I have to agree with this reddit post that someone should have rethought about this particular base

http://i.imgur.com/lBeK85l.jpg

It's just a hidden camp. They're not supposed to be found or get involved in direct combat.

Who says the retreat is cutoff by water? I think a handful of soldiers could make it through the water with their horses and supplies.

It does seem a bit obvious from the bridge. But I'd have to see it in-game.

Well, there's really not many other places in Haafingar to put it. It's a pretty small Hold.

I'm guessing you where heading to High Hrothgar with Elenwen, Elisif, Tullius and Rikke.

You don't want to be backed against a river during a fight. Then again, that's sometimes used as a tactic to get men to fight because there is no retreat. I think this was just a matter of game economy though.

But if it's 7-8 Stormcloaks in between Solitude and Dragonbridge, they wouldn't really be fighting. They could retreat through the river before any real battling happened.

Except a "Real Battle" is only 5-12 Imperials attacking as well. How big do you think battles in Skyrim would be?

Well considering the fact that they're in the capital and headquarters of all imperial forces in Skyrim, I'd hope that they'd have more than 12 men... unless the empire has really declined that much since I last played.

Guys... Npcs just walk straight they won't even turn their head on the bridge. and the people in Solitude are rich people. They don't care if theres a hidden cam[

Soldiers can't get across a river in a fight, because of armour. They'd sink. And if they took their armour off somehow and swam for it, they've still got archers to worry about, and riders can get around to the opposite bank quicker than they could. As someone gutted they never got to go on Time Commanders, this camp offends me

I think the redditor wants us to look at it as though it's real.

Ok, I'll have a go.

You're an Imperial. You know there are secret Stormcloack camps all around your territory. Where do you go looking for them? The most obvious, defensible positions. And you stick your own guys there.

If you're a Stormcloak, where does this leave you? Pick the area that no Imperial will go looking. And stay very, very quiet.

Hmm. I'm not sure I even convinced myself, there.

To make this a little more funny, I recommend that people take a few minutes to walk from Dragons Bridge to Solitude and keep a lookout for a side-road on your right side. It is worn so much that the stone road only goes on for a tiny length, but follow it and you'll end up somewhere interesting.

Next time you're in Castle Dour, count the number of Imperial Soldiers hanging around.

Well obviously the guards of Solitude won't be leaving their posts and...um, http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120124185326/elderscrolls/images/3/35/Roggvir_Execution.png... to attack a handful of Stormcloaks camped out. And there is definitely more than fifteen soldiers when you attack forts and cities, so I'm thinking the legion could cough up a small force to drive them off. And even if 15 soldiers did attack, that's 8 vs 15. Still not fair.

Oh and, the point of this thread is actually just discussion on the location of the camp, I didn't see any official guidelines stating that they couldn't flee in this scenario... you even said yourself their armour is light enough to swim in.

This is just gameplay, in books soldiers are drowned by water. Vivec uses water to flood an attacking Imperial army.

I don't know of any, and as an amateur historian I'd like to.

We don't know what it is. We do know it has chainmail attached, though, and in reality chainmail is a very heavy material. So is fur when it's put in water.

Water and infantry or cavalry battles don't mix. There are plenty of historical examples. Alexander the Great used this tactic on his own men to make them stand without retreating- backing them up against a river- though at the moment I can't recall which battle it was. Of course it depends on how deep and fast the water is, and how big your force is- a small skirmish force like this would have it easier than a large army where you're falling over the rank in front of you. But even a small ditch is going to be an impediment to movement and make for easy targets for archers.

Indeed. http://i.imgur.com/ZDPLtvW.jpg

He did it to the Akaviri too? In the 2920, First Seed book he drowns an Imperial army and washes them into spikes.

Not one for new tricks, is he?

Im not a redditor. But yeah if you guys are going to make a huge thread about something not that big...