Which city is the most defensible...

[The_Vyper]

Now keep in mind that this question is being asked from a strictly medieval standpoint (although we'll allow for the use of magic). No city can effectively defend against multiple Oblivion gates opening without warning right in the middle of town, so a Daedric invasion doesn't count here.

 

I say Kvatch is the most defensible. My reasons:

 

Note: All of these reasons are based on conventional medieval warfare (accounting for magic, of course):

 

1. It sits on top of a tall hill with a good view of the surrounding area. From this vantage point, any approaching army can be seen from a great distance, making a surprise attack highly unlikely, if not impossible.

 

2. There is only one approach. An invading force would have to ascend through a series of switchbacks that would leave them vulnerable to attacks from above. There is also only one entrance to the city, which would make it easier to defend. All other cities in Cyrodiil (minus the IC and Bravil) have at least two entrances, which means they would have to split their defenses.

 

3. The switchbacks are so narrow that siege engines would have to be carried up in pieces and assembled in front of the main gate. This would leave them vulnerable to attack as well.

 

4. The area in front of the main gate is almost completely devoid of cover. Archers and spell casters could devastate an army gathered there before they could assemble their siege engines. This is made even easier by the narrow switchbacks. Soldiers would emerge onto the field in front of the gate one, two or three at a time. Archers and spell casters could eliminate them rather quickly. And let's not forget about the havoc that a well aimed Frenzy spell would unleash on the enemy ranks.

 

5. The height at witch the city stands makes it very visible for a great distance in any direction. Any siege would be noticed fairly quickly and aid could be sent before the walls could be breached. True, catapults and trebuchets could launch attacks from the base of the hill, but catapults don't have the range to cause much damage from down there. Trebuchet crews wouldn't be able to range their shots without someone shouting back the results from the top of the hill (and such a person would be eliminated very quickly, either by the defenders or a bad shot from a trebuchet).

 

6. While the walls are being defended, fortifications can be erected in the courtyard in case the gate is breached. These could be set up to force the invaders into narrow channels where only one or two can pass at a time. The archers and spell casters lining the walls could then rain death and destruction (and more Frenzy spells) down on the heads and backs of any enemies that enter while more defenders engage them from the front. If help arrives before (or even right after) the gate is breached, the invaders will be sandwiched between enemies and crushed (or forced to surrender).

 

No other city has a defensive setup like this. Skingrad has a huge hill nearby that invaders could put trebuchets and catapults on to devastate the city.

 

The Imperial City has a sewer system beneath it that could house an entire enemy army, which could enter through the three sewer gates that lead to Lake Rumare. If they attack at night, huge groups could exit the sewers in every district, quickly eliminate the guards and then attack the Palace District from every direction.

 

Bruma has a "back door" entrance in Jearle's house. Attacks could be staged on the main gates to draw the attention of defenders, while a small strike force enters the city through Jearle's house. This commando force could bypass the defenders, enter the castle and capture Countess Narina Carvain, thus ending the battle fairly quickly.

 

Anvil could be captured fairly easily, just by taking the castle. The castle is separate from the town, has no visible means of blocking entrance from the main gate and has a secret passage that leads right into the inner chambers from the coast. True, it's a secret passage, but it could be easily discovered, especially since the cave it's in would be a good camp for the invading force.

 

Chorrol could be taken fairly quickly. Have a few soldiers (dressed as travelers/hunters/rangers) enter through the north gate at night (say around 2:00AM), quickly eliminate the guards, climb the guard tower and get on top of the city wall. They could the circle around to the spot above the Grey Mare and eliminate the guards at the south gate, after which a huge force could enter unopposed. There is a lot of cover in the surrounding area for an invading force to hide in.

 

Cheydinhal could be taken with even greater ease. Have some disguised soldier enter the east gate and eliminate the guards. A large force could then stick to the edge of the east wall and make it's way up to the castle while one or two of the disguised soldiers walks up the main path and eliminates the guard after striking up a conversation to put him at ease. Once that is done, taking the castle would be fairly simple. It would be even easier if the invaders captured Farwil at the Knights of the Thorn Lodge. they could just demand that his doting father, the Count, surrender. He very likely would.

 

Leyawiin would be one of the easiest to take, since most of it's citizens are Argonian and Khajiit and could be turned against the racist Countess. They could be used to eliminate or incapacitate the guards and then let an invading force in.

 

Bravil would be harder to take than any city except for Kvatch. It has only one entrance, and that is a rope bridge that could be cut to prevent access. Of course, one fireball launched into the city could start a fire that would burn it all down. But who would even want to take Bravil to begin with?

[ub3rman123]

The way you described most of them would be to have an infiltrator enter the city. Couldn't that happen for Kvatch as well?

[Beerto]

Kvatch is good, but still nothing special.

It lies in such a bad position, if enemies surrounded it with catapults it could easily be shattered to pieces, before Kvatch could send enough forces down to destroy the catapults.

Then the Siege attack could be followed with a ground attack through the entrance, also portable ladders could be used to infiltrate the city, from the cliffs, where Kvatch is probably not defended.

 

And I doubt that youer right about the "Catapults dont have the range"

- Catapults can shoot really far, the further, the harder it hits the target.

