Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-97.81.240.58-20130603234626/@comment-24261859-20140331205301

StealthBlade98 wrote:

Coppermantis wrote:

On the other hand, there is Magic in the TES world, a field in which the Altmer are undeniably supreme. Perhaps they'd lose a war of attrition, but if they really wanted to, I'd bet upon them being able to pull off some pretty nasty tricks with their magic. They're still not invulnerable, but I do not think that they'd have lost the Great War had the White-Gold Concordat not been signed. The Empire won a single victory, but had still suffered unimaginable losses. Hammerfell was doing okay, but only just.

It'd be a long and bloody conflict if both sides fought to the death, but as it stands, the Thalmor would likely come out on top, especially given that Alinor is so far out of reach. I disagree with that notion, i truly believe AD would have lost had he not signed the treaty there's plenty of facts within TES lore including in game novels suggesting this, not to mention other facts outside of the game. Fact is Titus Mede II got scared as he's a terrible leader, nothing like Uriel Septim(who wouldn't have surrendered) and it truly shows. The imperial strength plummeded ever since TES:O blades being shells of there former selves is a good example of this too. I'm not sure that either side could be said to have been at risk of total defeat had the war continued. The Imperial legions had been all but annihilated, except for those that were left in Hammerfell and the Nord legions that participated in the Battle of the Red Ring. Although victorious, the Imperial armies were in no shape to continue the war. The entire remaining Imperial force was fathered in Cyrodiil, exhausted and decimated by the Battle of the Red Ring. Not a single legion had more than half its soldiers fit for duty. Two legions had been effectively annihilated, not counting the loss of the Eighth during the retreat from the Imperial City the previous year --From "The Great War "

That said, the same fate befell the Aldmeri armies, which had supposedly been comprised of "all available forces." It is unknown exactly what this means, though, whether it be the entirety of the army (doubtful, as there were still the forces under Lady Arannelya in Hammerfell, and likely more elsewhere), or just those which Lord Naarfin could commandeer at the time.

Meanwhile, while the Imperial city had been sacked and Hammerfell ravaged, the Aldmeri territories had been untouched. This is the main advantage of the Dominion at this point. It's true that humans tend to breed faster than elves (at least in the case of Nords vs. Falmer, which is likely similar to all humans and Altmer), but the Empire's lands and production capabilities had been torn apart. The Dominion's were intact, and they were in a much better positon to raise another force to go on the offensive, especially if they called on their Kahjiit or Bosmer auxiliaries.

This is why I do not believe that Titus Mede II was a terrible leader who "got scared." If you read accounts of the Battle of the Red Ring (In-game books or on the Wiki, it doesn't matter), you'll note that it was Titus' cunning and bold strategy that liberated the city in the first place, where he is heavily praised as meeting great success in keeping the Imperial City, and indeed the Empire as a whole, from utterly falling to the Dominion. Is it possible that he could have kicked the Thalmor off of the Mainland? Possible, yes, but doubtful, as he would have to fight through Elsewyr and Valenwood in order to do so, and that would still leave Alinor intact. Even if he tried, though, that would be unimaginably taxing on what few legions he had left, and he (wisely) realized that it would be more pragmatic to sue for peace, lest he cause even more loss of life and property by continuing the war.