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Message from England to France and Russia
Nick and the Prince,
I'm still here, but suddenly very, very busy. I'll ponder Nick's latest
suggestions, while contemplating the likelihood of Skag->Norway.
Ivy
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
>I want us to be thinking about the future.
Always a good idea.
>Will the provinces that you and I own at the end of the year be relatively
>permanent? Except for StP -- that's understood.
Frankly, I don't see how they can be, unless we
launch an immediate attack on France. (Given
Italy's behavior, that may not be such a bad
idea, but it's not my first choice of strategies.)
>What should I do? Must I go to war with you or France?
Either, one of those, or order Hol-Ruh this Fall,
and then move on to Munich next year as France shifts
south, and you continue to convoy Armies to Holland.
>France wonders if I will attack you next year.
I'm wondering the same thing... ;^} Nwy-Swe,
Nth-Den would position you nicely to take me out.
>What is he saying to you? Anything? Nothing?
He hasn't done more than respond to my letters
since we resumed the game, with the exception of
asking why I wanted to move Den-Kie. He's expressed
a consistent interest in seeing me grow, but has not
yet raised the prospect of cooperation against you
if I actually manage to achieve significant growth.
Once I retake StP, perhaps the idea will occur to him.
>For what it is worth, Italy and Turkey are dead silent.
I got a response from Italy endorsing my suggestion
that we cooperate against Turkey as he defends against
France, but he didn't send it until AFTER the Spring
moves went through, so his suggestion of Gal S Lvn-War,
Ukr-StP was not particularly practical. 8-)
>I wish I adjoined one of them.
I prefer neighbors who talk, it's much less nerve
wracking, and if you get stabbed, at least you have
the comfort of having been stabbed by a player you
can respect. (This is NOT an invitation to you to
stab me, however! ;^)
We will actually be pretty well positioned to stab
France, if you decide to go in that direction. I
suppose we could hope that Germany will take the
predictable route, and use Sil to defend Ber or Mun,
and order Ska-Swe/Den, and order Nwy-Swe, Nth-Den,
War-Sil to eliminate Germany, and Yor-Wal, Bel-ECh,
Hol-Bel, Edi-Cly to stage for the attack on France.
(I'm not insisting on this, by ANY means, but it
is a definite possibility.)
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from France to all
Sorry for my silence of late. I am in class W-F all day and only have
limited time at the computer. Last night I hurt my forearm/wrist area and
it was too painful to type. This morning, I cannot seem to get into my
usual e-mail. Hopefully that will be cleared up by tonight or even
possibly lunch time.
I will write when I can, meanwhile keep sending those love letters :-)
--Prince Boar
Message from Master to all
Extension at player request.
Doug
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
_________________________________________________________________
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Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
I was sorry to hear about your arm, and hope it
was nothing serious. Germany should end the year at
zero to two Centers, and will effectively cease to
being more than an annoyance once he disbands. This,
of course, raises the question of what happens next
year. Any ideas? Italy is obviously hoping that
England will attack you, and Ivy is somewhat
concerned that you might attack him, while I have to
be concerned that Ivy will come after me.
If you're willing to continue your attack on
Italy by moving Mun-Tyl next year, and allow Ivy to
move from Hol to Mun, and then on to Boh, we can
actually maintain this EFR alliance, and push
southeast to eliminate Italy and Turkey, I think.
Given their silence, it certainly seems an
appropriate course to me, but I am willing to
consider other options. Please write when you can,
and let me know what you're thinking.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>I would welcome the Dauphin's (theoretically)
>disinterested opinion.
I think that it is best to stay out of it openly. There
is too much going on between you and Ivy jockeying for
the future.
If you think that Fredd is smart enough to see Skag ->
Norway, then you might want to let him know that you see
it too, as does Ivy. He is less likely to try it if he
knows he will not be tricking anyone. It will just be a
1-in-3 chance (England can cover two of Swe, Den, Nor).
But if he has not seen it, you hurt yourself by putting
it into his head.