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But my vote would probably go for Imperial city, the Walls are the strongest, it is larger, it has a larger amount of soldiers, it is surrounded by water.

 

And since it is the Capital, after no time, help would be sent from all the other cities of cyrodiil - it would take days, maybe weeks, to take over the Imperial city, if the attackers were even to succeed.

 

- About the sewer system, it takes a lot of time to send a whole army through the sewers and into the city - They would probably make a lot of noise, and since there are guards stationed 24/7, the imperial city would be alerted in time to block off the sewers and take out intruders.

 

Also the imperial city has a ton of mages aswell as trained gladiators who could help out in the battle.

 

If someone were to attack the imperial city, they'd have to sneak through thre forests, to make sure theyre not seen by the cities of cyrodiil, who would definetly report to the imperial city if a large foreign army was marching through the woods, and imperial huntsmen are roaming around the roads of cyrodiil so if anything was planned against the imperial city, it would be discovered.

[danielj97]

I agree with everything Beerto said ^^

 

The Imperial City would definetely be the best bet because it is so big and the walls are so high and are made of the strongest stone (at least it looks that way). Also, IC has the biggest guard force, with a massive amount of the Imperial Legion situated there. I doubt any enemy would be able to take the Imperial City, without a strugle.

 

But, I do have to say Bravil would be a good bet, even though the houses are wooden. Fair enough one fire could wipe out the most of the city but I doubt itd be that easy to set wood as thick as that on fire. Youd probably, be able to get some of the thinner walled houses on fire. Another way to take out the houses would be to make holes in the houses via catapults then get your mages to use fireballs onto the interiors.

 

(This has just given me an idea for a side mod to do when Im bored and ran out of ideas. ;))

[Erenussocrates]

well, I cannot remember all the details of the cities' walls but I can tell three important points for good defensive factor:

 

1. Hills: If city walls are based on some heights and if it's hard to reach to wall from inner ground, this makes a perfect defensive point.

 

2. Water: If city is sided by a some source of water, and if the beach between walls and waters is enough narrow, this is another defensive point.

 

3. Less Gates: Less gate means less points you can focus your defenses on (unless there aren't some heavy siege machines to break the walls), a city with only one gate and only infantries as enemy forces mean absolute victory for defending city (for equal forces). And of course this is impossible for oblivion, since every city have at least 2 gates.

 

 

I don't know, I would vote for skingrad since it has heights even inside of the city but it's castle is outside of city lol. This is another option for attackers, they could directly attack to count instead of city xD

 

The position of late Kvatch actually seemed great for me since whole city is based on a hill (impossible to reach walls) and there was only one passage leading to city which is working like one gate. And there was even a canal around the count's castle. But you know it's all ruins now so, oh well :/

[DrunkenGamer]

Traditionally, the Imperial City IS in a great position to defend, which is probably why it was situated there in the first place. There's really only one way to enter the city, it's surrounded by water, and is divided into sections, making it easier to defend even IF the enemy enters.

 

I'm pretty sure the sewers would be sealed, and not many people know about them. Even so, there should be an Imperial presence in the sewers themselves. The Blades might take care of that?

And even if they knew about it, the sewers are not very easy to navigate through. You'd have to have an insider.

 

 

The basic defense of the IC is that it's surrounded by water, making a surprise attack hard. You'd need boats, and those would be spotted rather quickly and taken down. If an invasion force was spotted, I'm pretty sure the first thing the Empire would do is send a couple of ships into Lake Rumare to defend it. The bridge can be destroyed, a tactic that was common in WW2 and even happened in the Korean War. It's a big thing especially when it's the only bridge across a body of water.

If the bridge remains intact, the Imperial City still lies on higher ground. Catapults can only do so much damage, and trebuchets the same.

 

It wouldn't be too surprising to see the IC having its own supply of catapults and trebuchets. They would fire back, and it would turn into Kingdom of Heaven right there.

 

But let's say that this "enemy" manages to punch through a wall or the main gate. Again, the city is divided into sections, so blocking off the enemy's advance wouldn't be too hard.

 

 

 

The second best defensible city would be, IMO, Bruma. It's cold, it's brutal, and they have Cloud Ruler Temple. Using Jarl's secret entrance requires previous knowledge of it, and the backdoor is in a very bad position for attack anyway. They'd have to go all around the city, risking detection by the Cloud Ruler Temple and spotters just to get to it. Just my two cents.

[marharth]

I think you guys are forgetting something...

 

If you can use magic can't you just have a small group of mages go in as spies?

 

They would be nearly impossible to detect with a invisibility spell, once they know some basic things then the army could move in...

[DrunkenGamer]

You forgot about Detect Life spells.

I'm pretty sure that anybody watching out for any movement would use something like that. In the power of like, 500 feet.

[marharth]

meh true, but the guards don't seem to know any of that kind of magic :P

[maxyall]

ํำํำYep. Kvatch is really most defensable.

 

But in TES. The gate of oblivion can open anywhere.

 

If i am mehrune dagon. I'll open 100000000 gate at cloud ruler temple right next to martin bed

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

He sure can do it does he?