First Draft
Siege of Solitude
Prelude
It is the year 204 of the Fouth Era. Since 4E176 (The Markarth Incident), Skyrim has been divided as the fight continues between those who remain loyal to the Empire, and the Stormcloaks, an army of patriotic Nords who feel that the Empire has abandoned Skyrim and has forsaken their very founder, Tiber Septim by not honouring him as a god. However, for the past five years, unprecedented events have occurred in Skyrim's history. The return of the dragons and Alduin the World Eater occurred on the 17th of Last Seed 4E201. A prophesized "Last Dragonborn" began his journey on how the slay Alduin and his followers for good. After Alduin himself was slain by the Dragonborn, Skyrim was again threatened by the return of the Volkihar Vampirs, on their way to fulfill The Prophesy of the Sun. Soon after, Miraak, the first Dragonborn attempted to flee the relm of Hermaeus Mora, A Daedric Prince who sought all the knowledge a Dragonborn could bring to him. The tales tell of the Dragonborn too, having a major role in the extermination of the Volkihar Vampires, as well as the slaying of Miraak. What is not known however, is the Dragonborn's Whereabouts. Many believe he has taken Miraak's place, trapped under Hermaeus Mora's dark influence, trapped in his realm. (This is to justify the dragonborn NOT being present during the Siege of Solitude. Can be changed/revised)
Location/Imperial Numbers
4E204, 15th of Evening Star. The snow trickled onto the frozen bogs surrounding Haafingar, slowly covering the highways out of Solitude its self. A mild, quiet day. Not a gust of wind. Their banners did not fly in the wind, but eerily hung on their poles, as if they were condemned to the gallows. The remnants of the Imperial 5th Army, which included the 6th, 12th, 9th Nordic Legions, along with around a thousand Solitude Militia stood at the ramparts. A number estimated to be 19,750 men strong were set on their last stand. Since the Stormcloaks took Falkreath, little to no Imperial supplies are reaching the army. The only way now is by boat. From Cyrodiil to Skyrim is a very long journey. And now, with their food supply dwindling, the Imperials stare down the slopes of the mountainside to see a massive army.
Stormcloak Description+numbers
The Stormcloaks have taken great advantage of their victory in Falkreath. By targeting Imperial supply trains, they ensure that the Imperials will fight hungry, exhausted and demoralized. It took years, yet one hold after another, the former Imperial supportive Jarls either grudgingly pledged their support to the Stormcloaks, or in some cases had their capital city besieged and occupied by stormcloak forces. The Imperial Army was outnumbered 3-1 at the beginning of the war. To many Stormcloaks, the ban of Talos worship truly meant the end of a competent Empire. The fighting has been difficult. Imperial detachments are hard enough on their own to take care of, but entire Legions in open field (I want to reimagine the battle of whiterun, not just the siege its self but a massive battle in the tundra where large armies can actually form up) were near impossible. Tight compact shield walls and very well disciplined troops made a Stormcloak victory very difficult to accomplish.
The Stormcloak battle formations along the mountainside are quite simple, unlike the Imperials. Archers are placed in front of the Infantry, and the main bulk of Infantry is in the center. The Stormcloaks favoured a more direct approach to fighting. They comprised of mostly heavy infantry, wearing Iron or Steel plate (Fuck the cuirasses they have in the game, they look like shit) wielding anything from swords to warhammers. Only Stormcloak Archers wore leather or chainmail armour, anything easy to move around in and made bow drawbacks easier on the shoulders. These Nords, gathered under a single main army numbered a staggering 53,170 soldiers.