You can promise him something for next year if he does
bounce England from Den or Swe? But is he more inclined
to want to help you or spite you? He could also let it
get back to Ivy? It is all very tricky and I trust that
you will figure something out. I think that I would
prefer that you not mention this conversation to Ivy, by
the way. I want to appear as neutral as possible. But I
*do* want you to get a build! If you end up with one
stored for the future, that is even better.
>I was sorry to hear about your arm, and hope it
>was nothing serious.
It was a carpal tunnel pain. It hurt to do anything and
typing was out of the question. Luckily it is gone now.
Thank you for asking.
>This, of course, raises the question of what happens
>next year. Any ideas?
A very provocative question. But an important one
nonetheless. Obviously ERF cannot stick together
indefinitely. Sure, we could get England into Germany
(probably giving you more of Scandinavia) and keep things
going for a while. But that probably will not last long.
We both need to be very careful.
>Italy is obviously hoping that
>England will attack you, and Ivy is somewhat
>concerned that you might attack him, while I have to
>be concerned that Ivy will come after me.
All real possibilities. England and I are not really set
up to attack one another. It could happen, but it would
be very long and slow. I would say that the only way
that I would take on this task is if he was at war with
you and you were a viable threat to him.
What are your thoughts and plans for the future? Are
they as fuzzy as mine are?
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> >I would welcome the Dauphin's (theoretically)
> >disinterested opinion.
>I think that it is best to stay out of it openly.
I understand that, but I would still welcome the
Dauphin's sense of what Fredd (and Ivy) will do.
>is he more inclined to want to help you or spite you?
I expect that his most likely action will be to
spite me. From the moment I ordered Mos-StP in S'01,
he seemed too focus entirely too much attention on me.
> >This, of course, raises the question of what happens
> >next year. Any ideas?
>A very provocative question. But an important one
>nonetheless. Obviously ERF cannot stick together
>indefinitely. Sure, we could get England into Germany and keep things
>going for a while. But that probably will not last long.
I don't know. Ivy's behavior so far has
suggested powerful care-bear tendencies. (I'm not
a stabber by nature, but realistically, Ivy should
have stabbed Fredd much earlier than he did.) So,
if you give him a path to continued growth, (Ruh,
Mun) we could have a decent shot at eliminating
Italy and Turkey before trying to get down to a
Solo or 2-way.
> We both need to be very careful.
Definitely.
>What are your thoughts and plans for the future? Are they as fuzzy as mine
>are?
Assuming I don't get stabbed this Fall, or in '08-'09,
I will have built three Armies, and perhaps one Fleet,
so attacking England isn't really a practical option.
My hope is to hold the EFR coalition together and grow
to be the dominant Power in the East. It still seems
unlikely that I'll manage to do that, though.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
Just quickly, Prince Boar claims he can't see
attacking you unless I'm fairly strong, and you
attack me. I've proposed that he let you move to
Ruhr, and then to Munich to be able to send Armies
against Italy.
In Haste,
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
I got your message while halfway through composing a message to both you
and France. That note will arrive shortly.
>I've proposed that he let you move to
>Ruhr, and then to Munich to be able to send Armies
>against Italy.
My problem with this is that it would advertise to the Prince that Belgium
is undefended. He could retake Belgium in addition to Rome and Naples (and
possibly Venice) and build two (possibly three) to my zero!
I will definitely defend Belgium as explained in my joint note, which is
almost finished.
Ivy
Message from England to France and Russia
Gentlemen and fellow Hunaphobes,
Sorry for the 24 hour silence, but I took some time off when I saw the
deadline extension. Also, I've been worrying a little. Please don't take
offense at my worrying. It's not personal, and I am sure that we all go
through the exercise of asking ourselves, "what could go wrong?"
What if the Prince takes Belgium instead of Munich? Then I build
zero. What if the Prince takes Rome, in addition to Naples and presumably
Munich? Then he builds two units and goes two up on me. He could even try
for Belgium, Venice, Rome and Naples -- all four -- and build three to my
zero.
