What's interesting is that Sauron couldn't lose. His enemies couldn't assail him in Mordor, he could just wait, rebuild, and attack again and again. The destruction of the ring was the sole hope the West, aside from another intervention from Eru or the Valar.

If that one Nazgul had just looked over the ledge and saw the hobbits. 😂

Sauron putting a watch on Mount Doom reminded me of a long held thought of mine. Why didn't Achilles from Greek mythology wear armor on his weak heel? Its the idea of a powerful character having a critical weakness that they are aware of, but intentionally not attempting to protect it.

On the point about crafting more Rings of Power. It was always my understanding from some pretty explicit parts of the book that the greatest portion of Sauron's strength had been imbued in the One Ring. I think he'd probably need to get the One Ring back before trying to make more.

"The enemy is moving" Now this is interesting thought to contemplate Moving the chess pieces around and change strategy accordingly is an almost never ending task. Even with all his mistakes tho he almost won, victory was truly on a razors edge. U see your mistakes more clearly after the fact

1- Kill Gollum right after getting all the information he had ---> Frodo and Sam can't enter Mordor, and they would eventally be captured while trying to find a way get get inside. 2- Seal all entrances to Mount Doom or even seal the volcano itself --> The One Ring can no longer be destroyed. 3- Notice that Aragorn was clearly provoking him and realize that it was a diversion. He then warns his captains to be wary of anything they see as suspicious. He then finds out about the halfling that was captured in Cirith Ungol, remember what he learned from Gollum, and realize that this must be the "Baggins". After this, he sends his Nazguls and they find both Sam and the One Ring. Then, and only then, does he attack Aragorn's forces --> Sauron finds the Ring and regains his powers, the last main defense of the realms of Men is destroyed, Gandalf returns to Valinor after being killed and failing in his mission.

Ooh a what if video! Love these! Sauron moved too hastily against Gondor if I remember correctly. Mayhaps in April we will get a “what if Yoystan found the One Ring?” Theory video?

Didn't Gandalf explain that Sauron fully expected someone from the West to claim the ring (Aragorn being the obvious choice) to use its power in direct conflict with its maker. And certainly the rings innate power almost made that happen with Boromir, so leaving Mount Doom undefended is a logical extension of that. From Sauron's perspective this was the tiniest, most minimal possibility of all the things he expected the West to do.

I think that Sauron's patience was taxed to its limit. He very likely presumed to be holding a winning hand for centuries and figured that he'd simply waited long enough. The whole idea that he was too arrogant to exercise caution isn't well founded, because he probably could have seized the ring that much sooner had he acted. That is was his centuries of patience that flushed the Ring back into the world and that waiting was what allowed it to reach the hand of his enemies. While Sauron may be immortal his patience certainly wasn't, and the sheer strength of his forces clearly showed he knew how to wait and when to strike.

All Sour Ron needed to do is leave a trail of second breakfasts and elevensies leading away from Mordor in the opposite direction. Build. Me. An. Army. Worthy. Of. Mordor.

A key point for the timing is Saruman - his corruption creates a very useful ally, but the window of opportunity is limited since Saruman is going to get found out sooner or later (and probably quite quickly, its hard to hide an army of Uruk-Hai). Or Saruman might get hold of the ring himself, which would complicate things. Best for Sauron to move as soon as he is strong enough. He might also have heard of Gandalf's fall in Moria - another trigger? I think the reason he didn't create more Rings of Power was that he had put so much into the One. It was all or nothing.

The reason Sauron lost the war was precisely because it was fought militaristically. Sauron was always the most effective when he worked as a puppet master behind the scenes, and whilst he could no longer take a fair by the third age, he could have used agents to do the same. He could and should have manipulated the development of the free peoples, similar to how Saruman did with Wormtongue but much subtler, once again manipulating the Kingdoms of Men into going to war against the Elves and only once both sides were diminished, entering the fray militarily. I guess Sauron never read the Art of War.

I don't think Sauron would ever consider that anyone would consider destroying the one ring so he had no need to guard Mount Doom.

