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Message from England to Austria
Edna,
>It would be nice to get some information about the situation in the west.
Yes, please! If you get such information, I beg you to relay it to me.
A little more seriously now. It is entirely possible that each of us,
France & Germany & England, thinks that he now has the choice of
allies. But someone must be left out in the cold, and this year is
decision time. I am certain that this year will see EFG conflict.
>Will an alliance be able to make progress against France?
E&G could halt France in his tracks if they allied, but it would be
difficult to reduce the French strength without Italian help.
>The English capture of Belgium appeared to indicate some EF cooperation,
With LOTS of conversation, I came to believe that Russia was not going to
bounce me in the north. Also, it became fairly clear that E&G were going
to bounce again in Burgundy. Whether you call it cooperation, or simply
free exchange of information between EF&G, I was reasonably confident that
Belgium would work for me.
>It would be nice if St Petersburg were to fall to the English forces,
>without the loss of Norway. At least, any retreat of the Russian army back
>through Stp could be delayed by Nwy-StP this spring.
Understood.
Here is a slightly delicate matter, and I don't necessarily expect a
response. Russia has taken a hard hit and is on the ropes. Let's finish
him off entirely. That's one less competitor, one less
complication. Surely you worry about what will happen with Turkey after
Russia is gone. Turkey must be worried about you. I am nervous and
skittish as well, just like everyone else. I think it best, however, not
to let 1903 issues or 1904 issues cloud our 1902 judgement. When Russia is
dead, and the next enemy appears, there will also be other friends to be
found. That's what diplomacy of for. Sorry if I am overstating my case,
but let's finish the Russian business. You probably can take a shot at
Warsaw. Turkey might be given Rumania, provided he take it with a
fleet. Both StP and Sweden are vulnerable. It is possible that Germany
and I could become enemies, but I hope he and I can first finish off Russia
in the north.
I would be in your debt if you urged Germany to make Sweden his first priority.
And good luck.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Turkey
Ali Baba,
I have a brief wind of time this morning, so I thought I would shoot off a
couple of messages.
Russia has taken a hard hit and is on the ropes. Let's finish
him off entirely. That's one less competitor, one less
complication. Surely you worry about what will happen with Austria after
Russia is gone. Austria must be worried about you. I am nervous and
skittish as well, just like everyone else. I think it best, however, not
to let 1903 issues or 1904 issues cloud our 1902 judgement. When Russia is
dead, and the next enemy appears, there will also be other friends to be
found. That's what diplomacy of for. Sorry if I am overstating my case,
but let's finish the Russian business. Urge Austria to take a shot at
Warsaw. He ought to let you have Rumania, provided you take it with a
fleet. Both StP and Sweden are vulnerable. In a parallel situation out
west, it is possible that Germany
and I could become enemies one day, but I hope he and I can first finish
off Russia
in the north.
I would be in your debt if you urged Germany to make Sweden his first
priority. The four of us, EGA&T, although possible enemies down the road,
have a job to finish.
Most cordially,
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Germany
Greetings Freddy,
> Sweden isn't a sure thing. There are still two Russian units to deal
>with. We are surrounded my friend. I think that we have to go in both
>directions simultaneously. I'll take the lead in Scandanavia, while you
>take the lead in France. Just like your original plan.
Why isn't Sweden a sure thing? Here is just one way to do it. Support
yourself into Baltic in the spring and let Russia into Sweden. In the fall
we have Norway, Denmark, and Baltic to take on Russia's two units. You get
Sweden. Bingo.
> I thought that France was trying to get a FGR going. I guess he'll
>tell anything to anyone. Can you believe it...
Sure, I believe it. I suspect that France is quietly disappointed with
Russia's troubles. He wants to knock off one of us with Russian help and
then with more Russian help, kill the other. A classic France/Russia
ploy. I've seen it work more than once in face-to-face play.
> I suggest that you build a fleet in LVN. Certainly France will put
>another fleet in Brest.
I gave this serious thought. It would make my intent fairly obvious and
would guarantee French moves to MAO and the Channel immediately. This way
I have a slight chance of sneaking into the channel and can make the
reasonable request that France not move to the mid-Atlantic.
One more very, very important matter. Italy has left open the possibility
that he might hit France from the south. I think that would be wonderful.
He indicated that he lacked confidence you were really going to go after
France. To be perfectly honest, and more to the point, he is not confident
that you have the spare time to communicate in a timely fashion.
So, if you think it in our best interest, please send Italy a note inviting
him to consider going west. You may tell him that you are sure that I will
go along. If you think Italian involvement is a bad idea for some reason,
please let me know.
I just looked at the map. One more idea. Suppose I try Lon->Channel,
Norway-StP, North Sea->Norway, Edi->Cly or North Sea. This has the
advantage of truly killing Russia. With both StP and Sweden lost, I would
then sail away from the north with enough fleets to take on France. You
and I would each have six units. I would build a fleet in Liverpool. You
could take the remainder of Scandinavia as I gained compensation in
France. As long as Russia is alive, you have a determined enemy in the
north. Better to wipe him out entirely.
Back to the original message. Sweden is yours this year. I just don't see
how you could miss.
In alliance,
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Italy
Roberto,
>How refreshing that somebody actually cares about little ol' Italy.
We care, we care. But it's easy to love someone who is not your neighbor!
>I seem to have a good thing going out east and would hate to waste what
>seems like a glorious opportunity.
Clear and to the point. I will not say anything to your eastern neighbors.
> When I look west, all I see are
>countries with 5 units.
Next time you look, two of them will have more than 5 units. If one of
them is France ... well, we all know who France targets next.
>Now, if, and it's a big if, I could get assurance from Germany, in writing,
>that he wanted to take on France, I might change my mind.
"if" and "might" don't give me much to work with!
> As you point out,
>he's a poor communicator.
Our boy is improving. Let's see if I can get him to talk to you in a
timely fashion.
>Feel free to spill the English intentions anytime you like. :)
I must choose between EF or EG. Italian help in the Med would make the
choice a no-brainer and the task trivial. No Italian help makes the choice
very difficult. Please keep this to yourself.
Your candid friend,
Ivy Wingo
Message from Master to all
A player said:
>In games that I Master, I urge the players to write an EoY (End of
>Year) statement, or statements, during the Adjustment Phase each year.
> Some players Broadcast in-character "State of the Union" speeches,
>which would be fun for the Observers, but if we each send Doug a note
>each year revealing why we made the choices we did, it will make the
>Showcase much more instructive for people to read later.
.
.
.
>Some of these questions might be addressed in EoGs, but
>others will be overlooked, and the answers may reveal the differences
>between victory and defeat.
I wholeheartedly support this notion. This will be a showcase game,
of course, and your EoY broadcasts and just-to-master presses with
more description of your intentions are heartily encouraged. Many
beginners will no doubt rehash this game in the future, and if you're
willing to give them a glimpse of your strategy, I think it would be
a great help to them.
Either method is encouraged (broadcasts will be read by other players,
of course, whereas 'press to m' is to the silent universe that will
be reading along in years to come). Just as a reminder, though,
don't send a grey broadcast discussing the game and sign it with
your real name.
Cheers, everyone,
Doug
Message from England to Master
Doug,
>Why did
>England risk no Builds, and get two?
Prior to the start of titleist, I decided to explore the possibility of an
EGI-triple assault on France. Why France? Because a German partner is
easier for England to control and/or exploit in the later game than France
is. Also, in "titleist" I expected France to be manned by a very dangerous
player, someone who probably had a solo in the semifinals. Early diplomacy
made this all but obvious. France is very, very good.
Surprisingly, Germany has been a poor communicator. Of course he is
competent, but he seems to be too busy in his real life to devote proper
attention to the game. That, plus Italy's reluctance to come west, is
driving France and me closer together.
Why risk no builds? After extensive (Extensive!) correspondence with
Russia and France, I believed that the moves were virtually without
risk. Russia was going to make the sensible move to Finland. France was
required to bounce Germany in Burgundy.
As I type this, I still do not know if prefer allying with France or
Germany. I do know that I want Russia eliminated -- not what France
wants. It just makes my position more secure.
Gee, I wish Karlis and Ron Poet, and Michael Andresen were here
also. Wouldn't that be a game!
Hmmm. Is there any reason why the names of those eliminated in splinter and
the other two semifinals can't be revealed? That would only tell us who
advanced, and we know that already.
Allen
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
Things are really looking up for you. Both Turkey and
France have built in such a fashion that they are not
threats to you. I will keep one of my fleets in the
neighborhood, just to discourage any pressure that others
may give you to attack me. But it will not be put in a
threatening position.
All set up for a Lepanto. Turkey and Russia fighting.
No Turkish fleets in the Mediterranean. No French
threat. Wow, life truly is beautiful for you!!!
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicolas:
> Yes, I wonder who suggested it to them
They could have suggested it to themselves I suppose. I
will do what I can to try and convince Turkey that he
should side with you. I am sure that you are pointing
out to him that his back is exposed to a Lepanto. Offer
him Rumania for peace?
At least it looks like Warsaw can be saved this year.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba:
>I 'm sorry to see your apparent problems
>with the German.
Well, he is the kind of guy you likes to dictate rather
than discuss. At least I knew that he was coming to
Burgundy. So it is not as bad as it seems. Messy yes,
beyond repair hopefully not.
>All is pretty much as it seems in the south.
>I ultimately decided that Russian policies
>were not in Turkey's best interests. I have a
>nagging feeling that I'm just opening myself
>up to a Lepanto
It looks like it is a very serious possibility to me.
Russia is definitely not pro-Austrian any more. He might
be willing to give you Rumania just to prevent your
attacking him. I would be careful if I were you. But it
is your risk to take not mine :-)
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I of course expect you to talk with Germany. Just leave
the impression that you are staying friendly with Russia.
I want us to be able to take Holland (maybe Denmark) and
keep Belgium. I would rather that he not decide to
attack France. If he is less sure of you, he will be
less likely to attack me. He may just focus on Russia,
which is our goal.
One thing that you might suggest to Russia is:
F Bot -> Pru
A Fin -> Swe s by Nor
Bot -> Bal is bounce to fail. The moves above put
pressure on Berlin, which should help us take Holland,
etc.
I am not certain if it was your words, mine, or Fred's
own thoughts, but we did manage to get the fleet built in
Berlin! Excellent. Things are continually going your
way! That is good for our alliance.
I have to ask you for a bit of trust. It would greatly
help us if I could move Brest to the Channel. That would
allow me to use Burgundy to attack Ruhr in the fall (so
it did not support Hol to hold or Hol -> Bel). I could
that would give me Eng Chan to support Pic to Bel just in
case Ruhr was ordered to Bel. I would not move my other
fleet to the MAO.
I know that it is asking a lot, but as you pointed out,
it may be hard to crack that German front. In light of
the Russian-Turkish war and the perfect Lepanto set up, I
think that we need to move quickly before we are behind
I-A. That fleet would move away with all speed once
Belgium is secured.
The plan that the Dauphin suggests is:
Par -> Bur s by Pic
Bre -> Eng
Nth -> Hel
Edi -> NwS
Lon -> Nth
Nor s Fin -> Swe
Do you want to know fall moves that might go along with
it?
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Germany
Fred:
I will take it as my goal to take Belgium away from
England then, since you are targeting Sweden.
I cannot see the TdF. All I can see is the CBS summary
that occurs on Sunday, covering the entire week. Last
week they covered 8 days of racing in 1 hour. And they
had the nerve to break away to some sports desk for a
brief update on baseball. Annoying!!
-- Prince Boar
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
>Adjustment orders for Winter of 1901. (titleist.003)
>
>Turkey: Builds an army in Ankara.
Not good, though ...
>Italy: Builds a fleet in Naples.
Turkey could find himself hard-pressed before
he has a chance to get far against me.
>France: Builds an army in Paris.
>France: Builds a fleet in Brest.
Fairly neutral.
>Austria: Builds an army in Vienna.
>Austria: Builds an army in Budapest.
Also not good, it seems he wants war with
Russia after all.
>England: Builds a fleet in London.
>England: Builds a fleet in Edinburgh.
Hmmm, two Fleets? I expected one and one.
The position seems pro-French, and somewhat
anti-German.
>Germany: Builds a fleet in Berlin.
>Germany: Builds an army in Kiel.
Fleet Berlin? Geeze, I'm surprised he
didn't build A Mun, and move to Sil, as well.
Let me know what you have in mind.
Your soon-to-be-late friend,
Nick.
Message from England to France
Good Prince Boar,
[This note was 99% complete when I got your message. I will add a comment
at the end.]
Upon reflection, I think it is best that we openly discuss Russia some
more, inasmuch as our preferences probably differ somewhat.
I can put myself in the French position and see that a vigorous Russia
might be useful against England, once Germany is eliminated. I'm not
suggesting in the least that that is your plan, but it is nice to have
options. Even a weak Russia can provide France with some security against
an evil England.
I, on the other hand, see a Russia ready to topple. Warsaw and StP are
vulnerable, and Sweden and Rumania are not necessarily attainable. I would
like to see Russia's elimination. That can only be done by permitting
Germany to take Sweden, but I think there is an excellent chance of taking
Holland by surprise or deception in the fall. This plan, if feasible,
would include you sliding into Belgium in the fall.
*****************
A quick reaction to your letter. I am willing to consider Brest to
Channel. I ask you to consider Norway->StP in return. If I get StP and
Holland, while you get Belgium, we each gain a center. I need a little
time to digest all of this, and I have to rush home immediately to
entertain out-of-town visitors.
We have lots to thrash out, but we are in a great position.
Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention something. I refused Germany's request
that I build a fleet in Liverpool. He hasn't reacted yet.
Ivy Wingo
Message from France to England
Ivy:
The main reasons that I do not want to see Russia topple
are that:
1) There is no one to put pressure on Germany's backside.
It would be a long hard fight if he could focus all his
energy on us
2) I want him alive to slow down the Southeast.
My goal as a Northern power is always to side with one of
EFG and finish the other off *before* the south is
resolved. I always try to encourage a 2-on-2 battle in
the south, typically IA vs RT.
Yes, we do not want Russia to grow strong. But I do not
believe that we want him to topple either. Russia has
enough neighbors on the other side that he is easy to
take down later, especially in the weakened state where
we want to keep him.
I think that at least for the spring we should keep him
on our side. In the fall, if you feel you must betray
him, that is certainly an option. But that allows us
both the spring and fall moves for him to annoy Germany
for us. Ultimately we want to deal blows to both of
them.
As for the long term goal of keeping Russia viable to
keep you distracted. Sure that gives me peace of mind,
just like the health of Italy gives you peace of mind.
But Italy looks like he will be strong enough that a weak
but not dead Russia should not worry you so much.
Let's continue to discuss it until we are comfortable
with a solution and path foward.
-- Prince Boar
PS: Thanks for not building in Liverpool. I appreciate
it.
Message from Germany to Italy
Roberto:
Good to hear that you're not involved in plan to carve me up. Our
English friend shouldn't have said that. It's too easy of a story to
check out. Plus I didn't believe it, as it's tactically a mistake for
Italy.
The key is to look at the reason why Ivy would drop a story like
that on me. (Actually it was more a hint, than a story) The obvious
answer is that he doesn't want me to work with France. Duh. I wonder if
this also means that he wants to work with me against France? I think
the builds will tell. If a fleet appears in Liverpool, I think we can
both breathe easier.
Fredd
Message from England to Italy
Good Roberto,
>I seem to have a good thing going out east and would hate to waste what
>seems like a glorious opportunity. When I look west, all I see are
>countries with 5 units. I don't see nearly that many units when I view my
>eastern horizon. As candid as I can get, I think the pickin's are easier to
>the east.
Understood. You won't see western countries with five units much longer.
Two of us, not necessarily including me, will be getting bigger. When
Germany or England is dispatched and France has grown, is it virtually
certain he will be entering the Mediterranean.
>Now, if, and it's a big if, I could get assurance from Germany, in writing,
>that he wanted to take on France, I might change my mind.
"if" and "might" are a bit too weak for me, but I appreciate your honesty.
You have always been straight with me.
