As many of you may know, there is a plethora of random NPC encounters to be found if one wanders the open world of Skyrim. The following are accounts to two such events that made the Civil War much more real to me and my character:

-My Empire supporting assassin was traveling on foot from Windhelm to Winterhold when he happened upon three Imperial soldiers leading a prisoner along the road. We were nearing Winterhold, a Stormcloak supporting town, and I thought it was surely my duty as a fellow soldier of the Empire to escort the prisoner caravan to the town. When we arrived at the edge of Winterhold, the unexpected happened. My Imperial fellows drew their swords as I saw two guards approaching from within the town. The guards began firing arrows at us, and I drew my daggers in response. The Imperial next to me plunged his sword into the prisoner, and the four of us fell upon the two Winterhold guards. But alas, the guards overpowered the Imperial soldiers and slew them in succession. I then dispatched the wounded Stormcloaks and fled the area, for I was now a wanted man in this region and had no desire to have business with these traitors.

-The same character was exiting the Riften gates after recently taking control of the city for the Empire. I then heard a cry of "You won't get away with this!" from one of the Imperial soldiers guarding the gate. Turning, I see a single Stormcloak soldier running down the road toward the guard towers that line both sides. Perhaps he was a remnant of the enemy force that escaped during a nearby fort battle, or maybe he was a spy fleeing Riften after stealing away with some valued information. Arrows fly past him as the Imperial guards shoot from the towers and from the road. I followed to ensure that the fool would meet his end if the Imperials could not catch him. The Stormcloak made his way past the towers and past a fort along the road, and none of the soldiers arrows could bring him down. I followed him to the village of Shor's Stone, which was a few miles from Riften. There, the Imperial soldiers were waiting for him. The Stormcloack ran for the mine, hoping to escape there, but he was struck down by the Imperial's blades as the passed the smelter.

Have you ever had similar encounters? Feel free to share!

yes, and from experience and what i've read i wouldn't expect much more than that for the rest of the game.

I give props to Bethesda for even having stuff like this possible though.

Yep. It`s very nice.

I have also noticed that some places ARE actually changing hands.

I went into a Fort (I work for the Romans er Imperials too) and rested. Did you know you can grab health stuff and all that for free if you`re on their side?

Anyway, a while later I was travelling the wilderness and came back to the same Fort. I decided to have a well earned rest again.

"Stay away!" I was sternly warned- To my surprise, the place was ovverrun with stormcloaks!

i`ve also noticed that in a city the Jarl that supported the rebels changed for a jarl who supported the Imperials.

Things do change, but gradually. You probabaly won`t see it if you rush the game.

I enjoyed watching the Stormcloaks kill the Imperials to liberate the Reach and people comment on the change in guards in a few towns.

I had just finished taking over a fort for the Stormcloaks. I spotted a few Imperial soldiers running away when they realized the battle had been lost. I followed them for quite some time, unable to catch up with them. We finally arrived at the nearest town - a town apparently sympathetic to Stormcloaks - and the guards and some of the townsfolks took up arms and a second battle ensued. I was very impressed.

On a side note, on the last fort we took over one of the Imperial soldiers blew a warning horn when he saw Stormcloaks coming. He actually put a horn to his lips and rallied his Imperial comrades. After that they began yelling and archers ran out to begin to pick us off as we ran toward the fort. It was a tiny little detail that I'd never noticed before. Wonderful.