History GondorCallsForAid / RealLIfe

** A darker version showed up on the Nazi side, in the form of various international units of the SS, which included hundreds of thousands of anti-communist volunteers from all over Europe (most came from Eastern Europe, with the biggest contingent from the territories of USSR itself, ironically). This included the last and most fanatical defenders of Berlin as it was about to fall to the Soviets in May 1945 -- a battalion of French Nazi volunteers.

* This trope is actually one of most important power of The (Ancient) Romans. The Romans have many allies in the Italian Peninsula and some out of it whose citizen will bolster Romans' army. [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Hannibal]] knows both this fact and the fact that Romans are arrogant and rather tyrannical. So, he tries to subvert as many entities as possible but failed thanks to Fabius' strategy for those who do.
* The Balkans. The three major factions are Croat, Bosnian and Serb. Croats were traditionally German aligned and Catholic; Serbs Russian aligned and Orthodox, Bosnians were Turkish aligned and Muslim. So each side had volunteers and arms given, from Muhajadeen to volunteer adventurers, ideologues, Neo-Nazis, let alone French, Russian and American arms to various factions. Then NATO invaded...

* Chile, which began as a Spanish colony, ousted the Spanish authorities on September 18, 1810, and established a local government. Similar events took place in other cities in Spanish America, such as Buenos Aires. This began a war between the new governments and those loyal to the Spanish monarchy (patriots and royalists, similar to the patriots and loyalists of the American Revolution). Chile was finally reconquered after the royalist victory at the Disaster of Rancagua, Carrera, O'Higgins, and other patriots escaped to Mendoza (Argentina), at the other side of the Andes. There, O'Higgins worked with the Argentine José de San Martín to raise the Army of the Andes, that crossed the mountain range, counter-attacked the royalists and drove them away from Chile forever. Even more, O'Higgins could not arrive in time to the battle of Maipu, the final battle, which was directed solely by San Martín.

-->"[[RedAlert All available boats]], this is the United States Coast Guard aboard the Pilot Boat New York. Anyone wanting to help with the evacuation of Lower Manhattan, [[http://youtu.be/MDOrzF7B2Kg report to Governor's Island.]]"
--> '''Sailor:''' I've worked on the water for 28 years. I've never seen so many boats come together so fast.

** Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack against one member will be considered an attack against all members, has only been invoked once before, in response to the 9/11 attacks. Cue, among [[TheWarOnTerror other things]], Operation Yellow Ribbon, in which Canada fed, housed, and provided runways for literally ''thousands'' of stranded airline passengers after the total shutdown of US airspace.

->''"[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments With gratitude for the past and confidence in the future we range ourselves without fear beside Britain.]] [[BadassBoast Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand.]] We are only [[UsefulNotes/NewZealand a small and young nation]], but we march with a union of hearts and souls to a common destiny."''

* A particularly famous example (mentioned a few times on this page already): the legendary "Little Ships of Dunkirk" in World War Two. During the Battle of France, hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers found themselves stranded on the shores of Dunkirk, France, with no way to escape; Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew that the loss of so many troops would be a devastating blow to both the army and British morale. There weren't enough naval vessels to evacuate everyone, so the Prime Minister sent out a desperate call for ''anyone'' who owned any kind of seaworthy craft--fishing boat, sloop, yacht, ferry, and all others--to help. Over ''700 people'' responded to the call, creating a makeshift navy that sailed from Ramsgate, England to the rescue. The trapped soldiers boarded these boats and were transported to larger British destroyers. It's estimated that over 330,000 troops were saved through the operation, preventing a disaster and even inspiring Churchill's famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech.

** A darker version showed up on the Nazi side, in the form of various international units of the SS, which included hundreds of thousands of anti-communist volunteers from all over Europe (most came from Eastern Europe, with the biggest contingent from the territories of USSR itself, ironically). This included the last and most fanatical defenders of Berlin as it was about to fall to the Soviets in May, 1945--a battalion of French Nazi volunteers.

** On a different note, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan it was considered a noble thing to join the Mujahideen resistance. This was encouraged by the USA and many Muslim nations. Among many, Saudi Arabian UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden joined the resistance. He later went beyond this when he founded al-Qaeda to go beyond assisting the resistance to creating a Wahhabi Caliphate across the region.
** AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Afghanistan Communist government (Gondor in this case) actually ''did'' call for aid - from the Soviets, because the Mujahedin actually invaded from Pakistan. A trope can surely be played both ways. History tells that the Soviet leadership was very reluctant about this, fearing things could get messy. Therefore, the Afghan government pleaded for help for five months before intervention.
** During various Arab-Israeli Wars, distant Arab and Muslim countries sent troops to assist Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. Among the most effective were Pakistani air units. They were occasionally joined by the Russians, allies of their Indian enemies, as Soviet "advisors" often piloted Egyptian and Syrian fighters to take on Israelis.