It's very much a cruel irony that Sauron took the form of a Great All-Seeing eye, yet his character flaws made him completely blind to the possibility that the Free Peoples had the integrity and strength of will to destroy the One Ring. Hubris unchecked, leads to your own ruin.

Mount Doom: As stated at the Council Of Elrond, anybody destroying the Ring was inconceivable to Sauron. And sealing up Mount Doom isn't practical anyway - its an active volcano. Big rocks or doors just creates a pressure cooker. A full strength Maia might be able to to it, but Sauron isn't full strength.

Such a grim outlook. I am glad there was hope. And courage, and fellowship to undo Sauron:) Love the video!

Sauron only could have made more rings of power if he had The One Ring, without it he was a former shell of himself and had not the power to create more. If he could have then he most likely would have and gave them to Easterlings to make more wraiths.

Great video!

Excellent theory video Yoystan keep up the great work

If General Steinorc's counter-attack happened Sauron would have conquered all of Middle Earth.

I think you hit it correctly. Nice video.

Thanks

Great video 👍

As others have said, I don't think Sauron leaving the entrance to Mount Doom open is really a simple oversight, but instead points to something much deeper. I can't remember who said it, but in the same way good people cannot understand the sense of evil, Sauron could not understand the sense of good. He could not see how anyone could resist the draw of the power of the One Ring (and he was proven correct by Frodo's failure at the last). The only options he could see are the Ring remaining unclaimed, in which case he had the forces to overwhelm the Free Peoples, or someone else claiming the Ring. In this way we see Sauron's fear when he believes that either his fellow Maiar in Gandalf or Sauron have claimed it, or his delight when he believes Aragorn to possess it. He was so corrupted by the need for order and dominion that he could no longer see how anyone else could not desire that also.

Sauron's plans were already pretty solid. He used deception and corruptive artifacts to purposefully weaken and divide his enemy forces while also gathering more and more forces. This way, even if the free peoples did somehow unite despite Sauron's plans (which they end up doing), Sauron would STILL win due to sheer numbers. He had backups for his backups. The only thing he didnt plan of was someone being willing to forgo the power granted by The One Ring and willingly destroy it. The one thing he didn't plan for, was selflessness

an interesting video as always, i always thought that if Sauron had played to his strengths more than his weaknesses and had a more strategic use of the forces at his disposal he could have won, looking forward to more great videos this year!

I like the ideas regarding the Nazgûl. They were so close to having the ring, especially atop Weather Top. If either (1) they kept pressing after Frodo, keeping watch around Imladris or (2) crafting more rings to create more Nazgûl, this could have changed the outcome. That said, his ego and the general numbers, wouldn’t really permit it. He looked so overpowered in many areas of the story that Sauron just couldn’t imagine defeat was at hand.

Man, this makes it seem you a playing Ethier a Risk or Chess, trying to see how Sauron would have won the War!!! Thanks Mellon for this Interesting Thoughts and Speculation, Until the Earlier Kings of Lórien and Mirkwood...Marion Baggins Out!!!

the one thing that stopped Sauron was that he forgot to lock the door oops!

If Sauron hadn't divided his forces by attacking both the North and Gondor at the same time but instead focused them all on Gondor he would have won handily. It's not like the forces of Dale, Erebor and the Woodland Realm were in any position to help Gondor or attack Mordor.

Could Sauron have also forged an alliance with Durin's Bane? Seeing as they were both former lieutenants of Morgoth and Moria was a strategic crossing point across the Misty Mountains, this could have very easily locked the Fellowship behind the mountains when paired with Saurman watching the Gap of Rohan and the Pass of Caradhas. Plus, having a Balrog on the battlefield would make for an unstoppable force.

His failure was far far earlier. The battle for Erabor was where it all went south. If they take the ring off of dead Biblo and get the mountain’s riches/position, its checkmate

I think something that is often overlooked is that if Sauron recovered his ring he would have gain two, not just one, thing. Obviously he would gain dominion over the three elvish rings and see the minds of the ring holders, and this motivation is plainly stated in the book. But perhaps even more important would have been the recovering of the power that was native to him as a Maia, much of which he poured into the one ring to give it the ability to dominate all the other rings. Because he poured much of his power into the ring he was greatly diminished, which is why it took him so many years to slowly build a new corporeal body when it had been destroyed and he was a spirit only. As long as he had the ring he had all his power, but when it was cut from his hand he instantly lost that part of his power and he lost his physical body. If he regained the ring he would have access to his original power and his victory over Middle-earth would have been complete.

