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Message from Master to all
As I mentioned before, there's a player who's asked for an extension
for August 14-20. Right now, the deadline is set for the evening
of the 14th; we'll extend the deadline following that if it involves
the missing player. If not, we'll retreat, build, and extend the
deadline for S1904M.
Please submit orders for F1903M on time. Thanks,
Doug
Message from Germany to France
Prince Boar:
I hope you had a pleasant vacation. I for one totally enjoyed a bit
of a more leisurely pace this week.
I'm afraid that there's nothing new to report. Perhaps it's just
recently that you saw that Italian stab of Austria. I can tell you a
little more about that. Austria seemed to think that Italy should take
on Turkey all by himself. Italy was too concerned about England
entering the MED to commit himself to the far east.
Now everyone in the east has stabbed everyone else. Sorta. I wonder
how long I and T will be friends. I'm betting not long. If they are
though it means problems for both of us. Turkey will be contesting me
for Russia, possibly even using Russia against me. While Italy is free
to swing toward your backside.
We shall see.
Fredd
Message from Russia to all
My moves are in. Wait is NOT set. If you want to try to influence my
moves, contact me.
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from France to Austria
Ms. Felicia:
I am sorry about the betrayal you received by the
Italian. I too know about being betrayed. I lobbied
hard for the AIR alliance, but finally resigned myself
that it would not happen. It would have been much better
for me, not to mention yourself. Resolving the south may
help me, but I really do not think it will be enough.
You at least have options for changing the alliance
structure around you. England and Germany have no
opportunities to stab one another. It is just a matter
of time before I crumble.
Best of luck to you.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Wingo:
Thank you for your kind words, but I do not see the
changed dynamic in the south as a very useful victory for
France. Certainly having the south resolved sooner may
help put pressure on yourself and Germany. But the
alliance that occurred in the south puts no pressure on
you two right now. Also, Italy should be given the
credit for creating the alliance. I merely put it over
the top.
I do agree that Turkey is looking the best in the game.
You are not looking too badly, but Germany is looking
better. We shall indeed see if the Italian fleet in
coming to help me as promised or whether it will help you
as perhaps promised to yourself.
I knew that my shot at Belgium was a long one. I figured
that I had a 50-50 chance to save MAO. I guessed
wrongly. In hindsight the support from the MAO was a
waste and it should have been ordered to NAO.
So how did you con Russia into moving to Livonia?
Le DAUPHIN
Message from France to Germany
Fredd:
You leave little for us to discuss. I do not understand
why you ordered Swe to Bot. All Russia had to do was
hold in Bot and then retreat to Fin. That would have
prevented your taking ST. Petes for at least another
year. Are you that submissive to England that you had no
choice but to move away from his center in Norway? You
could have easily argued for Bal -> Bot, which would have
given you an option for this fall to cut England down to
three centers. I notice now that only he can take one of
yours.
Congratulations on your position in general. The Italian
move must be to your liking. I see you growing quickly
now. But what about the long term? You may get be the
German sandwich between the Turkish and English bread.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I apologize for losing the MAO. I took the 50-50 gamble
and lost. I am disappointed by your move from Tyrolia.
That leaves Germany free to invade me unmolested. I
realize your need with the convoy to Albania, but I am
disappointed nevertheless.
I do hope that your fleet is truly coming over to help
me. England, in his arrogance, probably thinks that it
will be at his beck and call.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicholas:
I was not really attacking the English Channel. I was
attacking Belgium. I knew the odds were not great, but
my position is not great and I preferred to be bold. I
would rather go down in flames than die a slow death. I
had a 50-50 shot at saving the MAO and I guess wrongly.
Speaking of bad guesses, what the heck are you doing in
Livonia? Germany must have betrayed you big time, or did
England talk you into that? I did suggest that you hold
in Bot. You could have retreated to Finland and saved
St. Petes for perhaps another year.
You now have Warsaw but will likely lose Sevastopol. I
wish you luck, but worry that you may not outlast me. At
least you will probably outlast Austria, whom you can
blame for your situation.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba:
Thanks for you note. I am glad that I was at least
useful to someone. I cannot seem to help myself.
Perhaps I will have to count on you to save me. You
certain turned around your situation, can you do so with
mine as well? I fear that the only thing that can help
me is a war between England and Germany. They seem to
leave no opportunities for such an occurrence. I do
appreciate your promise not to interfere with Italy's
ability to help support me. You can please go one step
further and encourage him to help me and not to betray me
to England. He must realize that he will not hold and
center he takes of mine. But it cannot hurt to remind
him of that fact.
