So as most of you know the thalmor have whooped up on the empire, forcing mede to submit to their demands. I was under the impression that the altmer fought a good defensive game, but lacked the numbers to do a full fledged invasion. So out of curiosity how would the altmer wage war? Some sort of arcane siege weapons? I always thought they were against using deadra, and even if they were they couldn't bring in armies of them to fight for them. So with less people (i assume) how did they go up against all of the empire and its legions? Do they have any history or anything in the lore talking about how they would fight?

They use Goblin slave armies, for one. They were also Tamriel's foremost naval power for most of history, and that kind of force projection would allow them to strangle trade and pick apart a chaotic empire like nobody's business.

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-refugees
The link there is about one of their previous wars.

Play Oblivion, they make mention that Daedra worship has become prevalent in the Summerset Isles.

I think their attitude against daedra may have changed. also who says they cant summon mass amounts of them?

that thing martin did was suppost to stop hosts of oblivion from coming through right? Thats what hurt the alyieds when their slaves rebelled, i remember that from some where in oblivon

What martin really did was restore the status quo. Even before the oblivion crisis, before the death of Uriel Septim, you could open oblivion gates. They'd just close after several seconds to a few minutes. With daedra summoning, you could still summon large amounts of daedra, if you wanted and had the capability. You just wouldn't be able to open permenant portals for daedric hordes to pour out of.

Daedra also have a habit of turning on their masters, it'd be quite the gamble to rely on the Daedra to fight a war for you.

Also, with the rise of the Thalmor, expect those altmer that did turn to daedra worship to be quickly annihilated.

Also, the Altmer have the Psijjics to cover their asses when nations begin to invade Summerset Ilse. It's a big reason why Tiber was the only emperor to outright conquer the altmer, as he had the Numidium to make any defensive action the Psijjics could have done moot. Also, the altmer have one of the greatest navies in Tamriel.

In terms of offensive strikes, it's likely it'd be limited to outside help, like using a few of their own soldiers, lots of gobbos, and plenty of bosmer. I'd assume if they wanted to invade, they'd rather weaken a nation internally and rot them from the inside before striking on the outside. Why else are the Thalmor involved with the civil war in Skyrim? It is their work, or at the very least, something they're doing to exacerbate it to the point where Cyrodiil and Skyrim are too battle weary, and too weak to effectively fight back.

Also to note, Titus isn't around to use Tactical Genius.

The Altmer are supposedly fearsome foes on the sea. The fact that their removed from the rest of Tamriel gives them a advantage, especially being the powerful magic users they are. The Sea elves themselves couldn't make it to the Summerset isles when they were at war.

That's not true, the pocket guide mentions the Maomer had raided Summersets shores for eons and even sacked Firsthold I believe.

It's pretty simple, really, PGE 3rd edition states that Valenwood has little to no national identity. When the Septim Empire collapsed, any single organized military, particularly one with no regard for loss of individual lives on either side, meaning goblins and the supposedly corrupted/humanized Bosmer, trumps scattered tribal resistance any time, especially when you have the magical resources to level entire sections of the forest with a cough.

From there, an army of eugenics-happy zealots could easily build and deploy a mainland army, especially one that uses goblins as primary infantry.

Your right, but if I recall it was those very raids that forced the Altmer to create a competent navy in the first place. I also remember that the Psijic created a storm so devastating that Orgnum hasn't returned for a round two...yet.

Ah, I am familiar with the War of the Isles, but I wasn't aware that the Altmer asked for support from the empire.

but are the psijic subservient to teh altmer? I thought they saved summerset because they lived really close to it and didn't want to be involved in any fighting. They are their own religious/educational group

They're not subservient, but they are reliable.

Now, for the more general question:

The Aldmeri Dominion likely doesn't have the real capacity to be victorious in an open, aggressive, standard war against the men of Tamriel. Assuming they still rely on baby-killing for their eugenics program, they're crippling their own capacity to field soldiers as a matter of principle. What they have, is a strong navy, goblins, and weird Bosmer stuff.

Because of their sea-superiority*, and the historical precedence set by the Psijics, they don't need to worry about defending the homeland. Because the Bosmer have a strong alliance with the Valenwood, they're also probably pretty safe from invasion. This should really free the Dominion up to focus on offense. Unfortunately, there are some problems with that. Boats can't fight on land, Bosmer need to stop after every battle to eat the dead, goblins are probably hard to control, and the wild hunt is wild. This leaves them with two major methods of fighting: slow implacable Bosmeri advances, and sudden disruptive strikes. The Altmer could sail up the niben and land a thousand goblins next to the Imperial City. The Bosmer could sneak deep into enemy territory and go on a wild hunt. Altmeri privateers could mess up your fishing and merchant boats. They'll never be able to just smash your army to bits in a climactic battle, but they don't have to.

To note, not all of Valenwood is the Dominion's. Eastern Valenwood is still on the side on the empire, as Titus Mede does send support to the rebels there.

And how does Mede's empire end up? Eastern Valenwood was anti-Dominion when the dominion was ~ 40 years old. I'm sure that Valenwood was fully subdued early on in the major conflict between the dominion and the empire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_war

All the Altmer needed to do, was weaken the Empire from the inside.

I think on the whole we need a fuller picture. A fuller picture I am really hoping Skyrim provides. There's word of Thalmor present in Skyrim, and if there are any quests related to them then perhaps more light will be shed.

Just vastly superior technology.

The Altmer have historically strengthened the Empire from the inside, giving it their high culture.

Technology doesn't mean squat. The Maoris gave the first English explorers a run for their money.

BAHAHAHAHAHAA!

Now that I'm in on this joke I feel like I have to acknowledge it.

You mentioned the Opium War, which made me think specifically of 100-gun ships of the line towed up rivers by steamships to let loose on Chinese forts with 8 inch explosive shells.

I don't see what Maoris and bushwacking Brits with funny round hates have to do with that.

Imagine the fleet of Ada-Mantia. Their prows shatter planets, and we can't hope for another mutiny, once they are massed for victory. That's what awaits Man. This is Alinor's potential battle strength.

As for what Thalmor can (possibly) do, anything really magical, decisive, and cruel. Five Eras of war with Numidium is their crucible.