system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[AtLoA] Why was the Earth Kingdom lossing?

It seems to me that an army that automatically has the advantage of terrain would be *very* difficult to defeat.

 A small squad of earth benders would be able to build a reasonably sized wall in a few seconds. Which would mean that the Earth Kingdom's armies would always be fighting from a fortified position. That is a massive advantage. What's more is that they can rapidly expand, repair, and even move their fortifications.

Also, an earthbender can block a firebender's attacks but a firebender cannot block a earthbender's attacks. This doesn't matter much in one on one combat as most benders prefer to dodge rather than block but in a large scale battle situation, where there is little room for individuals to dodge, it is very important. 

What I would expect the Earth Kingdoms armies to do before each battle would be to build a defenses and then pound the attacking troops with stones. 

If I were an Earth Kingdom noble and general, and not a shopkeeper from Omashu, I would have my army fight like an army from the "First World War" from that fiction book I read once. A strong defensive force that would decimate attacking forces with small stones fired rapidly by my weaker benders, and large rocks that would be fired high over the enemy and shattered by my stronger benders. My non benders would mostly perform garrison duties, protect supplies, reinforce weak points in my lines etc.

I am really just wondering why are we losing. This war should have been over decades ago. 

P.S. does anyone know how much it costs to get a ferry from Full Moon Bay to Ba Sing Se? I want to make sure I don't have to risk The Serpent's Pass.

Edit: I just noticed the spelling mistake in the title. I feel stupid now.
gpt
The Earth Kingdom is a decentralized agrarian society, with the king holding little power in the provinces. This makes it a logistical nightmare to mobilize an army. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation is an authoritarian industrial powerhouse. They are also a naval superpower while the EK doesn't even have a navy. So the FN can pretty much conquer the entire coast of the EK with impunity if they want to.

Also, you are overestimating the power of the average earthbender. Not everyone is Toph or Bumi. For the common Joe, moving a boulder might be an extremely difficult task that requires multiple benders.

Furthermore, the EK has the lowest ratio of benders per capita. (It goes Air Nomads pre-genocide→ Water Tribe → Fire Nation → Earth Kingdom.) So you're saying your non-benders would mostly perform garrison duties and protect supplies? Well, guess what? The majority of your army are non-benders. Furthermore, few of these earthbenders are even going to join the army because, again, the EK is completely decentralized and not much recruiting effort is going on. You might have a couple of special earthbending squadrons like the Terra Team or maybe your own personal retinue and/or house guard but fielding an entire battalion of earthbenders is out of the question. Compare it to the FN, whose army is mostly comprised of firebenders thanks to their strong recruiting policies.

Honestly, the question shouldn't be why the EK is losing but why the FN still hadn't won after 100 years. The answer is because the FN was honestly more interested in colonizing and imperialism than just exterminating everyone for the lulz (not counting the Air Nomads, that genocide had...strategical importance).