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Volume 1: The Reach and Markarth.
This is a real cake for a defensive minded commander, with few entry points, lots of choke points and a high income in both minerals and Septims, The Reach is probably the easiest place to defend in all of Skyrim, perhaps even most of Tamriel.
The landscape of the Reach contains several tall and jacked mountain ranges, with deep and steep valleys going between them. Any larger army movement on the Reach needs to be slow, as only a few natural entrypoints are actually found in this rough western hold of Skyrim. Unlike any of the other border-holds, The Reach does NOT have a way heading into High Rock, and the mountains between High Rock and Skyrim are nearly impossible to climb, so you cannot get attacked from behind, while facing an enemy from the east. The hills into Whiterun Hold aren’t as rough as the rest of the Reach, however, any larger force would still need to move very slowly, and while the hills may seem an advantage post, units posted here are largely exposed, especially to hidden regiments of well-trained archers. Despite the relative size of the Reach, you should be able to defend it with success, using a rather small amount of men.
There are two ways to defend the Reach, depending on your style as a commander. Number 1 is a classic defence strategy. Make blockades on every main entry point into the Reach, and keep patrols on the smaller ones. The blockades will be more exposed towards attackers, but you’ll have the advantage of the many options of natural cover that the landscape of the Reach provides. Have your scouts out in position by the smaller entry points, if an army moves through there, they will be spotted, giving you plenty of time to re-arrange your troops accordingly. Number 2 is more for the ruthless and shrewd commander. Leave the entry points, but post small groups of archers all-over vantage points, if your archers are skilled enough, this will allow you to take out key units in the attacking army, thus lowering their morale, as they cannot fight an enemy that they cannot see. Expect parts of especially larger forces to breach through, so you might want to keep some choke points ready deep within the Reach, then have a larger number of your own troops ambush the intruders. Speed is crucial, if your enemy manages to settle their ranks before you ambush, you will lose a lot more men than in a surprise strike.
Defending Markarth.
Should you have failed to defend the Reach, the safest place in all of Skyrim is likely Markarth, fall back here and recover your strength. While a larger amount of the Reach’s riches are out in the hold, there’s plenty within this once Dwemer settlement. Added to that, a creek from inside the mountains, will provide fresh water, though food may become an issue. Don’t worry about the enemy breaching the Dwemer walls, the Dwemer were master craftsmen and masons, their skill unmatched so far. And the Markarth have only fallen to a siege once, mainly due to trickey and deceit. If your men are brave enough, lead them through the ancient underground tunnels, and launch a counter-attack on the enemy from behind his own lines. With the large amount of silver and other ores, coming out of the Reach, the hold is vastly important. If you have allies, they should be certain to send help. And as Markarth can last long under siege, you should really be good to go.
Volume 2: Hjaalmarch and Morthal
Hjaalmarch is an odd place, landscape wise. There’s tall, frosty mountains, open fair-weathered plains and finally, the stinking marsh. A combination that makes Hjaalmarch a difficult hold to defend and guard.
The most obvious entry-point is through the north-western corner of Whiterun Hold, the plains here gives way for a larger army to enter unhindered, everything west of the Hjaal River, though slightly rugged, is ripe for an enemy to camp before launching a mayor assault. If you want to meet the enemy in open combat, this is the best place to do so, and given that your units arrives here first, your men can find vantage points before the enemy even arrives. Another thing worth noticing about this area, a tributary from the Karth River, makes the entry-point rather narrow; only a single bridge crossing this tributary and it’s rather fast stream, which makes it near impossible to cross. If you can keep the bridge, you’ll stop the enemy from even getting the plains for them to camp. You could, of course, remove the bridge entirely, this would make it very difficult for any enemy trying to get in. It is worth keeping scouts and messengers ready though, some enemies are more resilient than others. The bandit keep of Robber’s Gorge makes for an excellent defensive point, should you want to keep the bridge. It’s well defended and can easily hold a regiment or two, so it’s certainly worth considering.
Another entry-point is through the mountains to south, these mountains aren’t overly steep, but impassable nonetheless. However, the Ruins of Labyrinthian sits as natural, albeit narrow, entryway from Whiterun Hold. The pass itself would be difficult to close entirely due to the shear size of the ruins, however, it is an excellent spot for ambushes. If you can’t stop the enemy completely, at least you can lower his morale through unseen sneak attacks, with little risk for your own soldiers. Unless you want them to make an all-out assault, on the enemy from behind his back. If the enemy gets through here though, you would need to react quickly. The Stonehills, a couple of well-organised mines, is one of the few income sources in all of Hjaalmarch. A place you do NOT want falling into the hands of a foe.
