Quote:
Originally Posted by The Sixth Wizard
Well, doesn't that just back up my claim that the Dwarven army was superior, at least man-for-man? For an army composed almost entirely of archers to beat a heavily armed, experienced army of veterans, the circumstances must be just right. The dwarven army was rash, sure, but the Elvish was backed into a corner, indecisive and underarmed. The dwarves had to break through, and that was all.
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VI, VI, VI...It wasn't just hundreds of Elvish archers, it was hundreds of men under Bard's leadership, and it was more than 1000 Elvish spearmen (with and unspecified number of sword-carrying Elves as well). The Elves and men held both the high ground and the valley. There were only 500 Dwarves. They were walking into a trap...both Thranduil and Bard stated so in the text.
And where anywhere do you find the Elves were backed into a corner? Where does it say they were underarmed? The text states they were absolutely ferocious against the orcs, not to mention their arrows burned with a preternatural flame (my adjectives, please read the text yourself).
If anything, the Dwarves were being rather 14th century French, don't you think?