* This trope is actually one of most important power of The (Ancient) Romans. The Romans have many allies in Italian Peninsula and some out of it whose citizen will bolster Romans' army. [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Hannibal]] knows both this fact and the fact that Romans are arrogant and rather tyrannical. So, he tries to subvert as many entities as possible but failed thanks to Fabius' strategy for those who do.
* The Balkans. The three major factions are Croat, Bosnian and Serb. Croats were traditionally German aligned and Catholic; Serbs Russian aligned and Orthodox, Bosnians were Turkish aligned and Muslim. So each side had volunteers and arms given, from Muhajadeen to volunteer adventurers, idologues, Neo-Nazis, let alone French, Russian and American arms to various factions. Then NATO invaded...

* Chile, which began as a Spanish colony, ousted the Spanish authorities in September 18, 1810, and established a local government. Similar events took place at other cities in the Spanish America, such as Buenos Aires. This began a war between the new governments and those loyal to the Spanish monarchy (patriots and royalists, similar to the patriots and loyalists of the American Revolution). Chile was finally reconquered after the royalist victory at the Disaster of Rancagua, Carrera, O'Higgins and other patriots escaped to Mendoza (Argentina), at the other side of the Andes. There, O'Higgins worked with the Argentine José de San Martín to raise the Army of the Andes, that crossed the mountain range, counter-attacked the royalists and drove them away from Chile forever. Even more, O'Higgins could not arrive in time to the battle of Maipu, the final battle, which was directed solely by San Martín.

* The Korean War, when the South was at the brink of being occupied, dozens of nations of the U.N. raced to South Korea's aid, and when the tables turned for North Korea, China and the USSR come in to aid it. In essence, this was the U.N. coming to the rescue of South Korea where its predecessor the League of Nations had failed to help Ethiopia in the 1930's.

*** This is common enough in firefighting to the point of it being standard operating procedure. Usually, each station will have an area of the city in question's jurisdiction to cover, and they're the first to respond to calls coming from that area. If it's something relatively minor, like a two car accident or chimney fire or some such, that's all that's needed. If it's something considerably larger, like a fully engulfed apartment complex, one or more stations from other areas can be called in. This is where "X Alarm Fire" comes from. A three alarm fire means that three stations have had to be called in to fight it. This same thing happens on a ''much'' larger scale with wildfires, particularly in the American west. Wildfires (at least those remotely near civilization, those off in the middle of ass nowhere Alaska and the like are usually ignored) have resulted in firefighters from Oregon, Idaho, and California fighting fires in Alaska, and vice versa in ever direction.

** All manner of ferries and other boats were also called to help speed along the evacuation of Lower Manhattan via across New York Harbor to New Jersey in the hours after the towers' collapse. What resulted was the largest water evacuation in history, with more people evacuated than at [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Dunkirk.]]

* Before [[Literature/TheHistories the Battle of Marathon]], Athens asked Sparta, then the unquestioned military leader of the Hellenic world, for reinforcements against an invasion force from the Persian empire. In a DoubleSubversion, the Spartans were busy with a religious festival and [=RSVPed=] they'd be fashionably late, and the ally that actually showed up was Athens's much nearer and smaller neighbour Plataia – all 1000 of them. The Spartans subsequently turned up in time to tour the battlefield and acknowledge the decisive defeat (Greeks lost: 203, Persians: 6,400) Athens and Plataia had handed to the [[DavidVersusGoliath heretofore overwhelming Persian military]].

* This trope is inevitable whenever a conflict involves the Islamic world. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Let's just say that]] a lot of Muslims from across the world are helping Hamas, Hizbullah, the Taliban, and [[UnfortunateName the MILF]]. And their enemies wonder why they ''can't'' win against them.

** When Houston's {{Creator/CBS}} affiliate KHOU was forced to evacuate its studios, sister stations in Dallas and Denver assisted with live coverage and master control for the station, while Houston's {{Creator/PBS}} station provided (and continues to host) a temporary studio.

--> '''Sailor:''' I've worked on the water for 28 years. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome I've never seen so many boats come together so fast]].

* The [[TheLordOfTheRings Trope Namer]] was partially inspired by Poland riding to the aid of Austria during the Second Siege of Vienna in 1683. King Jan Sobieski of Poland is considered to have stopped the Ottoman expansion into Europe. It has the classic elements of calling an entire army (and king) against a sieging army and succeeding.