This situation is different from that of 1905 when I willingly gave
Belgium to my enemy France and when, shortly thereafter, the Prince left
both Paris and Brest undefended next to my units. Back then we took great
risks in order to save the game from Italy.
This time, I just don't see any need to take a risk. For starters,
Holland will defend Belgium. It has nothing better to do anyway. Also,
I've decided to block Germany from both Sweden and Denmark. As indicated
earlier, this dooms Germany if he makes expected moves. Yes, it also gives
me a second build -- at Germany's expense. But France will get one or two
builds, and this permits me to keep pace. That's important to me.
The only risk whatsoever is that Germany might try Skag->Norway. This
would definitely hurt Nick, but I really, really, really think this has
almost no chance of occurring. Skag->Norway would be pointedly
anti-Russian, and Fredd has given every indication of favoring Russia as he
goes down. He hasn't even written to me in a long time. I'll put money on
Skag->Swe.
Cordially,
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
It is very important that France believes that Belgium will be protected.
[Recall our many messages back and forth at the start of the game in which
I insisted that I would protect Norway with the North Sea when you wanted
the North Sea to take Belgium! Of course I wanted to take Belgium and did,
but I tried to be believable when I insisted that I was going to protect
Norway. I am sure you saw through that. Or was I convincing? Please tell
me I was convincing.]
>We will actually be pretty well positioned to stab
>France, if you decide to go in that direction. I
>suppose we could hope that Germany will take the
>predictable route, and use Sil to defend Ber or Mun,
>and order Ska-Swe/Den, and order Nwy-Swe, Nth-Den,
>War-Sil to eliminate Germany, and Yor-Wal, Bel-ECh,
>Hol-Bel, Edi-Cly to stage for the attack on France.
>(I'm not insisting on this, by ANY means, but it
>is a definite possibility.)
Now I must think about this. Should I play it safe (probably) or go for this?
Ivy
Message from Russia to England and France
Gentlemen,
>Message from England to Russia and France in 'titleist':
>
>I've been worrying a little. What if the Prince takes Belgium instead of
>Munich? Then I build zero.
Yes, but we'd also be left with a two or
three Center Germany, and France would be firmly
established as a target for all of us. It seems
foolish and therefore unlikely. The three of us
are working well together, and it would be unwise
to dissolve that partnership while Italy and Turkey
are able to regroup.
>This time, I just don't see any need to take a risk. Holland will defend
>Belgium.
That's your choice to make, of course, but
Hol-Ruh does position you to push toward Italy if
we continue to cooperate.
>I've decided to block Germany from both Sweden and Denmark. As indicated
>earlier, this dooms Germany if he makes expected moves. Yes, it also gives
>me a second build -- at Germany's expense.
Umm, no, it's at MY expense, and it could easily
become three builds for you, and none for me. Don't
try to set up a stab of me as defense against France,
Ivy, we're all to accomplished to fall for it. If you
want to play safe in Belgium, that's your concern, but
moving to Sweden and Denmark without my permission is
NOT the act of an ally!
>The only risk is that Germany might try Ska->Nwy. but I think this has
>almost no chance of occurring. Fredd has given every indication of
>favoring Russia as he goes down. He hasn't even written to me in a long
>time. I'll put money on Skag->Swe.
I told Fredd that I wouldn't support an attack
on Kiel if he disbanded War and GoB, and while I
don't know if that influenced his disbands, I doubt
that he's pleased that I took Kiel, and will take
Berlin this Fall. Given that I could well end up
taking War, Kie, and Ber from him this year, he has
little, if any, reason to favor me. Indeed, his
actions throughout this game have been largely
anti-Russian. You're welcome to put money on
Ska-Swe, but don't bet my Centers, Ivy. ;^)
Will Fredd come up with Ska-Nwy, Sil-Boh on
his own? That's hard to say, but he has made some
clever moves in the past, and even if he doesn't
think of it himself, someone could leak those moves
to him. I'm sure you'd apologize, but I'd rather
have the builds than your apologies. 8-)
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
My letter to you and Prince Boar does represent
my feelings on the matter, but it also serves to set
up the French stab if you move to ECh and Cly as I
laid out. I think we are better off continuing to
work together and eliminate Italy/Turkey before
trying for a two-way or Solo, but if you want to
stab France at this point, the moves I laid out
earlier, should prove effective, and if you "stab"
me at the same time, I might be able to gain useful
information from France, and take Mun from him by
surprise. It's your call.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
>Umm, no, it's at MY expense, and it could easily
>become three builds for you, and none for me. Don't
>try to set up a stab of me as defense against France,
>Ivy, we're all too accomplished to fall for it.
