We're sailing in from the east...

I think I would stay away from the Marshes and that entire southern area. Not much is known about it and I wouldn't risk my entire campaign on such an unknown variable. Swinging north and landing on Skyrim's northward shores wouldn't be a bad option. The land is ripe for the taking between the Dragon attacks and the civil war. Morrowind would be another beast altogether, perhaps more vulnerable due to the Red Mountain explosion -- but the terrain is not ideal (at least in Vvardenfell).

Which cities would be the hardest to lay siege to? I think Skyrim again is a safer bet here as the northern cities seem very vulnerable to an attack from the north. Solitude seems the likely holdout, but beyond that -- nothing that intimidating.

Skyrim's terrain is also more conducive towards sustenance, as food and supply chains will be most important. The land seems quite lush, especially compared with Morrowind. I was thinking about splitting my massive force in two, landing on the NW and NE coasts and cutting a swath through Skyrim and then having the two armies link up at Whiterun. Cities that don't immediately show subservience to our advancing armies will face wanton pillaging, [censored], looting, and burning once the siege is successful. I'd bypass Solitude entirely, draw them out into the open to be destroyed -- or let them rot up there.

Also, Skyrim's southern mountain formations would provide help in defending an Altmer or Imperial attack from the south or the west.

A friend of mine suggested landing on Solstheim as quickly as possible, using somewhat of an element-of-surprise. Once overrun, it would be reasonably defensible, and a ideal place to stage further invasions of the mainland. He also thinks Vivec would be the hardest city to lay siege to.

Thoughts?

The Marshes would be a terrible idea for an invasion, agreed. But I think Skyrim would too, I think it would just be too cold for the likely cold-blooded snake people that would make up the majority of the invasion. Normally Morrowind would be the ideal target, as it's the closest to the homeland, but now that it's a somewhat depopulated crater covered in ash the value of the province is now a little dubious.

I think the hardest city to lay siege to would be Solitude, at least early in the campaign. By the time you get there it would almost certainly have been reinforced by the Empire, and it's a relatively large city with modern looking walls and only one avenue of attack since it backs up to a cliff, with a port so that it can be resupplied by sea meaning that a blockade is necessary. Winterhold might also be problematic, if the College chooses to participate in its defense, or let its residents take refuge behind its walls.


Again, while Skyrim may seem lush it's also incredibly chilly, and I have a feeling that the Skyrim portrayed in game is more of a 'summer-time' representation. If the snow falls all over the province then suddenly there is no sustenance to be had. Also, all of the ports are in the North and probably subject to ice blockages - making resupply by sea impossible.


Solstheim probably wouldn't be a great idea. You're expending a great deal of resources to transport your 'massive' army to an icy island with fierce natives and scary monsters, little infrastructure or development prior to your arrival, all for the dubious privilege of being able to establish 'Fort Frostmoth 2.0'. I'd probably avoid Solstheim, especially if the rumors of a Dunmer exodus to the island are true. And I'm sure the home of the Living God would've been a [censored] to lay siege to, if it wasn't a smouldering crater at present.

Ultimately I think the best province to invade would be High Rock. It has a nice climate (likely the only province without a hostile climate aside from Cyrodiil or Summerset Isles), a lot of wealth and trade but (as far as I remember) fractured political power that isn't concentrated in one individual's hands, making an effective resistance in light of the Empire's weakness a relatively difficult endeavor. Also the native race as a whole is magically inclined which means that while they have a few more mages running around the bulk of their fighting levies wouldn't be as effective in combat as, say, the Nords. Also there's the possibility of rallying the nearby war-like Orcs to your banner through promises of rank and position in the new world order and through playing on the centuries-old racial animosity and hatred between Bretons and Orcs. Really High Rock is perfect, just that you'd need to decide if it's possible to sail a little further West before starting your invasion. Assuming a landing in North West Skyrim is possible like you suggested, I'd assume you could go a bit further still and land in Northern High Rock. I think that High Rock might also be able to support an invading army through their own farming more than Skyrim, Morrowind, or Black Marsh so you would likely not need to worry about supply lines from the motherland as much.

