La es el clímax de la historia de El Hobbit , donde se enfrentan diversas razas por el control de la Montaña Solitaria y su tesoro. Según la novela original de J.R.R. Tolkien, los cinco ejércitos son:

They are the tide. They pour out of tunnels and ravines, attempting to surround the Good armies. Their only strategy is to use numbers to overwhelm and exhaust their better-armed and better-trained enemies.

Led by Bard, they fight alongside the Elves. They are the "sturdy middle" of the alliance—brave and stubborn, but more vulnerable than the Elves. They take heavy casualties holding the center.

The battle is a massive, chaotic melee fought at the foot of the Lonely Mountain (Erebor). The "five armies" are defined as the five distinct, organized military forces that come to fight. They are split into two loose alliances: The "Good" forces (Elves, Men, Dwarves) vs. the "Evil" forces (Goblins/Orcs and Wargs).