This is much clearer than the earlier:
>For the Fall, Kie S Pru-Ber, War-Sil, Pie-Tyl, Ruh S Bur-Mun, Nwy-Swe,
>Nth-Den, will eliminate Fredd, unless he orders Sil-Boh and/or Ska-Nwy.
>Fredd is unlikely to issue either of those orders, but I think Nwy S
>Edi-Nth, Nth-Hel is probably the better bet. Opinions?
which I thought left the door open for discussion.
Finally, your private note
> My letter to you and Prince Boar does represent
>my feelings on the matter, but it also serves to set
>up the French stab if you move to ECh and Cly as I
>laid out. I think we are better off continuing to
>work together and eliminate Italy/Turkey before
>trying for a two-way or Solo, but if you want to
>stab France at this point, the moves I laid out
>earlier, should prove effective, and if you "stab"
>me at the same time, I might be able to gain useful
>information from France, and take Mun from him by
>surprise. It's your call.
makes everything completely clear. Moves to Sweden and Denmark are an
absolute no-no unless accompanied by a stab of France. Clear and fair.
On my part, I too need to be firm on one decision. I don't want to agree
to Holland->Ruhr. Leaving Belgium undefended and telling France that I am
doing it is just too risky for me. Losing Belgium would mess up any plan
that I might contemplate. Holland->Ruhr does make sense as a spring idea.
Back to the issue of stabbing France or playing it safe. [OK, there is a
third option -- attacking Russia -- but it's not possible now. It could
still be an option if I played it safe this turn, as could attacking
France, for that matter.] I will try to reach a conclusion this weekend
and let you know on Monday. I can still communicate over the weekend, if
you need to explore the matter further.
Ivy
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
I'm at work, so I'll try to make this quick. (That
tends to be tough for me for some reason. ;^}
>Message from England to Russia in 'titleist':
>
> >Umm, no, it's at MY expense, and it could easily
> >become three builds for you, and none for me. Don't
> >try to set up a stab of me as defense against France,
> >Ivy, we're all too accomplished to fall for it.
>
>This is much clearer than the earlier:
>
> >For the Fall, Kie S Pru-Ber, [...], Nwy-Swe,
> >Nth-Den, will eliminate Fredd,
>which I thought left the door open for discussion.
>Finally, your private note
>
> > My letter to you and Prince Boar does represent
> >my feelings on the matter, but it also serves to set
> >up the French stab if you move to ECh and Cly as I
> >laid out. if you want to
> >stab France at this point, the moves I laid out
> >earlier, should prove effective, and if you "stab"
> >me at the same time, I might be able to gain useful
> >information from France, and take Mun from him by
> >surprise. It's your call.
>
>makes everything completely clear. Moves to Sweden and Denmark are an
>absolute no-no unless accompanied by a stab of France. Clear and fair.
Yes, my views have shifted somewhat as I have written,
but I think that the advantages gained in eliminating
Germany completely this year do not outweigh the risk
that I won't get a build, unless you also commit to
attacking France.
>I don't want to agree to Holland->Ruhr.
I have no problem with this. It's a very
pro-French move in a lot of ways, and honestly,
whether you move there this Fall, or next Spring
(as you convoy to Hol), would have no real effect
on your Southern push. (Assuming you decide to
take the Hol-Ruh-Mun-Boh-Vie highway.) (This
didn't really occur to me until after I wrote to
you the last time.) I really don't see France
attacking Bel, though, even if you did agree to
Hol-Ruh. (At least, if he's going to stab you,
he doesn't trust me enough to ask me to help.)