>Feel free to spill the English intentions anytime you like. :)
I think I have my choice of allies. Shame me if I have to eat those words.
Your response was important to me. That's all I better say for now.
Monday is still a long way off.
Ivy Wingo
Message from Germany to France
But you could listen live to the Tour. Go to olntv.com I feel your
pain.
Well it's down to the short hairs. I don't have a solid proposal just
yet as to where we should go from here. Certainly I'm learly of both
you and England. But I'm going to have to commit to one or the other.
I'll be giving this serious thought over the next two days.
Truthfully, I was leaning toward coming at you if England built a fleet
in LVN. But he didn't. So far all of his press has been about EG
attacking you. But I don't see any actually moves in that direction.
Talk more soon.
Fredd
Message from Russia to France
Prince Boar,
>I will do what I can to try and convince Turkey that he
>should side with you. I am sure that you are pointing
>out to him that his back is exposed to a Lepanto. Offer
>him Rumania for peace?
Already been done. He must believe that Italy
will stab Austria. That's the only explanation I
can imagine for not building F Smy. any influence
you can provide would be appreciated, though. I do
hope that you and Ivy are going to hit Fredd hard, too.
>At least it looks like Warsaw can be saved this year.
You think so? I'm not so opptomistic.
The soon-to-be-late,
Czar Nicholas.
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy
Gentlemen,
We STILL have the opportunity to take Turkey out,
before he grows to big to be eliminated easily. For
your consideration:
Austria:
Gre-Aeg
Ser-Gre
Bud-Ser
Gal-Bud
Italy:
Ion-EMed
Nap-Ion
In the Fall, Tun-Ion-EMed-Smy/Syr, and
Aeg & Gre S Ser-Bul. Now, you might say that you
don't need me to do this, and strictly speaking,
that's true, but if you attack us both we will be
forced to ally, and that will slow your conquest
considerably.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
Of course, if you happen to move Tyl-Tri next
Fall, I won't be at all upset...
Nicky.
Message from Observer to Observer
> Adjustment orders for Winter of 1901. (titleist.003)
>
> Italy: Builds a fleet in Naples.
> Turkey: Builds an army in Ankara.
> France: Builds an army in Paris.
> France: Builds a fleet in Brest.
> Austria: Builds an army in Vienna.
> Austria: Builds an army in Budapest.
> England: Builds a fleet in London.
> England: Builds a fleet in Edinburgh.
> Germany: Builds a fleet in Berlin.
> Germany: Builds an army in Kiel.
Here's what I see:
West: The FG builds appear anti-English, but actually Germany's fleet
build in Berlin is probably more geared more toward taking Sweden by
force (F Den S F Ber - Bal) this year. With his other units, he
might attempt to dislodge England or he might man the line against
France. Who knows.
France and England's builds more or less cancel each other out. EF
can be avoided if the two are committed to some serious negotiation
before the spring movement phase. To buy time, perhaps there'll be
an arranged bounce in the Channel, though that would seem to benefit
France more than England.
England might trade Belgium for an alliance with France or Germany.
East: Turkey's army build in Ankara seems to be a sign that Italy
and Turkey are at least at peace, if not allied (or maybe A Ank will
make a deal between I and T more likely). At least it seems that IT
is more likely than AT. One possible deal between IT could be for
Italy to swipe at Greece while Turkey focuses on Sevastopol/Rumania.
Austria's builds suggest a pending AR war, or at least a lack of
trust between AR.
With no Austrian army in Trieste, Italy's army in Tryolia has some
freedom of action, at least for the spring. However, there doesn't
appear to be much he can do against Austria; if he's going to stick
with Ausria, he might be negotiating with France to be supported into
Munich. Italy will either proceed with the Lepento (boring unless
coupled with an attack on Munich with French support), or will attack
Austria with Russian and Turkish assistance.
If Italy attacks Austria while Turkey attacks Russia/Austria, I
wonder how long it will be before Austria and Russia patch things up?
What would an Italian attack on Austria look like? Italy could make
a surprise convoy to Albania, or he could convoy to Greece if he's
sure that Austria will take the free move to the Aegean Sea.
Russia:
In serious trouble if Austria and he are truly at war. Austria has a
50/50 shot at making a breakthrough if he guesses the Russian order
for A Ukr correctly. One of War and Ukr can be covered. Russia
needs to at least be prepared to put aside his differences with
Austria, or make Austria believe he's willing to put aside their
differences.
Austria:
Given the possibility of a breakthrough and the Turkish build, his
options for an ally are somewhat limited. He may have to give up
Greece to keep Italy on board, especially given that Austria appears
to have breakthrough options against Russia. If Austria makes that
offer, Italy can perhaps keep his options open until 1903.
If I were playing Austria, I'd be worried about the possibility of an
IT alliance. On the other hand, his best shot at growth appears to
be against Russia. I think the IT concerns are more pressing. He
has to cut a deal.
Here's a thought: with only one enemy fleet to contend with in the
Med, perhaps Italy will lend a hand to England for an attack on
France? That might anger the Turk insofar as it would take pressure
off of Austria.
What does anyone else think?
Karlis
Message from Italy to Austria
With Turkey's surprise build (at least I was surprised), we have the chance
to move into both the AEG and EMS. Was just curious if you were planning on
moving gre-aeg?
Also, do you have any interest in exchanging your fleet for an army and my
Tunis army for a fleet? It would be nice for me to have another fleet at my
disposal. The sooner I can influence the west and get to France the better
our chances down the road. Also, we wouldn't have to worry about
coordinating our fleet movements in and around the Eastern Med. Just a
suggestion.
I am interested in acquiring another supply center this year. I don't
consider Smyrna to be a viable option for acquisition this year since it
would be easy for Turkey to bounce me out if I moved to the EAS. I assume
he's going to move Ank-Arm but if I threatened Smy, he'd just move Arm-Smy
in the fall. Was wondering if you had any suggestions?
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Austria
>
> We STILL have the opportunity to take Turkey out,
> before he grows to big to be eliminated easily.
>
After thinking about it today, I would tend to agree with Russia. EG will
probably prevent Russia from getting into Sweden as STP needs to be
defended. Turkey is threatening Sev. You can prevent a Rumanian build. I
don't see Russia gaining a center anytime soon. He'll still be as weak when
Turkey is gone as he is now.
>
> but if you attack us both we will be forced to ally,
> and that will slow your conquest considerably.
>
This is the unfortunate drawback of attacking Russia first.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Austria and Russia
>
> We STILL have the opportunity to take Turkey out,
> before he grows to big to be eliminated easily.
>
I whole-heartedly agree. HOWEVER, I think Rumania should become Austrian
property in the process. Call it a good-will gesture for not pushing north
into Russian homeland. After all, the Turk was as much responsible for the
Rumanian debacle as Austria.
> For your consideration:
> Austria:
> Gre-Aeg
> Ser-Gre
> Bud-Ser
> Gal-Bud
>
> Italy:
> Ion-EMed
> Nap-Ion
>
So, I would alter the suggested moves slightly with:
Gal-Rum
Vie-Gal
In the fall, Tunis would convoy to Bulgaria with a bunch of support. Nobody
can blame me for suggesting a set of moves where Italy gains a build, right?
:)
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Russia
>
> Of course, if you happen to move Tyl-Tri next
> Fall, I won't be at all upset...
>
It's possible but if there is an opportunity to eliminate Turkey, I'd have
to consider that a first priority.
Hope you're not too upset at my Rumanian suggestion. From what I've
gathered from Austria, he won't go along with any plan unless he gets the
best end of the trade. I'm still hoping we'll have enough influence to take
him out during the mid-game.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to England
>
> I must choose between EF or EG. Italian help in the Med
> would make the choice a no-brainer and the task trivial.
> No Italian help makes the choice very difficult.
>
How soon would you need Italian assistance? Seems clear, I have a glorious
opportunity in the east and with Russian assistance, the choice would be a
no-brainer and the task trivial (sorry to steal your words but they're
appropriate here as well). Are you planning on capitalizing on Russian
weakness in STP? If not, then I could use him to make my life easier in the
east and I'd be able to 'help in the Med' that much sooner.
I'm beating around the bush a little, but basically I think it's a priority
for Italy to neutralize the Eastern powers and gain some military strength
prior to moving west. I'm hoping that if that were to occur in the next
year or two that your offer will still be on the table.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to France
>
> Things are really looking up for you.
>
Thanks, but things can change in this game so fast. I can't let my guard
down or I'd be 'Russianized'.
> I will keep one of my fleets in the
> neighborhood, just to discourage any pressure that others
> may give you to attack me. But it will not be put in a
> threatening position.
>
Since you brought the subject up, can I ask where the fleet would be
positioned? MAO? SPA/nc? POR? NAO? or somewhere else?
Looking at the map it would appear that we are heading in opposite
directions and this is good. Doesn't make for great tactical press though.
Still, we should keep in touch and pass along any information we come in
contact with. If we're going to mutually defend the West Med, we both need
to be aware of what is happening in the rest of Europe.
Just curious, were the bounces in Burgundy pre-arranged or did Germany
really try twice to enter your country unprovoked?
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Germany
> The key is to look at the reason why Ivy would drop a
> story like that on me. (Actually it was more a hint,
> than a story) The obvious answer is that he doesn't
> want me to work with France. Duh. I wonder if
> this also means that he wants to work with me against France?
If it helps, England has always hinted that he wants me to move into the
West Med and join an EG attack. I've resisted to this point mostly because,
well look at the map, there are excellent opportunities to the east,
opportunities that are too tempting to resist. He's never hinted that I
move north to join an EF attack on Germany.
I don't know. I get the sense though that Ivy is looking for somebody to
distract his nearest and most powerful neighbor. I don't get the feeling
he'd follow thru with an attack. What is your gut feeling about Ivy's
intentions?
> I think the builds will tell. If a fleet appears in
> Liverpool, I think we can both breathe easier.
>
Well, a fleet didn't appear in Liverpool so Ivy still has left his options
open. I assume you are going to try to move towards Sweden but do you think
England is going to go for STP?
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to France
Let's see how close I can get in predicting moves for Spring '02:
a par - bur
a pic s a par - bur
a spa - gas
f por - mao
f bre - eng
Feel free to predict Italian orders.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to all
Van Lingle Mungo reporting for Vatican Tonight backstage with the winners of
the 1901 Titleist Awards. Not too many surprises at this years award show
but there was still plenty of excitement.
Oh wait, here comes the winner of the best unit in a supporting role.
VT: Mr Serbia, can we have a minute. That was quite a performance you put
on in the fall. Tell us about it.
Serbia: Well, I was, uh, like trying to help a friend but some Russian
sailor dudes caused some trouble and I guess the Romanian borders were
closed tight as a drum. Bummed me out. We're tired of these supporting
roles though. We're looking to ink a leading role next year.
VT: Speaking of the best unit in a leading role, look who just stopped by.
Mr Yorkshire, rumor is you get seasick. How was it you made it all the way
to Belgium?
Yorkshire: Good question. As you know, there was a contest to figure out
who Ive Wingo was. Turns out, I was the only one who knew and I won a
3-month vacation in Belgium. I haven't had a vacation in almost four years
so I couldn't pass up the chance. I blew chunks the whole way but the beach
scene here is worth it. A couple of Peptos and I'm good as new.
VT: Congratulations on the award. We look forward to your next move.
VT: Here come the two winners in the writing categories, France for best
writing of an original screenplay and Russia for best writing based on
material previously published. Gentlemen, I know you're excited but do you
care to comment on the night's proceedings?
Russia: My work stands by itself. Just because nobody else was nominated
doesn't mean my work wasn't deserving of the statue.
France: I'm stunned and honored. I've worked hard reporting the greatest
bicycle race in the world and it's nice to be recognized by the Academy. I
really didn't expect to win. Ivy and Nicky have written some great stuff
thru the year. All I can say is, thank you, thank you.
We go live now as the best director award is being presented.
And the 1901 Titleist Award for best direction goes to ..........
Archduke Ferdinand
Archduke: Thank you. This award could not have been possible without my
talented ambassadors to Europe. They do all the work and I reap the
benefits. Doesn't quite seem fair, but, then again, you said life was fair.
That's it for the 1901 Titleist Awards. We hope to see you all again next
year at this same time.
Van Lingle Mungo reporting for Vatican Tonight
Message from Italy to Master
Italy 1901 EoY statement:
Spring moves: ven-tri (pre-arranged bounce); rom-apu; nap-ion
Fall moves: ven-tyr; apu-ion-tun
Trying to keep as many options available to me as possible.
The IR alliance probably won't materialize as Russia failed to gain a build
and is in danger of attack on several fronts.
I'm going to have to choose really soon between Austria and Turkey and quite
frankly change my mind constantly. I'm probably leaning towards AI simply
because of the potential fleet presence Turkey presents. I think I'd still
have Russia as an ally possibility too.
The one thing I won't do, unless provoked, is head towards France. I know
he's powerful but my gut tells me he's telling me the truth in that he wants
me as a friend. As long as I have legitimate prospects in the east, I don't
feel the need to upset France.
Probably the move of most interest is the one to Tyrolia. I really only
made the move to get Germany to talk to me. He hadn't returned my press all
Fall phase. Turns out, the move has provided me some diplomatic
opportunities with France and England that I didn't have prior. It's also
somewhat of an Austrian setup if I choose to go that direction. Austria
asked me to go there expecting me to continue onto Boh/Sil. I'll come up
with some excuse for staying in Tyrolia though. It may even go directly to
Vienna in the spring depending on how negotiations go. Stay tuned.
Life is Beautiful,
Ken, aka Roberto
Message from England to Italy
>How soon would you need Italian assistance?
If I choose a pro-France stance, then your assistance would be moot. I
would encourage France to enter the Med and attack you as soon as possible.
That's just the way an EF alliance works. If I choose a pro-German
stance, then the war against France would be very slow and difficult. Your
help would be welome anytime then.
>Seems clear, I have a glorious
>opportunity in the east and with Russian assistance, the choice would be a
>no-brainer and the task trivial
Wow! You know something that I do not know. I have been assuming that the
two Russian units in the south have a halflife of mere minutes.
StP's fate is tied to my decision. Now that you have been abundantly clear
about the Italian direction, I am at wits end about what to do in the west.
>I'm beating around the bush a little, but basically I think it's a priority
>for Italy to neutralize the Eastern powers and gain some military strength
>prior to moving west. I'm hoping that if that were to occur in the next
>year or two that your offer will still be on the table.
Anyway, I am rooting for your success. Even if I do ally with France, I
don't want him to have a too easy time in the Med.
Ivy Wingo
Message from Italy to England
>
> Wow! You know something that I do not know. I have been
> assuming that the two Russian units in the south have a
> halflife of mere minutes.
>
Only if you, and presumably Germany as well, take a bite out of him in the
north. If not, I think he'll survive but only as a minor power to be taken
out in the mid-game.
> Now that you have been abundantly clear
> about the Italian direction, I am at wits end about what to
> do in the west.
>
> Anyway, I am rooting for your success. Even if I do ally
> with France, I don't want him to have a too easy time in
> the Med.
>
You're assuming that he'd move to the Med after you two are done with
Germany. Don't forget though, France and Italy are already allied. If you
haven't firmed up your alliance with France yet, why would he choose to give
up a game-long alliance with Italy for one with England? If I were France,
I'd approach this game by trying to secure the 17-center stalemateable (is
that a word?) line from Mar-Stp. He wouldn't even have to stab me to have a
legitimate shot at winning. But, entering the Med usually means leaving
Brest, etc exposed to the English Armada.
What I'd like to see happen is, if you choose EF, that we time our finishing
attacks so that we'd both be free to squeeze France at the same time. It'd
be just the two of us and we wouldn't have to worry about German
communication lines. It means that one of us might have to slow down their
attack just a bit depending on circumstances but allies should grow at a
similar rate anyway.
If you choose EG, I'll get there as fast as I can after the east is settled.
If your choice is not abundantly clear via the moves, please inform me
otherwise.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Germany to Italy
Roberto:
> I don't know. I get the sense though that Ivy is looking for somebody to
> distract his nearest and most powerful neighbor. I don't get the feeling
> he'd follow thru with an attack. What is your gut feeling about Ivy's
> intentions?