Imperial Description
The Imperial Legions present during the siege were mostly heavy infantry. Wearing the standard issue heavy Imperial armour and fighting in compact formations (The leather armour + studded armour in game doesn't really make sense unless those who wear it are light infantry such as: archers, skirmishers, javeliners, slingers, etc). However, since this was a desperate last stand, the Imperial army spared no expense in terms of defense. A general's bodyguard of approximately 300 Penatus Oculatus were present in the Blue palace and a few other squads were sent to help defend city chokepoints. Down at the Solitude docks, the East Empire Warehouse was guarded by 1,800 Oculatus Primus (I came up with these soldiers. See unit description), some of the most elite soldiers handpicked from the best legions. Also present during the siege were three Imperial Warships, docked near the East Empire Warehouse as well. The "Pursuit", "Everlasting" and "St. Alessia" were outfitted with catapults tied down and nailed to the decks as well as ballistae, capable of firing very long range bolts which could penetrate several men at once.
Command Structure
Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm oversaw the major deployment and movements of Stormcloak forces during the siege. His second in command, Galmar Stone Fist commanded his own bodyguard, a fearsome band of Warhammer wielding Nords, who were tall, very strong and wore Steel Plate armour, from head to toe. A bear mantle would be placed on the helmet and the rest of the bear's fur would be worn as a cloak (See the Stormcloak officer armour in skyrim for what I mean with the bear fur/skin and imagine that on the steel plate armour). Several other Stormcloak generals were present as well, commanding several detachments and responsible for breaching city walls and defenses.
General Marcus Aureillius Tulluis (Made his name better sounding, idk if that should be kept), the Military Govenor of all Imperial armies in Skyrim commanded the defense of the city. Legate Rikke was put in the front lines to ensure discipline and order among the ranks if the Stormcloaks did break through and flooded the city. Penatus Oculatus officers were assigned to command defensive positions for the same purposes as Legate Rikke.
THE SIEGE BEGINS
The siege its self began at approximately 8:30 in the morning on the 15th of Evening Star. Stormcloak archers set their arrows aflame and showered the defenders on the walls. These would allow certain buildings to catch fire and cause problems for the soldiers inside the walls. Around the same time, the catapults and ballistae on the three warships opened fire onto the Stormcloak forces on the mountain side. This proved very effective, as the catapult operators were easily able to zero in on the tight mass of soldiers. Stormcoak rams began to push forward in aim of breaching the main gate. However, the Imperials were ready for this and had requested a detachment of Thalmor wizards to use what magic they had to destroy the flammable wooden rams. This proved very costly for the Stormcloaks, because they couldn't get anywhere near the gate before a Thalmor soldiers pushed them back.
A matter of greater importance however, was to capture the Imperial Warships stationed at the docks and perhaps use them against the thick stone walls of Solitude. Galmar Stone-Fist commanded his bodyguard, whom took upon calling themselves the "Bears of Stone" (can be changed, I couldn't think of anything else lol) and assaulted the docks. Waiting for Galmar and his troops were the Oculatus Primus commanded by Lieutenant Gaius Maro. The force of those Warhammers swinging into the shield wall was said to have echoed off the very walls of Solitude. Here on the docks, extremely bloody fighting occurred. Some Imperial shields simply couldn't handle the force behind each swing of the Bears of Stone and broke after two or three direct hits. This caused problems the traditional shieldwall formation, however this was counteracted by the swift Imperial short swords which were much much quicker than Warhammers, and when a Stormcloak raised his Warhammer to strike, an Imperial would just slide his sword under the neck guard or groin of the plate armour, where there was no protection and kill him. Of course when a Warhammer found it's mark, Imperial helmets would be crushed, causing skulls to crack like eggs. Limbs would be shattered and there were few accounts from survivors that a Stormcloak Bear used the hilt of his Warhammer to choke out an Imperial by pressing the wooden hilt onto the neck of the Imperial soldier and snapping his trachea like a twig.
As the Stormcloaks continued to have problems with the Warships and the Thalmor detachment, Ulfric ordered the archers to turn their attention to the Imperial ships, as they were becoming too dangerous to be allowed to stay afloat. Flaming arrows rained onto the decks of these ships from the mountainside above. The arrows stuck into the masts and broke through windows of these ships, setting the sails and anything inside that was flammable, ablaze. Quickly, The Pursuit become completely engulfed in flames. Unfortunately, these ships were also carrying multiple supply goods and the Pursuit its self was carrying a large amount of firesalts. The heat from the flames and the unstable nature of these ingredients caused a massive explosion.