Sauron had no idea they would destroy it. He couldn't fathom yielding power as that is an entirely noble thought. In the same way Morgoth was freed for not perceiving evil properly

Sauron had such an advantage, its a miracle he managed to lose

01:23 This map is phenomenal! I have never seen it before, where can I download it?

Love your videos! More Legolas vids. Maybe theories??

Sauron basically lost due to divine intervention. From a corporeal perspective he could afford to be a bit cocky because his strength was so overwhelming.

Some mithril gloves would have prevented losing the ring in the first place. Aside from that, the Elves had mostly left already and the Dwarves were declining so just focus on Gondor and wipe it out before going anywhere else.

He should have just put a door on mount doom like the dwarven doors that requiered black speach to open.

Oh my, how I'm loving all these comments!

Sauron, who is blinded by his arrogance, must first give up his arrogance in order to win this war, but the basic dynamics and theme of the story are based on this. Sauron, who had given up his arrogance, would have acted more cautiously and strengthened his defenses first. Since the owner of the One Ring was inclined to return to Sauron, the division it would create among his enemies would work to his advantage. There is no reason why Sauron, who prioritizes these on his way to ultimate victory, cannot win.

Helms deep. He could have sent a force to make sure that they stayed in there. Went for a long term siege while also sending out the bulk of his army to take care of the Roherrim who he knew were following Eomer. Saruman should have been able to figure out that they could still be a problem and that even if the chance was slim, their coming to the battle could and did turn the tide.

Didn't Gandalf or Elrond say at the council in Rivendell that Sauron would never in his worst imaginings believe that anyone would try to destroy the Ring, that any sufficiently powerful individual would automatically try claim it as their own & then use it to overthrow him? Sauron's nightmare seems to be one where he is usurped by whoever claims the ring, not the apocalyptic ending that would come from him being reduced to literally nothing by someone undoing the Ring entirely. That's why there would never be a guard set at Sammath Naur, because destroying the Ring is the only scenario Sauron would never ever consider.

Thank Eru this never happened. But love these what if senarios. Alternate Arda history is equally fascinating as the canon work.

My theory Sauron could have sent easterlings into the grey mountains with gold to hire some dragons

1. Sauron putting up at least a basic level of protection at the entrance to mount doom. Like some guards or a monster, or mag8cal protection. I mean seriously

I think an important point is that Sauron put the majority of his native strength and power into the one ring, and therefore I don’t think he would’ve had enough strength or power remaining after creating it to have gone ahead and created more, perhaps not even lesser rings of power.

What if Sauron never became a Dark Lord? Who would Morgoth bring to his service if not him? And would Sauron become an ally to the Free Peoples and what role would he play?

Why didn't Sauron take the Eagles? 😂😂😂

No one in Middle-Earth could intentionally destroy the One Ring. As Gandalf said at the Council of Elrond, Sauron's fear was the Ring being used against him; that the Free People's would even try to destroy it was something of which he could not conceive. The destruction of the One Ring required an extraordinary sequence of events to happen.

if he never used the nazgul at all, he could have used regular people to get the ring much more subtly & not alerting saruman and gandalf

Elves are the Dark Lord's big problem. Every time a hero has an impossible quest, you can bet he'll head straight to Elrond, and he'll know exactly what to do.

Sauron had to attack early rather than wait once he'd failed to recover the Ring by stealth, because any great lord who had the Ring would accumulate new power at a faster rate than Sauron could without it. So he needed to overwhelm them before they could gather enough might to challenge him. Waiting wasn't an option.

Weren't there troops guarding mount doom but when the battle at the black gate started where Sauron thought the ring would most likely be he had them moved to help intercept Aragorn?

