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Russia: Army Norway can retreat to Finland or St Petersburg
Message from Austria to all
Hi all,
Even though, I had been warned about it by Andy at the start
of the year, it still came as a surprise (It's true that my trust in
Andy wasn't very high in this game given his numerous attempt
at invading my country).
Because of my situation, I had made a janissary pact with Eric
some time ago in the hope of getting myself in the draw. Well,
everyone can now see how much such a pact is worth in the
end, at least when it's made with Eric.
Goodbye,
Philippe
Message from England to Russia
Eric -
Well, well, well. Looks like you'll be keeping that F HEL, after all,
unless I am counting poorly. You can achieve a similar effect by
disbanding NWY & rebuilding in the south, but I will leave it up to you.
It's all the same to me, either way, for that unit.
If you keep pressing in the south we could be drifting toward a classic E/R
2WD, and I *know* you are familiar with the art of the 2WD. ;-)
Anyway, nicely played.
Ben
Message from Russia to Russia
[Since he resigned, I'm sending this message for Philippe as "press to self".]
Obviously I deserve your comments. Sadly, that's the second Janissary I've
eliminated this game. In Tony's case it was due to lack of communication on
one turn. In this case it was (1) I screwed up the orders in Spring, making
my position a lot worse than it should have been had I followed your
advice, (2) Andy also offered himself as a Janissary. I might have been
able to work out a way to make both of you happy, but with how little time
to diplome or look at the board this season I ultimately entered moves that
gave me a chance of expansion beyond Austria. It was nothing personal, I
just knew I couldn't leave Andy hanging yet one more time and hope for him
to ever work with me this game. And without him working with me -- or at
least focusing on Erik instead of me -- you and I weren't going to get any
further.
[For the observers]
Now the problem is that EF are not likely to break. As I see it, my only
hope is in securing Ber. With Ber, Mun and Italy and Turkey, I can solo
without getting Tun (and also losing StP). Failing that, the only hope is
for some form of EF fighting. Of course, that assumes Andy is willing to
completely throw his centers. But with EF a likely alliance from here on
out, Andy doesn't have much reason to hope for survival either. There's an
outside chance that France could solo, but I don't believe that Ben will
attack me if that's the cost, and I won't eliminate Andy if I'm still
dependent on his fleets (as he has accurately surmised).
--- Eric
Message from Russia to Italy
This time the retreat is in right away (Nwy-StP). I must say, I felt bad
taking out Philippe, but I don't see that he really was able to provide any
real help to me. Largely because I screwed up last season by not taking Bla.
Okay, you asked for my thoughts last time and never got them. Here's my
20-minute read of the board (still not good enough for FtF, but getting
closer!):
Our challenge in Italy proper is getting you a foothold without losing
German centers to EF (I assume they are a solid alliance now, though I'll
see what I can do to get them fighting). The question is: which centers are
more critical, Mun, Tyl or Ser. Without Ser, we have difficulty against
Jason. Without Tyl, we can't really hold Italy, and without Mun I can't
solo (perhaps that's the least of your concerns, though!)
As a first take I could see:
You:
Tus S Tri-Ven (etc.)
Me:
Tyl-Mun
Sil S Tyl-Mun
Vie-Tyl
Bud-Tri (more on that below)
Gal-Bud
Ukr S Rum or Arm-Sev
Rum S Arm-Sev
In fall, that puts a supported attack on Ser, with Gre able to cut support.
I'd move Tri-Ser in Fall, which is then guaranteed. You could perhaps use
the taking of Tri along with Philippe's broadcast to get "back in" with EFT.
If you are reasonably sure that Jason will hold in Bul, then Bud-Ser,
Gal-Sil with Sil-Pru or somesuch makes more sense.
Either way, once I'm in Ser, I would then support you into Bul, getting you
a build and costing Jason one. If we can get that far, then Turkey will
fall for sure. The trick is keeping you alive at home (probably with builds
from Turkey) while I get fleets out behind you.
In the north, I promised to disband F Hel, but I'm intrigued by the idea of
disbanding F Swe, then moving Ukr-Mos to support and make Ben's life a
living hell. It's not compatible with the above plan for the south (I'd
need to use Gal to support Rum if Ukr is not around).
Thoughts, comments, objections and the like?
--- Eric
Message from Russia to France
Well, I intended to keep Austria around, but I got a better offer. :)
I was not at all offended with your comment that I'm not in as good a
position as Andy says. When you read my press with him, you will see that
all of it is Andy trying to convince me that I've got an unstoppable solo
and me explaining to him all the reasons why I think he's wrong. So I
actually agree with you.
How are you feeling about Ben these days? He's got two builds, and there's
not a whole lot he can do against me in the short term. I've been planning
to disband F Hel, but if I kept it we have a chance of taking Hol from him.
I actually thought of this prior to the moves and wanted to offer it last
season, but I just didn't have much time for press last week.
Anyway, let me know what you're thinking.
--- Eric
Message from Russia to Turkey
You sure you're fighting the right guy? :)
--- Eric
Message from Russia to England
Sorry to be so silent last season. I doubt it affected moves at all, but I
don't like losing contact anyway.
So you wanted me to disband and not retreat, right? :)
Actually, with the two armies, I can make it pretty painful for you to take
both Swe and StP. If you will reconsider your position on taking StP,
perhaps there's more we can do cooperatively.
Have fun with the game tomorrow, and let me know your thoughts on the new
board.
--- Eric
Russia: Army Norway → St Petersburg
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