>
> > I think the builds will tell. If a fleet appears in
> > Liverpool, I think we can both breathe easier.
> >
>
> Well, a fleet didn't appear in Liverpool so Ivy still has left his options
> open. I assume you are going to try to move towards Sweden but do you think
> England is going to go for STP?
I think that you hit the nail on the head. Ivy has been talking me up
continuously about working together against France. Then he builds in
EDI. That is NOT the place to build to take part in an attack on
France.
I believe that you are correct. His goal is to have me make a move
against France so that we're tied up while he picks up another center.
Probably STP. I'd say Holland or something French, but I get the
feeling that E, F, G are not secure in any combination right now.
>From the start he has advocated an alliance where he moves south, while
I pick up Scandinavia. His builds and moves point at the opposite
objective.
The bottom line is that I believe that he is blowing smoke up me bum.
The next question is, what can I do about that?
Hmmm. Interesting. Certainly I can approach France with a plan to
wipe out England. I have no idea if he'd go for it. We do have a new
fleet in Brest. Will E and F bounce in the Channel this time? Time
will tell. I'd say that it's likely.
I'd say that it's even more likely that England and France have decided
to work together. France is making standard moves. Pretty much
noncommited. But England is definitely making moves and builds to head
east. I don't think that he'd do this if he didn't think that he
would be ok in the south. There's a French fleet in Brest, and one in
Portugal. Those fleets have a real history of being pointed at
England. But Ivy decided NOT to build in LVN. There can be only one
reason for that. He thinks that France won't be coming for his back
door. Or he thinks that he can build again before the threat arrives.
(Ivy is NOT a novice, he knows exactly where his chief danger comes
from)
The question arises: What will France actually do? I don't know. He
hasn't said word one to me about attacking England or you. We arranged
both bounces (barely). But other than that neither of us has brought up
tactics down the road. His plan could easily be to slip a dagger in
England's back. Or it could be to head toward you. I don't know.
One thing for sure. The next move will tell us (probably) who the first
person to be eliminated will be. If England had built in LVN, it could
have been France. But with the build in EDI, I can't see it.
Fredd
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
I must admit to being a bit perplexed. It was my understanding that
you wished to move south against France, while I moved against Russia.
Eventually cleaning up the entire Scandinavian peninsula. Including
Norway.
Your build in EDI, and your last note suggests that this plan no longer
exists. True?
If you are indeed moving to the east, why would I want to attack
France?
Could you help clear this up? To me it looks like your lips are saying
Yes, Yes, Yes but your eyes are saying No no no. You can support
yourself to the channel this year. Is this your intention?
Fredd
Message from England to Germany
Freddy,
> I must admit to being a bit perplexed. It was my understanding that
>you wished to move south against France, while I moved against Russia.
>Eventually cleaning up the entire Scandinavian peninsula. Including
>Norway.
I understand your point. The vulnerability of StP brought out some greed
in me. Well, not entirely greed, because I knew you would be getting
Sewden and I was hoping to grow in unison. Anyway, StP was a bad idea. I
am going south. Period. In particular I will not be moving to StP.
Scandinavia is entirely yours.
On the other hand, I am confident that the build in Edinburgh was the
proper thing to do. Building in Liverpool would have been equivalent to an
immediate declaration of war against France, and he would have responded by
sending his fleets north. As it is, he has promised not to move to the
Mid-Atlantic, and we are discussing a bounce in the Channel, a bounce that
I will win(!) with help from the North Sea.
Now, there is a big IF in these plans. It can't be as simple as you
attacking Scandinavia and me attacking France. For then you will gain
Sweden and Norway and StP, and I will gain nothing. I have always assumed
that you will pressure France with armies in Munich and Ruhr and use them
in concert with Belgium to push against Burgundy. Right?
And please keep after Italy to help in the south.
Agreed?
What I have in mind is something like this:
Lon s North Sea->Channel
Edi->North Sea
Bel s Kiel->Ruhr
Norway has to stay in place to support you into Sweden in the fall. After
that it heads for Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic. In the spring I
can swing the Channel to the Irish Sea while using London again to support
North Sea to the Channel. Alternatively, the Channel can be used to cut
Picardy so that Belgium or Ruhr can blast into Burgundy.
Ruhr is as essential to the attack on France. Without an army there, we
cannot penetrate Burgundy, and France can use his armies to defend his
Atlantic coast.
It works on paper!
Please remain confident in our general scheme. Within the past week I have
had messages from Italy, Turkey, Austria, and even Russia all suggesting
that EG against France is the way to go. Everyone is afraid of France. Of
course they want us to do the dirty work.
Please let me know what your think of this.
Oh. One more thing. There are two ways to handle Sweden. (1) Support
yourself into Baltic and we triple attack in the fall. (2) I support
Denmark->Swe immediately, while Berlin moves to Baltic in case Sweden
bounces in the spring. I don't see much difference. Just tell me what you
want Norway to do and I will do it.
Cordially,
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Germany
Fred,
>Lon s North Sea->Channel
>Edi->North Sea
>Bel s Kiel->Ruhr
Better is Bel s Mun->Bur. This will bounce of course, but it keeps France
out of Burgundy. If we let France into Burgundy there is the very real
danger of Italian cooperation with France on Munich. That you do not
want. You do not want!
Kiel can get to Ruhr on its own; my support was only symbolic.
Ivy
Message from England to France
Good Prince Boar,
Try as I might to find a way to guarantee Pic->Bel & Bel->Hol, without a
fleet in the channel, I cannot see how to do it. After getting Belgium
last turn, it is probably best that I not ask for the channel myself. I
was tempted to do so, with Por->Mao as compensation, but I am willing to
see Bre->Eng as you suggested. It settles the issue without need for
further debate.
It would be best if you keep the fleet close to the French coast and stay
out of sight of Dover. And remember, the Channel islands are
English. Once you have an army in Belgium, I trust you will volunteer to
slip the fleet back into Brest or perhaps Mao.
I am ready to cede the other point as well. I will not attempt StP in the
spring, and almost certainly not in the fall either. Rather, I hope to
work with Russia to give me a shot at Denmark. It wouldn't be a sure
thing, but at least a shot.
Your partner in conquest,
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to all
>Van Lingle Mungo reporting for Vatican Tonight backstage with the winners of
>the 1901 Titleist Awards.
OK, that does it. No more anonymity for Roberto. He was the winner of the
identify Ivy Wingo contest and knows that I also considered the even
wackier name Van Lingle Mungo. Van Lingle Mungo was another baseball
player. I ruled him out, because the name was harder to type and he was
already celebrated in song.
So Italy is awarded Belgium as his prize and only needs to arrive to claim it.
As for that comment, "beware the snake who crawls into Belgium," I was
referring to the second person in Belgium, not the first. Obviously.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Russia
Nicky,
For ya.
I am not sure of my exact moves, but I am not interested in StP. [Well,
sure I am, I like all supply centers.] Anyway, I am not going to StP. I
am trying to find a set of moves that gives you Sweden and gives me a shot
at Denmark in the fall.
It occurred to me that it would be appropriate to seek your cooperation in
this. Are you interested?
Of course, this would mean war with Germany when all the world wants me to
fight France. Which brings up a related matter. Although I would have to
cooperate with France, at least for a while, you might find yourself in the
driver's seat should France and I come to blows later. Please distinguish
between a distant correspondent (France) who issues kind words that bear no
cost to him and a neighbor (me) who by his actual moves is proving to be
trustworthy. I am sure you see the distinction.
Finally, if we work together on this, I do have a favor to ask. Should you
be eaten alive in the south and your prospects ruined, please revenge
yourself on those tormentors down there as best you can. On the other
hand, if you thrive, I understand that you will do what you can to seek
winning chances even at my expense. Understood. But please consider me
for a possible ally in that case.
Most cordially,
Ivy Wingo
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
I've always thought that you should have all of France, and that I'd
support your effort to get it.
It's a pretty good trade off really. You're right in that I'll have
SWE, NWY and STP, but not right away. We only have a one man advantage,
so it is possible to take SWE this turn, the others will take longer.
Certainly I wouldn't ask you to give up Norway until you have the
opportunity to replace it, and also to build one more. That's Brest and
Paris. (or maybe Spain)
It's all going to be a bit tricky. You'll have to move off of
Belgium. And I'll have to be in BUR and RUHR to support your attack.
This will lead Belgium wide open to a German stab. I've proven that I
can be trusted many times over, but you don't know that. Therefore, you
will be hesistant to follow this course. Perhaps we can exchange SWE
for BEL for a time.
I would like to leave the ultimate ownership of Belgium open for later
discussion. If you have that and all of France you'll have 9. I would
need, HOL, DEN, NWY, SWE, STP, and WAR. to equal you. It'd be nice if
we could plan that far out, but who knows what will happen in the
meantime.
I can see that this can be a productive arrangement. I've already
helped you get into Belgium, by making France bounce me in BUR a 2nd
time. Next you help me into Sweden. I'll be helping you into PIC soon,
and supporting BEL. After that I can see doing the SWE/BEL exchange.
Then you can help me into STP. While I'm supporting you into PAR.
Certainly KIE will have to go to RUH. But I don't know yet whether I
want to support that move in, or let you support me into BUR. I'm
leaning toward the BUR move, but I have to study it further.
Russia suggested EG against France. This guy is perplexing.
Fredd
Message from Germany to France
Prince Boar:
Lance takes the yellow jersey. He added another minute into
Ullrich. The highlights should show Ullrich's crash. He goes straight
over his handlebars. Those Germans are tough ;-)
On to more mundane topics. I like to sit back and comtemplate the
board as a neutral third party. The following show up.
.England can take the Channel. If he goes from the North Sea even an
attack of DEN- NTH won't stop him. But it would keep EDI out of NTH, if
that was the follow up.
.England can support an attack on HOL.
. France can move into the MAO.
. The typical French backdoor attack on England is wide open.
. Spain will certainly return to MAR, or perhaps it can wait around for
a convoy opportunity.
. Italy isn't showing a anti-French stance, as there is no fleet in
Tunis. In fact, he's got a clear path to convoy that Tunis army into
SMY or SYR in the fall.
. Russia has two units in the north, but unless he retreats one, England
could just walk into STP.
. England can walk into HEL or SKA, and have a supported attack on DEN
in the fall.
. France and Germany can support an attack on Belgium. But who gets
it? We're of equal strength right now.
Time to get down to brass tacks. You are France, certainly one of the
top seeds in the play, if not the top one. My feeling is that you don't
win by being a bullshit artist. You do it with tactics and by building
solid alliances by being someone that people trust. I suspect that IVY
on the other hand is not so stable at the wheel. For instance his very
first message suggested that I take Scandinavia while he heads south.
Looking at the board I don't see this as his current plan.
Let's talk turkey. If I were to support you into Belgium, what could
you do for me? I can live with you in BEL. With you in BEL and
England in NTH (and probably ENG) Hol is safer. But I'll need more. At
least a promise that BEL is given over to me at a later date, for
instance if you were to take LVN.
Looking a couple of years down the road, I can live with France taking
all the centers of England. Providing that I own BEL, there isn't a
massive French Fleet presence in the northern seas, and if I hold the
North Sea.
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
Returning to your message and specific moves:
>The plan that the Dauphin suggests is:
>Par -> Bur s by Pic
>Bre -> Eng
>Nth -> Hel
>Edi -> NwS
>Lon -> Nth
>Nor s Fin -> Swe
I probably prefer Edi->Nth and London hold. It's a little safety insurance
for me. I do trust you, but all it takes is one independent, loony admiral
and we would have an accidental war. I am also considering
Norway->Skag. That would demonstrate great trust in Russia and might give
me a shot at Denmark.
Have you heard anything about how the IATR quadrangle is going to unfold in
the southeast? I've had brief notes from Russia and Italy, but nothing
from A & T.
Ivy Wingo
Message from France to all
I apologize for my recent silence. I know that I owe
most everyone messages. The Queen has had me washing
windows in the Palace. You think that once you get an
important job like The Ambassador to Europe, you are
beyond such things. I even won a content for my writing!
I have not been this happy since I won the third grade
poetry contest. All the other kids wrote dirty limericks
so were disqualified, but mine was still great.
Yesterday's Tour de France stage was won by Felix
Cardenas of Team Kelme. So no points are awarded to any
of our teams. A friend tells me that Lance Armstrong
took over the Yellow Jersey in today's stage. Simon must
have had no legs today in the Mountains. We french are
disappointed, but it seemed inevitable. I am still
waiting on the official times and report from my
reporters in the field. Therefore I will not update the
standing until later tonight.
Bonne Chance
-- Prince Boar
[Coming mother. I was just taking a short break ….]
Message from England to France
>The Queen has had me washing
>windows in the Palace.
Sigh, the "Queen." I understand. In my household we use the expression,
"She, who must be obeyed."
No hurry. We are in good agreement, I believe, and there is lots of time.
Ivy
Message from France to Germany
Emperor Frederick:
>Go to olntv.com
Thanks. I might try that next Saturday. I missed it
today. During the week I should be working, so I will
avoid it. But I did check out the minute-by-minute
coverage on www.bicycling.com one day. Just don't tell
my boss. Oh wait, this is Gunboat so you cant. :-)
>Truthfully, I was leaning toward coming at you if
England
> built a fleet in LVN. But he didn't. So far all of
his press
>has been about EG attacking you. But I don't see any
actually
>moves in that direction.
I have read your other message and I will reply to it
separately. But I want to answer this one first.
I have to admit that I was not shocked to read this. I
had a feeling that you were leaning toward siding with
England. I received so very little from you about a
potential alliance, especially after my talk about EG
alliances. I felt that perhaps that philosophizing was
annoying you so I backed off.
I guess that meant that I proposed little as well. I was
mostly worried about being ganged up on. You are not the
first person to assume that because I ended up with
France that I am dangerous. All I can say is that
everyone of us did well in one to three games against
good competition. I think the playing field is pretty
level. Besides, a really smart top seed may have chosen
a less popular country, in order to hide. I will make no
claims one way or another, because of the gunboat rule.
All I will say is that England is just as dangerous as I
am. Just as you are.
I am glad to see that I have a chance at an alliance with
you. I will read your other message more carefully (I
just skimmed it so far) and respond to that later today.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicholas:
>any influence you can provide would be appreciated
I am doing everything that I can. England and Germany,
have certainly noticed your vulnerability. I am trying
to convince England that keeping you alive is in his best
interest.
>I do hope that you and Ivy are going to hit Fred hard
I guess we will find out who get hits this year. If it
is England or Germany, that is good for you. If it is
France, well, then it looks kind of grim for you, as well
as myself. :-)
>>At least it looks like Warsaw can be saved this year.
> You think so? I'm not so optimistic.
Well, Germany built a fleet in Berlin. So the most that
he can muster is that Army in Munich, which I doubt will
leave Munich because of the Italian Army. Austrian can
bring an army to Galicia. I suspect that you will only
see one unit against Warsaw. You can bounce that unit
from Ukraine. Turkey cannot take Sevastopol, so Moscow
is safe. I think that you can hold your own this year.
>The soon-to-be-late,
Cheer up, I am working for you.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
>Since you brought the subject up, can I ask where
>the fleet would be positioned? MAO? SPA/nc?
> POR? NAO? or somewhere else?
All that I am willing to say right now is that I will
agree not to move it to Spain (SC) if I have your promise
not to move a fleet to Tyrrhenian Sea.
I agree to keep in touch. It makes sense. I will let
you know what I hear. All I have to offer now is that
Russia is desperately trying to find a friend in the
South. That is not surprising news however. I just do
not know whom will take him up on it, if anyone.
I am looking forward to seeing whether you betray Austria
or Turkey. They both seem to be trusting you and could
be easy prey. Russia would jump on board either way.
And since Turkey and Austria do not make good allies, I
would not be surprised to see the other join in. But I
half suspect that you and Austria have done a great job
at setting up the Lepanto. You asked what my guess at
your moves are. They are:
Ion -> Eme
Nap -> Ion
Apu/Tyr hold
But you may surprise me.