Congratulations to you. I will go everything I can to
help you come out on top. It may be the only thing that
I have left to play for. England, Germany, and Italy
have not earn my desire to help them.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Germany to France
Actually England suggested that I stay in Sweden. I was trying to
arrange a deal with Russia, but he's very difficult to work with. I
finally gave up and just attacked him. If he had retreated to FIN, I
would have just walked him around to STP. The same conditions still
exist actually. Keeping the Russian fleet penned up takes both my
fleets, and pulls them further east. Which presents a prime opportunity
for an English stab.
Once again I am insulted (a bit) by your insinuation that Ivy is
pulling my strings.
Who knows what will happen in the east? Like I said alliances could
switch each turn. Everyone down there has stabbed someone else
already. With Italy making two excellent stabs already.
Fredd
Message from England to France
Dauphin,
>We shall indeed see if the Italian fleet in
>coming to help me as promised or whether it will help you
>as perhaps promised to yourself.
More than perhaps. Italy has a style of his own. His word is as good as
... as good as
... hmmm, it's worthless, I suppose, given what others have said he has
said. The Italian fleet will go to West Med with your blessing and
mine. What it will really do there afterwards I don't pretend to know in
advance.
>So how did you con Russia into moving to Livonia?
Russia, too, has a unique style. Livonia was Russia's idea. He insisted
on moving to Livonia along with the German moves Swe-Bal & Bal-Pru. This
was Russia's anti-Austrian scheme. He repeated these plans ad nauseam,
message after message, even though Germany told him that he didn't like the
plans and I told him that I had no control over German moves in the northeast.
Germany is being difficult. I don't know how much longer this can go
on. But just to be clear, my moves will be still be pro-German this fall.
Ivy
Message from France to Germany
Fredd:
>If he had retreated to FIN, I would have
>just walked him around to STP.
Yes, but you would have had a fleet in St. Petes while he
had a fleet in Sweden. I guess that it would have
been breaking even for you, but it would have been more
of a problem to take back Sweden as well as raise issues
protecting Norway and Denmark. You took an awful gamble.
Your gambles pay off better than mine do. Or perhaps you
were secretly hoping to have Russia in Sweden. You would
have had an excuse to scramble around an be better
prepared for an attack on England.
>Once again I am insulted (a bit) by your
>insinuation that Ivy is pulling my strings.
It is all I have left to keep me amused.
If you had stayed in Sweden I was going to attack Belgium
and tell you about it. You had the option of cutting
England down to 3 centers or using the information to
take Burgundy. But now I have no incentive or
opportunity to do so. Perhaps I will make a similar
arrangement with England.
>Who knows what will happen in the east?
> Like I said alliances could switch each turn.
It looked like a perfect opportunity for you to eliminate
England. But you obviously have other plans.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Wingo:
> Germany is being difficult.
Thanks for making my day. Well, perhaps that is a bit
strong. Thanks for making my moment. I enjoy hearing
about your sufferings when dealing with him. He does
challenge my resolve at making certain you have a hard
time at succeeding. I sometimes get tempted to hand you
a couple centers just to make his life difficult :-) But
I am not going to do that. You will have to earn them or
perhaps capitalize on my mistakes.
You took a chance letting Germany attack Gulf of Bothnia
from Sweden. What if Russia had not been so foolish as
to move to Livonia. If he had held and retreated to
Finland. Germany could have taken St. Petes and let him
into Sweden. Norway and the North Sea would have been
vulnerable. Then again, you probably did not want
Germany in Sweden because the opportunity to cut you down
to three centers was there.
Obviously I am making all the wrong decisions. But
things are going well for you. I grudgingly offer my
congratulations.
Le DAUPHIN
Message from France to France
to: Prince Boar
re: Discussion of our orders.
(This message is to the reader of the game history, but
written in terms of a message from the Dauphin to Prince
Boar.)
My dear brother,
With this message, I have submitted the following orders
to our troops:
f por -> spa (sc)
a gas -> spa
a bur -> bel
a pic s a bur -> bel
f bre -> eng
I wanted to explain them to you so you can understand my
thought process. I want to continue my policy of
focussing my defenses against England rather than
Germany. Although keeping Germany out of Burgundy would
allow me to keep resources that would help to hold back
England, I would rather have England see that Germany is
likely to grow and not him. I realize that Germany could
pass up opportunities for centers and instead help
England, but I will have to try my best to prevent that.