*** Even more ironic, given the historical friendship between Poles and Hungarians.

** An odd Animal version came to play when one person who decided to ride the storm out found a Hawk suddenly sitting in his truck. The Hawk, which he aptly named Harvey the Hurricane Hawk, was scared, confused, and had some minor wing issues. The man posted videos of the Hawk onto YouTube, and after a few thousand people saw it, the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition came by, picked up the Hawk, rehabilitated her back to health, and took her to a sanctuary 250 Miles north of Houston where she can "do Hawk Stuff now".

* Foreign volunteers for the Boer side in South Africa's [[UsefulNotes/SecondBoerWar Anglo-Boer War]].

* Israel does this a lot. Originally, Balfour only promised Palestine to the Jews because he thought he could use the legendary Jewish money against the Kaiser. Then South Africa went from being Nazi sympathizers to being ardent Zionists after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. More recently, premillennial dispensationalists, people who believe that [[ApocalypseMaiden when all the Jews, ''and only the Jews'', are in Israel, Jesus will come back]].

* UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} and the WarsawPact were both alliances created to prevent WorldWarIII by ensuring that all members would automatically come to the aid of any single member that was attacked. Since the heavy-hitter of each was one of the world's two superpowers at the time, they managed to keep the period of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar relatively peaceful, since no one wanted the Americans or the Soviets bringing armies to their front door.

** The international volunteers to help the fascists as well. Nothing says this trope has to be ''nice'', or that only one side can do it. Besides, frankly [[GreyAndGrayMorality that war was such a mess that it's up for grabs]] whether either side was "nice."

** AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Afghanistan Communist government (Gondor in this case) actually ''did'' call for aid - from the Soviets, because the Mujahedin actually invaded from Pakistan. A trope can surely be played both ways. History tells that the Soviet leadership was very reluctant about this, [[GenreSavvy fearing things could get messy]]. Therefore, the Afghan government pleaded for help for five months before intervention.

** On a different note, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan it was considered a noble thing to join the Mujahideen resistance. This was encouraged by the USA and many Muslim nations. Among many, Saudi Arabian OsamaBinLaden joined the resistance. He later went beyond this when he founded al-Qaeda to go beyond assisting the resistance to creating a Wahhabi Caliphate across the region.

* During the Soviet-Afghan War, people from all over the Muslim world went to Afghanistan to fight against the invaders.
** The same thing happened again during the US-Iraq War. However, that happened after the invasion and the "helpers" managed to kill a lot more Iraqis than Americans.

* During Israel's war of independence, volunteers from all over the world (many of them [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII WW2]] veterans) clamored to aid the Israeli side. Two of the American volunteers were later fined and one jailed.
** During various Arab-Israeli Wars, distant Arab and Muslim countries sent troops to assist Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. Among the most effective were Pakistani air units. They were occasionally joined by the Russians, allies of their Indian enemies, as Soviet "advisors" often piloted Egyptian and Syrian fighters to take on Israelis.

** AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Afghanistan (Gondor in this case) actually ''did'' call for aid - from the Soviets, because the Mujahedin actually invaded from Pakistan. A trope can surely be played both ways. History tells that the Soviet leadership was very reluctant about this, [[GenreSavvy fearing things could get messy]]. Therefore, the Afghan government pleaded for help for five months before intervention.

** Ironically, the proximate cause of the Ottoman invasion was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Th%C3%B6k%C3%B6ly leader of an anti-Hapsburg revolt]] in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Hungary "Royal" Hungary]] calling them in for help. As seen above it kind of backfired.

** Ironically, the proximate cause of the Ottoman invasion was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Th%C3%B6k%C3%B6ly leader of an anti-Hapsburg revolt]] in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Hungary "Royal" Hungary]] calling them in for help. As seen above it kind of backfired.

* The Korean War, when the South was at the brink of being occupied, dozens of nations of the U.N. raced to South Korea's aid, and when tables turn for North Korea China, and the USSR come in to aid it. In essence, this was the U.N. coming to the rescue of South Korea where its predecessor the League of Nations had failed to help Ethiopia in the 1930's.

** The same thing happened again during the US-Iraq War. However that happened after the invasion. And the "helpers" managed to kill a lot more Iraqis than Americans.

* The declarations of war on Germany in 1939 by members of the British Commonwealth can be seen as this. In 1914, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians went to war because, as part of the British Empire, they were obligated to. In 1939, it's because they chose to come to Great Britain's aid, as did many Americans who crossed the border and became part of the Canadian military before 1941, and Irish citizens who put aside the country's neutrality to serve with the British (in some cases, entire units of the Irish Army resigned en masse, crossed over to Britain, and were quickly snapped up by a grateful British Army). Some Irish also joined the Nazis for a chance at vengeance on Britain.