>Just curious, were the bounces in Burgundy pre-arranged
>or did Germany really try twice to enter your country
>unprovoked?
The first was pre-arranged. I was *told* about the
second at the last minute and able to bounce it. So I
knew, but I was not necessarily happy.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy
Thank you for agreeing to my move to Belgium. I
understand your request for the hold in London. It makes
very good sense. I am glad that we can work together to
feed off each others ideas to build the best plan. Alone
we may not be as good as we will be combined!!
I will absolutely move the fleet back out of the Channel
as soon as Belgium is taken. I will of course not move
to the MAO with my other fleet. It is probably obvious,
but there is no need to leave a question about it.
>I am ready to cede the other point as well. I will not
>attempt StP in the spring, and almost certainly not in
>the fall either. Rather, I hope to work with Russia to
>give me a shot at Denmark. It wouldn't be a sure thing,
>but at least a shot.
I am glad that you will not attack Russia in the spring.
We can always reassess in the fall. I would think that
we would want to keep him alive at Germany's back. But
we certainly do not want him to get strong. I do not see
him getting a build. And if he does (disbanding his
fleet in Sev), it would be in an army Warsaw.
I am not certain that I understand why you would want to
move North to the Skageraak. All that would do is make
Russia nervous. Skag borders Denmark and Sweden.
Therefore you would have two on Sweden. But if you move
to the Bight, you still border Denmark. But you also
border Kiel and Holland. This gives you so many more
options. Just having those other options (Kiel and
Holland) is what will increase your chances for Denmark.
Germany must guess more.
As your loyal ally I feel that it is my duty to suggest
options that I feel are stronger for you. However, I
yield to your decision on whether the Skag or Hel would
be best.
Oops, I just reread your other message. I will leave the
above just it case it is useful, but it is meaningless
most likely You said Now to Skag. Ah that makes more
sense. It would almost guarantee Denmark coupled with Nth
-> Bight. However, can Russia in his desperate state
resist the move to Norway? I am not sure that I would
try it. But as I just stated about, the decision is
yours. I will only caution you, as a good ally should.
-- Prince Boar
Message from England to France
>Oops, I just reread your other message. I will leave the
>above just it case it is useful, but it is meaningless
>most likely You said Now to Skag. Ah that makes more
>sense. It would almost guarantee Denmark coupled with Nth
>-> Bight. However, can Russia in his desperate state
>resist the move to Norway?
Exactly the point. I would never do this normally, but Russia's wrath is
directed at Germany and Austria. He might be very grateful for my trust
and support. But then again ... 8-)
> I am not sure that I would
>try it. But as I just stated about, the decision is
>yours. I will only caution you, as a good ally should.
We have two more days to think about it.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>No hurry. We are in good agreement, I believe, and
> there is lots of time.
True. But I was taking the messages in order that
received them and told myself that I would not stop until
I got to one of yours. I feel it important to keep up my
end of the bargain to communicate with my ally. Isn't it
funny that when you have time, you get no messages. When
you are busy you get 15! :-) I still have 3 more
message to write, but they will wait until tonight.
>Sigh, the "Queen." I understand. In my household we
>use the expression, "She, who must be obeyed."
Well, for Prince Boar it is his mother the Queen. In
real life your guess is right on :-)
The windows are done. Now let's see what fun is in store
for me next :-) I was smart, I got my bike ride in at
8:00 AM before it was too late :-)
-- Prince Boar
Message from Germany to France
> I guess that meant that I proposed little as well.
This would be true my French friend. I tend to like specifics, as many
times an enemy will stand behind colorful prose. Although this is a
game based loosely on the stab, I've found that most people like to be
truthful. (I expect that to be more the case in this game)
An example would be Russia in this game. His early messages were nice
and warm and bubbly. He wanted me not to bounce him in Sweden. But he
wouldn't say what he'd do with that build. I read that to mean that he
wanted the option to use it against me. While at the same time he
remained truthful. Let me think about that, I'm going to allow him to
get a build and then use it against me. I don't think so. If he had
stated that he would either build in the south, or move the build to the
south immediately, then he probably would have that build today. I
imagine also that he didn't want to tell me as he was afraid that I
would relay that info to his southern antagonist. In that case he
should just have asked me not to tell. I would have given my word on
that. It's no skin off my nose. I wouldn't risk getting caught in a
little lie that has no payoff.
The bottom line is that I intend to remain as truthful as I can. Except
for the big stab. Given a chance to wreck some major damage, I'll lie
through my teeth. I'm expecting everyone will play very similarly.
Getting caught in a small lie early in this game can be fatal.
Evidence of this would be my informing you of my move to BUR. Even
though I totally screwed that up with getting the message out, almost
too late. I know I messed up, what can you do. It does happen. It
probably won't be the only blunder that I make, and certainly the other
players won't play error free either.
All that being said, Certainly I'm in talks with England to partition
France. We'd like to have Italy's help. I'm also in talks with you to
partition England. Possibly with Russian help.
If you aren't talking to England about partitioning Germany, than you
shouldn't be the top seed.
The question is which alliance will emerge. (and will it hold) Now is
the time that we'll find out. Or we'll start to find out at least.
For instance, will Ivy take the Channel? I'm not putting in his orders,
but I say that he has to. If I were playing England, I'd be
exceptionally wary of a French fleet in IRI. That almost always spells
the end for England. England can bounce you out of the Channel, but he
can't stop you from going to MAO. If I were playing England I wouldn't
trust you not to go there. It's just too disastrous for him if he isn't
in the channel, or NAO, or IRI, or at least Clyde.
I guess I'll wait for your email answering my proposal. Specifically, I
can support you into Belgium. (We'll want to destroy that army) In
exchange, I'll want you to freely give Belgium over to me at a future
date. Specifically when you take your first English center. Most of the
fight will be yours to carry. But I'll help, providing that you end up
with one army and one fleet in the north, and I own the North Sea. I
can also live with a 2nd french fleet in the Channel, provided I have a
fleet available to support my north sea fleet.
All this means that you will have me surrounded. Very similar to our
earlier discussion. I'm not really worried about you being on my
southern border. And I think that with the way that I want it work out,
my western border can be defended also.
> Besides, a really smart top seed may have chosen
> a less popular country, in order to hide.
This occurred to me. But a really, really, smart top seed would have
that argument ready. ;-)
Fredd
Message from Germany to Russia
Nick:
I've been looking at the board. What I see is England poised to move
east rapidly. (He says he's not going that way)
I also see that England can walk into STP unless you retreat a unit.
He can also move NWY-BAR and NTH-NWY this turn and support an attack on
STP.
England can also attack HOL with support this turn.
The bottom line is that Ivy says that he's going to move against
France, but a build in LVN would have been a much better option if that
was what he wanted. There are two possible options here, and I'm
trying to come up with a plan which will cover both of them.
I have a proposal. I will let you walk into Sweden this turn. You
can retreat FIN to STP if that's a good option for you. (It does give
you the ability to support an attack on NWY in the fall) I will also
move BER into the Baltic. If England makes a strong move into
Scandinavia, I'd like to coordinate with you in the fall, and throw the
bum out. If England makes a strong move to the south, I'll be attacking
SWE.
Can you agree to this, or is it too insulting?
Freddy Kruegerand
Message from Germany to Austria
Austria:
Hmmm we talk so seldom I forget your name.
I guess we did have a common interest after all. I was hoping that we'd
keep Russia from building. How about that.
Well just wanted to say hi. I'm sure that you're in heavy negotiations
with Turkey and Italy. Just as I am with England and France.
Cheers
Freddy MCMXVIY
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy
Gentlemen,
Roberto Wrote >
> I think Rumania should become Austrian property in the process.
> Call it a good-will gesture for not pushing north into Russian
>homeland. After all, the Turk was as much responsible for the
> Rumanian debacle as Austria.
I would argue that War-Ukr, Mos-StP, followed by Sev-Rum are
sufficient good-will gestures for any reasonable person, but I'm not
realy in a position to make demands. Also, if we could get my Fleet
into Rum so that I could build F Sev, that will speed Turkey's
downfall.
> Gal-Rum
> Vie-Gal
I would expect that the Turk is going to attempt to take Rum himself
so Gal-Rim is likely to bounce, and I'd really rather see the AR DMZ of
Gal reinstated this Spring. If we decide that Austria should take Rum
it can still be done in the Fall.
> In the fall, Tunis would convoy to Bulgaria with a bunch of support.
Whether you convoy to Bul, Smy, or Syr is, of course, a decision for
you and Austria to make.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Germany to Russia
Nick:
I have another question. I hope you can answer.
Did England know of your intention to move MOS-STP or STP-FIN?
I ask because he took a hell of a chance by not supporting himself into
Norway. To do that I'd would have had to have a sure thing in Belgium.
If you didn't tell him, then France must have told him that Belgium was
open. If that's the case, then we could be in serious trouble.
Because it means E and F have a pretty good alliance going. We'll be
the opening targets.
Fredd
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
> > Of course, if you happen to move Tyl-Tri next
> > Fall, I won't be at all upset...
>
> It's possible but if there is an opportunity to eliminate Turkey, I'd have
> to consider that a first priority.
Agreed.
> Hope you're not too upset at my Rumanian suggestion. From what I've
> gathered from Austria, he won't go along with any plan unless he gets the
> best end of the trade. I'm still hoping we'll have enough influence to
take
> him out during the mid-game.
Not a problem, but I felt I had to stand up for my position as the
wronged
party here. I'm not ruling out Austria taking Rum, but it would be better
for
our attack (and us) if I can take Rum and build F Sev. If Austria offers
to
support Ank-Bla-Rum, this Spring, and doesn't, I ought to be able to take
Rum
without losing Sev to the Turk, but you'll have to convince Ferdie of that,
I
think.
Nick.
Message from Germany to Italy
Roberto:
I've been writing my EOY statement. It's a great exercise to clear
your head, and look at the board in a new light. A couple of things
came up that I thought I'd share.
In the Spring move E and F didn't bounce the channel. That's not
really surprising. But it does show a level of cooperation and trust
building. Russia and Turkey bounced in the Black Sea. They couldn't
trust each other enough not to. France and I bounced in BUR, but in
this case, where was I to go. I actually wanted to stay in MUN. (Say
in case an Italian came north)
In the fall move, England convoyed to Belgium. This is odd because
Russia was sitting ready to bounce him in Norway. Look at Russia now
that he hasn't built. He's hurtin. England would be in the same shape
if he hadn't built. Yet he chanced it by not supporting himself into
Norway.
I wouldn't have taken that chance. Well I would have chanced it if I
knew that either I was going to get into Belgium OR into Norway.
Russia could have told him that he was going to FIN. But I wouldn't
have believed that if the surprise move of the spring was Russia's
MOS-STP. I would only give STP-FIN a good chance if I had already known
about MOS-STP. I would have yelled long and hard if I were England and I
knew that Russia was opening with an army to STP. Therefore although
it's possible that England believed that he was safe to go unsupported
to Norway, I think it's unlikely.
That leaves Belgium. I couldn't effect Belgium so I didn't talk
about it with E or F. What I did do was decide to go to BUR very late.
(I sent you a note on it) I also sent France a message at the same
time, as my purpose was to make him bounce me, and not take Belgium and
build three. France did respond before the deadline, so he knew the
bounce was on. But could he have told England that Belgium was wide
open? It's certainly possible, there is a 3 hour time window. And
perhaps England changed his orders at the last minute because he knew
that he had a sure thing in Belgium, and he'd take his chances in
Norway. The other option is that E and F already had a deal on where
France would let England have Belgium. That's not good for us.
What do you think of my logic?
BTW England has told me that France has agreed NOT to go to the MAO. No
telling if that's true, of course.
Reading between the lines leads me to believe that E and F are working
together. How long they'll stay this way is unknown to me.
There is another piece of the puzzle. Your communications with France
and England. England has hinted more than once that you're seriously
looking at attacking France. Has England been really trying to get you
to do this, or is he feeling you out to see where you're going?
Another thing that I'd suggest is that you contact Russia and see if
he's been giving England his moves ahead of time.
Fredd.
Message from Germany to Master
EOY -1901
Who opened the floodgates and let all that press out? Anyone who's
played this game a long time knows that a good rule of thumb is to talk
to each player once a move. In this game it's once a day. Checking my
mailbox I have the following number of messages from the powers. (and I
stopped keeping the Tour de France updates)
France: 20
England: 18
Russia: 13
Italy: 12
Turkey: 9
Austria: 2 What's up with Austria???
We've started out pretty standard. Lots of the early press was the warm
and fuzzy kind. Just getting to know each other. Not really going into
specifics. One thing that I noticed was that practically everyone asked
questions about what I was going to do, but gave no insight into their
own strategy. Surprisingly enough I didn't answer many of those with
anything specific.
England did break the mold by proposing that he go after France, while I
took Scandinavia. Including a trade of Norway back to me at some future
date.
Russia wanted to know if I was going to bounce him out of Sweden. I
hadn't made up my mind, but was leaning in that direction. It was
cinched that I would do that when I asked what Russia would do with that
build, and he couldn't say that he wouldn't build in the north. The
bounce was set in stone when Russia opened MOS-STP.
I really like all the players in the game, except for Russia. He's just
ok. But this is much different than other games, when it's easy to
develop a dislike for a player. Everyone is on their best behavior.
It's a first and second date for each of us. Although what we want to
slip in is a little different.
The first move there wasn't any supported attacks necessary so it all
went smoothly. France and I bounced in Burgundy. That was what I
wanted. As I actually wanted to stay in Munich, as Italy was talking
about Tyrolia. I also didn't want to go to Ruhr, as I felt that would
leave France in BUR, and I'd just have to move back in the fall.
Leaving France with an opening to Ruhr.
England made the standard opening. No bounce in the channel. That's
not a good sign. But it's to be expected.
Russia opened MOS-STP. This disturbed me greatly as Russia can be very
dangerous if he puts an army in SIL or nearby. Letting him have SWE so
that he would have a spare build to do this, was out of the question.
The fall move was much more interesting. My initial moves had left me
out of any conversation as to who would get Belgium. This was on
purpose. Although it's important to talk to your neighbors at all
times, a discussion of which one of you gets to take a center can cause
friction. I was hoping that the conversation over Belgium would lead to
trouble between E and F. Or at least plant a seed of trouble that will
grow into a full blown war at some later date. We'll see.
I made my first mistake of the game. I was convinced that England would
have to support himself into Norway or risk getting no builds. This
meant that France would get three. Not a good idea. So 3 hours short
of the deadline I decided to go for Burgundy, and told France. Luckily
he was able to bounce me there. But if I had made it into BUR I would
have just gone with the flow.
Surprise, England convoyed to Belgium. A lucky guess? I didn't tell
him that France and I would bounce. I don't believe in lucky guesses.
In fact carrying that thought further. If I were England I would
have supported myself into Norway, UNLESS I knew that for sure I could
get into Belgium or Norway. For E to be sure about getting NWY, Russia
would have had to tell him that he was going to FIN. Additionally,
Russia would have had to tell E about his opening move MOS-STP. Because
E would not have believed that Norway would be safe after he had been
surprised by a Russian army in STP. Therefore it's unlikely that E knew
he would get Norway.
Which means that he must have known that he was going to get
Belgium. This shows strong FE cooperation, and could be trouble for
me. Better get I and R on my side, just in case.
The builds. I told both E and F my builds ahead of time. There was no
real surprise coming so why not show them some trust. France's builds
were normal. However, England built in EDI instead of LVN. This sets
him up for a charge to the east. While he's been telling me that he
wants to go south. I called him on it after the builds. He reiterated
that he wants to go south. And that a build in LVN is a declaration of
war with France. Bullshit! Everyone knows how often France puts a
fleet in the Irish Sea and takes LVN. If I got two builds the first
turn I'd put one there, and hold there as a defensive measure. I flat
out don't trust England. He's been telling me one thing, but acting a
different way. Chances are that he wanted to go with me early on, but
has changed his mind and intends to go with France now. Will I
survive?
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
I forgot to congratulate you on your two builds. Not something that
England pulls off very often. No wonder you stayed up late to see the
moves.