Shrapnel from the explosions rained everywhere. Onto the decks, the soldiers fighting on the docks and even fel into the city its self, creating more havoc. The explosion could be heard as far as Dawnstar and had ripped apart most of the docks too. No doubt, the other two ships quickly foundered and the remaining soldiers on the docks quickly attempted to scramble as far away from the shrapnel zone as possible.
Now, free of the catapults and Ballistae, the Stormcloaks turned their attention onto the Thalmor detachment hiding in the woods. After the first few failed attempts to breach the walls, where the Stormcloak siege weapons were burnt down by Elvish magic, Stormcloak forces managed to find out their hiding spot, ambush them and kill them all (I can go into more detail about what happened to the Thalmor embassy its self if you want). Eventually around 4:00PM Stormcloak Siege towers and rams were able to breach the gates of the city and here is where the main Stormcloak force of infantry were able to rush in and fight. At first, order and discipline worked in the Imperial favour, The tight gateway only allowed so many Stormcloaks to funnel through and this allowed the Imperial Shield Wall to halt them in their advance and used their sword shorts to jab at them. However, as the city began to truly burn, frightened citizens attempted to leave their homes and flee through the numerous city gates to the north. However, the gatekeepers would not allow these civilians to flee, as this could cause a hidden Stormcloak force to charge in while the gate is open.
Panic among the civilians meant panic for the soldiers themselves. As civilians rushed and pushed passed them, these tight formations began to falter and lose their effectiveness, As the siege tower allowed Stormcloaks to flood the walls, the Imperials defending the main gates became outflanked and were easily picked off. Fighting continued along the streets and alleyways, where the disorganized Imperials trying to recover formation were taken advantage of by the Stormcloaks who were full of bloodlust and could taste victory. By 6:00PM the Blue Palace was in sight. Here is where the fighting became the most gruesome and desperate. It was said that if one were to look front the view of a bird, one could not distinguish who was who. At this point, blood flooded the streets and poured into the sewers below. Soldiers began slipping on spilled organs and desperate defenders resorted to clawing, scratching and kicking their opponents. One Stormcloak account said that his comrade ran an imperial through with his blade, but as the Imperial fell, he grabbed a hold of the Stormcloak's leg and gnawed on it, tearing a chunk of exposed skin out, which caused the Stormcloak to stomp on the man's head with his free leg until his boot was soaked with brain matter. This was the worst of the fighting. As the defenders huddled around the gates of the Palace its self, the Stormcloaks were ordered to halt. Ulfric himself appearently walked through the mass of men and consulted the Imperial leaders, who now only commanded an army of less than 800 men.
An ultimatum was delivered to Tullius: Surrender all your troops and have them lay down their arms and all of you will be free to walk out of Solitude and be under prisoner Escort back the Cyrodiil. Few officers protested against this, but Tullius knew as soon as he saw the message. Within an hour, remaining soldiers from the 12th and 9th Legion were ordered to surrender. Along with General Tullius and a few of his generals, the soldiers left the city unarmed and spent the next few days in Dragonbridge, where the Treaty of Dragonbridge was signed. "All Imperial Legions under the command of General Marcus Aurellius Tullius are hereby ordered to surrender their weapons and submit to Stormcloak forces. By order of Titus Mede the Second, all those who comply will be relocated back to Cyrodiil. All cities and towns not yet under Stormcloak Control are to be forfeited to Stormcloak officials".
(Well here is what I got so far. I think its pretty good. I know its long but hey, I had a lot of ideas. I didn't really know how to end end it so I just ended it at the treaty signed. So read it and lemme know whatcha think!)