I agree with you re: Solstheim. Given how famously hostile it is towards invading forces, it seems a tad waste of manpower and resources when it could simply be bypassed. You make some fantastic points with respect to High Rock. My worries there are two-fold: (1) The southern flank, being close to arguably the greatest contemporary power on Tamriel, would be frightfully vulnerable (and given that the Altmer have been living on an island I assume their navy is quite strong). (2) Supply lines, I would be hesitant to trust the army to live strictly off of the land -- and such a sea route would be easily pirated or worse.

Also love the idea of winning over Orsineum. That should come easily enough. Show them riches, bright lights, pretty colors, promises of influence in the new order -- they would join the fold I am sure. I still am enamored with Skyrim more than you are. Brute combat scares me less than the mages of High Rock, especially in regards to Skyrim. The barbarians there are weary, battle-worn warriors who have faced a plethora of their own problems. I say kick the door in and the entire rotten structure will collapse.

I share your concerns about High Rock, though in my mind the supplies would be a bigger issue than anything else. Still, given that High Rock has a temperate climate and the soil of Skyrim is awful, according to in-game accounts, I see High Rock has having a larger agricultural value. The province as a whole would be more likely to provide for an army than Skyrim would, and since I feel that resupply by ships would be futile in Skyrim anyways, due to ice blocking the major ports, then I think this factor is at best a 'neutral' one.

In terms of the Southern flank, I would submit to you that intervening in Skyrim is a bad idea. At present the Empire has committed many of its forces and resources into the region, invested in a war against Ulfric. The land itself is highly mobilized with significant Stormcloak and Legion forces permeating the entire country. To invade Skyrim at worst would make the Empire 'double down' on the province, committing their last reserves, and perhaps uniting the otherwise fractured peoples of Skyrim against the foreign invader.

Furthermore consider that High Rock is the only province remaining in the Empire that is still functioning at something nearing peacetime levels. Cyrodiil was pillaged throughout the war, Hammerfell seceded, and Skyrim is damaging itself in the midst of its civil war. Likely, the economic powerbase of the Empire may well rest in High Rock, and striking at the Empire's 'unmolested' province would do much to erode their residual power, rather than wading into a volatile region that they already consider a war zone. With the Empire 'committed' to rebuilding Cyrodiil and fighting Ulfric in Skyrim, even if they decided to 'realign' to defending High Rock it would take time to disengage from Skyrim and mount a credible resistance to your efforts in High Rock. Meanwhile, we've seen secession movements throughout the Empire, but High Rock has been relatively quiet. In addition to making nice with the Orcs, who is to say that you can't find some notable Breton in High Rock who feels that the Empire isn't good for High Rock, and is willing to be your figure head? This is a role that I can't see Ulfric fulfilling, given his 'Nord for the Nords' persona to the point that even if you could convince him, there's no way you could convince his adherents to take your side, rendering this last option 'null' for a Skyrim invasion.

As for the Thalmor, would they be willing to risk their own fleets, simultaneously one of their greatest assets and the only way to exert power projection to different parts of their fledgling empire, to oppose an Akaviri landing that can only weaken the Empire? I doubt it, and I feel that the Thalmor, still recovering from the war themselves, would rather wait and see what happens to try and profit by attacking you and the Imperials after you've bled one another dry. But that might be a topic for another thread.

three major aspects I'd expect them to consider

1. Is it weak, that they could take it with ease.

2. Is the surrounding area well enough to supply the troops or does it have good supply routes back home.

3. Will it give them a strategic position to fortify and make a base to operate from

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i would say elsweyr from what i remember if i am corect there is no main army so i think that would be easiest to invade first from there i'm not sure

Ravenius - above all the greatest point I've taken away from your post is that an invasion would be dang difficult! When you say an attack on Skyrim would unify the country, did you mean the Imperials + rebels or just the various nords? If the former, I do not think Ulfric or his lackeys would ever do such a thing. If the latter, I doubt they'd be strong enough to last very long fighting two fronts at once. You also mention that the Imperials have invested a ton of troops and resources committed to the region - so much the better I say! Nothing like delivering a swift death blow.

We can agree to disagree about the Altmer, I do not think they would stand idly by while such a massive invasion went down so close. Maybe.