That was very risky. Just look at poor Russia. That could have been
you...
Fredd
Message from France to all
Tour de France Stage 13 Results:
Lance Armstrong took the overall lead with a dramatic win
today atop Plas d'Adet in the Pyrenees. He attacked his
rivals on the steep slopes of the final climb, soloing to
a one-minute win over Jan Ullrich. Earlier Jan had
somersaulted into a ravine during a turn, but was able to
jump back up and continue the chase. In an act of flair
and fair play, Lance waited for his rival to catch up,
checking to make certain he was all right.
After this Stage win, England now holds first place
alone. If Lance Armstrong holds on to win the overall
race, it is unlikely that anyone can beat England. The
Dauphin says that he hopes Ivy's sister is cute. I say I
hope that Ivy's sister is off the Continent! :-)
Official Tally:
Austria (Domo-Farm Frites): 0 points
England (USPS): 30 points
France (Festina): 10 points
Germany (Telekom): 20 points
Italy (Fassa Bortolo): 10 points
Russia (Robobank): 20 points
Turkey (CSC): 20 points
Doug (O.N.C.E.): 0 points
Selected Standings:
1. Lance Armstrong (USP) 57:49:26
4. Jan Ullrich (TEL) @ 5:13
5. Joseba Beloki (ONC) @ 6:02
-- Prince Boar
Message from Italy to France
> All that I am willing to say right now is that I will
> agree not to move it to Spain (SC) if I have your promise
> not to move a fleet to Tyrrhenian Sea.
Agreed. Do you want to just get it over with and call Pie, Gol, Wes, Naf,
Tys, and Spa/sc DMZ?
> All I have to offer now is that
> Russia is desperately trying to find a friend in the South.
Yes, he's been encouraging an AIR against Turkey but at the same time an
Italian stab of Austria. Only one of those will happen but not both.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from France to Germany
Frederick:
I hope that you will allow me to review a summary of some
of our past discussions. It will help get me grounded
(and perhaps you as well) on a path forward.
I started discussing how the EG alliance might be like
the AT alliance, perhaps unstable and favoring England.
Obviously I wanted to avoid such an alliance. But I was
also trying to state my preference for FG over FE. You
countered talking about how you felt that there would be
no long term alliances. The smaller ally would always
side against the stronger.
You then offered some of your concerns for an FG
alliance, namely the number of possible French fleets in
the north. I never did point out that they would be
fewer than the number of English fleets, but instead
offered a proposal where we each attacked England with
two fleets and perhaps and army. I offered a division
with you taking Belgium and Edinburgh (although I may not
have specified which English center) and I would take the
other two English centers. Then when you took Norway and
Sweden, I would take Edinburgh. That is where the
discussions ended.
Your latest proposal seems very similar to our last point
of discussion. I believe that you are proposing the
eventual division of Belgium and Scandinavia for you and
England for me. I am willing to agree in principle to
your security measures after England falls, knowing that
we can work out the details in the future. We both want
our naval lanes protected. And we will want to keep the
Maginot Line between us defended. But mutual benefit
will be just as important a safeguard as the placement of
our troops.
Originally I wanted the FG alliance because I did not
want England at my back. I preferred you at my flank.
But because of your arguments of the viability of the EG
alliance and my nervousness of the noise I was hearing
about France being a high seed and is dangerous, I took a
very cautious route. I did not want to attack the wrong
person when I could have so many different enemies. You
also seemed to want to wait until 1902 to decide what to
do.
Well, 1902 is upon us and we must make a decision.
England having 5 units instead of 4 makes him even more
dangerous. And although each of us may get along well
with him, perhaps better than with each other, he is
dangerous. More so because he wins people over.
Therefore I see the best course of action that we can
take is to work together. I assume that we will start
cautiously, as we have behaved so far. But that does not
mean that we cannot build both momentum and trust between
ourselves.
I appreciate your offer to allow me to take Belgium
first. I will need another fleet if I am to take on
England and watch a growing Italy. Russia appears ready
to topple and you will probably have easy gains. But I
am comfortable with transferring Belgium to you once I
take my first English center. If you have grown more
than I, we might discuss delaying the transfer if you are
concerned about being the early leader and too large to
unbalance not only our relationship but the attract the
attention of the south. But lets assume for now that
this will not be a large issue.
I think that your best bet is to encourage England to
attack Russia. That cripples the main threat to
yourself. I may need your help in taking Belgium. It
all depends on what England does this season. If our
path takes you through temporarily owning an English
center, you may need my help to take it. So in the end I
see things evening out. After that, we may work fairly
independently, at least until we possibly attack Italy
and Austria.
I hope that this is a start to your desire for specifics.
I apologize for not doing so earlier. My conservatism
and my perception of your preferences were to blame.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Austria
Ms. Felicia:
I am shamed that I have not written you sooner. It has
been too long. Let me first start by congratulating you
on your success. As someone pointed out, you are the
only southern power to have taken 5 units. I am sure
that you can overcome their ridiculous suggestion of
ganging up on the early leader. I am impressed, and
perhaps a bit frighten, at how you were able to both use
Turkey to deny Russia a build, but get Turkey to build an
army. Russia and Turkey are enemies. You and Italy are
friends. Things could not be better for you.
I embarrassed to have to mention this, but the Dauphin is
insisting. He wonders about the fact that you have not
written in a while and that your Tour de France team is
not succeeding. He feels that you are upset that your
sister would get the date with him and not yourself.
Therefore you are holding the team back. He says, and I
am really sorry about this one, that you both can come
along on the date with; in fact bring all your sisters.
I hope that you will not hold his bombastic behavior
against me.
I do look forward to hearing from you.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba
How are things going on your end of world? I have little
to report. I still do not know whom will be attacked,
between England, Germany and France.
Italy has not told me what he plans to do. I did at
least suggest that he had a choice between the Lepanto
and stabbing Austria. I did not suggest attacking
France, of course. Hopefully your gamble will pay off.
I do worry that with you and Russia fighting that Austria
and Italy will stab you and you will crumble while Russia
topples. That is not only bad for you, but not to my
liking either. I really do not want to see all those
Italian units looking for their next place to go. I hope
that you are cautious and consider peace with Russia.
Negotiate Rumania so you at least have a build. Just do
not leave your homeland too open that you cannot defend a
joint move to Eastern and the Aegean.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
>Do you want to just get it over with and call Pie, Gol,
>Wes, Naf, Tys, and Spa/sc DMZ?
The Dauphin has agreed. I hope that you have found a new
map without pasta sauce so that you can put a big X onto
those locations. :-)
With Russia and Turkey fighting, you and Austria must
both be considering whether it makes sense to go for the
Lepanto or stab the other while the timing is good.
Choose wisely in the south.
What has Germany said about your presence in Tyrolia. He
has not mentioned it to me and I am curious to hear his
reaction.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Germany to France
Prince Boar:
>From the stance of the English forces, I'd say that it already is
England's intention to attack Russia. Which leaves you a great stab
opportunity.
I'd say that I get along better with you than England. But perhaps
that's the advantage of not being specific.
(the below section was written after looking over our old press. I
wrote this then realized that I was responding to old press. I'll send
it along anyway. Consider it a really slow response to something that
you said long ago.)
I also wonder if a 2 way in this game wouldn't be better than a solo
win. I believe that we can have co-winners, But I'd have to ask Doug.
It reminds me of the movie 'Tin Cup' with Kevin Costner. If you haven't
seen it. At the end he's an amateur about to win the US open. but he
blows up and refuses to take the easy way out, and the win. We keeps
trying for the impossible shot. He makes it eventually naturally. Then
he's all depressed cause he didn't win. But Renee Russo tells him that
nobody will remember the winner that year, but everyone will remember
him blowing up and then making that last shot.
Doug wants this to be a showcase game. What would be better than having
a two way. It would be classic. In a game where the stab is king, the
best two people show that it can be done a better way. Ha I love it.
I would commit to that. And what a better way to do it. The top seed
and one of the low seeds. Ha.
Anyway back to reality. If I help you into Belgium, it certainly won't
be easy to overrun Scandinavia. England will be pissed.
The question becomes than, attack Belgium now or in the fall? I prefer
the fall. This will give me the opportunity to move into position to at
least have a try at Sweden. If you're going to build one, then I should
also. Keeping that balance of power is important, as you point out.
Fredd
Message from Observer to Observer
The following vgfp_titleist poll is now closed. Here are the
final results:
POLL QUESTION: How do you feel about all the bike race
broadcasts?
CHOICES AND RESULTS
- They're mildly annoying., 3 votes, 21.43%
- They're very annoying., 8 votes, 57.14%
- Hate 'em., 1 votes, 7.14%
- Hate 'em with a passion., 1 votes, 7.14%
- No comment., 0 votes, 0.00%
- No comment with a passion., 1 votes, 7.14%
INDIVIDUAL VOTES
- They're mildly annoying.
- sverre_haga@y...
- burgess@w...
- kimonberlin@h...
- They're very annoying.
- greg@s...
- sbyt@y...
- kavcioglu@y...
- povisils@y...
- mag_jamie@d...
- thorfinn+dip@t...
- pacbeach@y...
- robbins@m...
- Hate 'em.
- dan@i...
- Hate 'em with a passion.
- kolb41@e...
- No comment.
- No comment with a passion.
- masseyd@b...
For more information about this group, please visit
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Message from Russia to England
My Good Ivy,
> For ya.
Glad to hear it.
> I am not sure of my exact moves, but I am not interested in StP. [Well,
> sure I am, I like all supply centers.] Anyway, I am not going to StP. I
> am trying to find a set of moves that gives you Sweden and gives me a
> shot at Denmark in the fall.
I'm thinking that I need to send A Fin back south, before things
hemorrhage there, but Nth-Hel, Nwy-Ska, Edi-Nwg, Lon-Nth should give you Den
and protect Nwy. This set of moves does imply a degree of trust for France,
though.
> It occurred to me that it would be appropriate to seek your cooperation in
> this. Are you interested?
I am always interested in cooperating with Powers who have a
demonstrated history of actually doing what they say they are going to do.
> Please distinguish between a distant correspondent (France) who
> issues kind words that bear no cost to him and a neighbor (me)
> who by his actual moves is proving to be trustworthy.
I can certainly make that distinction, and invite you to consider
joining the EEU as a full member. Since the EEU charter requires
member-states to settle differences through negotiations, rather than force,
it would offer you an additional measure of security.
> Finally, if we work together on this, I do have a favor to ask. Should
you
> be eaten alive in the south and your prospects ruined, please revenge
> yourself on those tormentors down there as best you can. On the other
> hand, if you thrive, I understand that you will do what you can to seek
> winning chances even at my expense. Understood. But please consider
> me for a possible ally in that case.
It seems that to have any hope of survival, let alone profit, I will
have to concentrate my focus in the south for a time after all, so I do not
expect that I will pose a threat to you. My best hope may prove a
stalemated 17-17 draw, which, it turns out we can achieve, if you're
interested. If the solo opportunity presents itself to you, I don't expect
you to ignore it, though.
A Worried,
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Prince Boar,
> I am trying to convince England that keeping you alive is
> in his best interest.
Well, he's either trying to set me up, or he's decided that
you're right. I guess we'll see soon enough.
> I think that you can hold your own this year.
Perhaps, though I need to do more than just hold my
own to survive.
Czar Nicholas.
Message from Russia to Germany
Fredd,
> What I see is England poised to move east rapidly.
His builds suggest as much.
> (He says he's not going that way)
That implies that he's moving against you.
> There are two possible options here, and I'm trying to come up
> with a plan which will cover both of them.
I have found that trying to cover two options usually ends up
covering neither. (Review my opening for confirmation. 8-(
> I have a proposal. I will let you walk into Sweden this turn. You
> can retreat FIN to STP if that's a good option for you. (It does give
> you the ability to support an attack on NWY in the fall) I will also
> move BER into the Baltic. If England makes a strong move into
> Scandinavia, I'd like to coordinate with you in the fall, and throw
> the bum out. If England makes a strong move to the south, I'll be
> attacking SWE. Can you agree to this, or is it too insulting?
I can agree to it, since I don't see England moving south at all,
let alone in strength.
> I have another question. I hope you can answer.
> Did England know of your intention to move MOS-StP
No, it was a decision I made very late, without telling anyone.
> or STP-FIN?
Yes, I told Ivy of my intention to move to Fin to secure Swe within
hours of the Spring Results arriving, and then spent many letters trying
to convince him to bounce France out of Belgium. (Little did I know
that France wasn't trying for Bel.) I used the argument that bouncing
him made no sense for me, since it would leave my Army in StP where
in would be no use in gaining Swe, and would prevent me from building
in StP, if I had a reason to do so, and that since he had the option to
support himself, StP-Nwy was unlikely to do anything except annoy him.
Czar Nicolas II.
Message from England to Italy
Good Roberto,
I am no nearer to a decision than I was two days ago. Agony. I fear that
FG are in firm collusion. Later, I am confident that the matter is in my
hands. Then doubt, etc.
Here are two pieces of information that may be useful to you. I have no
interest in going for StP. I could write a book on why this is so, but
let's leave it at that. Also, I am reasonably confident that Russia will
move Finland back toward Austria, either with Fin-StP or with a convoy to
Livonia. Just thought you might want to know.
In exchange, perhaps you could tell me every move that France and Germany
are making. No? Oh, well.
One other matter. What in the world is Tyrolia going to do? I hope that
it is part of your going east plan.
I first thought that if I leaned toward EF then Tyrolian help against
Munich would be interesting, but after careful thought I have concluded
that no matter what happens to me, I really don't want Italian operations
in southern Germany, at least not until other things become much clearer.
Any action by you in Munich really helps France greatly and me not at all.
This is obviousy true if Germany and I unite, but it still holds if I ally
with France.
In the latter instance, I don't want France to achieve his goals too
rapidly. I hope you don't either.
You noted that you and France had an alliance in which he would work to the
north. This may be true, word for word. But is also true that every
France has said this to every Italy since the beginning of time. If France
does go north, even with an initial alliance with me, it is better for us
if he has to slog his way with difficulty, inch by inch.
My other possibility, working with Germany against France, should be good
for you. That too would be very slow, and I would think that having
England a little stronger than France would give you added security in your
rear.
See, anything I do is good for Italy.
Good luck,
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nicky,
>> I am not sure of my exact moves, but I am not interested in StP.
Still true.
> I'm thinking that I need to send A Fin back south, before things
>hemorrhage there,
I hadn't thought of this. My idea of going for Denmark was based on two
assumptions. First, that I might try for an alliance with France, Second,
that you would be trying for Sweden with both units.
Given that I still don't know if I am pro-France or pro-Germany, and that
you wish to move Finland south, I probably should be a little less
ambitious with the Norwegian unit.
>> Please distinguish between a distant correspondent (France) who
>> issues kind words that bear no cost to him and a neighbor (me)
>> who by his actual moves is proving to be trustworthy.
>
> I can certainly make that distinction, and invite you to consider
>joining the EEU as a full member. Since the EEU charter requires
>member-states to settle differences through negotiations, rather than force,
>it would offer you an additional measure of security.
We have always been open to dialog and have never harmed each other. You
did scare the living daylights out of me with your move to Finland though.
It will be interesting what you say about that in the EOG summary.
> It seems that to have any hope of survival, let alone profit, I will
>have to concentrate my focus in the south for a time after all, so I do not
>expect that I will pose a threat to you.
Finland->StP takes you south and protects StP, just in case. I repeat my
promise to ignore StP anyway. Have you considered convoying Finland to
Livonia? That gets you adjacent to Warsaw immediately!! No need to tell me
if that is being considered, but I thought you may wish to try that if you
hadn't thought of it.
Wish me luck with my EFG dilemma.
Cordially,
Ivy
Message from England to Germany
Comrade Freddy,
> I forgot to congratulate you on your two builds. Not something that
>England pulls off very often.
Did I never explain this to you? It didn't take long to be confident that
Russia was not going to bounce me in Norway. He repeatedly reassured me in
believable language. Furthermore, if he were anti-England the intelligent
thing to do would be to move first to Finland and then build again in StP
for a triple-attack on Norway in the fall.
