when the front lines are lost to the enemy and he has no army to lead then he has to fight. remember, he became the general because he must have had some fighting skill. And besides, the world skyrim is set in every has to fight

Although Tullius is considerably dismissive of Nordic tradition, and has considerable hatred for Ulfric's followers, like most of the Empire he also despises the Thalmor, especially with Elenwen during the quest Season Unending.

If the Dragonborn sides with the Empire in the war, at the very end he hints that another war may be approaching between the Dominion and the Empire. This dialog is triggered if the Dragonborn follows him outside the palace, and attempts to initiate a conversation.

Played both sides now. While Ulfric's ideals for Nord independence are honorable, the way he goes about it is wrong. But my main beef with the Stormcloaks is most of the Jarls they put into seats of power are extremely rude to me. The Jarl they put into power in Whiterun keeps saying "Your not as stupid as you look". I'm the one that put him there. He should be praising me. Instead he is obnoxiously rude. I really don't like the Stormcloaks for that reason. The Imperials are all respectful from my experience. However the battle for Whiterun was a bit more fun than the battle for Windhelm. Windhelms battle should have started outside the main gate just like it did at Whiterun. It just didn't have that epic feeling that the Whiterun battle had. Overall though I now prefer siding with the Imperials. They seem to be more fair about things and are really looking out for the best interests of the whole region instead of just one group of people.

They seem to be more fair about things and are really looking out for the best interests of the whole region instead of just one group of people.

First a disclaimer: This is not a thread about which side you prefer in the Civil War.

Okay, so do you like General Tullius or Ulfric Stormcloak more?

Personally I like Ulfric a bit moe than Tullius:

• He is a strong and loyal leader, and a good warrior
  
• He is true to the traditions of his people
  
• He knows some of the Thu'um

Sure, he have some cons, but I think that just makes him better as a character.

Edit: Better as in more complex.

?

Black Marsh. Abandoned by the empire. Secedes without any issue.
Summerset Isle. Abandoned by the empire during the thalmor uprising. All dissidents that are loyal to the empire are killed.
Valenwood. Abandoned by the empire. Majority of inhabitants killed by Thalmor or fled to cyrodiil.
Orsinium. Destroyed. Empire shepherds refugees into skyrim but does nothing else.
Morrowind. Abandoned by the empire. After an (un)natural disaster an invasion force of argonians kill a large number of dunmer. Most survivors flee to solstheim or skyrim.
Hammerfell. Abandoned by the empire. The moment cyrodiil was under threat, Mede pulls back forces in hammerfell abandoning it to the thalmor. Signs an agreement to cede its lands to the thalmor.

Fourth Era
The Empire is now a shadow of its former glory. Valenwood and Elsweyr had been ceded to the Thalmor, Black Marsh had been lost to Imperial rule since the Oblivion Crisis, Morrowind had yet to fully recover from the eruption of Mount Vvardenfell, and Hammerfell was plagued by infighting between the Crowns and Forebears factions. OnlyHigh Rock, Cyrodiil, and Skyrim remained prosperous and peaceful.
4E 171 — The Great War begins with armies from the Aldmeri Dominion invading the Imperial provinces of Hammerfell and Cyrodiil.

After Titus II rejects an ultimatum to make massive concessions to the Thalmor, Aldmeri armies invade. An army led by Thalmor general Lord Naarifin emerges from hidden camps in northern Elsweyr and assaults southern Cyrodiil, flanking Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border. Leyawiin falls to the invaders, and Bravil is surrounded and besieged. Simultaneously, an army under Lady Arannelya crosses western Cyrodiil, bypassing Anvil and Kvatch and entering Hammerfell. This army is joined by smaller forces landing on Hammerfell's coast. Imperial troops are forced into retreat across the Alik'r Desert.

4E 174 — The Imperial City is sacked by Aldmeri forces.

Titus II flees north from the city, smashing through the surrounding Aldmeri forces with his main army and linking up with reinforcements heading south from Skyrim under General Jonna. The Imperial City falls to the invaders. The Imperial Palace is burned, White Gold Tower is looted, and the Aldmeri commit many atrocities against the defenseless populace.

4E 175 — The Battle of the Red Ring results in the complete destruction of the Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil, a victory for the Empire precipitating the end of the Great War.

The Imperial City is retaken and Titus II's decision to withdraw from it the previous year is vindicated. Despite this resounding victory, however, the Empire is exhausted and unable to continue the war. Realizing this, Titus II seeks to negotiate with the Aldmeri Dominion to end the war.

4E 175 — The Great War ends with the White-Gold Concordat.

The Concordat is a peace treaty between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. The terms of treaty gave the Thalmor free reign to stamp out the worship of Talos throughout the Empire, and ceded a large section of southern Hammerfell. Critics note that these terms are almost identical to the ultimatum that Titus Mede II rejected at the start of the war.

Tullius. He may not understand Nord customs, but he's still willing to fight for them and help them rebuild. Plus, unlike Ulfric, he's a decent and honorable man.

Those provinces either left or were conquered while the Empire was still weak and couldn't do anything about it.

You forgot Elsweyr. They left the Empire because they belive that The Thalmor brought back Messer and Secunda (two moons) that disappeared for two years. Which isn't true.

And Black Marsh left the Empire when they saw it's weakness.

And what did the empire do when it regained its strength? Did it help Valenwood, Orsinium, Morrowind, and Summerset out 20 years after the incident? 40? 100?

I left Elsweyr out on purpose, they didn't have any interaction with the empire, nor did the thalmor do anything against them. The empire did go back to black marsh and gave up on it.

When exactly did the empire regain its strength? They're still extremely weak at this point. They do, however, need to reunite more than anything. The Empire as it stands would be crushed by the Aldmeri Dominion.

Instead of turning and running with his tail between his legs, Titus II needed to rally the provinces together and make a stand against the Aldmeri Dominion before they had a chance to plan an ambush. History shows that when given time to plan, the Aldmeri Dominion comes out on top; when attacked head on, they usually lose.