User blog comment:Thedoucheinthenorth/The Civil War - Why it is great/@comment-1600847-20121105205454/@comment-5135631-20121208145848

Fair enough, it was just my opinion. Sure, Empire's are strong and unified. But when they are divided and there are serious tensions between the constituent countries, that unity becomes division and as such a reliability.

I'm not suggesting Skyrim takes on the AD in open combat. They don't have the energy for that at present, Imperial or Independent. But it would be easier in my mind to fight a guerilla campaign on their own. The Imperials would take them into open battle, out of Skyrim in a different country. On their own, Skyrim would have the knowledge and tactics it needs to defeat the AD.

Even if Skyrim is weakened at present, it does not mean it can't be strong again. To draw comparison to human history, the nations of Western Europe were divided intially after the fall of Rome, but before 500-700 years nations such as France were coordinating effective strategies to fight the Moors and win, and nations such as England were happily living ther lives and fighting off Vikings (though not quickly). Before 1000 years these nations were all more powerful than the Byzantine Empire, which found itself pleading with Western, Eastern and Central European allies for help fighting the Ottoman juggernaut, which Europe managed to eventually contain and stop from marching into Vienna.

Normally it is easier to conquer smaller divided nations, yes, but look at Vietnam: They pushed the French out and eventually the Americans in 16 years of each other, despite the other side having massive technical advantages.

If I was a Nord (which I am in Skyrim but obviously not in real life) I'd be happy with pushing the Thalmor out and wouldn't expect an outright, pitched battle victory rout.. General Giap, the man behind Vietcong/NVA strategy in Vietnam famously said "You can kill ten of my men, but as long as I kill one of your's, I will eventually triumph." He proved correct.