White Council
Radagast the Brown, Saruman and other high profile elves joined Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf to form the White Council. Though it is stripped down to just Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman and Gandalf in the movies. They are typically seen as the wisest beings in Middle Earth.
Lets look at Galadriel first here. She was most famous in the Lord of the Rings as the Queen of Lothlorien and wielder of one of the Rings of Power. She was also one of Sauron's most devoted enemies. By the time the Fellowship reaches her realm, she renounces power all together and the ambitions that would leave her open to the One Ring’s corruption. It was also partly due to her leadership that the three attacks on Lothlorien were defeated and Dol Guldur was destroyed. The most important point for our discussion of Gandalf’s role in Middle Earth is her role in creating the White Council. Just as important is the fact she sheltered and provided supplies to the Fellowship after the events of Moria – supplies that would prove vital for the eventual success of the quest. She was also responsible for healing Gandalf’s wounds after he fought Durin’s Bane, also essentially anointing him the leader of the wizards. One last point that is significant here – the Mirror of Galadriel allows her to see into possible futures, similar to Elrond’s Foresight abilities.
Elrond himself is know for his healing powers, foresight, military leadership and wisdom. The fact that he was descendant from a Maia spirit and held one of the rings of power meant that some of his abilities were likely magical. This magic manifests itself in the healing of black magic inflicted wounds, telepathically entering the minds of others and commanding a flood. Then, he joins the White Council. The Council of Elrond that creates the Fellowship and gives it its mission occurred – as one could guess – under his direction. This means that his alliance with Gandalf proves to be highly beneficial to the Free People.
Just looking here, there are serious missed opportunities. First, there is the issue of the Blue Wizards. They fit perfectly into the White Council in the sense that their subversive activities are in line with the normal operating procedures of the Council. Should they have been formally incorporated into the Council, their actions could have been better coordinated. Thus, they would have been more powerful.
The Blue Wizards were sent to trigger revolts in the East. However, they lost contact with their Western allies. Instead of fulfilling their mission, rumors spread that they set up cults of magic centered on themselves. Solid story lines could be built around attempting to establish what actually happened. If the stories are true, appealing to their desire to be the center of attention and powerful leaders could form the basis of negotiations aimed at getting them to fulfill their mission. Their revolt could cause serious trouble and delays in the mobilization of the Easterlings in the build up to Minas Tirith. All of these things could have strategic power and generate interesting stories as well.
Second is Radagast. He has little independent relevance to the story but there are key elements to him we need to address. First, he does not strike me as the most intelligent of the characters in the books – Saruman tricks him into luring Gandalf into Saruman’s trap. But he does actually help Gandalf escape in the end, using his friendship with the eagles. In the Hobbit movies he is a bit more perceptive. It was him that figures out Sauron was active again and had taken up residence in Dol Guldur. He was well connected to and allied with all forms of wildlife in Middle Earth, actually using various animals to help look for the One Ring. This makes him a valuable person to have coordinate with the ents and eagles as the War of the Ring develops. Given his affinity for and friendly relations with the eagles, it makes sense that he would be the White Council’s representative to them and possibly the Ents as well. I would expect Radagast to provide advice and information to them while also attempting to recruit them to the war effort against Sauron. In this, he would the role Gandalf plays with the Men, Elves and Hobbits.
Next is the military power the Elven Kingdoms have. The White Council has at least two armies, a clear ability to plan and execute covert actions one of the most effective bodies to coordinate international action and a common enemy to battle. This means that there are at least two major missed opportunities from this at least. The first is the failure to occupy Dol Goldur after Sauron was booted. It was in an elven territory and was causing problems in the region. So this occupation is both logical and possible.
The other is Moria. The same logic that led to the Quest for the Lonely Mountain just as easily justifies a similar attack against Moria. We also know that Durin's Bane could be defeated with a single member of the White council. Granted that was with great cost, but it is possible. The retaking of Moria can come from an independently organized White Council operation. But given the pattern started with the Lonely Mountain and seemingly a part of Elven foreign policy, Balin's attempted colonization would be given as much support as it could use. This honestly would be much better, as it puts the dwarves in charge. By doing this, it would go much further in playing to the dwarven psychology such that Moria will become an ally.
Structure
It functions as effectively as a Middle Earth version of the CIA. It works collecting intelligence on Sauron, the location of the One Ring then organizes covert actions based on that information. So while Gandalf is the most active agent of the White Council and its Human Intelligence specialist, he seems to act as a part of a larger organization that will come into play in later entries.
They then take this information and create a centralized policy on how to deal with threats. But in a very limited way. The members all directly respond themselves. Despite Elrond and Galadriel being heads of state, their military forces are not used to enforce the will of the council. So it is confined almost exclusively to as small of a group as possible.
This has a lot of value from an intelligence perspective. Especially when one looks at the impacts that Gollum by himself has when he is interrogated. He revealed where the One Ring was, who had it and where they lived. This then accelerated Sauron's plans. Gandalf's interrogation of him then had a similarly powerful impact. It revealed the extent of the crisis and forced the formation of the Fellowship.
Public Agenda
Their objective is the defeat of Sauron specifically. Not evil or Mordor - just Sauron. Given his overwhelming power over the forces of evil and long term relationship with Mordor, these three objectives appear to be the same. But once Sauron is defeated, we don't see any attempt to conquer Mordor or defeat the Easterlings.
Assets
It appears that despite the position of two members as heads of state, military force appears to not be an option. When Dol Guldur is attacked, it is Elrond and Galadriel personally attacking. Their professional military forces are not there. Similarly, they do not work together in military matters when the same site.
