Battle under Farthen Dur III

I am a bit late than promised, not due to factors I control. I was a little sick last week... I will begin by analusing the mistakes done by each side in the battle

Urgals

The Urgal's intention was to overrun Tronjheim, conquer the dwarf nation and, if the Silarilion was Paolini's inspiration, turn the Beor mountains into an Urgal kingdom that was to be allied with the Empire. In exchange for doing the Empire's dirty job it gave them a general (Durza), free passage through its territory (the Urgals were after all based on the Spine) and supplies until the battle. The only way the Urgals had access to Tronjheim was through the tunnels under Farthen Dur. We are told that there is a dense network of tunnels under the mountain leading everywhere. The dwarves (and Arya with Eragon, but they are under the command of the dwarves) have collapsed earlier all the tunnels except those through which they intend to channel the Urgals. Yet despite the fact that it soon becomes obvious that this is a trap the Urgals keep on attacking, buldozer style like in the great battles of the Western and Italian Front in World War I. Durza is a horrible general for his army but then again among his orders is to exterminate the Urgals. The Urgals should have tried to dig the blocked tunnels and appear at other places instead of just stubbornly attacking.

Furthermore after the death of Durza the Urgal army turns on itself. With the Urgals having surrounded their enemies (the 12 companions of Durza could have been followed by many more) they could have by now easily defeated the Varden and dwarves. Yet it appears the Urgals are so deeply split among themselves that they cannot stay together except by force. After the death of Durza it was a great opportunity not only to defeat the Varden but also to claim victory for themsleves and gain some advantage over the Empire in the following balance of power.

Last but not least it is defeating the enemies arrayed against them that appears to be the main Urgal objective rather than reunifying their formation and and crushing each enemy column one by one. We are never really aware of the topography of the battlefield, it could be impossible to unite all three Urgal columns because some mountain may lie between them, but if instead of attacking those against them at once they tried to reunite with their other formations they could have been far more effective.

At least though the Urgals had a good strategic plan and the element of surprise. The Varden and the dwarves make even greater mistakes. Wait until next time for them.