LogFAQs > #977111838

itcheyness posted...

Because even without the ring Sauron is winning.

Yup.

Mordor had enough orcs left in Mordor even after being routed at Pelennor to vastly outnumber(by well over 10 times the number) what Rohan and Gondor had left. The attack on Mordor was suicide. They were was no chance of victory if Frodo didn't destroy the ring. Rohan and Gondor were down to literally ~6000 soldiers + whatever bare minimum was left to defend Rohan/Gondor.

There were other armies too. Such as the goblins of Moria. There was a northern army beseiging the dwarves of Erebor and Men of Dale as well. Their kings were dead, Dale was abandoned and they were trapped in the Lonely Mountain under seige.

Sauron lost the battle for Minas Tirith but the war was already unwinnable for good. Sauron had hundreds of thousands...perhaps more and with a greater ability to replenish losses.

The Men, Dwarves and Elves combined would've struggled to muster past the mid tens of thousands of soldiers and militia. Gondor already had lost pretty much every major stronghold/city and chokepoint too.

The noose was around their neck. Winning the battle for Minas Tirith was the equivalent of defiant last words before an execution.

If Frodo failed the north falls, and the world of men is pincered between 2-3+ armies with each one outnumbering them. Even if they hadn't challenged Sauron at the black gate(and thus been wiped out if Frodo failed or was never sent) Gondor and Rohan were fucked.