So North Sea was free to go after Belgium. But how to do it without
angering France prematurely? Lots of difficult negotiation went on, but
the clincher came when you told France that you were going for Burgundy.
France had to bounce you and grudingly gave me permission to have Belgium.
After all, he was still trying to court my friendship. In the end I had
you to thank.
I just received a note from Russia. It appears that his hatred of Austria
is sufficiently strong that he may be moving Finland back south. That
means that Sweden should be a cakewalk for you.
I still am on good terms with Italy and have urged him not to use Tyrolia
against Munich in any way. It is so obvious to me that France will attempt
Picardy s Par-Bur that I think you can bounce him with Bel s Mun-bur. That
leaves Munich in place in the fall and keeps France at a safe distance
where he cannot use Italy's help against Munich. Of course, there is a
very good chance that Italy has no intentions of getting involved with you
anyway.
Move as your reason guides you against Sweden. Let me know if Kiel-Ruhr
and Bel s Mun-Bur is OK with you.
As for ultimate division of spoils, I am all for numerical equality as we
progress. I appreciate your willingness to defer Norway until I have
compensation in the south. I probably will depart Norway before the
handover, just to get to the south as fast as possible.
Cordially,
Ivy
Message from Russia to England
> > I'm thinking that I need to send A Fin back south, before things
> >hemorrhage there,
>
> I hadn't thought of this. My idea of going for Denmark was based
> om two assumptions. First, that I might try for an alliance with
> France, Second, that you would be trying for Sweden with both units.
I haven't ruled out leaving both Units in Scandinavia, and I'm certainly
willing to discuss options there, but we might want to consider Swe and
Den as Russian, with Hol going to you this year.
> We have always been open to dialog and have never harmed each other.
> You did scare the living daylights out of me with your move to Finland
> though. It will be interesting what you say about that in the EOG
summary.
That reminds me, I need to write my 1901 EoY today. Thanks.
> Have you considered convoying Finland to Livonia? That gets
> you adjacent to Warsaw immediately
Any Russian who does not always look for the possibility of a
Convoy to Lvn is destined to die a sudden and unpleasant death. 8-)
> Wish me luck with my EFG dilemma.
Please, let's discuss a continuation of my Northern strategy. Perhaps
if you pointed out to AI how wide open Turkey is to a Lepanto, and I
was sure of a build or two from the north, I would not need to waste
the tempo involved in sending A Mos home again.
Your Friend, and Hopeful Ally,
Nick.
Message from Russia to Master
Russian EoY: 1901
The VGFP semifinals ended in two Solos (thrown games, I imagine), and a
3-way draw of my crafting, so I picked my Power third. I had played Germany
in my semifinal, so I decided not to put it in my Pref list, and listed FRT
instead. France and Russia are traditionally the strongest Powers, and I
have more luck with Turkey than with England. I ended up as Russia, which
means that France (Prince Boar) is one of the people who soloed in the
semis.
France also was first to Broadcast, and first to send me Press, which
also marked him as one to watch. Virtually every Diplomacy strategy article
ever written has suggested writing to everyone, and writing as often as
possible, as the best ways to succeed, and as a frequent writer myself, I
certainly endorse that idea. England followed soon behind France, and
immediately offered to take Nwy with a Fleet, so my initial correspondence
with EF suggested to each that I viewed the other as a danger. I
established good relations with both of them, since we three were the only
ones writing on the opening day, and hoped to find someone as communicative
in the East to work with.
Titleist is only my third start as Russia, so I don't have a
set-in-stone strategy for playing from St. Petersburg, but given the higher
value placed on a solo here, I felt that a more distant Power would be a
better ally than an immediate neighbor, and I think that Russia's chances to
solo go way down if Swe and StP are lost or threatened early. Italy seemed
interested in an alliance, which I viewed as ideal, since AIR vs. T,
followed by IR vs. A is normally easy to accomplish, and presents minimal
risk to Russia. Austria and I agreed to ally against Turkey, and my
discussions with Turkey ended with us agreeing to bounce in Bla. Germany
however, refused to rule out a bounce in Swe, so I decided to open Mos-StP,
planning to move StP-Fin in the Fall, hoping that Germany would realize the
futility of the bounce.
The Mos-StP move generated a great deal more comment than I expected it
too, and it seems (based the Fall results) to have struck an opportunistic
streak in Austria. I'm surprised that Turkey agreed to Ser S Bul-Rum, since
it hurts me, and leaves Austria in a very strong position, without really
benefiting Turkey at all. Now I'll have to try to convince AI to Lepanto
Turkey, and leave me alone.
Eric Hunter,
Czar Nicholas II of Russia in 'titleist' on USIN.
Message from Russia to Turkey
My Dear Ali,
My, your trust in the goodwill of AI is astonishing! Do you really
think
they'll let you have Rumania, or support you into Sevastopol? Do you
expect Italy to just ignore Ion-Aeg/EMed, Nap-Ion, followed by
Tun-Ion-Aeg/EMed-Bul/Con/Smy/Syr? Would you care to discuss how
we can cooperate to hold them off?
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Germany to Russia
Nick:
Go for Sweden. I won't stop you. I will be moving into the Baltic,
possibly with support, maybe not.
>
> > I have another question. I hope you can answer.
> > Did England know of your intention to move MOS-StP
>
> No, it was a decision I made very late, without telling anyone.
>
> > or STP-FIN?
>
> Yes, I told Ivy of my intention to move to Fin to secure Swe within
> hours of the Spring Results arriving, and then spent many letters trying
> to convince him to bounce France out of Belgium. (Little did I know
> that France wasn't trying for Bel.) I used the argument that bouncing
> him made no sense for me, since it would leave my Army in StP where
> in would be no use in gaining Swe, and would prevent me from building
> in StP, if I had a reason to do so, and that since he had the option to
> support himself, StP-Nwy was unlikely to do anything except annoy him.
Interesting. The reason for asking is that I can't believe that England
would try for two unless he was sure of one. Perhaps he believed
you. My original thinking was if he didn't know about MOS-STP then
it's unlikely that he would have believed you were going for FIN. But
I guess it's possible.
The original line of thought goes like this then. If he wasn't sure
that he could take Norway, then he must have been sure that he could
take Belgium. Meaning that he was working with France. Not good for
either of us.
I might rethink how closely they might be working together in light of
your evidence.
Fredd
Message from Germany to England
I'm glad you cleared up how you picked up BEL and NWY. Being the
paranoid type, I was imagining all sorts of plots. When only half of
them are probably true ;-)
I'll get back later with a final thought before the moves process on
Monday.
If I read this correctly our moves are:
KIE - RUH
MUN - BUR
HOL holds or supports BEL
BEL s a MUN - BUR
NTH - ENG
LON s NTH - ENG
EDI - NTH
I can go with that. Those orders are in.
Fredd
Message from France to all
Tour de France Stage 14 Results:
Today's stage was won by Roberto Laiseka of team
Euskaltel. It was fitting that a Spainard won a stage
in the Pyrenees. The important race was between the two
main contenders. Although Ullrich gave all he had, he
could not shake Armstrong loose. In a classic moment of
sportsmanship, Ullrich reach back at the finish line so
they could cross clasping hands. It was not only a sign
acknowledging Armstrongs' superior effort and eventual
final victory, but a sign of respect between the two
racers.
Tomorrow is a rest stage and then the race will become
about USP protecting Lance's lead.
Official Tally:
Austria (Domo-Farm Frites): 0 points
England (USPS): 30 points
France (Festina): 10 points
Germany (Telekom): 20 points
Italy (Fassa Bortolo): 10 points
Russia (Robobank): 20 points
Turkey (CSC): 20 points
Doug (O.N.C.E.): 0 points
Selected Standings:
1. Lance Armstrong (USP) 62 hours, 15 minutes, 4 seconds
2. Jan Ullrich (TEL) @ 5:05
3. Andrei Kivilev (COF) @ 5:13
4. Joseba Beloki (ONC)@ 6:33
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Germany
Frederick:
Time for some specifics. It appears obvious that I need
to move to Burgundy in order to take Belgium. However, I
do not want to simply assume that you will know that. I
plan to move to Burgundy and want to make certain that
you have no problems with that. I understand if you feel
that you need to stay in Munich. Actually, given the
fact that Italy is in Tyrolia, you may want to stay in
there anyway.
What was his reason for move to Tyrolia. All he would
tell me is that he was trying to make a statement. He
could have easily stripped naked and ran out into the
street yelling, look at me. That would have gotten
attention as well. :-) I am curious to hear what he told
you about it.
Good luck in the Baltic. I expect that you will have not
trouble taking it. Russia probably will not even try to
prevent it, but just in case you can support yourself in.
Will Kiel be moving to protect Berlin or will it hold
for defense of Holland and Denmark. Well, actually you
can keep that to yourself if you feel safer doing so. We
are still tenatively working toward an alliance and we
need not share all our secrets just yet.
Let me know if there is anything that we need to talk
about.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
As you stated in your last letter, things between us seem
pretty well set. I will move to the Channel and Burgundy
and hold in Portugal. Germany expects me to move to MAO,
so he will wonder/be upset if I do not. But at least I
can point to my move to the Channel to appease him. I am
holding mostly to keep you secure. But I also do not
mind irritating him a bit since your move to the Bight
will irritate him also.
What are your plans for Belgium? Will it simply hold or
are you going to support Paris to Burgundy? It depends
on what kind of statement you want to make. I am
guessing that the hold may be your best option. It
leaves open the question of whether we are working
together completely. I guess that you could move to
Ruhr, expecting to bounce. Even if you made it there,
things would not be too terrible. It might open up some
more options.
I want to talk to you also about the South. I am
concerned that Austria will grow too quickly. I would
not mind seeing Russia and Turkey become friends. It
might even be better for IRT to join up against Austria.
We really do not want a monster Austria in our way. At
the same time we want to keep a viable Austria to keep
Turkey in check. A medium sized Austria can still be
brought down as long as a couple powers in the south are
viable. You and I should decide on what outcome we
prefer and both start working towards it. We can focus
on talking to different powers to not make it obvious.
But it may increase our chances of bring our preference
into place if we agree on one.
-- Prince Boar
PS: I hope that your sister safely made it away. It
looks certain that your team will win you the Tour de
France tournament.
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicolas:
Yes, I believe that England may be willing to not go for
your throat now that you are down. On the other hand
that is exactly what an active EG alliance would want us
to think. But if you have to trust someone, I would
trust Ivy ... for now. I believe that I convinced him
that having you alive is in his best interest. I know it
is in mine, but I did not bring up those points.
I am sorry that one of my earlier messages was wrong. I
did not realize that Austria was already in Galicia.
That is why the Dauphin is the military strategist and I
am just a poor wordsmith. He suggests that you offer to
support Austria from Galicia to Rumania (adding your
support to guarantee him achieving rather than Turkey or
yourself). When he agrees (really hoping that he can
then walk into Warsaw while you leave it unguarded) you
actually move Ukraine to Warsaw and bounce him. I do not
know if this is useful and am not sure if I understand it
all. But since the Dauphin suggests it, I am passing it
on to you.
I would worry about the supterfuge, but I suppose that
you can just point to the fact that he lied to you once
and you got worried that he was lying to you again - just
in case he actualy did move to Rumania. At any rate that
would make Austria and Turkey enemies and you would gain
from that.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Germany to France
Italy hasn't been real forthcoming on what he's up to in Tyrolia. I did
call him on it. He seems to realize that if someone like you or Russia
helps him into Munich, he won't be able to hold it. At least not this
early in the game. (He would be able to hold it from me, but not from
you, eventually)
This is the big move. It should tell us if it's EF or FG. Or maybe
EG? But then don't forget that it's my belief that alliances will
change often. So if I come out of this with England at my doorstep,
I'll still be talking to both of you. Although I think the volume
might be turned up a little.
But that's just the paranoid side of me talking. England really holds
the cards this hand. He could sit back, or go for the channel, or slip
into HEL or SKA. Or go for STP. Our moves are pretty standard.
You do realize that I have to move to Ruhr either this turn or next
turn. If we're to destroy the English army. I've made up my mind, but
I'll have to keep that secret for now. Both ways have advantages.
Supporting HOL now from an English attack makes sense, but so does
moving now so that I can support HOL next turn.
Fredd
Message from Austria to Italy
Just got back from vacation. I did a quick read throgh my press, and am
giving only first impressions now; I'll write more Monday.
I think we've weakened Russia enough that I'm not too worried about the RT
alliance even if it does form; and Turkey's army build should limit his
ability to respond to an attack. So Austria-Hungary is tentatively
interested in shifting the primary target from Russia to Turkey.
I'm not sure yet if we should discuss it with Russia first; he's already
shown a willingness to broadcast private press.
More later.
Idalia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to Turkey
I have been travelling (good weather, amazingly) and regret that I didn't
get a chance to try to talk you out of the army build. A fleet would seem
superior both strategically (the army is more useful for attacking
Austria-Hungary than Italy) and tactically (Gre could have bounced with Smy
in Aeg, then slide into Ion behind Eas s Ion-Aeg while Smy stayed put in the
fall, cutting off the Italian fleets and killing Italy).
Anyway, I'll take a look at the possibilities.
By the way, I haven't studied it yet, but Russia sent a proposal to Italy
and I jointly, that the three of us cooperate to take you out. I suspect
that he and Italy have already discussed sandwiching me afterward, but I'll
review his proposal to see if there's anything there we can use.
More later,
Tamara, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to all
Archduke Ferdinand has returned from his journey, and is currently
consulting with his ambassadors and advisors. The ambassadors will
soon be responding to many of the communciations received.
Message from Austria to France
> Things could not be better for you.
Which means they are about to get worse, of course.
> He wonders about the fact that you have not written in a
> while and that your Tour de France team is not succeeding.
The lack of communication is due to the Archduke's travels;
those are ended now for a while. As to the bicyclists, our
team has been weakened due to the best athletes serving their
country in the military.
> I do look forward to hearing from you.
I know less and less with each passing day. I do wonder about
your repeated clashes in Burgundy, and the French civilians
that were welcoming the English military to Belgium. Will you
and England be cooperating in the offensive against Germany?
Or is that all misdirection, so that England will not be
expecting your attack?
I'm sure you have questions about the east, but I don't have
any answers. Russia believes he was stabbed, and is trying to
muster support; I have no idea how successful he's been.
Felicia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to Italy
> I whole-heartedly agree. HOWEVER, I think Rumania should become
> Austrian property in the process. Call it a good-will gesture
> for not pushing north into Russian homeland. After all, the Turk
> was as much responsible for the Rumanian debacle as Austria.
Heh, thanks for this.
> In the fall, Tunis would convoy to Bulgaria with a bunch of support. Nobody
> can blame me for suggesting a set of moves where Italy gains a build, right?
Support from Gre, Ser, and Rum; and Eas can hit Smy, forcing Arm to
defend (assuming Ank-Arm this spring). Neat.
I don't want to send Russia any promises or agreements; he wouldn't
give them any credence, and he's liable to use them for propaganda
purposes.
But I will move to Aeg, and help you get the next build.
Earlier, you wrote:
> I'll hold off on committing my units until I see the builds. For
> instance, should Germany build two fleets, I'd feel much more
> comfortable about moving my army out of Tyrolia. Should he build two
> armies, then Tyr-Boh coupled with Mun-Tyr would be devasting to me
> and he'd be much more likely to make that move if he had two new
> armies to cover Munich.
He built only one army. If you really fear Mun-Tyr behind your
Tyr-Boh, I can order Vie-Tyr behind you. But I think Mun-Tyr would be
fairly bizarre with the west still unsettled, unless the fabled western
Triple actually comes to fruition.
Idalia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to Russia
> Do you really expect me to believe that?
Frankly, no, but I told the truth anyway.
> If the Archduke had such doubts, you should have contacted me
> yesterday and asked if I had come to a decision regarding
> Rumania
Orders went out before the Archduke left for his vacation. He was
only briefly in contact during the week, and that was after the
results of the movements were known. It certainly sounded like
Russia was not committed to fighting against Turkey. Turkey, on
the other hand, was certainly prepared to commit against Russia.
