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The Battle of Osgiliath is a fictional battle of J.R.R. Tolkien's .

The battle was a prelude to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Prior to this, Sauron had regained all his military stength and was prepared to attack Middle-earth. He first planned to attack his most powerful enemy, the land of Gondor, where "the hammer will fall hardest". But in order to destroy Gondor's capital, Minas TirithFor the First Age tower of the same name, see Minas Tirith (First Age). Minas Tirith is a fictional city in J. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor. Originally known as Minas Anor (the "Tower of the Sun"), it was in bu, he first needed to capture Osgiliath, a city strategically positioned on the river. Fords across the river were located in Osgiliath (half of the city was located on each side of the river) that were the only path a large army could cross the Anduin for hundreds of miles up or downstream (from Cair Andros to Pelargir). If captured, Sauron could freely move his main army across the river and to the primary target of his strategy in the war, Minas Tirith.

The battle to control the ruins of Osgiliath had actually been fought, on and off, for over a century since the fall of Ithilien to Mordor. A renewed offensive by Mordor to take the city had begun several years prior to the Quest of Mount Doom (several years before TA 3018), and was fought continuously after that point with occasional lulls. The forces of Gondor, led by their captain-general BoromirBoromir a fictional character from J. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth, was the eldest son of Denethor, last ruling Steward of Gondor in the Third Age of Middle-earth. He was one of the Nine Walkers who made up the Fellowship of the Ring in The, engaged in fierce urban warfare during this long siege. Under Boromir's command the enemy was pushed out of the half of the city on the west bank of the river, and on a strike force including Boromir and his younger brother Faramir was able to destroy the last bridge in the city that connected the two banks of the river. This prevented Mordor's army from making an easy crossing, although the fords remained. This lull in the Mordor-offensive was probably caused by Sauron not sending more troops to Osgiliath, but instead massing them within Mordor for a killing-blow months later. During this break in heavy fighting Boromir left Gondor to seek consul at RivendellMiddle-earth places Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. It is also referred to as 'The Last Homely House East of the Sea a reference to Valinor, which is west of the sea. It is established by Elrond in the Second; he would never return.

During this time, Faramir led several Ranger attacks deep into Mordor-occupied Itilien, ambushing enemy armies moving to the Black Gate; Frodo and Sam stumbled into one such attack.

When the Great Signal from Mordor went up and another answered from Minas Morgul, the War of the Ring-proper began (although IsengardTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron Fortress". Isengard was built in the Second Age around the tower of Orthanc by the Numenoreans in exile. Its locatio had been fighting before this and Sauron had been pursing his other fronts). Thus the Battle of Osgiliath was the first battle of the war in a strick sense.

Months before hand, the Orcs in East Osgiliath had been contructing massive numbers of boats and rafts, and swelled by reinforcements they swarmed across the River Anduin to the Gondorian positions on the other bank. After long and heavy fighting the garrison under Faramir was forced to flee back to Minas TirithFor the First Age tower of the same name, see Minas Tirith (First Age). Minas Tirith is a fictional city in J. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor. Originally known as Minas Anor (the "Tower of the Sun"), it was in bu, behind the Rammas Echor. In the meantime, the Orcs made makeshift repairs to several destroyed bridges. The main combined army of Mordor then arrived, formed from those that Frodo saw leaving Minas Morgul, but this was "only one and not the greatest of the armies that now marched to Gondor": a far greater host that had massed at the Black Gate joined them at Osgiliath, and the combined forces now entired the western bank of Osgiliath. More also came from the fords at Cair Andros, which was recently captured, but they would not reach Minas Tirith until later.

Faramir advised his father, the Steward Denethor, that the best course of action was to station all men at Minas Tirith, but Denethor did not want to lightly abandon the outer defenses. Denethor ordered Faramir and a combined cavalry and infantry force onto the extremely risky and ill-advised mission to retake Osgiliath. After a hard days fighting at the city, Faramir's forces were pushed back to the Causeway forts on the Rammas Echor, as wains of dozens of wounded men reached the city. After being further driven back the remaining force of Faramir made a fighting retreat, then full route across the Pelennor Fields and a few hundred men were able to retreat into Minas Tirith's walls. Faramir himself was badly wounded in the retreat, when a poisoned Southron arrow pierced him; more severe damage was done by the Black Breath of the Nazgûl.

Osigiliath now completely in the hands of Mordor, the vast army of Sauron marched from the city and surrouned Minas Tirith, beginning the siege of Gondor and leading directly into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

For cinematic purposes, the movie-version of The Return of the King by Peter Jackson condensed the battle (in the book, Denethor did not order Faramir on a suicidal cavalry charge against Osgiliath, although Faramir did regard the order to try to retake the city as dire and ill-advised and certain to result in death).