I dont think there is any servant of Sauron that could oversee Saruman, his voice was too powerful. But I agree with all the other points.

I don't know that Sauron had the ability to forge another ring, as he poured much of his spirit into the One, so much so that his fate became linked to it's existence... even if he could have found another master smith, I don't know that he had enough power left to forge another ring with any potency

Sauron did have extra rings. He had the ones he'd recovered from the dwarves. Presumably he gave or promised these to his Easterling and Haradrim allies.

Maybe wait for the elves to fade? Would close the front in Mirkwood to focus on Rohan itself so they can’t reinforce Gondor.

I always wondered why Sauron didn't get Saruman to create more Uruk-hai.

Maybe he could try actually looking through stone and earth for a hobbit that managed to duck very late. For a lighthouse watchtower eye, he tends to be very easily distracted and doesn't have that much focus nor 20/20 vision: "is that a Lil hobbit over there with MY Rin----oooh! what's that? Horses!" Sauron bluffed in the first movie when he said, "I see you..." 👁 🔥 🔦 Haha! "LOSES SIGHT!" 😅🎉

Imagine he didn't hold back that huge force he had hidden behind the Black Gate. Imagine him sending half to Lothlórien and Erebor to crush them, then wheeling around to take Gondor. This would leave the Mt. protected, and the hobbits would have failed.

He did send a nazgul for the Fellowship but Legolas shot it down. The one in the dead marshes was searching as well. And it was a fair bet that he could use them in battle because he thought they would use the ring in battle.

Sauron could've won by co-opting the trade of Hobbit Leaf from Saruman. We see that the greatest force in Middle Earth, the one thing that can truly defeat Sauron and the One Ring, was plain Hobbit sense. If Sauron gained control of the Shire he would truly be invincible. However, this opens a new possibility... What if Sauron sat back and enjoyed a full pipe?

What if the Valar created a ring to counter the One Ring?

I might just do a variation of this for any "what would I" or "what should x character do differently": have Osse there. He's my favorite character not explored and honestly, in this case it would be interesting to see Sauron allied wik another maiar. In the case of Sauron not wanting to share power, well, Osse would rule the ocean in this bargain I'd imagine so Sauron wouldn't really lose any potential dominion I guess. I just really want to see Osse as evil, even if for a bit before "coming to his senses". XD

Seal the entrance to mount doom, or destroy the mountain completely. **Roll credits**

Witch King failed twice, when he didn't finish Frodo on Weathertop and when he didn't focus more in his own valley the presence of the one ring, it's literally all fortune that was on the side of good.

🔥🔥👁🔥🔥

I think If sauron had been a bit more patient he'd have won. The elves were leaving of their own accord. Use saruman to shut down dissent about the shadow growing. And have spies just watch the grey havens. Alternatively just use proxies to find the ring. While keeping the ringwraiths as border patrol. When the elves have been confirmed, gone. Then swing in all at once and take Gondor before people realise what happened. While leaving one ring wraith at mount doom just in case. Bam. Victory.

Had Sauron crafted more rings as he wouldn't have had control of them. Sauron only crafted one ring. Sauron poured his power into what he made. Celebrimor crafted the others. Sauron probably could have crafted rings but not without pouring his powers into it. The one ring was crafted to control the others. When Sauron didn't have the one ring he relied on the fact that he had taken the nine off the Nazgul and used them to force the nazgul to serve him. The ringwraiths had no rings. I do agree that allying with Smaug would have helped Sauron in the war but it would not have had some effect on the end of the war (where a hobbit sneaked into Mordor and cast a ring into Mount Doom). Likewise a deal with the Balrog of Moiria would have had some effect but not changed the outcome. For example a sortie out of Moiria burning significant parts of Lothlorien while Galadriel and the white council was in Dol Guldur chasing Sauron out would have hastened the decline of elvendom on Middl earth. I do not feel that Sauron could realistically put a watch on Saruman. Any watcher would most likely have been subverted.

5:37 Super unsure?