To the east, into The Pale, are no natural passes, and the mountain range, that covers the south, turns north giving cover for most of the land. Only to the far north of Hjaalmarch, where the only “normal” coastline sits out into the Sea of Ghosts, is there open into The Pale. This area is the second-most obvious entry-point for an attacking army. Lots of boats can make land, from the flat and clear shore, and units can enter easily from The Pale here. Worse is, there are no direct vantage points, so unless you’re standing with a massive force, fielding siege weapons to take out, and out-range, the ships, you would be defending from two fronts at once. Not many armies, regardless of size and skill, have managed to pull victorious out of such a pinch before. If you are to defend from this entry-point, which you’d have to at some point, unless you want to be overrun, it’s best, to avoid losing too many men, to pull back in the shade of the marsh on the left and the mountains on the right. Though you would likely face a large force coming straight at you, at least you’re prepared.
Finally the last entry-point, though not at all obvious, the marsh. Looking at a map, you’d think that boats can sail directly from the Sea of Ghost and straight into Morthal, however the water-level is not more than ancle to knee-deep. Moving an army through here is possible, but slow. And a slow enemy is the perfect target for sneak attacks and hit-and-run tactics. Keep your men in this area light, and have multiple archers hidden in the tall grass, any larger force, designed for heavier combat and perhaps a siege, will be unable to really strike back, if your archers’ focus is on taking out the enemy ditto. It’ll be long days of waiting, even an enemy that pushes on for Morthal, will have a hard time getting through the marsh.
Defending Morthal:
Morthal is, probably, the worst place for a defensive commander. Sitting below a cliff and only with the marsh around, even holding Morthal with a larger force of men will be difficult. The City holds no natural vantage points, have no walls and no keep to defend it. Your best option is actually to, as soon as possible, start building some flat-bottomed boats, that can clear the low, marshy waters. When the enemy comes, and you have retreated as many men as you can to Morthal, save their lives (and your own) by taking the boats out the Hjaal River. If you have larger boats waiting at the Mouth of the Karth, you can most likely escape. Glory is not to stand, and get cut down because you are too stubborn (or too stupid) to realize that if the rest of Hjaalmarch falls, Morthal will fall too. Besides, those men who live to fight another day, can seek their glory on another battlefield.
Voiume 3: The Rift and Riften
The Rift is a sizeable hold, with long stretched borders to Falkreath, Whiterun and Eastmarch. Furthermore this southernmost part of Skyrim also borders up to both Morrowind and Cyrodiil. If looking at an undetailed map, one would think that this hold would be a hazzle to defend, as an enemy could enter from many points. However, the fact is, that The Rift is a great place for an able defender.
Except for some topped, rugged hills and the three lakes, The Rift is a fairly open, though mildly forested Hold. This makes army movement relatively easy, also for a defending army, as it possible to quickly move troops from one part of the hold to another. This, however, also means that The Rift MUST be defended at it’s borders. If an enemy force gets in, there is little to nothing to stop or hinder them from getting to Riften.
An enemy approaching from the west, from Falkreath, is either very sure of himself, or not all that bright. The only possible entry-point is through a narrow pass that swirls itself through the mountains south of the Throat of The World. As such only a small number of men should be able to hold this place. The large amount of trees can, if you are in good time, be used to build some more reliable defences than just a barricade. It would difficult to get any larger siege weapons through the pass, so even a light fortification can lock a mayor force out. Of course, one should never underestimate a foe, but if you don’t set up a defense here, it’s the point where you’d least expect an enemy to enter, and it seems that more shrewd commanders are keen on using the moment of surprise in their favor. There is no reason to give them that opportunity.
Entering from the north-west, from Whiterun is almost impossible, as the most of the border is the Throat of The World, of course one should never deem the impossible so, without making sure. Keep scouts in the mountain, you can have your mayor defence force in the area near Ivarstead.
A defence from a Cyrodiilic invader is not an issue. The Jerall Mountains makes it nearly impossible to travel, and that is if you’re a single person, an army would never cross through here. A single road have been cut through these barren, jagged peaks though, much like the pass to Falkreath, it’s an easy defendable spot.