I am bouncing in Spa because I want to keep it open and
keep my army in Gascony. If I build F Mar, it would be
subsequently ordered to Spa. I am not worried about
England trying for WES because Italy will prevent that.
Perhaps England will bounce Italy there?
I realize that Bur -> Bel is likely to fail and that it
opens up Mun -> Bur s by Bel. I am actually willing to
have this succeed. I would then disband the retreating
unit and build a fleet in Marseilles. To enter Burgundy,
Germany either enters dislodges my unit or I take
Belgium. Either way I still get the fleet in Marseilles.
There is also the chance that EG believe that I will
order Pic -> Bel to break support for Mun to Bur and they
might risk Bel and use Ruh to take Bur (either from Mun
or Ruh). There are other possibilities (such as Bel ->
Mun s by Ruh&Mun, but that allows Pic to walk into Bel.
A variation is Ruh -> Bel, but I doubt England will take
the chance of Germany getting the center).
I am a little worried about holding Brest from England
next year. Bre -> Eng is aimed at slowing this down.
England can use Iri to either support Lon to Eng or
support NAO to MAO to protect MAO if it does something
other than hold. I am risking England letting Bre -> Eng
succeed and ordering MAO -> Bre. It is certainly
possible that he might consider this, but he risks
slowing down his advance if I simply hold. I am willing
to gamble that he will not do so. But my gamble
typically backfire, we shall see on this one.
These are my reasonings for you to ponder. If they are
weak choices, at least you understand my thinking.
your brother,
Le Dauphin
Message from Russia to France
Prince Boar,
>I was not really attacking the English Channel. I was
>attacking Belgium.
I see. As a risk-taker myself, I won't second-guess
you further.
>Speaking of bad guesses, what the heck are you doing in
>Livonia? Germany must have betrayed you big time, or did
>England talk you into that? I did suggest that you hold
>in Bot.
I was trying to get Germany to shift south against
Austria, and also defend against War-Lvn or Ber-Bal-Lvn.
>You now have Warsaw but will likely lose Sevastopol. I
>wish you luck, but worry that you may not outlast me. At
>least you will probably outlast Austria, whom you can
>blame for your situation.
I'm hoping that Austria will see that I'm his only
hope for survival, and that taking Mos or Sev just
means he'll disband two instead of three.
Ivy says he's having a diplomatic disagreement with
Germany, (presumably over the German attack on StP), so
I'm lobbying him to move MAO-Eng, and stab Germany. If
you take a rational tone with Ivy, something good might
come of it.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Italy to France
>
> I apologize for losing the MAO. I took the 50-50 gamble
> and lost.
>
No apology necessary. Sometimes the gambles don't pay off.
> I am disappointed by your move from Tyrolia.
I know.
> That leaves Germany free to invade me unmolested.
I've heard from both England and Germany that the plan is for England to
'get all of France'. Germany is more concerned with the Russian centers
that lie to the east.
>
> I do hope that your fleet is truly coming over to help
> me. England, in his arrogance, probably thinks that it
> will be at his beck and call.
>
It will not be at England's beck and call. Quite the opposite. Once I
reach the WMS, the fleet will be at your beck and call.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from England to France
>You took a chance letting Germany attack Gulf of Bothnia
>from Sweden. What if Russia had not been so foolish as
>to move to Livonia. If he had held and retreated to
>Finland.
"letting" ?? I obviously had no control over the situation. Russia was so
obviously going to Livonia, demanding all along that Germany enter Swe->Bal
& Bal->Pru. I begged Germany to stay in Sweden for fear of Bot->Swe (!) --
even in a joint message to Germany and Russia. Germany reassured me he
would stay in Sweden.
>Obviously I am making all the wrong decisions. But
>things are going well for you.
Wish I felt the same. I think my "grand strategy" is hanging by a thread.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Wingo:
Just so you know, France is not "dying" to work with
Germany. If you did decide to turn on him. Our anger at
your betrayal would be overlooked in favor of our
pleasure at seeing him gutted. Even though our
original plan was to being insulting and arrogant to you,
in hopes that Germany would get the idea that our bridges
were burned with you, we find ourselves being civil with
you and insulting Germany yearly.
