However: I suspect that Tolkien is not, as this author assumes, cursing said author in the afterlife. I mean, it’s a pretty good analysis of the battle. That’s always nice.
We have already noted how the intelligence assets of Gondor had been compromised by Saruman. However, due to good compartmentalization, the enemy was not aware that Gondor did have one small Special Forces strike group in the area of operations. Since Gandalf executed solid knowledge management by not sharing his knowledge of the strike group’s existence to Denethor, the enemy was caught off balance by its arrival.
Utilizing psychological warfare operations, this strike force – lead by Aragorn and other elements of the Rangers of the North, as well as SOF assets Legolas and Gimli – had overcome the main port of the Corsairs of Umbar, which would have provided the enemy with riverine capabilities to rapidly mass reinforcements at the Pelennor Fields. The Special Forces manned the boats, augmented by troops from southern Gondor who had been initially cut off from the main body. Utilizing deception, these forces moved up the Anduin River flying false flags of the Corsairs so that they were not neutralized by enemy shore batteries. Once in sight of the battle, Aragorn raised his true colors, that of the King of Gondor, raising morale in the forces of Rohan and shocking the forces of Sauron.