From the east sits Morrowind, however the Velothi Mountains doesn’t, much like the Jeralls, give much way for an invader.
The north is from where an attacker most likely would enter, however, despite the long border to Eastmarch, this is actually a prime spot for a defender. Most of the border is made out of a tall, impassable cliffside, with the Rift reaching up over the volcanic wasteland of southern Eastmarch. Placing archers and siege weapons along this cliff is excellent for breaking the enemy’s morale as well you’ll have a good chance of taking out key units, before they enter the Rift. Two roads lead into the Rift from the north, one near Ivarstead and one near Shor’s Stone. Especially Shor’s Stone is a focus point, Redbelly Mine is a key-point for ores in the Rift, a hold with few ore deposits, compared to other holds. Both roads are largely narrow and thus not that difficult to defend.
Defending Riften:
Riften is a large city, even though it seems a bit run-down. The large walls are not only tall, but also thick and solid. They should be able to withstand quite a pummeling. However, you cannot use the walls for your archers as vantage points, there’s no entry point. Riften is mostly built out of wood, but sitting at the edge of Lake Honrich, there’s plenty of water to put out potential fires. The sewer of Riften, the Ratway, has potential to act as an escape tunnel, should you want such or to ambush the enemy. Not far from Riften sits the old Fort Greenwall, posting men here is more or less pointless, if the borders already have fallen, but until then, after clearing it out first, it can serve you well as your base of operations within Riften.
Volume 4: Winterhold
Winterhold is an unfortunate place, a hold of little importance, with only few ressources to speak of, it may wonder why anyone would even live in this place. Even the proud and hardy Nords seems to think that living here serves no point, other than maintaining a hold with a lot of history. As such, there is no obvious reason to even invade Winterhold in the first place. On a positive note for a defender, there are few points of entry, and the harsh, extreme cold of Winterhold makes for a place, only a few people would want to stay for a longer period of time.
Invasion from the Sea of Ghosts is possible, but difficult, as most of the shoreline is covered with jagged, rocky islands and massive, tall ice glaciers. Only the stretch of land down towards Eastmarch is capable of landing for larger ships. The waters are treacherous and gets shallow very quickly where the White River runs out to the Sea of Ghosts. The Winterhold Mountains are tall, but nowhere as steep as other of Skyrim’s mountains, they are in fact very climbable. And due to the opened nature of the ice shelves and mountain slopes, it’s hard to defend against.
The only “true” entry point is from Eastmarch on the road heading northeast. Running in a gap in the Winterhold Mountains, this road leads straight into Winterhold city, so it needs a defender’s attention at some point. But as the only real fortification of Winterhold, the Fort Kastav, lies directly by the road, one should consider posting a larger force.
Another point is through the northern part of the Winterhold mountains, from the Pale, the ice-covered mountain slopes have several natural passes, an army would be able to, although slow, traverse into Winterhold. the ice-shelves and cracks gives possibilities for smaller ambushes, but stopping an entire army is unlikely.
Defending Winterhold city:
Again, an unfortunate position for a defender. There are no fortifications, no natural vantage points near the city. You’re better off letting your men head for Fort Kastav, and make your last stand there.
Defending Fort Kastav:
The road to Winterhold swirls itself just by the fort. However, after, likely, several years of under no or bad management, especially the north-west wall is almost non-existent. Added to that, this is one of the smallest fortifications in all of Skyrim, a larger force inside would be a sitting target practice for enemy archers. Considering this and the general state of the fort, it’s a difficult, but not at all impossible task to carry out. The Winterhold mountains, and the position of Fort Kastav, makes two choke points; one to the north towards Winterhold city and one to the south, to Eastmarch. Barricade these positions, try and rebuild as much of the fort as possible. You might stand a decent chance here.
Volume 5: The Pale and Dawnstar
The Pale is a harsh and unforgiving place, but perhaps that is where the place holds part of it’s charm? Nevertheless, The Pale, compared to all of the other holds of Skyrim, have got an odd shape, as if it was squeezed in between Hjaalmarch, Whiterun, Eastmarch and Winterhold. The capital of the Hold, Dawnstar, is one of the surprisingly few docks of Skyrim, this of course adds to the trouble of defending it. A large part of the hold is covered with snowy pine trees, making larger army movement slow down. The trees can be used to launch smaller assaults at the enemy, but stopping an entire army is not likely an option.
