Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-3539474-20130910213054/@comment-14359537-20130918131456

if i were the Thalmor, I would go with the following plan:

First, the invasion of high rock. The only imperial province defending that area is skyrim, and that's if Ulfric wasn't sucessful in his rebellion. Back in the Imperial city, one of the reasons the AD were defeated was because they were SERIOUSLY outflanked: Hammerfell from the west, Skyrim from the north and the Legion basically everywhere. However, an invasion force in high rock won't be so easily flanked.

When the Bretons and Imperials (and possibly Nords) mustered enough force and sent them confront the AD, the Thalmor will attack southern Cyrodill from Elyswer. Bam. From here, the Imperials will be at a dilemma; if they brush off the thalmor in high rock, Cyrodiil is in trouble, and without Hammerfell this time, they will have a MUCH harder time recapturing the Imperial City, should it be captured. If they try to support Cyrodil, they lose high rock, and the AD just got a huge lump of land and a land border to Skyrim.

However, there are a few ways this plan might not work. For example, the bretons are resistant to magic, which is the Altmer's preferred type of combat, so for an effective assault, they need to send either bosmer or khajiit. Also, this plan relies on the assumption that Hammerfell will stay on the defensive. If they decide to attack the Thalmor in High Rock, the AD forces are as good as dead.