Recent History

The First and Second Wars

The orcs came through the Dark Portal and attacked the Kingdom of Azeroth. They burned Stormwind, and the survivors fled north [WCI] [WCII]. The Horde later invaded the Lordaeron coast, and the Second War began. The Alliance pushed them back, and went on to fight beyond the Dark Portal [WCII] [WCII · Beyond the Dark Portal].

The Internment Camps

After the Second War, the defeated orcs were held in internment camps across the human lands [WCII]. For years the orcs were a broken people.

Thrall

A young orc named Thrall was raised as a gladiator by a human lord, and then escaped. He found the old shamanic ways, freed the clans from the camps, and led them across the sea [WCIII].

Kalimdor

In the Third War, Thrall's Horde landed on Kalimdor. They met the tauren, fought the centaur, and found new allies in the Darkspear trolls. At Ashenvale, Grom Hellscream broke the demon curse by killing the demon Mannoroth, and the orcs were free [WCIII].

Durotar and Orgrimmar

Thrall chose the red land of Durotar for his people, and the Horde raised Orgrimmar, named for Orgrim Doomhammer [Game · Zone: Durotar] [Game · Zone: Orgrimmar]. The orcs of Durotar still face enemies of their own: the Burning Blade, the Razormane quilboar, and the Kul Tiran remnants at Tiragarde Keep [Game · Quest: The Admiral's Orders].

The Horde Today

The Horde of the Third War was a strange alliance of orcs, tauren, trolls and Forsaken. The orcs lead it, but they do not rule alone. Thrall is a shaman first, and he asks his people to remember the old ways.

Forever adds the orc mage, a new combination for the orcs. [New in Forever]