What is the current status of the Imperial XIV Legion in Eorzea?

Or, more to the point, how do we rationalise the continued existence of the castrums following the loss of the XIV Legion's top leaders? Who or what is keeping the outposts from falling apart from the lack of supplies?

And while we know that one particular tribunus still lives, it's apparent that

he's currently travelling incognito, in an effort to infiltrate the Crystal Tower and steal its secrets.

So I doubt that he's actively giving commands to keep the occupying Imperial forces together. Anyone care to speculate?

I thought, if I recall the story correctly, the XIV Legion ceased to exist as a coherent unit, on the plains of Carteneau. Bahamut wiped them out (?)

Or was that the VII Legion?

I believe it was Nael van Darnus' VII Legion that was annihilated on Carteneau. The XIV Legion was lead by Gaius van Baelsar.

Well, after taking note of the dialogue during the mission briefing for Operation Archon, plus the dialogue in the ending, it's clear the XIVth Legion still exists, albeit one without it's command structure. Only Castrum Medindaium and the Praetorium were destroyed in Operation Archon - the other Castra scattered around Eorzea were only blockaded to keep them from reinforcing CM (and thus allowing the player and their party to infiltrate it and destroy the Ultima Weapon, the true objective of the operation).

It's half the reason the Operation succeeded - to throw all their forces onto every Imperial Castrum in Eorzea would have been a senseless waste of life and resources, which probably would have ended in failure. This clearly explains why even post-Archon, those Castra still are full of Garlean troops and machina, they're remnant forces.

And of course, even Raubahn notes this in the ending scene, that "although the Black Wolf is slain, the rest of the pack remains," referring to the fact that even though the XIVth Legion is scattered and leaderless, they're still very much a real threat. Without the Ultima Weapon though, the citystates view them as far less of a worry than the more urgent and pressing matter of the Primals. Hence why the storyline has kind of ignored the Garleans now.

At current state

Garlean's threats that was been extremely threats and influences before by VII's legion lead by Nael Van Darnus now completely "gone" for time period until XIV's legion take an action against Eorzea in the future

Garlean now serve no harm atm, kinda dragon sleeping, wait for the right time to strike again

As story now bend over to The Ascian's high threats now

In real-life, I would wonder why the Empire established so many far-flung Eorzean outposts in the first place.

For one thing, it makes command and control very challenging. Secondly, the castra are all located inside hostile territory, and that means they would all have to be supplied via highly vulnerable supply lines.

Last, and most importantly, by maintaining a presence in so many bases, the XIV Legion has spread itself very thin, making it vulnerable to piecemeal attacks.

In short, the military situation as portrayed in FFXIV makes very little strategic sense from a real-world perspective.

But... yes, I understand that this is a fantasy world and real-life rules don't apply. Still, I wonder if anyone can craft a reasonably credible theory as to how the XIV Legion hasn't fallen apart by now, given that its top leadership has been wiped out. At the minimum, I would have expected individual castrum commanders to seize autonomous control, with some of the more practical ones attempting to negotiate some kind of truce with local forces to ensure the survival of their bases.

After all, they're trapped in Eorzea. Leaderless or not, the Imperials probably know full well that they can't return to Garlemald in their current state since they've effectively become disgraced and defeated troops.

Well in 1.0 they had a much larger force and could control more land. After Carteneau a great deal of their military in Eorzea was wiped out, leaving them spread thin. And with Eorzea busy trying to recover from the calamity, they could hold on to all of those bases with their smaller force.

Basically the situation turned into a race, who could recover first and resume the war. Had Eorzea been able to recover first they could have pushed the remaining forces back to Ala Mhigo. But they missed their chance and now we're stuck with the XIV legion. Granted we managed to cut the head from the hydra but I'm sure it will grow a new one soon enough.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

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Garleans used teleportation, trains, and air ships for their supply lines all of which would be relatively safe from attacks. The outposts aren't that far when you consider the fact that the Garleans still have full control of Ala Mhigo. Also, a chain of command rarely falls apart just because a number of leaders die. Command would just shift over to the next person on the food chain who would be Nero or whoever was just under the Tribuni.