Most of the hold’s land is based in the south, a landmass that stretches almost all the way to Windhelm in the east, to just north of Whiterun city in the west. The eastern border is fairly narrow, running between two mountain ranges (the Winterhold Mountains in the north and the Whiterun Mountains in the south) with the Yorgrim River running in the bottom. A defense here is best in a classic barrier form, and due to the lacking size of the entry-point, a relative low number of men can defend this place. One should be wary though, as roads from both south and north intercepts with this place, in different locations.
The north of this landmass is bordering Winterhold, only a single road through the Winterhold Mountains gives access, so again, form a barricade with few men can hold this place for quite some time.
The south-western border of the Pale is problematic, as it is the open plains from Whiterun. A large force would be needed to defend this place, as the gap between the mountains is considerable. The forest, that otherwise acts as a line of defence, only starts further into the Pale. This gives an enemy the option of camping down in the Pale, before launching a mayor attack. This part of the Pale is also one of the few fertile places for farmland, which is worth taking in mind when defending.
The entire western border is running up along Hjaalmarch, a single road passes where the mountains are flattened out, this road enters the Pale not far from Dawnstar itself, so taking a defence force to this place, is almost a must.
The narrow part of the Pale’s northern landmass have a single road running up to Dawnstar, multiple fortifications, in different states of ruination, sits along the road. Most spectacular and notable is Fort Dunstad, originally the road ran straight by this, largely intact and small Fort, however Bandits have been so kind to add wooden palisades, so that the entire fort now sits across the road, effectively blocking off, should anyone want to try their luck. It’s central position, makes it great for any kind of military headquarters, and losing it, would be a large blow to a defender.
The north-eastern border is mostly covered by the Winterhold Mountains, but the northernmost parts of the mountains are passable, leading onto the Winterhold ice-shelves, this as other paths, leads almost straight into Dawnstar, so leaving it open is a bad choice.
Finally there is the shore, unlike most of Skyrim’s north shores, the shore of the Pale is not covered in ice-flakes, glaciers or small jagged islands, and most of the shore can therefore be used as a landing point for an enemy navy. Worse is, that Dawnstar with it’s dock sits almost unprotected from the sea, although the waters are somewhat shallow, the largest boats will have to sit out at sea. Defending the entire shore-line is difficult, as the land is stretched out long enough for it to be risky, as you would need a large force to cover it all. However, if you can block off the shore near Dawnstar, you can defend a lot, by having a force defending the road from Hjaalmarch.
Defending Dawnstar:
Dawnstar is unwalled, and though a, mostly ruined, fortification, sits on the hills above Dawnstar, it doesn’t add much when talking defence. Most of the threat will be coming from the south-west, the road here can be blocked, but the question is if you can reach to build dependable defences up here, if you can, you’ll atleast halt an enemy from entering Dawnstar. The hill or mountainside above Dawnstar is a problem though, it is flat, and if lost, out of reach for your men. A perfect place for enemy archers or even siege weapons. Finally, you’d have to put the dock in mind. The narrow and shallow waterbed is large enough for ships to enter, but if the enemy doesn’t have ships, it’s a great place, should you feel that the city is about to overrun, and evacuate your men.
Volume 6: Eastmarch and Windhelm
Eastmarch is a relative large hold, however the hold is rather easy for a defender. The hold’s scenery is a mixture of steep, rugged mountains and vast volcanic wasteland, only the north-easternmost part of Eastmarch is open. For this reason, you can focus most of your forces on the roads and the defence of Windhelm. Of course, it’s always a good idea to have troops standing by.
The southern part, bordering The Rift, is not a difficult place to defend as such. The cliff-face, that lifts the Rift-plateau up, is too steep and tall for an army to be moving down. Only the roads in the east and west can be treversed. Here, due to the steepness of the cliff, a defending force will always be below an attacker, making it difficult for your archers to take advantage against enemies. At the same time, enemy archers will have plenty of opportunity to take out your defenders, as the height and the slope will grant them a large advantage in outranging your men. This can be countered by sacrificing the border, withdrawing back along the road, so the enemy will meet your forces on flat ground. The south-western part of Eastmarch is also home to Fort Amol. Not a large fortification, but largely intact, it can serve you well as a second place of command in Eastmarch. In the middle of the southern border, the fortification of Mistwatch is also an option, however, sitting just below the cliff, this place would be prime target, should the enemy place seige weapons on the road above.