>Back to the issue of stabbing France or playing it safe. I will try to
>reach a conclusion this weekend and let you know on Monday.
Given how over-extended I am at the moment, (and
my natural inclination to ally with people who write),
my feeling is that continuing EFR makes the most
sense. We might want to insist that France only build
Fleets in Mar, though, to keep him from surging into
solo position.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> That was a pretty bold statement made by England! How
> are you taking it? Not much you can do about it but try
> to talk him out of it and hope for the best. It does add
> strength to my suggestion that we both be careful. My
> plans involve being prepared. Perhaps yours should as
> well.
Well, I did suggest that move right after the Spring Results
came through, as a way to eliminate Germany this year, but
further thought made it seem unnecessarily risky. Ivy accepted
my admonition that moving Nth-Den, Nwy-Swe without my
consent was not the act of an ally, and I've since made it clear
to him that I think I have more cause to worry about Germany,
than he does about you.
> If you cannot convince Ivy, then you may have to attempt
> to talk or trick Germany into moving to Sweden or
> Denmark.
Ska-Swe is actually his most likely move, I think, but I'd
rather see me get two builds, and have to save one for next
year, than see Ivy get two.
Nick.
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
I'll just cool my heels this fall. Germany can have either Denmark or
Sweden, and I will not attack France. With Germany still alive, that will
still give me something useful to do next year. It will be Norway hold and
Edi->Nth->Skag.
I also need to say this in a joint message to you and France so that the
Prince is not surprised by my change in plans.
Ivy
Message from England to France and Russia
Gentlemen,
Envoys from the tsarist realm have made a persuasive case for letting the
German live, albeit barely, for one more year. Germany can have his choice
of Denmark or Sweden with Nick guaranteed to keep the other. Thus, Norway
will hold, but I will order North Sea->Skag to follow on the heels of the
German fleet. We can sink it next year.
Ivy Wingo
Message from Russia to England and France
Ivy Wrote, >
>Envoys from the tsarist realm have made a persuasive case for letting the
>German live, albeit barely, Thus, Norway will hold, but I will order North
>Sea->Skag to follow on the heels of the
>German fleet. We can sink it next year.
My thanks. I would, of course, welcome the
end of German military strength, but I do not feel
that I can afford to sacrifice Russian growth at
this point to accomplish that worthwhile goal.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
Whew, one crisis averted. I can't see Ivy
agreeing not order attack Swe and Den, and then
doing so. It would gain him nothing, so I am
confident he will issue the stated orders.
If I might ask, what are your plans in the
Med? We have the potential to actively work
together there as early as next year, if things
go as planned.
Nick.
Message from Russia to Turkey
Ali,
Would you like me to tap Gal, so that you can
retake Rum from Sev? (War-Gal, Bla S Sev-Rum,
Bul-Ser would do it, I think.) Let me know.
Thanks,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I agree that we have a chance to work together next year
in the Mediterranean. I prefer to wait until then before
talking too much about my plans. Bascially I am going
slow to keep Ivy (and perhaps you) happy.
After this fall, and when we find out for sure if both of
us has averted our potential crisis with Ivy, we can
begin to really discuss the future.
I am anxious to do so, but feel that it is best to keep
my cards close to the vest this season.
I do wish you luck and truly hope that you do get that
build!
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
>I agree that we have a chance to work together next year
>in the Mediterranean. I prefer to wait until then before
>talking too much about my plans. Bascially I am going
>slow to keep Ivy (and perhaps you) happy.
Understood. I think that going slow in terms of growth,
is probably best. Nap-Apu, TyS-Ion, Ion-Adr, Tus-Rom
has potential, though... ;^}
>I do wish you luck and truly hope that you do get that
>build!
Any word from Fredd, Roberto, or Ali?
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>Any word from Fredd, Roberto, or Ali?