A lot of the strategies presented in the comments or the vid can be thrown out by further lore and knowing the character of Sauron, the destruction of the ring was not factored into his plans and he had no precedent for this occurring. Thus, its not conceivable for him to plan against it. We also have to consider that a lot of things had to go right for the Fellowship and for things to go wrong for Sauron. With all of this being said, I think there are a few things that can be agreed upon generally. 1. There should have been some sort of guard at Mount Doom, even if the ring was unlikely to be destroyed its pretty inexcusable that someone could enter an important location. 2. The Nazgul's use was indeed not as well handled as it could have been, perhaps not immediately going after the Ring, but rather looking for the best opportunity to swoop in and take it. 3. Sauron's military approach of trying to deal with multiple enemies and them joining up, instead of trying to crush one at a time, legitimately could have crushed Gondor if it was focused.

RE: making more rings. Sauron only made the One. All others were from the Elven craftsmen. The nineteen were to enhance abilities; the One was only to take. Pace, CS Lewis: "Evil has never created anything new."

What if Sauron had tried to free his master Morgoth or waited for his master to escape the door of night?

Instead of both fronts, combine forces and do one campaign at a time. Focus on the war in the north or south, not both. He could have destroyed one area, then went to the next. But with that, good guys could have reinforced the attacked area if they were prepared to travel.

I don't wish to be rude, but it might have been better to ask "What alternatives did the HEROES have, that they might've tried, and still claimed victory?" Frequently, when I go places like Reddit, and ask "why?" questions, the first answer is "because then Sauron would've won, and fun stories always have the heroes win, because that makes them fun, fanciful tales." In many ways, the Fellowship, and the West, shouldn't have won; it was practically a perfect storm of divine providence that delivered them victory. If villains weren't villainous, their choices would have curtailed the choices the heroes made. If Sauron had truly emptied Mordor, and washed away Minas Tirith, victory. If he had picked off satellite lands, like Lothlorien, or Erebor, first, or just placed more value in crushing Aragorn, and the White Wizard, then in any token force the Elves, Dwarves, or other Men might be able to send, without depleting their own territories, who would have been apparent to roving spies, anyway, and sent THOSE forces to Gondor...victory. There was a certain amount of simple "God made it so" that won the day; you were loyal to God, and His plan, and you were rewarded", as it even said no one could actually choose to destroy the Ring. Frodo failed, Isildur failed, Aragorn and Gandalf would have failed, and even Smeagol only fell in because Eru Illuvatar decided it happened, after others carried it so far, in His service. Having said that, I think the Heroes followed the practically one single road they could, that would lead to their salvation. Anything else they might have tried would also have likely ended in disaster. Mostly unrelated, but...maybe Sauron COULDN'T make more Rings, and he NEVER could. So, think of this; Sauron is a great Smith, and he forged the One Ring, but he didn't forge the others. Plenty of people, even Elves, might have simply accepted "gifts from on high" if Annatar had shown up, doling out these miraculous Rings, that could do what the Elves wanted them to do, and then there'd been no unaccounted for rings, but he didn't do that. I always grumble that it's weird he had to "pay" for the Ring, but Feanor could make the Palantiri, or the Silmarils, and the Gwaith i'Mirdain could forge the Rings of Power, at no cost. It led to their doom, so maybe these immortals paid in no longer having forever, because death, but Celebimbor wasn't aged, or struck lame, by the effort of crafting Nenya, Narya, and Vilya, or his part in the Seven, the Nine, and any other essays in the craft, and it didn't seem he was special, in that way, as his fellow craftsmen weren't, and I feel Feanor was more unable to make another Silmaril simply because the Light was gone, or he might have lacked the special material they were made of. Sauron might have hurt his plans by coaxing the Elves of Eregion into making them FOR him, but maybe there was a cost I just don't see, and maybe Sauron DID need them to take some part in making them? Lord knows none of his own forces ever sport anything that screamed "our leader is a mighty Smith, Forgemaster, or Craftsman." I'm not even referring to more Rings, but no superior weapons, or all that mithral he hoarded. If he could've crushed some if his Orcs, or Men, till they approached the skill of Gwaith i'Mirdain Elves, like the Numenorians who made invulnerable Isengard, maybe THEY could have forged more Rings, but maybe Sauron couldn't alone, and NEVER could? I don't know; just some dumb stray thought.