There is an in-game book title "Mixed Unit Tactics" written by an Imperial about Khajiit units in war and how their ways in battle are very effective. The writer is observing how the Khajiit fought against Bosmer and saying how the Imperial could learn from the Khajiit use of unconventional tactics.

starts with
"The http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Legion could learn from the unconventional tactics used by the http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Khajiit the http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Five_Year_War againsthttp://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Valenwood. I was stationed at the Sphinxmoth Legion Fort on the border near http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dune nd witnessed many of the northern skirmishes firsthand.
The war started with the so-called "http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Slaughter_of_Torval." The Khajiit claim that the Bosmer invaded the city without provocation and killed over a thousand citizens before being driven off by reinforcements from a nearby jungle tribe. The http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Bosmer claim that the attack was in retaliation for http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/A_Dance_in_the_Fire,_Book_I.

In the spring of http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline#3E_396 the war moved closer to http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/index.php?title=Fort_Sphinxmoth&action=edit&redlink=1. I was posted on lookout and saw parts of the conflict. I later spoke with both Khajiit and Bosmer who fought in the battle, and it will serve as an excellent example of how the Khajiit used a mixture of ground and tree units to win the war."

Khajiits are skilled warriors in stealth, light armor, swordsmanship and archery. That and they know their terrain like no other.

Elsweyr is covered with jungle or it is is hot sandy desert land with many canyons and hills. Probably not the best area to set up camp for an invasion force.

Look at the caravan guard in Skyrim. Like somebody posted a topic in the Skyrim section of the site about him - he is the Chuck Norris of Tamriel.

A unification could take any shape really. I suspect that in the face of an invasion of Akaviri snake-people the conflict between Ulfric and the Imperials might seem irrelevant to the majority of Nords. I think a lot of 'pipe dreamers' devoted to Ulfric or his ideals might 'wise up' so to speak, and realize that for now a Skyrim for Nords isn't possible, but at least a Skyrim for Humans is, and sort of coalesce behind something or someone to oppose the Akaviri. Personally I would bet the Nords at large would throw in with Elisif, who has the support of the Empire. Maybe a major Jarl from another hold could marry her and rule as the new High King 'figurehead'. If Ulfric refused to play ball then he'd become irrelevent in the short term, and probably isolated because as I've said before I don't think he could afford to be seen as pro Akaviri. So at worst he sits in Windhelm brooding, at best he's a nuisance to the Akaviri invasion and a distraction from the main Imperial resistance. Would he dare continue to attack fellow Nords while they bleed to keep the hated Akaviri from overrunning Skyrim? Eh...


Think of it this way. You have a choice of attacking an objective A where the enemy is dug in and entrenched, or you can go around it to attack objective B. If you attack objective B then the Imperials either need to concede it entirely, or weaken their position around Objective A (risking losing it to Ulfric) in order to march to, and fight you around Objective B where they are not entrenched or already fighting a war.

Also, do you notice how quite a few of the Imperial soldiers in Skyrim are actually Nords? If they moved these forces from Skyrim would they fight as hard to protect Bretons as they did to protect their beloved Skyrim? I'd imagine many would even desert entirely.

if you can could you post a link to that topic

Isn't that the new name for what used to be called Pale Pass? I think they already did that. Nothing left there but ghosts and ogres.

... and the ever-present wraiths that haunt the mountaintops with their mournful shrieks and moans.

And flames. Lots of it.

You could feign an attack on Skyrim driving the Imperials into committing more troops there then attack the newly weakened spots

One does not simply conquer Tamriel. There are five main forces on the continent, six if the Akaviri want to invade Alinor as well. The biggest problem for any invader would be Hammerfell. The Redguards have, other than the Nords and probably the Bretons, a calm province at hand. Invading Hammerfell means full on Yokudan power in form of deadly footsoldiers and a very capable Navy, and the Akaviri would need to sail around Skyrim.
Skyrim has a living demigod running around, the civil war might have ended and the Nords aren't the easiest opponents. Plus the element of surprise in nearly worthless since the whole nation is prepared for a war anyway. Plus dragons are around, which isn't great for large armiea.
High Rock is probably in a state of cold war, like always. But the Bretons are damn good mages and any invader has to expect to be ambushed by Orcs. Trying to talk to them could result in a backlash, the Orsimer aren't really the talkative types.
Cyrodiil is probably the weakest of the strong provinces right now, but I'd never underestimate the Legion.
Black Marsh invaded Morrowind, it's a big poisonous swamp and then there's Cthulhu... the Hist. I wouldn't try that.