If not for the complications of geography, the choice would have
been obvious. The obvious dangers to Austria from allying with
Turkey, however, made my decision difficult.
> and, in any event, he should have respected our agreed
> upon DMZ in Galicia.
Should he have? In retrospect, since your own decision seems to
have come down on the side of the angels, you are right. Had your
decision been otherwise, the move to Galicia would have proven vital
to Austria-Hungary's national survival.
> We are not yet at war, but we are on the very brink.
I agree. But I am reluctant to attempt delicate private
negotiations with a prospective partner who kvetches in public
about private misunderstandings.
> If the Archduke feels that he can attack Russia since I only have
> one Fleet and one Army in the south, please remind him of my
> favorite aphorism, 'The pen is mightier than the sword.', and
> consider what I can do to Austria-Hungary with my pen before and
> after my military strength has been destroyed.
You seem to be assuming that Austria-Hungary has both the desire
and ability to destroy your military strength. I suggest that we
have neither.
On the Archduke's orders, I may not discuss prospective troop
movements at this time. But I suggest that any declaration of war
or desparate defensive strategms would be regretted by Russia even
more than by Austria-Hungary.
Ralassa, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Russia to Master
Doug,
Now that Austria is finally back, could I have an extra 24 hours (until
23:30 of July 24) to try and talk my way out of this hole he's dug for me?
8-) Also, I asked a question about victory conditions a while back, but
haven't seen the answer. Originally, in the event of a 17-17 (or other tied
for the lead) draw, there was going to be turn by turn rollback until one
Power had more Centers than the other, and that Power would be declared
Tournament Champion, but in your opening press for 'titleist' you indicated
that an equal center-count draw would be treated as a draw, and co-champions
would be declared. Could you clarify the victory conditions for us all,
please?
Thanks,
Russia.
Message from France to Austria
Ms. Felicia:
The English presence in Belgium and the bounce with
Germany in Burgundy was not my choice. A hasty decision
without discussion caused it. No one knows for sure how
things will end up in the West. This should be a
revealing turn.
I wish you luck. May your soldiers ride to further
glory.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Germany
Frederick:
I of course understand that Ruhr will have to be covered
in order to eliminate the English army. I will not try
to influence your decision on when you cover it. I
suspect that you would want to cover it with Kiel in the
Spring, but possibly Munich in the fall. Or you may have
some other plan that I cannot fathom. I am sure that the
Dauphin could suggest some other military options that my
simply mind cannot fathom. However, I will not worry
about it for now.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Are you recovered from the weekend yet? Things were a
bit slow. Austria is back, I have heard from Italy.
Nothing for either expect warm fuzzies from the latter.
Germany has at least picked up his level of
communication. His style hasn't changed, but the volume
has. Have you noticed the same?
Will you be supporting Russia to Sweden so he can either
move his fleet to Prussia or his army to St. Petes (and
then Moscow)? His presences in Sweden may help you
attack Denmark.
-- Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Good Prince,
Ah, this is going to be a very fine day.
Yesterday was one of those days that my home modem decided to snore, and I
was without communication from about 5pm on. Please don't let these
interruptions cause you grief. In a true emergency I can drive the three
miles to work and get on-line. This will probably never be necessary.
My exchanges with Germany and Russia have been satisfactory, but not
without difficulties.
Germany has been suspicious ever since I did not build a fleet in
Liverpool. My explanation -- that I did not want to telegraph my
intentions -- may have sufficed. But it doesn't really matter any more,
does it? The only move he could make to slow us down would be
Den-NorthSea, but he wants Sweden too badly to do that. Anyway, it now
seems Germany is expecting my help in Sweden plus my forced entry into the
Channel.
If anything, Russian diplomacy has been a little more complex. I openly
revealed to him the possibility of my moving Norway to Skag so that he
could get Sweden and I would have a shot at Denmark in the fall. In my
experience a demonstration of trust often gains cooperation. Leaving
Norway vacant certainly would involve my trust of Russia. Russia welcomed
the idea of cooperation with me, but to my surprise he thought it best that
he get Denmark(!) in addition to Sweden so that he would remain a viable
threat to his southeastern neighbors. Russia thought that I could work
with Holland and points south.
Isn't that ducky?! My French ally would have Belgium and my Russian ally
would have Denmark, leaving me Holland. How am I to conquer the world by
funneling all my units through Holland? This is not a complaint; I just
find it most ammusing. Anyway, I have decided not to depart Norway and I
am telling Russia that. Russia and I have never tried to deceive each
other (unless he really did originally intend to mount an attack on
Norway). I still don't mind helping Russia into Sweden, but my Denmark
scheme is dead for this year.
>As you stated in your last letter, things between us seem
>pretty well set. I will move to the Channel and Burgundy
>and hold in Portugal. Germany expects me to move to MAO,
>so he will wonder/be upset if I do not.
Please upset him. Don't even think ... 8-).
>What are your plans for Belgium? Will it simply hold or
>are you going to support Paris to Burgundy? It depends
>on what kind of statement you want to make.
I expect Picardy to support Paris to Burgundy and I expect Holland to
support Kiel to Ruhr. So Belgium is useless this turn, except for symbolic
purposes. Withought giving it any thought before this instant, I was going
to support your move to Burgundy.
>I am guessing that the hold may be your best option. It
>leaves open the question of whether we are working
>together completely.
It won't matter what Germany thinks any more, but it might help a tiny,
tiny bit if the rest of the world is uncertain. Believe me, none of them
want a EF alliance. They've made that clear to me from the beginning.
Perhaps I will try Belgium->Ruhr.
On second thought, no one will be fooled about EF intentions. But Bel-Ruh
has a tiny chance of working, so let it be that.
>I want to talk to you also about the South. I am
>concerned that Austria will grow too quickly.
Neither Austria nor Russia talk much to me, but both are friendly. Don't
you think that Italy holds the key to that area of the world? He can ally
himself with either Austria or Turkey. Italy has always answered every
question of mine, but I have been careful not to ask him whether he prefers
Turkey or Austria. Pry too much and your source shuts up!
We want somewhat of a stalemate over there. Its best when the stalemate is
perpetuated by some genuine animosity, such as the feelings that Russia now
has for Austria. That way it is difficult for them to untangle and face a
threat from another direction. I assume that Russia and Austria will be on
opposite sides. I assume that Austria and Turkey will be on opposite sides
soon, if not immediately, in spite of their cooperation over Romania last
turn. Does that mean we want Italy to side with Austria so it will be two
on two?
On the other hand, if IRT does gang up on Austria, then that leaves Turkey
with no outlet against us. Right now it looks pretty good for us either
way. I am probably in one of my overly optimistic moods.
Most cordially,
Ivy
I would
>not mind seeing Russia and Turkey become friends. It
>might even be better for IRT to join up against Austria.
> We really do not want a monster Austria in our way. At
>the same time we want to keep a viable Austria to keep
>Turkey in check. A medium sized Austria can still be
>brought down as long as a couple powers in the south are
>viable. You and I should decide on what outcome we
>prefer and both start working towards it. We can focus
>on talking to different powers to not make it obvious.
>But it may increase our chances of bring our preference
>into place if we agree on one.
Message from England to Russia
Dear Nicky,
> I haven't ruled out leaving both Units in Scandinavia, and I'm certainly
>willing to discuss options there, but we might want to consider Swe and
>Den as Russian, with Hol going to you this year.
...
> Please, let's discuss a continuation of my Northern strategy. Perhaps
>if you pointed out to AI how wide open Turkey is to a Lepanto, and I
>was sure of a build or two from the north, I would not need to waste
>the tempo involved in sending A Mos home again.
Aargh! I don't have any offer on the table from France or Germany that
enables me to offer you Denmark. At least not at the moment, and time is
running short.
As price for an alliance, Germany asks for my help in getting him into
Sweden. That's a reasonable offer, but it's nothing that you like.
And France's price? France wants me to give him Belgium as I march into
Holland. This can happen without any conflict between you and me. It
could be all three of us against Germany. But wait. You get Denmark;
France gets Belgium. That leaves me Holland (thank's guys). The Holland
Tunnel? How am I going to conquer the whole world if I have to funnel all
my units through Holland?
This is not a complaint. It actually amuses me.
But what it means, I guess, is that I probably need to stay in Norway and
not attempt my Norw-Skag gamble. The ultimate fate of Sweden may not be
known until the fall.
There is still time for a little negotiation today. I am at wits end. Let
me know if you have any bright ideas for me.
Most cordially,
Ivy
Message from England to France
As has happened before, I just sent off a long note only to discover
another from you waiting!
>Are you recovered from the weekend yet? Things were a
>bit slow. Austria is back, I have heard from Italy.
>Nothing for either expect warm fuzzies from the latter.
>Germany has at least picked up his level of
>communication. His style hasn't changed, but the volume
>has. Have you noticed the same?
Yes, his volume has. I am not surprised. He couldn't possibly have been
as poor a player as earlier press, or lack thereof, suggested.
>Will you be supporting Russia to Sweden so he can either
>move his fleet to Prussia or his army to St. Petes (and
>then Moscow)?
He is even considering convoying the army to Livonia apparently!
>His presences in Sweden may help you attack Denmark.
Absolutely, we need Russia in Sweden, but the means and the timing still
have to be worked out. I just informed Nicky a few minutes ago that I
cannot bless his desire to own Denmark. Obvious, if I were a German ally.
And if allied to France I would be left only with Holland through which to
operate. I also tried to reassure him that I have no designs on StP. Now
Russia needs to react to that message. I have not boldly told him that you
and I are allied, but he suspects it.
Ivy
Message from France to France
Spring 1902 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and
Everything.
- by Prince Xavier Boar
First I would like to thank the people of France for
inviting me to be the Plenary Speaker at this annual
symposium. It is one that is dear to my heart. The
topic for my speech will always be the state of a State
of the Union Address for France, although I reserve the
right to add a little philosophy. This first
presentation may be short of details because I will be
trying to cover both 1901 as well as pre-1901, and
perhaps a peak at 1902.
Pre-1901
The original goal of my Bother, the Dauphin, and I was to
try to work with Germany against England. We wanted to
eliminate the danger of England from our back and then
stab Germany with Russian help. However, we felt that
France is less at risk to England than England is to
France; therefore we were willing to accept swapping
places between England and Germany. It would depend on
the personalities, the preferences of Russia, and how
things developed.
Our second objective was to arrange a long term
neutrality pact with Italy. We wanted that border secure
and trouble-free. We intend to keep up our end of the
bargain until both England and Germany fall, provided
that we are lucky enough to make that come to pass.
In a general sense our goals for the game are to never
miss a deadline and to communicate with every surviving
power every turn. By turn our goal will be every phase,
but we are willing to accept we may miss speaking with
some far away powers during a retreat or adjustment
phase.
During the opening negotiations we were please to have
secured a neutrality alliance with Italy. We have hit it
off much better with Ivy (England) than Frederick
(Germany). This is partly due to Germany's lack of
communication. But it is more due to the similarities in
style between England and myself. We also prefer
England's cooperative press style rather than Germany's
aggressive style. I also had to deal with the "top seed"
talk where people assumed that because I ended up with
France, I was the top seed. It was true, but I wanted to
plant some doubt. I did not want to come out and say it
was not true, as many would think I might be lying. I
also could not admit it because that would conflict with
the Gunboat nature of the game.
1901
We agreed to bounce in Burgundy with Germany in the
Spring. The Dauphin felt that this would both secure
that important region as well as protect Marseilles
should Italy not keep his word about staying out of
Piedmont. That army was destined to move to Spain. We
moved Paris to Picardy in order to have a say in Belgium.
We were please that Germany agreed to open his fleet to
Denmark. This keeps alive the option of conflict between
Germany and Russia. We choose to trust Ivy not to enter
the Channel. We had a lot of faith in this decision.
In the fall, there was a great deal of discussion about
whether I would take Belgium or not. England obviously
wanted it, but was concerned about getting Norway. I was
worried about the early leader syndrome and keeping Italy
from getting nervous. We had also already decided to side
with England against Germany. The Dauphin wanted an army
in the Belgium in order to further the invasion of
Germany. We were prepared for it to be French, coupled
with our waving a build, but argued for it to be English.
We pointed out that this would still give England a
build, even if Russia betrayed him. But England must
have been worried that we might betray him as well, for
no builds. He took the chance and ended up with two
builds.
We had decided to move to Burgundy and argue to Germany
that his silences and English lies had caused us to move
there. A few hours before the deadline we got a note
from Germany informing us that he was moving to Burgundy
and apologizing for the lack of notice. We replied
indignantly about his coercive behavior. The Dauphin was
displeased about the military set back, but I thought
that perhaps it would have strategic benefits. We have
Germany looking like the bad guy and have not angered him
by slightly betraying him. We also can blame him for the
English presence in Belgium, not ourselves.
A peak at 1902
The goal is to move towards an attack on Germany but to
disguise it as much as possible.
Philosophy
Many of you have speculated why the Dauphin does not
assume the thrown not that our father is so ill. Some
have even absurdly suggested that I might be more fit.
In reply I quote Plato
Philosophers should become Kings and
Kings should become Philosophers.
My brother is not yet ready to become a philosopher and I
am not yet ready to become a King. In the end only he
can be King, but together we may substitute in our
father's illness. We still have much to learn form him.
For example …. (and so on)
Message from France to all
[Greetings I am Trey Wingo and I have agreed to add
commentary to the presentation by Prince Boar on the
State of France at the Annual Symposium on Philosophy,
Europe and Everything. Why is an ESPN Sportscaster
commenting on Politics and Philosophy? Well, first of
all I always wanted to travel to France. Second, if my
third cousin Ivy can go from being a catcher to
Ambassador for England, I can comment on Philosophy. And
third, I am tired of Stuart Scott getting all the cool
jobs.]
Spring 1902 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and
Everything.
- by Prince Xavier Boar
First I would like to thank the people of France for
inviting me to be the Plenary Speaker at this annual
symposium. It is one that is dear to my heart. The
topic for my speech will always be the state of a State
of the Union Address for France, although I reserve the
right to add a little philosophy. This first
presentation may be short of details because I will be
trying to cover both 1901 as well as pre-1901, and
perhaps a peak at 1902.
[The people did not really invite him, rather some
anonymous person suggested these presentation. The rumor
is that Prince Boar paid this person to make the
suggestion, just so he could "bore" the people with his
philosophies.]
Pre-1901
The original goal of my Bother, the Dauphin, and I was to
try to ….
[Unfortunately this part of the presentation was censored
due to state secrets. Why the color of the Dauphin's
underwear is a state secret is beyond me. Nevertheless I
cannot comment on what I heard.]
.
.
.
Philosophy
Many of you have speculated why the Dauphin does not
assume the thrown not that our father is so ill. Some
have even absurdly suggested that I might be more fit.
In reply I quote Plato
Philosophers should become Kings and
Kings should become Philosophers.
My brother is not yet ready to become a philosopher and I
am not yet ready to become a King. In the end only he
can be King, but together we may substitute in our
father's illness. We still have much to learn form him.
For example ….
[Here I will cut off the "highlights". I want to save to
you from it. Besides I fell asleep three times and
really do not know what he was saying.]
[Until next time,
Trey]
(loud enough for the speakers to barely pick it up)
[Now where are those French Babes you guys promised to
introduce me to if I took this gig]
Message from France to Master
Doug:
I am sending my yearly thoughts to France rather than
master. I assume that you and future readers will be
able to see them that way. Since they are my personal
thoughts, I felt it made more sense to do it this way.
France
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Thanks for your notes. I am sorry about your modem. I
suppose that the only time it would an issue if we were
negotiating some last minute decisions on moves,
especially ones which we hoped to hear first from someone
else. That has happened in the past. But we can deal
with that when and if it occurs.
I see that you are just as uncertain about the Southeast
as I am. I think that I will try to encourage an RT
alliance vs AI. We do not want Italy or Russia to grow
too quickly. The IRT vs A might resolve itself too soon.
