I vastly prefer to read things in chronological order, and as little 'spoilery' as possible. While I'd prefer to have the whole year in one thread, I understand how a big battle can really up the word count. Ideally, I'd want a single thread with multiple posts covering up the battle, the battle, and then after the battle.
P.S.: While yearly threads make it easy to navigate the history of the campaign, the natural breaks in the story rarely line up with the calendar. I find Steve's method of breaking up the story immediately after (or sometimes before) a major dramatic event to make each chapter more satisfying, but then it's harder to navigate the overall story.
P.P.S: I think the one thing we all agree on is more fiction is better. We always want as many new chapters as possible, as soon as possible.