Dr. Bret Devereaux

Because you can imagine, okay, the war opens in 1693, but with the way that pre-modern armies are going to wage war,

That might not be Sauron's full host marching into Eregion.

It's campaigns of raiding and agricultural destruction.

We raid your farms and outlying settlements.

You have to withdraw from those.

That increases our ability to maneuver and so on.

And so if you're Gil-galad, you're trying to get a sense, as each campaigning season rolls around, because you usually only fight during certain parts of the year when food and fodder for the animals will be available.

In Europe, at least, the big limit here is you have to wait for the spring grass to come in, which it doesn't much.

Because otherwise you have to feed all your horses purely from grain and the logistic challenge of that becomes...

Very hard.

So every time the season comes around, Gil-galad's got to be thinking, is this the big one where I have to put my whole army forward, or is this going to be another series of raids?

Because it's very costly for Gil-galad to put his whole army in the field, and if he puts his whole army in the field, then nothing happens.

He's burned a lot of resources.

and gotten nothing.

So I wonder if what's happening here is in 693 and 694, nothing happens.

And then in 695, he only can start moving when Sauron started moving and Sauron coming up from Rohan, he's got further to go.

Once word reaches him.

And so Sauron is able to get to Eregion, to the capital, which is Austin, Edhill, and we'll talk about invest it, and is able then to block the relief force out.

At least that's the sense that I make of the timeline.

And then he sieges it for two years, which is absolutely a thing that can happen.