Garlemald isn't like Ala Mhigo, there isn't any honor bound notion of the digrace of defeat. They're far more practical than that, like how they suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Silvertear Falls and those troops were able to retreat just fine. In fact, it would be in the new Commander(s)'s best interest to re-establish communication and logistical support with Ala Mhigo and tell them what happened.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

In real-life, I would wonder why the Empire established so many far-flung Eorzean outposts in the first place.
For one thing, it makes command and control very challenging. Secondly, the castra are all located inside hostile territory, and that means they would all have to be supplied via highly vulnerable supply lines.
Last, and most importantly, by maintaining a presence in so many bases, the XIV Legion has spread itself very thin, making it vulnerable to piecemeal attacks.
In short, the military situation as portrayed in FFXIV makes very little strategic sense from a real-world perspective.

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What you've described here is almost exactly what the U.S. forces did in Iraq to finally suppress the insurgency there. It's (only) possible due to superior numbers and technology. The Grand Companies BARELY have enough warriors to hold the beastmen at bay; the Garleans are operating basically uncontested.

Except it's stated that the actual size of the Garlean military isn't nearly as large as it would seem, nor would they have you believe - the official website actually states this:

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Originally Posted by Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone

Garlemald is unsurpassed in the field of magitek, a technology which it exploits with devastating effectiveness in warfare. Unperturbed by their lesser numbers, the Garleans went forth upon gigantic flying warships, bearing powerful weaponry the likes of which the world had never seen. One nation after the next fell before their relentless onslaught, first those of the northlands, followed by the sovereign states of the eastern continent, Othard. Employing suppression and conciliation in equal measure, Garlemald indoctrinated the peoples it conquered, thus integrating them into its ever-expanding territory. So it was that the Garlean Empire came into existence.

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Not to mention the bulk of their military actually consists of drafted soldiers from nations they've conquered - pure-blooded Garleans usually take officer/command positions with the rank and file/grunt positions taken by non-Garleans (this is why Garlean soldiers below centurion rank don't use gunblades, but more mundane weapons like bows and arrows). Really, the 'massive' size of the Garlean army is mostly bluff, a common tactic in warfare where a smaller force can be made to look far larger than it really is to intimidate foes into submission. This is also a possible reason for their zealous (and not exactly baseless) hatred of the Primals - the Garleans are naturally poor at magic, and to be faced with powerful magical beings, it's little wonder they're intimidated.

After all, why else did Gaius sit on his hands as far as Eorzea was concerned for so long if the Garlean army was really as massive and powerful as it was made out to be? The Garleans tried to invade Eorzea three times now, and have failed to subdue Eorzea every time, although each victory for Eorzea seems to be getting increasingly Pyrrhic.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

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That official description only describes Garlemald BEFORE they became the Garlean Empire. It says it right there "So it was that the Garlean Empire came to existence." They started out by using technology to make up for their lesser numbers. However, now they have a huge army AND superior technology. Also I'm not sure why you say they're not skilled with magic, Magitek uses magical properties to run it and they have CNJ and THM soldiers in their ranks. The reason they fear the Primals is because Solus suffered a grave wound during their campaign in Orthad, that was when they realized that the Primals are the only thing that can really stop them.

Also Gaius wasn't sitting on his hands so much as Nael already called dibs. Also, Gaius was the one who conquered Ala Mhigo so he was the one who had to deal with establishing Garlean rule there and set up the invasion force for Nael. Which is why they were both in Eorzea.

Again, Garlemald has access to trains, air ships, and teleportation. They had no problems functioning their bases where they were. If you don't remember, Operation Archon hinged solely on the Adventurer's ability to defeat Rhitahtyn Sas Arvina at Cape Westwind and destroying the aetherial gate there. If the Adventurer failed, the other Castra would have been able to send all of their troops to Castrum Meridium and completely annihilate Raubahn's forces. Then, Gaius would have taken Ultima for a joyride through Eorzea.

