[obloquy]

Originally Posted by CSteefel

Plus, Tolkien makes specific mention of the augmentation of the Witch King's power, I just cannot find the quote at the moment.

No he doesn't.

Originally Posted by Raynor

What other power do you have in mind, before the Pelennor Fields, when his spells crush the gate?

The same kind of generic "power" Tolkien always refers to. The chief weapon of the Nazgul is fear, but the Witch-King is "more powerful in all ways" than the others. Do you suppose he caused all the commotion he did solely because others feared him? It's no coincidence that he is the only one of the Nine who waged open war with the Free Peoples. We don't have any explicit examples of the Witch-King breaking a gate (ooooh! Powerful!) during that time period, but that doesn't mean he only received the power to do so in vol. III. It also doesn't mean that Sauron can beef up his servants at will. If he can, we must also assume that Gandalf can, since they are identical in nature (incarnate Maiar), and it surely would have been in the interest of the mission for Frodo to have gotten some "added angelic force."

From Unfinished Tales:

In the event Gollum escaped. But the passage of the bridge was effected. The forces there used were probably much less than men in Gondor thought. In the panic of the first assault, when the Witch-king was allowed to reveal himself briefly in his full terror, the Nazgûl crossed the bridge at night and dispersed northwards.

If the Witch-King here is allowed to reveal himself briefly, it is logical to assume that at all other times he is required to conceal himself. Not so, however, on the Pelennor. The command position given to him provides him with an added force that the reader had not yet witnessed.

Besides, even if Sauron could make the Witch-King more powerful (capable of breaking gates! ) he could not raise him to his own level which is, more or less, the level both Gandalf and the Balrog are on.

Additionally, the Witch-King is delusional. He imagines that "no man may hinder" him, perhaps because of Glorfindel's prophecy--perhaps not. He also probably doesn't know what Gandalf is. His encounter with Gandalf was accidental (he did not know that Gandalf would be blocking his way when he came through the gate), and it reveals nothing about the Witch-King's strength. It does show us Gandalf standing in defiance of an army, knowing exactly who is at its head, however. Yet somehow, the Witch-King's smack-talk (after which he flees) provides all the proof you people need that he was up to taking on a being like Gandalf.

Finally, the letter simply does not say that Sauron gave the Witch-King "added demonic force." What it does say is that Sauron gave the Witch-King command of his army, from which he receives "an added demonic force." This interpretation of the letter is based on what Tolkien might have meant by that and not what is actually written.