So if I would be a snakeman and wanted to invade Tamriel, I'd pick Morrowind as a target. The province was pillaged, the Argonians lost their interest and aren't there anymore. The biggest advantage would be that nobody would help, except the Empire which is already engaged in several other coflicts. The Dunmer would be helpless since they're rebuilding right now, a suprise attack would hurt them the most. Morrowind would grants the Akaviri a direct access to Cyrodiil for the next strike. Nbody would help them after all since half of Skyrim hates them, High Rock is busy woth politics as usual, Hammerfell won't help the traitors and every other province besides Black Marsh is part of the Aldmeri Dominion.
I don't know actually what would be the next target, probably Skyrim since High Rock is too risky because of Hammerfell, Black Marsh is just too dangerous and the rest won't care as long as the Aldmeri Dominion is not involved.



I think Tallius and Ulfric would join forces, rather than anyone support Elisif. Neither the Legion nor the Nords respect Elisif, even her cook thinks she's clueless and hasn't got any power. Even Ulfric did not kill her after his victory. /biggrin.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />
Elisif has no bitions besides killing the murderer of her husband an is clearly a bad Jarl, as it can be witnessed in game on the first visit in the Blue Palace. The General has control over everythig and the Thanes decide how the city is ruled. Ulfric and Tallius on the other hand are willi g to talk if a greater threat is at hand, as it was the case in Season Uneneding.

The big question for Skyrim as Invasion point is: Before ir after the Dovahkiin arrived?
If the Dragonborn isn't there yet, the war is still going on but dragons may appear and I believ they also have a score to settle with the other Akaviri races.
If the Docahkiin is already in Skyrim, no force should invade it. The civil war may be over, the Nords are united and still ready for combat. Dragons are still roaming the land but some may be under the command of a living demigod (or even god /wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />) like Odahviing. Skyrim would be the single province with a legendary ine man army at that time, if the Nerevarine didn't lead the Akaviri forces of course.

Can't we just burn down Black Marsh along with the Hist? I believe there are dragons in Akavir.

I also think Morrowind is a good choice.

Problem is, the Hist aren't ordinary trees, there's a reason why I always call them Cthulhu. They are basically a sort of Hive Mind for the Argonians, they are one of the oldest races (together with Ehlnofey who are the ancestors to every playable race except Argonians) and are reaaaaly powerful.
And the dragons were exstinct in Akavir iirc, they fled to Tamriel because of the war.

Again, that is an awfully risky sea route, not to mention a logistical nightmare re: resupplies. Once landed, you're surrounded on literally all sides by hostiles (assuming the Altmer navy comes to party).

I think they should tunnel in from underground, using massive Mole Machines.

I would probably split my invading army in half. One half taking over the poorly defended morrowind. Either by persuading the dunmer that an akaviri empire would be better for them or by force. Then I would used a blitzkrieg strategy to take High Rock. I would use High Rock to provide food and supplies as both forces attacked skyrim meeting up in whiterun. My now combined force would spread out through skyrim either persuading others to our cause if we could or simply destroying them and their will using fear tactics like Vladimir the impaler did. I would then use Breton Nord and dunmer slaves to rush into cyrodil as beserkers to do damage to whatever they could. (If I had managed to convert the dunmer I would exclude them from the berserk charge.) After the slaves had done their damage I would send a large group into bruma to take the city then sending the rest of my force making camp in and around bruma. (Excluding the men needed to control my other new acquisitions.) I would send a small peace group to summerset isles to attempt the altmer to assist in and invasion of cyrodil promising an alliance with the altmer keeping with the white gold concordant banning the worship of talos and allowing free travel for both groups. Whether or not they agreed my force would split going south west and south east to take the cities to both sides of the imperial city. I would draw
more slaves from High rock skyrim and morrowind sent them to cause chaos all through cyrodil with very small groups of akaviri soldiers. As the chaos spread I would sent raiding parties from the east and west to harrass the men at the imperial city. Then bigger groups would lay siege to the city hoping to starve them out. Once I had taken the main city the rest of cyrodil wouldn't be too hard. I wouldnt bother with Black Marsh for now I would save that for later. I would attempt to persuade Valenwood to join our cause but if they refused I would attack Elyswer because of theyre loose government and then I would pour my army into Valenwood from both cyrodil and Elyswer. With summerset isles and Black marsh being the only ones left I would appeal to the argonians saying that as we are both reptilian races that we should join forces and conquer tamriel promising a land free of prejudice. (People can be real [censored] to argonians.) With a now strengthened force I would gather Orc beserkers and mercenaries and Nord dunmer and Breton slaves (I know I'm sending slaves in a lot but im conquering the land for akavir I care not for the native races.) throughout the isles before I arrive with my main force. The magic users may have some power but they could not last forever and eventually they would fall before me. All of Tamriel would be mine.