Maybe the number of rings he'd already crafted was stretching him. I mean... why didn't Feanor make more than three Silmarils? (barring an immediate reason I'm forgetting) IMHO - Sauron could only follow the music... play his part.

It's a nasty one, but: Use the palantir he has and any other agents near the Shire to find out who "Baggins" actually is and who he left with. Then use the Nazgul to capture their friends/families. Make it known that either the ring is produced, or their fate will be an unkind one. Could Frodo hold out? Or Sam?

What if one of the Nazgul got the One Ring? Would he have enough control to give it to Sauron? Could the Witch-King overthrow Sauron if he had the One Ring and becomes the new Dark Lord?

He couldn't have won as he was Sauron and even if he was not I think the Valar and ERU were working against him clouding his Judgment. He never thought he could he could loose and never thought that anyone would seek to destroy it.

Bilbo 's immortality would have made it obvious to Gandalf

In the War of the Last Alliance his enemies demonstrated that they could not/would not destroy the Ring. He would have won yet again were it not for Gollum accidentally destroying it.

Like his master, Sauron choked on his aspirations a lot. I wouldn't want to see him gain an unchallenged plan period.

All I'm saying is if Sauron teams up with the balrog it's wraps

What if Durin's bane never awoke, slept somewhere else, or was defeated by the dwarves in 1980

sauron apparently didn’t understand murphy’s law. what can go wrong will go wrong and left the heart of his domain unguarded

One reason why Sauron Never Forge anymore rings. He would need to have a physical body to forge the Rings And since the ring was lost to him. Only those beings that could see Thea could affect him and he could affect thou So without a real physical body he couldn't retain a physical form. he he could make a body but it wasn't but he could not make anymore himself. so we would have to get others with considerable knowledge like the elves had on the ring making to forge more Rings. he couldn't teach in a work how to make rings And expect them to make viable rings that he could control Or even could be used for anything. Ceremon only learned how to make rings by careful study and patient together bits and pieces of information gleaned from Sauron and the other ring manufacturing. So without a physical body how do you make something that's material With your immaterial? At least that's my theory.

As an amateur military historian, there are a thousand instances where you wonder, "what was that idiot thinking?!" *cough Manzikert cough* People, even Maiar cannot see outside of their own heads. Sauron thought one way and assumed his enemies would think the same; that drove his actions and reactions. If Sauron had the equivalent of an WMD, he'd use it. Thus, if Aragorn or someone had they ring, they would use it. That dictated his strategy and tactics.

Hold Gollum permanently in bondage. He's the only source of Intel on hobbits, maybe you'll get something else useful from the weirdo. Take direct control of Orthanc once Sauruman turns coat. Now there's less potential for mutiny and you have an outpost fortress in good position to oppose (or at least feint) regional opposition. Court the Balrog. As a potential former comrade under Morgoth, having a powerful ally in the area that draws lots of attention will keep the heat off of yourself. And if the fire demon gets uppity and tries to rebel, you can send your cats-paw/wizard puppet to deal with it (potentially getting rid of him as well).

By making a blasted door to his volcano with a big lock 🔒

He couldnt have won. impossible. His enemies had the most powerful armor: plot armor 😀 Except poor Boromir....

By putting a couple of boulders in front of Sammath Naur closing them completely. Boom, done, sauron wins.

If the Watchers in Minas Morgul saw Frodo, they could have captured him and taken the Ring.

I think corrupting from within gondor.. the way he did the 2nd age by both destroying a kingdom of elves and men

demote Khamul from Nazgul to cup bearer. that guy is so incompetent it's a wonder why he gets to command armies

If you were really a man of the West, you'd have the courtesy to answer an email that simply wanted to share a song entitled "Song of the Knights of Dol Amroth"

winning the war was not a problem for Sauron, if not for destruction of the one ring armies of mordor and its allies would have rolled over the west. "Against the power of Mordor, there can be no victory"

What if Sauron recruited the eagles?

What happened to Bill the Pony?