In 5.3, Horde players have a fairly straightforward story. Since the Cataclysm, Garrosh has been regressing the Horde back farther and farther toward the way it was during the Second War - ruthless, destructive, and a menace to enemy and ally alike. The Horde had grown past that, and under Thrall, had taken great steps toward being an unambiguous force for good in the world (it didn't quite get there, especially when you consider the Forsaken, but they were working on it.) Hellscream tossed out any notions of peace and balance, and especially any notions of cooperation with the Alliance, and instead took on a "might makes right" philosophy, deciding that others would simply have to fall for the Horde to have its "lebensraum." (German word. Look it up - it got thrown around a lot in the '30s if that gives you a hint.) Yet to Garrosh, "the Horde" did not actually mean everyone who had come to know themselves as Horde - only the superior races were allowed to take full advantage of the spoils of conquest and... holy crap, Garrosh is a freaking Nazi!
Ahem.
The point is, Warchief or no, members of every Horde race (though admittedly less so for Orcs, who would theoretically benefit from his style of leadership as long as they served as soldiers and didn't say anything to upset the Kor'kron secret police) have a reason to want Garrosh taken down. As an alliance of outcasts, the Horde puts a high value on freedom, and a tyrant like Garrosh is a dire threat to that lifestyle.
In their desire to oppose Garrosh, the Alliance perhaps has an even more straightforward story. The Horde, who burned Stormwind, marched across the Eastern Kingdoms looting and pillaging, killed Cenarius (he got better,) sacked and plagued Gilneas, committed straight-up genocide on Draenor... there's a long list of reasons why the Alliance wants to hit the Horde hard. For a long time, the Alliance stayed their hand - stepping away from fights because of the notion that there may, at some point, be peace, and that they could stand together against the much larger threats Azeroth has to throw at them.
With the Horde under Garrosh, though, that hypothetical day of peace is an impossibility. The very notion of a peace treaty seems anathema to Garrosh's philosophy - you either conquer, or you are conquered, and all that matters is strength. The Alliance is then faced with a dilemma - to assault the Horde would put their odds at roughly 50-50. Sure, it might seem like a glorious victory, should they win, but they could very easily not win, and even if they did, it would likely come at a grave cost.
Instead, knowing of the unrest within the ranks of the Horde, the Alliance is going to do a little covert-ops work to create asymmetry in that final assault. Vol'jin may not be a friend of the Alliance, but he has proven to be willing to set differences aside when it was called for - like when the Zandalari tried to restore the Gurubashi and Amani to power.
The thing is, from a standpoint of achieving a military objective, it doesn't really matter what their eventual plans are to deal with Vol'jin. All that matters is that he accepts their help. Vol'jin may have his own Darkspear, and possibly the Blood Elves and even some Tauren by his side (the Forsaken seem to be sitting this one out, which is appropriately savvy of them,) but he's a resistance fighter, and does not have a military machine at his disposal. The Alliance can remedy that, supplying him with both men and materials, but it also gives them control over his actions - if he turns against them, they shut down his support.
Meanwhile, Garrosh's loyalists will be distracted while the Alliance gears up for the real invasion. The real question I have is what exactly is going to happen when the fleet gets there.
Best Case Scenario: Unity
The Alliance shows up and teams up with Vol'jin. Even with Garrosh's discoveries in Pandaria, their combined might is enough to crush the Kor'kron and topple Garrosh. Vol'jin takes the reins of the Horde and puts in back on the course that Thrall had set. The Alliance, seeing a potential ally, provides enough assistance to get Vol'jin's Horde back on its feet, but maintains enough distance that the general populace of the Horde won't think Vol'jin is just an Alliance puppet.
Alliance Betrays Horde
Vol'jin defeats Garrosh, but ultimately this leaves the survivors of his rebellion and the survivors of the Hellscream loyalists weakened. Sensing that this is finally the time to press the advantage, the Alliance, which still has plenty of peaceful, productive lands and a huge, unified army, takes control of Orgrimmar, occupying it with peacekeeping forces that will allow them to undermine the Horde industrial base and cripple them, lest they ever try to raise their fist against the Alliance again. (Sounds evil and malevolent if you're Horde, but this honestly would not be that unreasonable, given the crap the Horde has put them through.)
Horde Betrays Alliance
Vol'jin takes Orgrimmar, sets himself up as the new Warchief, and then promptly kicks the Alliance out, giving them nothing for their efforts to put him on the throne, and building up the war machine to prepare for a renewed conflict.
Which One?
Honestly, I think the game could do with the first scenario. WoW was fine when the "war" in "Warcraft" was against the Burning Legion or the Scourge. Something resembling the pre-Wrathgate relations seems like the only satisfying place to land after an expansion dedicated to this war. The second one could be a possibility, except that I can't imagine an in-game Orgrimmar with Alliance forces patrolling (the Kor'kron in Undercity are bad enough.) It would be refreshing to see the Alliance be a little proactive, and maybe let the Horde feel like the ones under siege for once (I'm aware of the irony of that statement, given that the next raid is called "the Siege of Orgrimmar.") The third scenario would not make sense unless you were a psychotically devoted Horde fanboy who just couldn't take the Horde ever feeling the slightest bit weak or vulnerable (...prove me wrong, Metzen.)
The rebellion is only just beginning this Tuesday, but before too long (I'm guessing summer,) the war will truly come to a head. Things are going to change pretty drastically, but we'll have to wait to see just what exactly is going to happen.
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