But there is a missed opportunity here. There is no obligation to reveal sources or international obligations. Especially when the majority of the people involved are monarchs. Enlightened as the elves my be, their government structure does not oblige the giving up of secrets that might betray the methods or sources to the enemy. Which then means that the governments of Lothlorien and Rivendell can both have their military power devoted to the council. Plus, the elven aid to other nations can be used to their benefit as well.
History
At the time, Sauron was operating under a fake persona in Dol Guldur. This threat pushed Galadriel to call for the creation of the Council. This group was quite active in the defeats of Sauron in the cold war period. Though, Saruman’s growing desire for the One Ring ultimately hampered the effectiveness of the Council.
Territories
Effectively, the White Council controls a pretty wide territory. Most obvious is Isengard, Rivendell and Lothlorien. This effectively grants control over the Misty Mountains and the areas directly to its east. But looking at Aragorn's loyalties and position, the White Council effectively controls everything beyond the Misty Mountains to the borders of the Shire. Then, Gandalf has a decent alliance with the hobbit "elites" such as they are. Which extends the influence and "control" west of the Misty Mountains as far as Lindon and the Blue Mountains.
Military
Now, it would basically be under the command of the White Council that the Fellowship of the Ring would be formed. So, this seems like a good time to talk about the arms and armor for the Fellowship itself. There are two competing things that have to be taken into consideration here. The first is the increased travel and need for speed imposed on the Fellowship. More time means more risk of discovery and increased corruption due to the ring itself. The other is the much higher risk of surprise combat. In normal battle, it is quite clear that one is about to enter combat. But in travel, one would most often be facing ambushes from enemy troops and highwaymen. So, one would need to be as ready for combat as possible at all times while not being worn down by that same equipment. I suspect gambesons would be the first option. Mail is a possibility too, but it does weigh more. It is possible then that the Fellowship would have some mail carried on pack animals for when it knew it was about to go into combat while wearing gambesons on march. Plate is actually similar in weight but takes so much extra time to put on and is super cumbersome to wear. While it is the best in terms of protection, it seems unlikely that plate would be used at all. Gambesons also have the benefit of cold protection and being more comfortable to wear for long periods.
Now, it would probably be a bit more practical to use mail just on the heads. There actually was a piece of armor called the coif. It was basically a cotton head covering. It wrapped completely around the head, including below the chin. The face was totally exposed though. It was then possible to put over this a mail version on top of it. I would imagine that this would be a solid compromise between the endurance issues and the protection concerns. As far as shielding, the same basic issues apply. It would suspect that heater shields would be the ideal – as big as possible without costing too much strength to carry. It is also possible that a lighter hoplite shield or the Roman scutum could be used as well. Kite or tower shields are brilliant so long as you are not having to carry them for hours a day.
I see the same basic pattern operating across all other activities conducted by the White Council. And they would operate similar to the elven light infantry. Effectively, the teams would be formed from the most experienced, best trained and the most consistently loyal people out there. Their equipment would prioritize speed and stealth over hitting power. Getting back with information will be the priority. So being able to enter areas secretly would be essential. But it would be wise to have weapons and tactics that allow for the maximum amount of sabotage of the enemy facilities should the opportunities arise.
Foreign Relations
Now, Moria by any measure should be an important ally of the White Council. Granted, the dwarves were never noted for being the wisest the races of Middle Earth had to offer. So the leadership of Moria seems unlikely to be a part. But they would be much needed partners.
Also essential allies would be Mirkwood. Major military threats to Lothlorien and Mirkwood comes from a fort hidden within Mirkwood's borders. So if the White Council is to be most effective, it needs to work with Mirkwood. Since the elves are the dominant force on the Council, it makes sense that this would form. Gandalf respects and is respected by the elves. Even Saruman is converted to the strike here. So there is no reason that reaching out should not happen.
Then, there is the "nature" coalition. Radagast has the potential to work with and get cooperation from the Ents. Add in his and Gandalf's relations with the eagles and them joining in an alliance with the White Council. Then, they are all threatened by the same enemy and all compliment the fighting styles of the White Council. Lastly, they have cultural connections that seem to make cooperation a wise move.
Then we need to look at geography. Fangorn is surrounded by states controlled by the White Council. Similar control is held over the Misty Mountains. So the White Council could become a major problem to the Eagles and Ents if they wanted. But both groups are threatened by the same outside powers. Should Mordor show up in the area with an army targeting either the White Council or Fanghorn for example, it makes sense for all of them to jump in to defeat that threat. No matter how I look at it, the ents and eagles make natural allies with the White Council.
That is a pretty solid list of official and long term alliances. But we need to remember the standard operating procedures of the Elves. They would have - through their soft power and military aid operations - have a decent amount of influence with Gondor and Rohan. This would probably not be as formal as with Mirkwood or Moria. But they would probably still be firm and vital to the interests of both sides.
Divine Origins
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the two Blue Wizards are the five Istari sent by the Valar to aid in the fight against Sauron. Their mission was to guide the people of Middle Earth, providing advice and changing behaviors based on persuasion and encouragement. Fear and dominance over men was explicitly forbidden as a means of accomplishing their aims and they were not allowed to match Sauron's force with their own. Meanwhile, the great wisdom of the Istari would be greatly needed and the fact they were sent would provide great inspiration to the elves. Elves would know that the Valar had in fact not abandoned them after all. Meanwhile, they were sent to make contact with the the Numenorian successor states as the Valar felt these kingdoms posed the best hope of resistance against Sauron.
Granted Divine Powers
While they look human, they are actually much stronger and have more advanced mental capabilities. Technically they are Maiar – the same sort of beings that the balrog and Sauron are. It must be noted that the staffs of the Istari aid, but do not create their magic Gandalf’s was broken before he killed the balrog and before the end of the movie version of the Battle of Minas Tirith. But he was still able to prevail.
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