I do not expect you to answer this statement, I just
wanted you to know where we stood. Until such time that
we see a visible change on your part, we shall put all of
effort into our defense. Of course that defense will be
focussed around France and if you suddenly pulled out it
would stumble around france and not spill into your
territory.
Le DAUPHIN
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicholas:
Thank you for your note of encouragement. I encourage my
brother to be civil with Ivy. He is a bit less sensitive
than I, so he sometimes rubs people the wrong way. I do
think that he is getting better and that Ivy has noticed
a difference.
We will let England know that if he turns on Germany, we
are likely to join him. At the same time, we will defend
ourselves with vigor until we see action, not just words.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
Thank you for the reassurances about the intentions of
your fleet. I realize that I have little choice but to
request its services. I will trust that you realize that
any center that you initially take would be hard to hold
from England. This is especially true until you gather
more strength. I do not see you growing this turn,
unless things go well with the Turk. On the other hand,
he may get quite large.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Italy to France
>
> Thank you for the reassurances about the intentions of
> your fleet. I realize that I have little choice but to
> request its services. I will trust that you realize that
> any center that you initially take would be hard to hold
> from England.
>
Yes, I fully understand that defending Iberia from England would be a
nightmare.
> This is especially true until you gather
> more strength. I do not see you growing this turn,
> unless things go well with the Turk. On the other hand,
> he may get quite large.
>
Well, I'm trying to work out the fine details now with Turkey regarding our
growth potential this year. I knew I was gambling with my spring moves but,
as Italy, I felt I needed to take a few gambles in this game. My advantage
is, even with multiple fleet builds, Turkey would not be able to break thru
the Ionean for several years so I have diplomatic leverage to get him to
continue to build armies and push north.
Roberto
Message from France to England
Wingo:
As I wait for the fall campaign, I have some idle time to
review the history of the wars. One thing that jumped
out at me was:
>Movement results for Fall of 1902. (titleist.005)
>England: Army Belgium SUPPORT German Army Munich ->
>Burgundy. (*void*)
>Movement results for Spring of 1903. (titleist.008)
>England: Army Belgium SUPPORT German Army Munich ->
>Burgundy. (*void*)
Do you and Germany have some game going where you render
your army in Belgium as useless? It is too bad that he
never takes you up on your offer. It would have succeed
last move. One would think with the increased level of
communication that you two would have straightened
out such an important point of cooperation. :-)
In the Fall of 1901, Austria stabbed Russia.
In the Spring of 1902, Italy betrayed Turkey and
England (and perhaps Germany) betrayed France
In the Fall of 1902, Germany semi-betrayed Russia
In the Spring of 1903, Italy stabbed Austria
It has been an eventful game so far. I wonder who will
be the next person to receive the knife?
Le DAUPHIN
Message from Turkey to France
Prince Boar,
Indeed my orders this turn will be pro-Italian. Italy has not told me
specifically whether he plans to support or attack you, but my impression is
that he intends to support you. I've been nudging him in that direction,
offering to support him against Austria so he has an avenue for growth. But
he doesn't say much on the subject, and I've been hesitant to push too hard
since we're still essentially building our relations anew.
In any case, I don't think EG conflict is completely out of the question. If
you can hang on, you should be able to stall English advances, especially with
Italian support. England has told me that the straw that would break the EG
camel's back would be if Germany outgrows him. And, all indications are that
Germany intends to attack War and StP next year. So, continued Germany growth
while England is stalled would go a long way to destabilize the EG.
Unfortunately, one logical conclusion from such an outcome may be EI
cooperation. Should that occur, it will mean I'll have the same concern
regarding Italy that England currently has about the German. So, I am eager
to maintain relations and communication between us. The landscape today looks
pretty different than it did a year ago, and it may look totally different
again in a year or two. So hang in there; if it's any consolation, at least
know that there are others on the board that want to see you remain strong.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Master to all
Just a reminder: please submit moves today. We have another extension
coming up and I'd like to get in the moves, retreats, and builds if
we can before his return.
Doug
PS: which player was it? Could the departing power please remind me?
Message from England to France
>In the Fall of 1901, Austria stabbed Russia.
>
>In the Spring of 1902, Italy betrayed Turkey and
>England (and perhaps Germany) betrayed France
>
>In the Fall of 1902, Germany semi-betrayed Russia
>
>In the Spring of 1903, Italy stabbed Austria
>
>It has been an eventful game so far. I wonder who will
>be the next person to receive the knife?