The western border runs along with Whiterun and The Pale, but mostly, this mountainous area is mainly impassable and the fortification of Gallow’s Rock (though more or less completely ruined) also sits to keep watch. In the south, the road from Whiterun enters Eastmarch close to Fort Amol, this can be taken in as part of the defensive plans for the south-western Eastmarch. In the north, the Yogrim River makes for a narrow entrypoint. Though not directly by the roads, the large fortification of Morvunskar (actually the biggest fortification in all of Eastmarch, likely, the location didn’t fit a military leader at some point), watches over the Yorgrim Pass and the northern part of the volcanic wastes. Especially the northern part in Yorgrim Pass is important, due to it’s close vicinity to Windhelm.
The northern border is difficult, partly because the large ice-shelves of the southern Winterhold makes for a plateau looking up over Windhelm. Setting up a defence here is difficult, a large force of men would be needed for taking or holding this place, the enemy will be above you, and the slope is not so steep that seige weapons can’t be placed.
Finally the eastern border, sits for an enemy approaching from Morrowind to enter. However, the Velothi Mountains allows little entry, only the Dunmeth Pass allows passage through, the icy plains here are somehow fertile, despite the cold weather, so holding this part of Eastmarch is important. The defence of Dunmeth Pass is however exposed to the Sea of Ghosts to the north.
Defending Windhelm:
While Windhelm is a heavily-reinforced city, it’s location is awful for a large-scale defence. If the enemy have any ranged siege weapons, there are not one, but three places where they can fire upon the city’s defences. Morvunskar, north of Kynesgrove and the ice-shelves of Winterhold, all of these places are above the city. The walls of Windhelm are impressive, built from large-cut stones, the walls are both tall and pretty thick. They can likely withstand quite a few blows. They are however, like in Riften, not manable, this means that you can’t do much other than locking the gate, and wait. Only manable defences of Windhelm is the Windhelm bridge, it lets archers climb up, but it gives them very little defence against enemy archers. Windhelm’s dock is big enough for large ships to port, but relying on something built out of wooden planks for defensive measures, is not exactly a good idea. The dock can be blocked off, so that enemies doesn’t break through here.
Volume 7: Falkreath
Falkreath is a strange place, the hold is largely mild in the weather, only the southernmost and mountainous areas have snow. Falkreath’s natural borders are almost all, except a little part in the north into Whiterun, mountains. Creating a “bowl”, the mountains are just tall enough for the weather to hardly change, no matter the time of the year, unlike the other parts of Skyrim, where especially winters are harsh and cold, and the summers are mild, clear and fair. Falkreath usually only sees two kinds of weather; cloudy with heavy rain or cloudy and foggy. Especially the fog, which lowers visibility quite a bit, have given Falkreath a mysterious image. Falkreath Hold is difficult to defend, because of the sole reason, that there is not a whole lot of space for an army to encamp or fortify, as most of the hold is covered in deep pine tree forest. Of course, the forest can also be used to your advantage, as logs are of plenty here.
From the west sits a single, unmanned gate into Hammerfell. At some point in time, there was a set of doors here, but no more. The gate is open, and the walls meant to defend it, are no more than an arch-way. While it is unlikely for an enemy to enter through, the arch does create a narrow entry-point. You can set up a blockade or a palisade, using logs from the forest. As there is no other way between Skyrim and Hammerfell, this would hinder an enemy greatly.
The north-western border runs up into the Reach, the area becomes more rugged, but the forest also becomes less dense. You still wouldn’t be able to have a lot of men posted here though. The main entry-ways is through two passes in the mountains of the Reach, if you have the time, send your men south to gather logs, a palisade, even a make-shift one, should be able to hold these places, granted the enemy doesn’t enter from another point, and assaults your troops from behind.
The northern border is up into the plains of the Whiterun tundra, this is the only place a major army force can be stationed in Falkreath Hold. However, that might not be an all that good idea. The area is wide open, with few resources to build any defences from and no natural cover to speak of, your units would be sitting ducks for enemy archers and siege engines. Only if you want to meet your enemy in open combat, should consider posting men here. However, instead of having a full force on the plains, you can instead retreat to the mountains between Whiterun and Falkreath. Post a few men, preferably archers, on the road, place a palisade and watch your enemy trying to scale the mountain, while you can relax and riddle him with arrows. The road narrows in up the mountain side, and being one of Skyrim’s most steep roads, enemy archers will never be able to out-range your men. If you consider this option, you’ll also have more men in reserve for you to use in defences elsewhere in the hold.
