Osgiliath

And the rule in the south was committed to his sons, Isildur and Anarion.

And there they founded Osgiliath between Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, not far from the confines of Mordor.

For they believed that this had come...

At least this good had come out of the ruin, is that Sauron was on Numenor.

Riding to Rivendell, as he did, would have felt to him like he was riding away from danger, rather than towards it.

But to return to the start of his story, he and his brother Faramir were on the banks of the Anduin with a Gondorian force in the ruins of the ancient city of Osgiliath.

Much of the eastern side of the Great River had been overrun by Sauron's forces years earlier, but Gondor still held the city and the Great Bridge across it.

It was the most strategically important site to hold if they wanted to keep Mordor at bay.

yes so as far as the map so Middle Earth obviously is not a perfect map of Europe but it does map very accurately and something I've tidbit I like to tell people is you can map Gondor onto either Rome or Constantinople kind of depending on what your views on Christianity are and that's another pitfall that I am jumping very very far over and we are not ever going to talk about ever oh

yes we are I've got a whole thing up like what are we talking about Osgiliath and then oh yeah this is going to be a good episode

I will talk about how the Rohirrim are the goths and I will go into detail about that but I am not touching what Mordor is we are not just not Minas Tirith is

on the west side and then Minas Ithil is on the east side Let's

Like I played fight free and like all my matchups.

So I will say that was pretty beneficial, right? I didn't run into elves or reclamation of Osgiliath, which I think would have been challenging, but it performed, you know, Very similar to how I expected.

Reminds me of lists that I would take from last edition.

Right.

The White City.

Actually, it was Osgiliath, okay? Osgiliath was actually the original capital of Gondor.

I'll

have you know.

Elendil was the High King and dwelt in the north at Annuminus, and the rule in the south was committed to his sons, Isildur and Anarion.

They founded there Osgiliath, between Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, not far from the confines of Mordor.

for this good at least they believed had come out of the ruin, that Sauron also had perished.

But it was not so.

He's just a good guy.

He also does not kidnap them and take them to Osgiliath.

And then after Frodo almost dies, he has a change of heart and they get back on schedule.

He doesn't do any of that.

And then his tactical decisions are portrayed as purely antagonistic and, and nonsensical.

He sends his only living son, Faramir, on a suicide mission to recover Osgiliath, this ruined river city that has already been completely overrun by an endless horde of orcs.

It makes no strategic sense.

None.

The logistics of his preparation are a key focus in the literary text.

Tolkien, having experienced war himself, understood the massive logistical nightmare of a siege, and he wrote Denethor as a man who understood it, too.

The article specifically points out his defense of Osgiliath.

This is a huge point of divergence.

Yeah

... you know, lucky enough to play a Gondorian ranger handing out spears in Osgiliath, in the ruins of Osi- Osgiliath.

Wearing Aragorn's wig.

Yep.