No, No, and No. :-)
Roger
Message from Russia to Master and France
Doug, and Roger,
I don't know how you want to handle this, but I
figured that I should bring it to your attention.
( I also don't know how I've managed to avoid it
so far. ;^} )
Russia in 'titleist'
---------------------------------------------------
>Message from France to Russia in 'titleist':
>
>Nick:
>
> >Any word from Fredd, Roberto, or Ali?
>No, No, and No. :-)
>
>Roger
Message from Master to France and Russia
usin@thekleimans.com said:
>Doug, and Roger,
>I don't know how you want to handle this, but I figured that I should
>bring it to your attention. ( I also don't know how I've managed to
>avoid it so far. ;^} )
Play on. Keep all communication through the Judge (even in the event
of a Judge outage).
I hate "anonymous" games. :-)
Doug
Message from Russia to Master and France
>Message from Master to France and Russia in 'titleist':
>
>I hate "anonymous" games. :-)
Which Power insisted on Gunboat? We could eliminate him,
if we haven't already, and then make it non-gunboat. ;^}
Nick. (Nick, keep signing them "Nick"!)
Message from France to Master and Russia
>>Roger
Ack ack ack! Darn it!
I have almost done that dozens of times and then caught
it and changed the name. I was in too much of a hurry.
There is a good chance that you already suspected;
although I have tried very hard to hide it.
Sorry for messing up.
France
Message from Russia to France
>Message from France to Master and Russia in 'titleist':
>
> >>Roger
>Ack ack ack! Darn it!
>
>There is a good chance that you already suspected;
>although I have tried very hard to hide it.
Nick nods, 'Yes, it was pretty clear to me that you
were playing England or France.'
>Sorry for messing up.
It's nearly impossible to avoid. On a couple of
occasions, I've either sent a message too fast, and
left off the "Endpress/Signoff", or mis-typed them,
and sent out ISP/Email program info that could have
revealed me to whomever I sent the message to.
(stop and think... 8-)
Nick.
England: Fleet Belgium HOLD
England: Fleet Edinburgh → Norwegian Sea
England: Army Holland SUPPORT Fleet Belgium
England: Fleet North Sea CONVOY Army Yorkshire → Denmark
England: Fleet Norway → Sweden (*bounce*)
England: Army Yorkshire → North Sea → Denmark
France: Army Burgundy SUPPORT Army Ruhr → Munich
France: Fleet Ionian Sea → Adriatic Sea
France: Fleet Naples SUPPORT Fleet Tyrrhenian Sea → Ionian Sea
France: Army Piedmont → Tyrolia (*bounce*)
France: Army Ruhr → Munich
France: Fleet Tuscany → Rome
France: Fleet Tyrrhenian Sea → Ionian Sea
Germany: Army Berlin → Prussia (*bounce, destroyed*)
Germany: Army Silesia → Warsaw (*bounce*)
Germany: Fleet Skagerrak → Sweden (*bounce*)
Germany: Army Tyrolia SUPPORT Italian Army Trieste → Venice (*void*)
Italy: Fleet Aegean Sea → Constantinople (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Galicia → Rumania
Italy: Fleet Eastern Mediterranean → Smyrna (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Galicia → Rumania
Italy: Fleet Greece SUPPORT Army Rumania → Bulgaria
Italy: Army Rumania → Bulgaria
Italy: Army Serbia SUPPORT Army Rumania → Bulgaria
Italy: Army Trieste → Vienna
Russia: Fleet Kiel SUPPORT Army Prussia → Berlin
Russia: Army Prussia → Berlin
Russia: Army Warsaw → Silesia (*bounce*)
Turkey: Army Ankara SUPPORT Fleet Smyrna
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea SUPPORT Army Bulgaria
Turkey: Army Bulgaria HOLD (*destroyed*)
Turkey: Army Constantinople SUPPORT Army Bulgaria (*cut*)
Turkey: Army Sevastopol → Moscow
Turkey: Fleet Smyrna HOLD
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