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Originally Posted by Skyhound

Also I'm not sure why you say they're not skilled with magic, Magitek uses magical properties to run it and they have CNJ and THM soldiers in their ranks.

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They made Magitek because they were terrible at using magic. They're using Ceruleum, something found in crystals, to fuel their magic-like magitek.
The CNJ and THM probably are from a conquered nation, not from Garlemald itself.

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Originally Posted by Skyhound

Again, Garlemald has access to trains, air ships, and teleportation. They had no problems functioning their bases where they were.

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I never really liked the idea of having teleportation "technology" in a fantasy setting. In practice, it's just a gameplay mechanic to give players an easy means of long-distance travel. In role-playing terms, however, it raises a whole lot of awkward questions. If teleportation is as wonderful as it seems, what's stopping the Empire from simply teleporting its entire army into Eorzea and finishing the conquest in an instant? The very fact that the Empire still relies on trains and airships, despite having such wonderful technology that would solve every real-life general's biggest logistical headaches, strongly suggests that there are limits to teleportation technology, and that in terms means that the XIVth Legion does face significant challenges keeping its supply lines intact.

All in all, I still wonder what's keeping the tattered legion together in Eorzea. If, as you say, the bulk of the forces are auxiliary troops, some of whom are of questionable loyalty, why would they still bother to hold the line now that their pure-blood Garlean commanders are gone? It strongly suggests to me that other subordinate leaders are now in charge. And that in turn makes me wonder what's stopping them from following their own agendas, since there is no longer any superior officer around to give them higher-level orders.

TinyRedLeaf, to explain the situation of teleportation there:
Teleportation is literally taxing on the user, or at the very least the version that does not uses fixed gates that we use. It uses an inner energy called Anima, we in particular as seasoned adventurers have a LOT of anima, enough that it doesn't really hampers our ability to travel, but your normal person, even your average soldier? They need a long rest time after using it again, it makes it unfeasible to use it as a weapon, plus you need a special anchor point in the exit too, an Aetheryte. Have you seen garlean aetherytes anywhere?

The only garlean teleporters we see are a scant few short-range teleporters inside their own castra and the large gate they use linking cape westwind to castrum marinum, the sea/underwater base.

Also, need to remember that the XIVth legion is here without imperial permission, Gaius kind of took initiative himself. Those soldiers are now stuck between their enemies and their allies.
Even without that, their command chain has been destroyed, their seconds-in-command might have taken over but it takes time to restructure and reconvene an army, specially one scattered among enemy territory. And you say they might have their own agendas to fulfill- If the garleans really ARE that organized, their first action is DEFINITELY re-estabilish the command chain while the homeland sends a new command staff.

It'd be neat to hear about what it's like now in Ala Mhigo now that the Viceroy is dead...if the people or resistance are even aware.

Given the Garlean tendency for propaganda, I'd say they probably wouldn't even know. Given the instability in Garlemald's court due to the Emperor's failing health and lack of clear succession, it's likely something they would not want to let known to the public. And as Skies said, Gaius's expansion into Eorzea was without the Emperor's permission.

Gaius was clearly trying to consolidate his own power, knowing that the Emperor was living on borrowed time, once the inevitable happens and the Emperor passes, without a clear successor to the throne (he made himself Dictator for life after all, and he made his own Legati slay any potential claimants to the throne), the various nobles and Imperial Legati would start to fight amongst themselves, effectively dragging the country into civil war and effectively tearing the Empire apart, so Gaius needed to be well placed in order to survive that storm. Finally bringing the recalcitrant Eorzean citystates into line would help cement that. Of course, it isn't to be.

Well, under Gaius leadership, you do not need to be a Garlean pureblood to lead. So, the remaining forces might also be from other conquered states/countries.

Moreover, not all places end up like Ala Miga. Some are successful states, and the ppl gain under Garlean rule.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

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Its called ARROGANCE especially facing barbaric Eorzean savages from Garlean's superior technology point of view