The north-eastern part of the border, trails the White River almost to Riverwood. The area here have multiple paths, creating plateaus into the side of of the foot of The Throat of The World. These are excellent for placing archers and counter-siege. Retaking Helgen would also serve as a strong-point in the region, as the outer walls of the village are intact and even manable.
The easternmost border is but a single pass, just south of The Throat of The World, an unlikely entry-point, as any larger force would take a while to get through here. Of course, there is no reason for you, as a defender, to make that any easier. There isn’t much wood in the eastern part of Falkreath, it’s mostly mountains, but if you have time, you can get logs to make a palisade or a blockade. Using the slope of the pass could also work to your advantage.
In the southern and eastern corner of the hold, sits another gate to another region, making Falkreath the only place in Skyrim that connects with two other nations of Tamriel; Hammerfell and Cyrodiil. This place is known as the Pale Pass (though it has nothing to do with The Pale as a hold), and there is a lot of history about this place. Unlike the gate to Hammerfell, the gate to Cyrodiil still has it’s door and the wall here is manable as well, a few men could easily hold this place for a long time. Reinforcements can be stationed at Fort Neugrad, though it’s position off of the road, doesn’t make the fort help you defending the hold as such.
Defending Falkreath city:
Falkreath is a somewhat large village, but no more than that, unfortuneatly. It have walls guarding the western and eastern entrances, but neither have doors that can be locked. Worse is that a road runs south of the city, on a plateau above, if you can’t block that off, enemy archers and siege will be raining death from above from here. Only good thing about Falkreath city is, that the farm inside the walls should provide food during a longer siege.
Volume 8: Haafingar and Solitude
Despite Haafingar’s northern placement, the climate of this small hold is surprisingly mild, compared to that of The Pale and Winterhold. This is likely because of the Haafingar Mountains sitting as wall, guarding the southern parts from the ferocious storms coming in from the Sea of Ghosts. However the northern shore is often battered from these storms, and it’s not unusual for ships to wreck not far after leaving Solitude’s harbour.
Haafingar is the only hold of Skyrim to only border up with two other holds, making landbased entry-points scarse. And considering the nature of these two holds, the cragged and jagged mountains of the Reach and the stinking, foggy marsh of Hjaalmarch, which both creates a psychological barrier into Haafingar. A road also at some point led into High Rock near the shore, however recent rockslides (the reason of which is unknown) have made the road completely impassable.
The southernmost part of Haafingar is nothing special really, although the Dragon Bridge outside of Dragon Bridge, is curious in it’s unique design, but for military purposes, it is not that interesting. It is worth noting that the bridge is narrower than the standard bridge found all-over Skyrim. However both banks are large enough to field siege and anti-siege weaponry, just as archers could easily make pincushions of eachother from the banks. However, the bridge is the only true entry-point by road, so if you reinforce in and around Dragon Bridge, you’ll at least have that covered for a good while.
While there isn’t as such a road from the Reach directly into Haafingar, many of Haafingar’s south-western slopes are not as steep or rocky as in other places. The terrian doesn’t allow any major defences to be set up here, but only enemy infantry could move through here, and only very slowly. Keep the area as a point of interest for your scouts and patrols, an enemy that have just climbed up a mountainside in full gear, is likely tired and thus much easier to deal with.
Haafingar can, roughly, be split into three sections: The south-eastern part with the main road leading to Solitude from Dragon Bridge, the plateau of the mountains with the road running in between and finally the coastline. Each of these regions have fortificated buildings, that can serve the military movement. Northwatch Keep, Fort Hraggstad and Solitude itself. While Northwatch Keep is mostly ruined, only a few wall-segments and the remains of a tower, still stands, it does still provide protection from not only enemy barrages, but also the weather which is to be taken in as a point for both a defending and an attacking army. The shoreline is flat and beside the few jagged islands off of the coast, boats can make land here with relative ease. Trying to defend this from an enemy with a fleet, would require a lot of men, a lot of time and a lot of resources.
The plateau is accessable from the Reach, but even though the mountains are good for an overview, the road doesn’t lead to Solitude directly, and an attacker would have to go through one of the other regions to do get there. The road and the terrain around it is fairly open, and flat enough for larger army movement to not be slowed down, which could come in handy, as you can use the plateau and Fort Hraggstad to position units of the reserve, and quickly move them in the way of an approaching enemy.
