Smaug was the dragon who attacked Dale in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Smaug seized the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the Dwarves, driving Thorin Oakenshield’s people into exile. He also destroyed the nearby city of Dale, whose survivors included Bard. Bilbo Baggins encounters Smaug after entering the mountain with Thorin’s company, and their conversation reveals both the dragon’s intelligence and his confidence in his own power.
Bilbo notices a bare patch in Smaug’s armored underside and later tells the thrush about it. The bird carries the information to Bard, who uses the Black Arrow to kill the dragon during the attack on Lake-town. Smaug’s death triggers the Battle of the Five Armies and changes the balance of power around Erebor.
Smaug is sometimes confused with dragons from Tolkien’s earlier mythology, such as Glaurung and Ancalagon. Those figures belong mainly to First Age stories, while Smaug is the dragon of The Hobbit and the Third Age.