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In the book it's much more straightforward: Sauron had to take the crossings, and Gondor had to defend them. Once lost, retaking themwas of course not an issue: the Men of MT fell back on the Causeway Forts- bastions covering the Road where it crossed the marshy land and passed through the gate in the Rammas- a barbican, really. It was this defense that Faramir took command of (pretty logically, given that he was now Captain-General), and in the retreat from the Causeway Forts after they fell that he was wounded. Leading that defense was not conceived as either a murder or a suicide, and quite-sane Denethor very correctly covered the retreat with a well-timed cavalry sortie. He certainly didn't throw away 200 good heavy cav on a pointless charge against prepared defenses!
Tolkien, unlike PJ, was a soldier.
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.
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