Interesting that you didn't count England "stabs" France. Neither would
I. By my definition, and perhaps yours, that wasn't a stab.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Wingo:
>>In the Spring of 1902, Italy betrayed Turkey and
>>England (and perhaps Germany) betrayed France
>Interesting that you didn't count England "stabs"
>France. Neither would I. By my definition, and
>perhaps yours, that wasn't a stab.
Yes, I did not call it a stab. We did not really have a
long history of working together as allies. But I
certainly called it a betrayal. You did make quite a few
promises about our future together and led me to
believe in that. Your attack was a betrayal to those
promises and that feeling of good will. I listed Germany
as only perhaps betraying me because he made few
promises and I never really believed any of them anyway.
He was probably more in the attack category.
I would say that a stab is worse than a betrayal. But
neither are nice and good :-) The next step down is an
attack, which is not positive either, but certain a
lesser degree of evilness. They are certainly not as
much fun as trust, but all necessary elements of the
game, nevertheless.
Thanks for relieving my boredom for a short while. I
would wish you good luck tonight, but as I expect that
you are still attack me, I will refrain. I would instead
wish Germany good luck, but he probably does not need it.
Next year he will collect St. Petes, probably Warsaw and
maybe a French center.
Le DAUPHIN
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba:
>So hang in there; if it's any consolation, at least
>know that there are others on the board that want
>to see you remain strong.
Thank you for your words of encouragement.
My only wish is that those who wished me to stay strong
could/would do more about it. I realize that your are
ill-positioned to help. Any effort you put forth to
convince Italy to not betray me is appreciated. At least
Italy is sending one fleet to help. I could certainly
have used help from his Army in Tyrolia. It sat there
for quite a while and would not assist. But beggars
cannot be choosers I guess. I will take the help that is
available.
I do hope that you will not have Italy grow too quickly.
That would make me nervous. He may get to the point
where he feels that he can make a move to try and hold
part of France. Then he will no longer have incentive to
try and support France to prevent England from taking it.
It is also not in your best interest to see him get
strong. But I understand that you would not want him to
get ansty. I do hope to see England that way. Anything
subtle you can do to help Germany grow, is probably a
good thing for me.
Good luck
-- Prince Boar
Austria: Fleet Aegean Sea → Greece (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Vienna → Trieste (*cut*)
Austria: Army Ukraine → Sevastopol
Austria: Army Vienna → Trieste (*bounce*)
England: Army Belgium SUPPORT German Army Munich → Burgundy
England: Fleet Irish Sea → English Channel
England: Fleet London → North Sea
England: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean SUPPORT Fleet Irish Sea → English Channel
England: Fleet North Atlantic Ocean SUPPORT Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Fleet Brest → English Channel (*bounce*)
France: Army Burgundy → Belgium (*bounce, dislodged*)
France: Army Gascony → Spain (*bounce*)
France: Army Picardy SUPPORT Army Burgundy → Belgium
France: Fleet Portugal → Spain (south coast) (*bounce*)
Germany: Fleet Baltic Sea → Livonia
Germany: Army Bohemia SUPPORT Austrian Army Budapest → Galicia (*void*)
Germany: Fleet Gulf of Bothnia SUPPORT Russian Fleet Livonia → St Petersburg (south coast)
Germany: Army Munich → Burgundy
Germany: Army Prussia → Warsaw (*bounce*)
Germany: Army Ruhr SUPPORT English Army Belgium
Italy: Army Albania SUPPORT Fleet Ionian Sea → Greece
Italy: Fleet Eastern Mediterranean → Ionian Sea
Italy: Fleet Ionian Sea → Greece
Italy: Army Trieste SUPPORT Russian Army Galicia → Budapest (*cut*)
Italy: Fleet Tyrrhenian Sea → Western Mediterranean
Russia: Army Galicia → Budapest (*bounce*)
Russia: Fleet Livonia → St Petersburg (south coast)
Russia: Army Warsaw HOLD
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea → Constantinople (*bounce*)
Turkey: Army Bulgaria → Rumania
Turkey: Army Greece → Bulgaria
Turkey: Army Serbia SUPPORT Italian Army Trieste
Turkey: Army Smyrna → Constantinople (*bounce*)
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