I'm no strategist but I'd love to sack Alinor.

Tsaesci have invaded Skyrim before, and got as far as Pale Pass. And Skyrim is weaker than it's ever been.

AFAIK the east of Morrowind is grassy area, and Tamriel in general is alien to the Akaviri, so an alien environment would hardly matter. The east segment is separated from the rest like an overgrown peninsula, if you secured it's northern point then moved downwards you'd only have to defend from land in one direction. Coastal watch of some sort would be necessary though. Port Telvannis would be too much trouble to take, and they generally stay out of affairs. Keep a watch on them, let them stay put or sail out if they want, it's their only choice if they wanted to defend Morrowind, and you have the larger fleet, you'd destroy them.

The Argonians would never rush to Morrowind's aid, and by the time the Empire arrived it would be too late. The main benefit of Morrowind is quicker cleaner movement of troops to Tamriel, due to it's vicinity. Without the Tribunal to defend them, and recuperation from a genocidal attack a mere 200 years ago, they are, like Skyrim, ripe for the taking. It's between Morrowind and Skyrim if you ask me.

I would invade Cyrodiil through Morrowind. With the Empire's best troops embroiled in the Skyrim civil war it's an easy target. HOWEVER, defending Cyrodiil is the Empire's first priority and they would likely abandon Skyrim to fight off the invasion. Therefore, I would only use a small force. I would retreat my Cyrodiil army to Cheydinhal and strengthen its defenses. Then I would marshal my main forces at the border between Morrowind and Skyrim, and invade Skyrim.

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Problem is much of Morrowind is even more dangerous and inhospital then it ever was since the red year, sure it means a very weak army if there even is one but unless your soldiers are used to an environment like Morrowind at it's current state it will make it hard for your troops to survive, making travelling west to Cyrrodil a pain in the ass. And with barely any farmland to use you need to rely on homeland to resupply. However if the Akaviris can overcome this easily; I can see your plan working

Now if I was commanding the invading force I will probably manipulate the provinces to to attack eachother and hire mercenaries to cause havoc across the land. Tamriel is probably just as mysterious and unknown to Akavir as Akavir is to Tamriel. When it looks like the provinces are weak enough I will send in two armies, one for High rock, and one for morrowind. (I know but I think it's still a better choice than skyrim.) The one in Morrowind may easily defeat any resistance, I will use as much farmland I can get and use the safest ares to travel to. Basically avoid Vardenfell and the surrounding part of the mainland. The one in high rock should have a easy time since the province itself is divided into petty kingdoms. I will try to convince as much of the kingdoms to join me and conquer the ones too stubborn to join.

After High Rock and Morrowind, I will invade Skyrim east and west while sending a smaller force into Cyrodill to occupy Cheydinhall and the Valus mountains. Have both armies push the Imperials/ Stormcloaks to Whiterun while sending smaller armies to the south to hold of Imperial or possibly Hammerfell reinforcements. when Skyrim is now fully under my controll I will a wait for reinforcements. So the next few months will be defending what I have while keep the population under control to prevent any rebellions. When the reinforcments arrive I will try to manipulate the Aldmeri Dominion to invade Cyrodill while Invade Northern Cyrodill and all of Hamerfell.

Whether or not the thalmor agrees to an alliance I would continue the invasion of Cyrodill snd Hammerfell anyway, Once what used to be the human proinces and Morrowind are under Akaviri control I will then stop as fighting the AD would be a huge risk as I'm sure I am bound to lose heavy losses fighting the empire alone. Then I will tell my supperiors to start sending in colonists..

What do you think?

The Imperial Palace via Oblivion.