The main road region is the short road from Dragon Bridge to Solitude, however there isn’t much else but the road. One the one side, the banks of the Karth River are steep and slippery, on the other is a mountainside reaching up like a wall. The northern part is fairly open shoreline, where the Solitude Dock is located.
Defending Solitude:
Solitude is impressive to look upon, sitting with high, thick stone walls on a natural arch far above the Karth River and the Sea of Ghosts, unlike other hold capitols of Skyrim, there is no room to place units or siege weapons above the city, so your archers will (granted the enemy archers are equally skilled as yours) always outrange your opponent. Despite it’s location high above sea-level, Solitude have wells that ensure that water-shortage will not be an issue during a siege, and because of the many sections of walls surrounding the city, Solitude is more likely to break a siege, not from resistance, but from simply grinding the enemy into calling for a treaty.
Volume 9: Whiterun
The open plains of Whiterun are scarse with resources, but the land is vastly fertile like few other places in Skyrim. As such, food is a plenty, and a besieging enemy might have a hard time getting the the people of Whiterun to a breaking point. However, a part of Whiterun’s wealth comes from it’s position as the number one trade city of Skyrim, also because merchants from the surrounding nations can easily come here. The plains have been sight to several epic battles over the cause of time, but recent times have been peacefull for the hold in the middle. Whiterun borders up to all of Skyrim’s other holds, except Haafingar and Winterhold. This fact, of course, complicates any defensive works greatly. Because Whiterun is stretched far, it could serve as a strong point to keep most of your units near the Fort Greymoor, the fort is mostly intact, although the entrance walls are in a state of disarray.
To the west, roling hills turns into topped, jagged mountains and the Reach, only the lower part of the hills are actually part of Whiterun, with Rorikstead sitting as a watch-post over most of western Whiterun. A significant force would be needed to fend a foe here, as enemies would have the high ground most of the time. North-west is an opening into Hjaalmarch, the road leading in between the mountains, this place is one of the few obvious places to hold a defensive barrier with success. Water-falls and steep slops secure that an enemy from the north cannot outflank you, and you would have the high gound towards an advancing enemy.
About straight north is a way through the Labyrinthian ruins, the ruins are a part of Hjaalmarch hold, sitting in a mountain pass. The path from Labyrinthian into Whiterun, slopes slightly upwards, and like the other entry to Hjaalmarch, a excellent position for a barrier and archers. There are also a couple of trees here, if you have time, they can be used into the defences.
South-west in Whiterun hold is actually a part of Falkreath hold to the south, a road with a steep slope reaches up into Falkreath and another road enters from the southern Reach, this cross-road area is a perillous task, and requires attention, as most fronts potentially facing two armies, do.
Straight south sits Riverwood, the main supplier of lumber to Whiterun. It’s important to hold this place, if you seek to build palisades and barriers in other places, as you find almost no trees elsewhere in Whiterun. Unfortuneatley the plateaus south of Riverwood are a part of Falkreath hold, a defender here could expect enemy archers raining arrows down upon his men, and then Riverwood’s walls would not give much protection.
The eastern border is parted between Eastmarch and the Rift. Fort Fellmoor sits in a mountainous region, although almost completely ruined, the ruins will still provide some cover and could act nicely as your units posting in the eastern region. The road leading up from Eastmarch (and the Rift) is narrow, with the White River running on one side, and the feet of the Throat of The World on the other. The ruins of Valtheim Towers are mostly useless for a defence, but scouts and other swift moving units could quickly send message to either Whiterun city or to Fort Fellmoor for reinforcements.
North-east sits a difficult border up into the Pale, here another part of the plains are not part of Whiterun hold, and the border is very close to Whiterun city, like with the Reach-border, it would require alot of men to hold this place, however you’d be on the same level as the enemy. If you wish for a glorious battle on an open field, this is where your dreams could be fulfilled.
Whiterun city:
Whiterun bears signs of long peace, the large stone walls are in a bad shape in many places, often re-inforced with simple wood towers and barricades. Sitting on the only top-point on the tundra, the archers defending Whiterun will have a good shot at outranging enemy equals, however the walls are not large enough to field larger anti-siege weapons, and due to the state of Whiterun’s walls, a few hits from a catapult should knock it down. Dragonsreach is more a palace, than a military building, the tall balconies could field a couple of archers each, but what are a few archers against an army?
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