Wainriders

Wainriders

TA 1851 - TA 1944

The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterling tribes that first appear in TA 1851, raiding Eastern Gondor (which at that time extended as far East as the Sea of Rhûn, and as far south as the Ash Mountains) and Rhovanion.  Very likely they were the culmination of a long effort by Sauron to bind Easterling tribes together into a force that could attack Gondor.  Similar efforts were underway in Khand and Harad, resulting in a combined assault in TA 1944.

In TA 1856 they mounted a major assault on Gondor, conquering its eastern territories and killing its King in the Battle of the Plains (also called the First Battle of Dagorlad); they also conquered and enslaved Rhovanion.  Some of the Northmen of Rhovanion escaped and become known as the Eotheod.

By 1899 Gondor had recovered and fostered a rebellion against the Wainriders in Rhovanion, leading to the Second Battle of Dagorlad.  Gondor with (all-mounted Eotheod ally) defeated the Wainriders; the slave rebellion in Rhovanion was partially successful.  For nearly 50 years their threat on the Eastern borders of Gondor was quiescent, although the Wainriders still occupied the lands south of the River Running between Mirkwood and the Sea of Rhûn.  Their center of power was east and south of the Sea of Rhûn, and toward the end of this period they expanded their conflict (military and with alliances) south and east, into Khand and other Easterlings, possibly the Coastal Easterlings.  They established diplomatic contacts, aided by Sauron, with the Haradrim.

In TA 1944 the Wainriders allied with Khand; they attacked Gondor along the Ash Mountains and defeated them in front of the Black Gates (largely undefended since the Great Plague).  A simultaneous assault by Haradrim into South Gondor was defeated by Earnil at the Battle of South Ithilien; Earnil then marched north and caught the Wainriders by surprise in the Battle of the Camp.  The Wainriders were routed, and a great part of their forces died in the Dead Marshes.  The Wainrider army was utterly destroyed; their confederation collapsed.

The Haradrim do not appear as an ally here because the Wainriders never fought with them on the same battlefield; they were a strategic ally against Gondor, but never combined forces.

Invasion Rating: 3

Maneuver Rating: 1

Home Topography: Arable

General's Troop Type: Knights or Battle Taxi.  General should have the battle cards Deadly and Armored.

Army Battle Cards

Fortified Camp (wagon laager)

Troop Options

Required Troops

Troop Types Min Max Battle Line Restrictions Battle Cards

Knights 0 1 Armored (+1/2)

Heavy chariots pulled by cataphract horses with outriders

Battle Taxi 2 4

High-status warriors

Bad Horse 0 2

Unshielded cavalry

Heavy Foot or Light Foot 4 8 all

Foot with axes, swords, or spears, fighting in open or close order

Bow Levy 2 6 all optionally Ranged Attack (+1)

Infantry bowmen

Horde 0 6 all

Wainrider wagons

Optional Contingents

No optional contingents available.