Alright lets point out some things.
Yes the opponents I did fight were honorable. One barely did anything, one asked if I could peace him out so he could go nuclear against \m/, and one was chairman hal. It was not like \m/ was completely curbstomped. We had Legion, TAB, UPN, CON and a few others. Legion and \m/ were fairly close in NS so it wasnt like it was a 3:1 war, and you probably want to go after the biggest alliance. \m/ didnt have much of a counter attack I think the most we got in 1 day was 17 (none were at me), I mean typically you want to try and attack an MoD to distract them a bit from their duties, but I was never in a defensive war. Chairman Hal sucked up 9mil in aid which I admit I gave some more to him but it certainly cost him.
The reasons why Legion has a hatred for \m/:
1. WC trying to blackmail us for tech (he later said it was a joke)
2. \m/ accepting a refugee and spy from the Legion (Colt)
3. For me personally one member making fun of Cricket (reason I am in this game) and his friend that died.
4. Dove War
Reasons why Legion ended up winning:
1. Introduction of war chests
2. The assumption that Legion was still a paper tiger alliance
3. Better military organization
4. Personal Vendetta (yes it existed and still does, number 2 above was a huge reason)
5. Leadership being more active
6. Ceasefire (helped to a degree)
7. Numbers
On Valhalla:
1. Orginally it was a surrender, but since it wasnt signed by nW no good
2. NPO meeting changed it
3. Valhalla was doing damage no doubt, but it wasnt a clear beat down and we were working on a return plan.
4. Legion at large was a completely different dynamic than \m/ we very much disliked tech raiding as we wanted both casual and full time players alike. Whereas tech raiding does not benefit the casual as much.
5. I personally dont believe in disbandment or harsh surrender terms. 1. It creates a ton of animosity and 2. Breaks apart friendships (which is the best part of this game)
4. I personally fought a good friend from Valhalla and from the legion govt at the time I probably had the best relationship with nW.
Others:
1. As noted I was probably the most anti nuclear person in history of MoDs (even after I got nuked I didnt fire one back)
2. Legion was not for disbandment (at least I wasnt) that was a decision that was made by the coalition (most vocal about it iirc was ES)