Rohan Campaign Turn 5 - Westemnet

Isengard moves into position to prevent the ents from reaching Helms Deep.

The ents moved out of Fangorn after defeating Saurons wargs who were sent to stop their advance.  Treebeard knew that the defenders of Helms Deep would not last unless he led the army of ents and huorns to their aid.  But as they moved through the open plains of Westemnet, they saw on the horizon a mass of Uruk-hai with two massive assault ballistae ready to rain down on them.  The ents had their chance to crush Saruman's siege weapons, thus negating their advantage if they were brought to bear on the Hornburg or Edoras.  So the ents and huorns slowly moved across the plain with no woods to conceal their force or protect them.  This fight was to the death. 

The Fangorn army moved along the Rohan plains with no woods or forests to protect them.

But Thrydan Wolfsbane and Vrasku had their orders from Saruman; destroy the ents.  Vrasku and Thrydan stayed behind with their shooting attacks and hurled fiery arrows against the ents and huorns causing many of the them to burn to the ground.  The wargs swarmed around the left flank to try and catch the slow moving huorns, gnashing them with their claws and fangs.  But seeing this, the ents charged the wargs pulled them apart with their thorny arms destroying them and halting the charge.

The Uruk-hai beserkers moved forward on the right flank hacking at the huorns with their two-handed weapons cutting several of them down.  But the beserkers were no match for Beechbone and the ents as they destroyed both of their companies.  See that Beechbone was wounded, Thrydan directed his Dunlending archers to fire their flaming arrows at him setting him ablaze as he fell.

Quickbeem raced forward as fast as he could to take out the Isengard ballistae.  But shot after shot fell upon him slowing down his advance.  He was joined by Treebeard and the two of them pushed forward only to be stopped by an Uruk-hai formation with pikes.  Pushing aside the pikes, the two ents tore through the formation and reaching a ballista, broke it into to pieces.  Another ent was able to reach the other ballista destroying it, thus taking out all of Saurman's artillery.  But the same fate was to befall this ent as poor Beechbone as Vrasku's Talons held their position and fired their flaming crossbows into the ent who soon was engulphed in flames.

But evil know no morals and the Uruk-hai sappers moved into position.  Quickbeem knew that he had to destroy this company of sappers by sacrificing himself to the demolition charge or else if it moves too far, it could destroy most of the Fangorn army.  But having passed their Courage test, the sappers were the ones to take their ones lives and detonated the demolition charges causing Strength 10 hits to all within 12".  The blast was titanic, killing Quickbeem and several other ents and huorns in the process.  But somehow, Treebeard had survived and seeing that the disordered Uruks also had been damaged by the blast, moved forward crushing an entire company breaking the Isengard army.

The Uruk-hai sappers move into position to detonate their demolition charges.

Saruman's plan almost worked, but the Isengard army fled the field, despite the damage done by the demolition charge.  Isengard had lost all of their ballistae, all of the remaining wargs, and all the beserkers.  Fangorn had won the battle, but at a terrible price.  Beechone and Quickbeem were dead, along with two ents and nine huorns.

Treebeard now had to reach Helms Deep in order to stop Saruman from taking the Hornburg, but fate was about to turn on the side of Good.