In "Star Wars Rebels" and several of Timothy Zahn's books, the Grand Admiral was working to develop the Tie Defender, a fighter vastly superior to ordinary Tie Fighters (on any other fighter in space) which could have won th war for the Empire. In "Tales of the Empire" episode 2, "The Path of Anger" we learn that the brilliant engineer who designed this craft was Magistrate Morgan Elspeth, formerly a witch from Dathomir, and also how she became one of the then Admiral Thrawn's closest allies. In this fan faction video Grand Admiral Thrawn explains the Tie Defender and what it could have achieved for the Empire. Thrawn, Captain Pellaeon, and Colonel Tor Phennir dissect the failures of Imperial starfighter doctrine — and the starfighter that could have changed the entire Galactic Civil War.  

War, even more than politics or sport, is usually a zero-sum game; it is theoretically possible for both sides in a battle to meet their objectives for victory but it is extremely rare. However, on this one day of the year, I am always reminded of the one case I know of where both sides not only claimed to have won a battle, but both sides had a convincing case that they had succeeded in the objects for which they fought. On the "Glorious First of June" 1794, the Royal Navy Channel Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe (the prominent figure at left in the picture above) intercepted a French fleet under Admiral  Villaret-Joyeuse which was escorting a grain convoy. The battle took place about 400 nautical miles west of the French island of Ushant, near Brest. The French primary objective was to get the grain convoy through - there had been a poor harvest in France and there were serious food shortages causing much of the population to go hungry. The British primary objective was to est...