: First of allhad Rohan not arrived when it did then by the time Argaron arrived the host of Mordor would have been in Minas Tirith killing all.

I'm not certain this is supported. Granted, things looked bleek, but Gandalf was facing down the Nazgul at the gate when the Rohirrim arrived. But had they not arrived could Gandlaf had stood off the Nazgul. We are talking about the same Gandalf the White, who had stood down a Balrog and come back from death.

:Yes Argaron arrived in time to swing the battle decidedly against Mordor but ROhan had driven them back quite far and killed many. Not to dispute how influential Argaron's arrival was or anything like that.

: Secondly, I don't care how scared you are because you were surprised by an army if you still greatly outnumbered them then you wouldn't rout near as easily.

:THe common orc or man is not going to realize that by attacking your flank there is a good chance they have a large force. The Nazgul were still in command.

: Also the men fought to the last man even when Argaron arrived so I doubt if Rohan had come with only 500 men that they would have still been routed.

I'm not certain what the point is here. A rout had occured. Routs can happen simply because you THINK you are outnumbered, not necesarily because you ARE outnumbered. On a sword and sheild battlefield the rules change. There are no radios to confirm retreats or advances, there are no radars to tell you that you have the advantage. When a new host arrives, unannounced, with bellowing horns it puts the fear of Eru in you. That's the whole point. That's why the rout occured. I was not saying that they had only brought 500 men, but with such a sudden attack confusion is the key to breaking the advance. 500 men can accomplish this through a sudden and ferocious attack such as the one displayed by the Rohirrim.

: Finally, I never said Helm's Deep wasn't a good defensive position because it was. However, it was not constantly manned while Minas Tirith was.

But you did say that Rohan had no strong fortress, and that simply isn't the case. Granted Helm's Deep wasn't always manned, but Minas Tirith was a city, and this it had to be manned, at least by patrols. And Gondor and it's neighbors were defending against Sauron at more places then just Minas Tirith. that just happened to be one deciding battle.

:I doubt it could have held out for long because the walls were being blown up, the Rohanian forces were split up, and also even Theoden was afraid that they would be overcome by the enemy.
The Rohanians for the most part did destroy the forces of Saruman. Yes the hurons did destroy the fleeing troops but the Rohanians not only killed many when they were attacked but they then rallied and charged causing the army to rout.

I think you need to re-read your text. Yes, a charge was mounted, but the Hurons did not destroy "fleeing" forces. I believe it was remarked upon that an "entire forest" had appeared over night, and that was what destroyed the bulk of Saruman's army.

: Just my opinion.
: -Mornhun

Thanks for you kind attention.

-RobRoy