I've been re-reading the Lord of the Rings and have been trying for the life of me, scouring the histories and appendices for a puzzling question.

Several times, Legolas and Gimli exchange words that they wish they could call on their kin to aid them in the upcoming war. But Legolas often replies that they wouldn't answer the summons because they are busy with their own fight.

Who is attacking the dwarves and elves exactly? I'm assuming forces of orc and wild men? And does anyone know off the top of their head if these battles are noted anywhere in the histories? Or are they just alluded to?

Thank you!

The appendices in Return of the King mention battles in Dale, and attacks on Mirkwood and Lorien.

Dale is attacked by a big army of Easterlings. First king Brand is defeated in the eastern parts of his realm, then retreats homeward and finally battle is joined at Dale, where Erebor's dwarves stand by his side.

Thranduil's realm and Lórien are both attacked (several times) by forces coming from Dol Guldur.

Cheers
Tolwen

There are no real details on these events. Tolkien makes passing reference to them while discussing related subjects, but that covers most of what is known.

Take a look at Appendix A, Section 3: Durin's Folk (start at Appendix B and work backward a couple pages), Appendix B: The Tale of Years (start around 3000 Third Age and onward for relevant material) to read these sources yourself. There might be other s with passing references of interest though.

I am not sure if their are any further details provided in Unfinished Tales, Silmarillion (seems unlikely for these two books), or HoME. Although a certain amount of detail might be inferred by a good scholar (Martinez, et al). Perhaps their is some idea of troop movements in the Atlas of ME?

Finally, you could try looking through any of the Decipher or MERP material if you're desperately in need of material. (Using any of this material might place you at odds with future TOR product releases due to differing timelines, storylines, etc. Thus the reference to desperation.)

Hope this is of help.