Since the second war began, the fighting between Gondor and Mordor had remained at a stalemate.
This was partly because Sauron's main purpose in launching the war had been to restore himself.
As a result, the Dark Lord had begun his first campaign in haste, without gathering all the forces that served him.
Of course, Sauron had never expected his opponents to prove so troublesome, holding his army firmly east of the Anduin River.
After all, he had spent nearly two thousand years finding ways to bleed Gondor and Rohan dry.
The stalemate also owed much to the brave, battle-hardened people of Gondor and the courageous, resolute Rohirrim.
After a fierce struggle, they had repelled Mordor's first assault.
That had given Gondor more time to prepare before the second, far larger war arrived.
Of course, the White Wizard who lived in Orthanc Tower had not only refrained from hindering his allies this time, but had also contributed a great deal to the war.
In truth, this was something neither Allen nor Sauron had anticipated.
No one could have imagined that, several decades later, this White Wizard would become the Rainbow Wizard, seek power over Rohan, and sever Gondor's strongest arm in the midst of war.
Given the current situation, however, that might never happen now.
Allen's rapidly growing strength might not leave Saruman much time.
For Gondor, the present stalemate was already a fairly good outcome.
Without aid from other powers, Gondor's destruction would only have been a matter of time, but help from Eriador and Rhovanion had arrived at this crucial moment.
With the war at this stage, the time had come to turn from defense to offense.
There were currently three battlefields along the Anduin River: Cair Andros, Osgiliath, and Pelargir.
Cair Andros was now in enemy hands.