The outcome of great events often rests in the resolve of one or two great individuals, and, since art often imitates life, this is as true in Warcraft as it is in life. Without George Washington, the American Revolution would have likely folded in its infancy. Without Caesar, Rome may have never become an empire. Without Zhukov, the Russians would never have been able to turn the Eastern Front against the Germans. Without Anduin Lothar, the Second War would have been lost at Silvermoon.

High Commander Anduin Lothar was a man of the finest caliber, boththe leader of the Alliance military forces and a friend to many of the heroes of the First War. Wielding the longsword called Quel'Zaram, he had been instrumental in the defeat of the sorcerer Medivh and the retreat of the people of Stormwind, which saved the lives of many of Stormwind's citizens. He was an excellent general, and his forces, when they were allowed time and preparation to fight back against the Horde blitzkriegs, were able to hold the line against defeat.

After the defeat of the Horde's diversionary force in the Hinterlands, the Alliance army thought they were going to have a respite. However, the great bulk of the Horde forces had slipped through the northern mountains of the Hinterlands, and it would be a few days before messages from Silvermoon reached Lothar's hand with the terrible news that the Horde had reached Eversong Woods. Stratholme, Caer Darrow and Tyr's Hand were all in ruins, the victims of the Horde's quick and overwhelming attacks, and Gul'Dan's armies now lay on the doorstep to Silvermoon. The largest and most destructive army ever assembled in Lordaeron was about to meet the oldest standing kingdom in the Eastern Kingdoms. The unstoppable force was ready to face off against the immovable object.


Long ago, the Elves had erected great magical defenses around the city. These were Runestones, much like the runestone at Caer Darrow. However, the elves had built many of them, surrounding their city so that, if a threat came, the runestones could be activated to shield the city with a magical barrier. As the Horde approached the ancient city, the elves channeled their great arcane energies into the runestones and activated a shield that had not been used in thousands of years.

Gul'Dan, the Horde's most powerful and devious warlock, looked on from a hillside at the arcane barrier that surrounded the city, and then he unleashed the great army that had been sent north for this very purpose. The Trolls sought revenge, Doomhammer sought to cut off the Alliance's main supplier of spellcraft, and Gul'Dan, now seeing the full power of the elves, wanted the runestones. He had already used the runestone at Caer Darrow to create the ogre-magi, and he wanted Silvermoon's stones for greater purposes. He wanted the Sunwell, and he wanted access to all of Silvermoon's great reserves of knowledge.

The entire Horde army waited on Gul'Dan's command, and, when he waved his arm to the sky, the Horde unleashed their first attack, a weapon that had worked so well for them in their attacks on the other great cities of the Northlands. Dozens of enslaved red dragons arose from their hiding places in the army to fly straight to Silvermoon, engulfing the barrier in flames. Inside the city, elven archmages furiously channeled their energies into the runestones to keep the barrier intact, and, outside the city, the dragons bathed the shield in terrible dragonflame. Again and again, Gul'Dan ordered the red dragons to purge the shield, and, after each attack, the barrier stood. Troll warriors hurled their spears at the city's defenders, and the Horde rained rocks and stones upon the city with their catapults, but nothing they did could pierce the city's defense. It was a stunning setback for the Horde.



While the Horde had been busy advancing towards Silvermoon, the leadership of that city had sent messages to the leaders of the Alliance, asking for assistance, and assistance was ready to come. High Commander Anduin Lothar split his army up: half of the army under the command of Turalyon would stay in the Hinterlands and destroy any Horde forces there, while the other half of the army, commanded by Lothar himself, would come to the aid of Silvermoon. Lothar's forces marched forth from Aerie Keep into Tirisfal Glades and bore witness to the ashes of Tyr's Hand, Caer Darrow and Stratholme. These sights only motivated them further.

Together with the Knights of the Silver Hand, the order of paladins led by Uther the Lightbringer, the Alliance followed the Horde's bloody trail of destruction all the way to Silvermoon City, where they immediately found themselves in an advantageous position. Gul'Dan's dragons had made no headway into the city, and the entirety of the Horde was restless, it's faith in its leader having slipped dramatically. The Horde had expected a fight, but they'd been given nothing more than a stalemate. The Orcs, who for a full generation had known nothing of war other than brutality and conquest, could not abide this stasis, and their morale was quickly dropping in their restlessness.

Lothar quickly took stock of the situation. They had outmaneuvered and flanked the Horde, which had not expected to see the bulk of the Alliance's army on their backs. They had the advantage of surprise and, more importantly, they had a fire in their bellies. Every soldier who had marched north had seen the ruins of Stratholme, had seen the wreckage of Caer Darrow and Tyr's Hand. Each soldier knew about how the Horde had leveled Tol Barad, and each knew that they had brothers fighting in the Thandol Valley to hold off another Horde incursion in the south. They were ready for revenge. This wasn't the same feeling of frustration and rage that the Trolls held for the Elves; this was a righteous fury, a vengeance for the unjust deaths of thousands. This was the rendering of judgment.

The Alliance forces initiated a steady attack against the amassed Horde juggernaut. Dwarven gryphon riders from Aerie Keep drew off the red dragons that were attempting to burn through Silvermoon's barrier, which allowed the elves to let their own army through shield into the field. The Alliance forces under Alleria Windrunner pounded the Horde lines with artillery and arrows, while the Knights of the Silver Hand made a mess of the Horde's disorganized back line. By the time the Horde army had turned to face the new threat, they had found themselves under the greatest military assault since their arrival in Azeroth. Caught between two highly motivated armies, the Horde broke apart. The main thrust of Trolls was split and pushed back to the mountains, while the Orc clans under Gul'Dan's control fled the battlefield altogether.

Turalyon's forces were no less successful. The Horde had erected a naval shipyard on the coast of the Hinterlands that was being used as a staging ground for bringing troops and supplies into Lordaeron. The Alliance army squared off against the forces there and made short work of the shipyard. When small contingents of Orc deserters reached the shipyard, they found the Alliance waiting to capture them. Turalyon eventually met up again with Lothar's army when the two forces combined to push the Horde fully out of Lordaeron.

With the remainder of the Orc threat in retreat, Lothar pushed hisforces as much as he could to pursue the Horde. The Alliance was flush with victory, and they outmaneuvered the Horde at every turn,pushing all the way back to Hillsbrad over the following weeks. For the first time since their arrival on Azeroth, the Orcs were fighting with their back to the wall – or, in this case, the ocean. The Horde forces attempted to reinforce Southshore against the Alliance captors, but it had little effect in the long run. Horde transports picked up as many troops as they could carry, only to be sunk by Alliance vessels. The Elves had finally sent their extremely well-crafted ships to outfit the Alliance navy, and the elves were more than happy to cut up troop transport ships.

Over the following weeks, the Alliance would retake Southshore, Tol Barad and Zul'Dare, and they pushed the Horde out of the Thandol Valley completely. Stunning defeat after defeat would curse the Horde as High Commander Lothar's forces utterly routed the Doomhammer's armies at every turn in Lordaeron and the outlying kingdoms. Doomhammer's multi-front war had failed at the very moment where victory seemed assured.

Yet, the war was not over. The assault into Lordaeron had been rebuffed, but Doomhammer still controlled great swaths of territory. It would be difficult for the Alliance forces to claim total victory over the Horde unless their leaders made some kind of grave mistake. Unless they became distracted. Unless they turned their back on the Alliance.

Next week, we pause the history of the Second War to take a detour into the mad mind of Gul'dan, because the events that follow are utterly dependent on what he does next.

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