garrisons would not have been very large but their total force size would have been significant enough to call them a “company” or “companies” if they were brought all together.
These are all the named forces known to be under Denethor’s direct command. But what of the forces that reinforced Minas Tirith from other parts of Gondor? Readers seem to agree that only Prince Imrahil’s small company of knights and 700 men-at-arms were a professional full-time standing army. Opinions are divided on the nature of other forces such as the archers from Pinnath Gelin, the axe-wielding men, and so forth. Some people insist they must all have been feudal forces owing their allegiances to the local lords who led them to Minas Tirith.
In fact, we only know for certain that the Princes of Belfalas/Dol Amroth enjoyed any specific autonomy (according to an explicit statement from Tolkien). Prince Imrahil’s army therefore does appear to have owed its allegiance to him. The reader is free to infer whether the other commanders were professional full-time officers in Gondor’s army, reserve officers activated for the nation’s last defense, or local feudal lords bringing personal forces or provincial levies to Denethor’s aid.
What we can be sure of is that Gondor had many more men in arms to call upon, but which Denethor and his advisors strategically decided NOT to bring to Minas Tirith because Gondor’s coasts were threatened by other forces loyal to Sauron. Regardless of whether these were professional soldiers, professional soldiers reinforced by local levies, or just local forces, their numbers were substantial and — if the narrative comment about the reinforcements being only a tenth part of what the provinces could have sent to Minas Tirith is more than just figurative — would have numbered in the tens of thousands.
References to Gondorian Armed Forces
The 2nd Age: Gondor was established by Isildur and Anarion near the end of the 2nd Age, after the Downfall of Númenor. They landed at Pelargir, which had been a royal haven of Númenor. The people of Pelargir were Faithful Númenoreans and thus welcomed Isildur and Anarion. Such fleet as Gondor began with would have been based at Pelargir.
Isildur maintained an armed force at Minas Ithil. This force was besieged from Mordor. Anarion maintained an armed force at Minas Anor. These soldiers were apparently used to defend Gondor against the tribes of the Ered Nimrais. After the Army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men marched south to attack Mordor, Anarion contributed some troops to the main Alliance force. But he also maintained Gondor’s defenses.
The Middle 3rd Age: Although J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about some of Gondor’s early wars, we only hear about specific armies starting in the 20th century. King Ondoher led the Northern Army in battle against the Wainriders, who invaded from the east. Eärnur led the Southern Army against the Haradrim. After Ondoher was slain in battle Eärnur, victorious over the Haradrim, combined the two armies and defeated the Wainriders.
The War of the Ring: As noted above, Gondor had formal armed forces assigned to:
- Cair Andros
- The beacons throughout the realm
- The Rammas (defensive wall around the Pelennor Fields)
- Minas Tirith (a city garrison)
- Ithilien (Faramir’s Rangers)
- Pelargir (for the fleet and presumably a city garrison)
- Lamedon (led by Angbor, but this may have been a militia or provincial army)
- Dol Amroth (an autonomous army led by the Prince)
The reinforcements that marched to Minas Tirith prior to Sauron’s final attack on the realm included a mix of forces, and some appear to have been provincial armies or militia. Some of the reinforcements were also obviously volunteers who had been quickly assembled.
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