Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-26486187-20150825081545/@comment-26428291-20180809044847

Arcinius wrote: Although it is almost certainly just a mistake by PJ, it's very simply to come up with any number of logical explanations, such as but not limited to:

1) As stated above, the Haradrim have recently been ambushed multiple times by Gondorian Rangers, and as the Orcs were likely mostly being diverted to Osgiliath, an ongoing conflict, the fresh, elite and unquestioningly loyal Easterlings would be far better to send to assist the Haradrim. As noted above the group we see marching in is just a few hundred strong, whereas in the books its stated that the Easterlings number in the thousands, and that was just the ones that were pushed into the Battle of Pelennor Fields, its also stated that the Dark Lord has many more divisions of his force in reserve (not specifically Easterlings, but its implied that he didn't push all of any of the forces involved into the combat, other than maybe the troll-men, who were present in large numbers compared to their overall population which was relatively low) (also as I know this is a common response, I'm aware the movies and books are very different, but in this case its relevant, as although the battle is very different in several key elements, the number of soldiers involved, especially on the evil side, is actually represented very similarly).

It's by far most likely that this is just a portion of the troops the Easterlings actually have in and around Mordor, and this group was just sent south to aide the Haradrim, who they would almost certainly be willing to aide, as although the Haradrim are much less emphatically devoted to the Dark Lord, and many simply serve him for profit or personal gain, the Easterlings are completely devoted to his will and would so anything he commands without exception.

2) The Easterlings can't come in from the north because it brings them too close to enemy territory and/or through difficult terrain, and cannot go in through east Mordor as its completely barrin and exteremly rough terrain, thus actually making it easier to go around (I admit this is the least likely as the Easterlings would probably walk over red hot metal with bare feet if the Dark Lord summoned them)>

3) The Easterlings had a legitimate reason to be down south, as perhaps the Haradrim's conflict with the outer Gondorian settlements and subfactions is much larger than what we see on screen, so some Easterlings went down, either by orders, request by the Haradrim, or even just their own will as they long for combat, and are now returning. Their numbers are low either because only a small group went originally and they were successful, or a much larger group went south, but between the extremely experienced Gondorian rangers who know the terrain better, the Osgiliath garrison which is extremely battle hardened, and any number of other groups they might have faced, even warriors of their skill ended up taking casualities.
 * cough Necropost*

Regarding 2) - the Easterlings did come through the back of Mordor. That was the most common route for them to take.