Military strength of Numenor

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Victariongreyjoy

How strong were the numenoreans? If they were to exist in the first age, could they helped the elves alone without the aid of Valinor against Morgoth's army?

This is interesting because Numenor was great in military prowess. "Ar-Pharazon, King of the Land of the Star, grew to the mightiest tyrant that had yet been in the world since the reign of Morgoth" [Sil; 339] However, Sauron's was the hand that wielded this great power, "in truth Sauron ruled all from behind the throne", so it's possible they would have been a force for Melkor and made his victory over the Noldor complete. They would have probably been Melkor's greatest unit in the end though the Faithful would probably bolster the Elve's strength, they were lesser in number.