User blog comment:Thedoucheinthenorth/The Civil War - Why it is great/@comment-5469467-20121101051603/@comment-1600847-20121102140149

Hammerfell didn't bear the full force of the Dominion's army. The faced a third of it. Another third was in Cyrodiil, the other third in the Dominion itself in defend their borders. Hammerfell is one province. It couldn't stand against the might of three others combined. Skyrim couldn't do it lone. The Empire can't do it alone. Their best hope to survive is to work together, not divide themselves further, which is what Ulfric and the Thalmor both want: division and conflict.