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Old 03-10-2019, 07:53 PM   #16
William Cloud Hicklin
Loremaster of Annúminas
 
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
Dividing your force between two hills: not optimal, but if the hills aren't very big, too small to get your whole force on just one, then you have a choice: deploy them as Aragorn did, or deploy them in a continuous line with the flanks on the hills. There is merit in that, but on the other hand, it creates a weak spot in the middle of the line where the enemy can break through. Moreover, when you are grossly outnumbered, you want to present as small a front as possible to the enemy, so he can't bring his numbers directly to bear (think Thermopylae).

Of course Aragorn's little army was still doomed barring a miracle (which happened), but if the idea was to buy as much time as possible then two schiltrons on elevated ground make a lot of sense.

What makes ZERO sense is the movies' suicidal banzai charge, which would have been wiped out in five minutes.
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