Battle of Helm's Deep

The Battle of Helm's Deep, also called the Battle of the Hornburg, was a great battle of the War of the Ring, fought when the army of the traitor-wizard Saruman assailed the fortress of Helm's Deep in Rohan, where King Théoden and a remnant of his people had taken refuge. The defense of the Hornburg against overwhelming odds, and its deliverance, was among the first great victories of the free peoples in the war and broke the open power of Isengard.

Background

Saruman, having turned to evil and bred a great host of Uruk-hai and Dunlending wild men in his pits beneath Isengard, unleashed war upon Rohan to destroy the Rohirrim before they could come to the aid of Gondor. With Gandalf having roused King Théoden from the spell of despair laid on him by Saruman's agent Gríma, the king resolved to make his stand at the ancient stronghold of Helm's Deep, with its great wall, the Deeping Wall, and the keep of the Hornburg.

The Battle

A vast host of Saruman's Uruk-hai, numbering in the thousands, marched on Helm's Deep by night under storm and rain. The defenders -- the king's guard, the men and boys of Rohan, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and a company of Elves under Haldir in some tellings -- held the walls against assault after assault. The enemy breached the Deeping Wall with a devilry of fire, a blasting powder of Saruman's making, and the defenders were driven back into the keep.

At dawn, as the case seemed lost, King Théoden and Aragorn led a desperate mounted charge out of the Hornburg into the teeth of the enemy. At that very moment Gandalf arrived upon the hilltop with Erkenbrand and a fresh host of Rohirrim, and behind the orc-army a strange wood of wild trees -- the Huorns roused from Fangorn -- had appeared in the valley. Caught between the charge and the wood, the host of Saruman was utterly destroyed; those who fled into the trees were never seen again.

Aftermath

The defeat at Helm's Deep shattered the army of Isengard and ended Saruman's power to make open war. In the same days the Ents assailed and overthrew Isengard itself, trapping Saruman in his tower. With his western flank secured, King Théoden was free to answer the call of Gondor and ride to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Significance

The Battle of Helm's Deep was a turning point in the War of the Ring, halting Saruman's onslaught at the hour the free peoples could least afford to lose Rohan. The victory, won by stubborn defense, timely rescue, and the wrath of the roused trees, freed the Rohirrim to come to the aid of Gondor when the greater battle came.