I will be pretty busy for a while but will try to check
for messages before the end of my work day, which will be
a bit early as I must visit the Dentist. Pray for me :-)
The Dauphin does like the move to Ruhr, but the decision
will be yours. As for Russia, tell him that he cannot
possibly take both Denmark and Sweden this year. In the
long run Denmark is negotiable if Kiel becomes available
to you. That way you can say "maybe" and not make him
desperate. But I think that it is wise to stay in
Norway.
Just so you know I have been trying to encourage Russia
in the south and telling him that I am trying to
encourage you not to attack him.
-- Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
>Thanks for your notes. I am sorry about your modem. I
>suppose that the only time it would an issue if we were
>negotiating some last minute decisions on moves,
I won't let it be an issue. Also, the problem seems to disappear as the
weather becomes cooler. Go figure.
> I must visit the Dentist.
Hah! He works for me. "Tell me your state secrets or I drill deeper."
I hate these delays. I work hard and get everyone to agree with me and
then they get another day or two to reconsider.
Ivy Wingo
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>I hate these delays. I work hard and get everyone to
>agree with me and then they get another day or two to
>reconsider.
I will remove my set wait, to make you feel better :-)
I do understand your feeling. It would be better to have
the adjustment right away rather than on the day of the
deadline. But I understand that life happens to people.
It even happens to me. So we can be patient, even do
something other than diplomacy. Gasp :-)
I see your evil plan with the Dentist. But would it not
make more sense for him to give me drugs that would make
me talk (in guise of Novacain) than to threaten me with
pain! But then again, my brother was alway better at
physical pain than I. I had to use psychological pain to
hold my own against him.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Master
Doug:
I will be without access to the Internet from the
afternoon of Aug 3 until Aug 11. I will endeavor to have
orders in before I leave (as long as there was not a
deadline on Aug 2). I will remind you of this trip
before I leave. I just wanted to give you a heads up.
France
Message from Italy to England
>
> OK, that does it. No more anonymity for Roberto. He was the
> winner of the identify Ivy Wingo contest and knows that I also
> considered the even wackier name Van Lingle Mungo. Van Lingle
> Mungo was another baseball player. I ruled him out, because
> the name was harder to type and he was already celebrated in song.
>
I guess you forgot that you had already broadcast this information along
with the message detailing who Ivy Wingo was. Not that it's a big deal or
anything.
> So Italy is awarded Belgium as his prize and only needs to
> arrive to claim it.
>
So, if I move tun-naf, maybe France would be willing to convoy it via Mao
and the Channel. I'll ask him if he'll do that in the spirit of fair play
since I am the rightful owner of Belgium.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to France
>
> What has Germany said about your presence in Tyrolia. He
> has not mentioned it to me and I am curious to hear his
> reaction.
>
His reaction was that he was not overly concerned with my presence in
Tyrolia since he felt it would be a tactical mistake for me to either assist
you in Munich or accept your assistance for my move to Munich. I agreed
with him and explained to him that you and I had not had any discussions
along those lines. He seemed to be reassured.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
>Aargh! I don't have any offer on the table from
>France or Germany that enables me to offer you
>Denmark. At least not at the moment, and time
>is running short.
Calm down, my friend, I didn't demand Den, I
merely suggested it as a possibility to be considered,
and I got us an extra day to negotiate. When I have
an idea that I think will work, I'll lay it out in
some detail, but since I don't have a firm plan at
this point, I'm just running things up the flagpole,
to see who'll salute.
Fredd tells me that I can have Swe this Spring,
but suggests Fin-StP to position me to defend StP,
or attack Nwy. (This also leaves Swe unsupported
against Ber-Bal, followed by Den S Bal-Swe, of
course.) Why don't you suggest Par S Pic-Bur,
followed by Hol S Bur - Ruh to France, and suggest
that you will consider ceding Bel to him later? If
you want Den I would think Nwy-Ska, GoB-Bal, Fin-Swe,
Nth-Den (to cut Den S Ber-Bal) would be necessary to
give us 3 on 2 vs. Den. Do you agree? If you do
can you talk up the Lepanto possibilities to AI, so
that I might survive to be of further help to you? ;-)
Your Friend,
Nicky.
Message from England to Germany
Freddy,
Now we have more time, even though we don't need it. I hate these last
minute delays. I work hard to get everyone to agree with me and then they
ger another day or two to change their minds!
>If I read this correctly our moves are:
>KIE - RUH
>MUN - BUR
>HOL holds or supports BEL
>
>BEL s a MUN - BUR
>NTH - ENG
>LON s NTH - ENG
>EDI - NTH
We agree. What about Norway? Is it to be Norw s Den->Swe or should I
hold? The latter makes sense if you are entering Den s berlin->bal, but if
you want the former just say so. It will be done. I have thought about
Norway->nwgSea to get a jump on things south, but that could be risky
without knowing Russia's moves. He may move the Finnish army south.
>Russia suggested EG against France. This guy is perplexing.
He has always encouraged EG against france with me. Right now it makes
sense for him, given his hatred of Austria. Makes sense, that is,
providing you to let him into Sweden!!! This can't happen. You need a
build to protect your backside against whoever emerges strong there.
France wants me to make moves that clearly would put you and me at
war. For example, NorthSea-Helgo. In the meantime his moves would enable
him to go either way. When the dust settles, the key to his true
sentiments will be Portugal. A hold with Portugal would indicate he wanted
an EF attack on G. Port->Mid would indicate he preferred FG against E.
I'm for EG against F, and I can't wait! It's also what most of the world
seems to want. They will be grateful.
Cordially,
Ivy
Message from Italy to England
>
> Here are two pieces of information that may be useful to you.
> I have no interest in going for StP. I could write a book on why this
> is so, but let's leave it at that.
Okay, seems like an easy and reasonable target for you but I know you
wouldn't tell me this and then risk losing all credibility by going for STP.
> Also, I am reasonably confident that Russia will
> move Finland back toward Austria, either with Fin-StP or with
> a convoy to Livonia. Just thought you might want to know.
>
This is what I would expect as well. Defending the middle of his homeland,
to me at least, would be a higher priority than taking Sweden.
> In exchange, perhaps you could tell me every move that France
> and Germany are making. No? Oh, well.
>
If I only knew. :) France won't even tell me where Portugal is moving to
this spring......
> One other matter. What in the world is Tyrolia going to do?
>
> I first thought that if I leaned toward EF then Tyrolian help against
> Munich would be interesting, but after careful thought I have
> concluded that no matter what happens to me, I really don't want
> Italian operations in southern Germany,
> Any action by you in Munich really helps France greatly and
> me not at all.
Tyrolia will not assist nor be assisted in any offensive operations in
southern Germany. Tyrolia does however reserve the right to assist Germany
in defensive manuevers in Munich. It's intent was merely to wake the German
up and talk to me. The plan worked flawlessly. I have received several
comminique from Berlin this phase.
>
> In the latter instance, I don't want France to achieve his goals too
> rapidly. I hope you don't either.
>
Absolutely not! The slower French goals are achieved the better off we all
will be.
>
> See, anything I do is good for Italy.
>
I hope the same can be said for you about whatever I do. Unfortunately, I
haven't a clue as whether or not that is true.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to Germany
Fredd,
You Wrote >
>Go for Sweden. I won't stop you. I will be moving into the Baltic,
>possibly with support, maybe not.
I'd advise Ber-Bal, Den-Hel. I'm not a threat to
you, but ABel, F Lon, F Edi, F Nth, and F Nwy are.
> > I told Ivy of my intention to move to Fin
>Interesting. Perhaps he believed you.
Well, I was sincere. 8-) I don't see much
point in annoying someone unless doing so would help
me, or is it is likely to weaken him.
>I might rethink how closely they might be working
>together in light of your evidence.
What he's said to me since builds suggests that
he's headed east, not south, and given that he's told
you that he's headed south, that suggests to me that
he's after you more than me. After all, if he was
coming after me, why wouldn't he enlist your aid?
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas.
Message from Observer to Observer
From: Douglas T. Massey E-mail: masseyd@b...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just to let you know what you're missing:
Amongst the seven powers, they've sent over 500 pieces of mail in
the first year of the game. It's absolutely flying back and forth.
A couple of the players have commented to me that it's even more
than they're accustomed to.
Doug
----------------------------------------------------------------------
___, IBM Microelectronics Division, Burlington, Vermont
\o ASICs Product Development Engineering |>
| Phone: (802)769-7095 t/l: 446-7095 fax: x6752 |
/ \ |
. My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/~masseyd (|)
Message from Observer to Observer
--- In vgfp_titleist@y..., "Douglas T. (Doug) Massey "
<masseyd@b...> wrote:
> Amongst the seven powers, they've sent over 500 pieces of mail in
> the first year of the game. It's absolutely flying back and forth.
> A couple of the players have commented to me that it's even more
> than they're accustomed to.
But to get the number of *game related* presses sent in the first
year, we first have to subtract the bike race broadcasts:
500 total messages - 241 bike race broadcasts = 259 messages.
259 game related messages in the first year isn't so uncommon in the
first year, is it?
Karlis
Message from Observer to Observer
Doesn't anyone have any thoughts they'd like to share about 1901
in titleist?
The only discussion we've had is about the anti-Austrian broadcast
presumably authored by Russia (and that's not such a terribly
interesting subject).
=================================
Yes, it's slow at work and I'm still not in any Diplomacy games at
the moment. We're waiting for Jeff Ladd to sign on to "sorelose" on
USVG. For those who are interested, 7 of the 14 losers from the
second round of the full press tournament are forming a standard full
press game called "sorelose" on USVG. It's not anonymous!
The players are:
Dale Grantham
Armenak Kavcioglu
Jeff Ladd
Ron Poet
Karlis Povisils
Keith Schnieder
Tom Woodhouse
Karlis
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy
Ralassa, and Roberto,
(I am including Roberto in this conversation in hopes
that he can act as a moderating influence.)
>Message from Austria to Russia in 'titleist':
> > > when you told me you hadn't decided between
> > > an army or fleet in Rum, the Archduke thought
> > > that meant the army was coming, and felt > > forced to accept Turkey's
>proposal.
> > Do you really expect me to believe that?
>Frankly, no, but I told the truth anyway.
Ok, let's review: S1901M: I propose a DMZ of
Gal, and honor it, while moving Mos-StP, Sev-Bla.
I defy you to find a more pro-Austrian opening for
Russia. You expressed a preference that I occupy
Rum with a Fleet, and build a second Fleet in Sev.
I replied that I agreed that we both needed southern
Fleets, but that taking Rum with the Army offered
the possibility of my gaining useful intelligence
from the Turk. You expressed concern that I was
undecided about attacking Turkey because I listed
the advantages that taking Rum with an Army gave us.
I replied (still 3 1/2 days before orders were due,
and only 38 hours after the Spring Results arrived:
> > I expect that I will order F Sev-Rum, and build > F Sev, but I haven't
>finalized that decision, > yet. I am committed to AR vs. T, but if the
>Turk
> > were to suggest that I move to Bla this Fall, > and then Con in the
>Spring, with the intention > of moving to Aeg next Fall, I wouldn't turn
>him > down. (I wouldn't move out of Con next Fall,
> > either, but... 8-)
>
> > In Alliance,
We then went on to discuss the situation in the west,
and the possibility of Italy ordering Ven-Pie on
Tuesday, some 34 hours before the Fall Deadline, but
you did not ask whether I had finalized my decision
regarding Rum, so I had no suspicion that the Archduke
was the least bit concerned about my plans for Rum,
and frankly, I don't see that he had any reason to be
concerned.
>It certainly sounded like Russia was not committed
>to fighting against Turkey.
How does my being unwilling to finalize my
move 3 1/2 days before the deadline translate to a
lack of commitment to the alliance against Turkey?
It's right there in my last press to you on the
subject, "I'm committed to AR vs. T"! What more
could I have done, proxied my units to you?
> > and, in any event, he should have respected our > agreed upon DMZ in
>Galicia.
Should he have?
Yes.
>Had your decision been otherwise, the move to
>Galicia would have proven vital to Austria-Hungary's national survival.
I ordered Mos-StP. If I ordered Ukr-Gal
in the Fall, breaking our agreement, I would
have been left with an unsupported attack on
Rum with my Fleet. That's not a rational set
of orders by any definition that I've encountered.
If I ordered Sev S Ukr-Gal, and it worked, AND
GoB-Swe worked, AND I built A War and A Mos,
AND I had attacked Austria, rather than
Turkey or Germany, or England, you could have
still bounced any attempt I made to break our
DMZ in Gal. I'm sorry, even if I had TOLD you
that I was ordering Ukr-Rum, there was no need
for you to order Vie-Gal.
> > We are not yet at war,
>I agree. But I am reluctant to attempt delicate private negotiations with
>a prospective partner who kvetches in public about private
>misunderstandings.
I view treaty violations as a bit more than
"private misunderstandings", particularly when
there is no justification for the violation. I
have honored our agreements. As long as Austria
does so, you need not fear any "public kvetching".
>You seem to be assuming that Austria-Hungary
>has both the desire and ability to destroy
>your military strength. I suggest that we
>have neither.
Austria supported a Turkish attack on a Supply
Center that Austria had agreed would fall under
Russian control. Austria violated an agreed upon
DMZ, moving adjacent to an open Russian Home
Center. Why? Because I said I hadn't finalized my
decision to order F Sev-Rum. What conclusion
should I draw from these actions? That Austria
intends Russia harm seems a much more reasonable
conclusion than the one which you claim the
Archduke drew from our negotiations this Summer.
>I may not discuss prospective troop movements
>at this time.
The time to discuss them grows short. I have
laid out a reasonable course of action which gains
Austria, Italy, and Russia a build this year. I
await your response.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
Our "friend" in Austria is either a bad liar,
or he is irrational.
Nick.
Message from Italy to Russia
>
> Our "friend" in Austria is either a bad liar,
> or he is irrational.
>
Both!
However, I also think he's a bit of a 'loose cannon'. I received a message
this morning detailing the need for Austria to shift it's primary target
from Russia to Turkey. He came to this conclusion despite the fact that he
was not at all happy that you broadcast his private press. I hope this
latest message doesn't change his mind back. We need to focus on Turkey and
we can deal with Austria at the appropriate time.
On an unrelated subject, England has told me that he has no interest in
moving to STP. Please take this information as you see fit as Ivy has been
known to relay misinformation on more than one occasion (not necessarily to
me though but I've heard thru the grapevine others complaints).
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from England to Italy
Roberto,
> France won't even tell me where Portugal is moving to
>this spring......
Not surprising, because that would be a very strong indicator of his
preference for England or Germany. Portugal holds = proEngland;
Portugal->Mao = proGermany.
>Tyrolia will not assist nor be assisted in any offensive operations in
>southern Germany. Tyrolia does however reserve the right to assist Germany
>in defensive manuevers in Munich. It's intent was merely to wake the German
>up and talk to me. The plan worked flawlessly. I have received several
>comminique from Berlin this phase.
Germany has improved. He couldn't possibly have been as bad as his early
press, or lack thereof, indicated.
I find our relationship interesting. I never ask you about your preference
for Austria or Turkey. You never ask me about mine for France or
Germany. This permits us to be very honest about smaller matters, and I
think that has been mutually helpful.
Thank you,
Ivy
Message from Italy to Turkey
Ali,
Just heard from Austria and he has told me he is moving Gre-Aeg. Is the
army in Bulgaria free to support Tun-Gre as we previously discussed? I'd
also move Nap-Apu in preparation for taking the Adriatic in the fall. I'd
also seriously consider a Tyr-Vie move just in case Austria happened to
vacate in a push into Russia. I would return the favor and support you into
Serbia at your request.
I'm sure your answer depends on how you think Russia will react to the moves
of the first year and specifically what you think his Ukranian army will do.
If you think he'll use it to defend Warsaw, then Sevastopol could be yours
and we'd each build this coming year.
I understand if you feel the need to use Bulgaria to influence whatever will
happen in Rumania this coming year.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from England to Germany
Good Freddie,
I have what seems to be a satisfactory relationship with Italy. I never
ask him about his preference for Austria or Turkey. He never asks me about
my feeling for France and Germany. This frees us to be completely honest
(I think!) in some very small matters, and that has been helpful.
Italy has told me that he will not assist in offensive operations against
Munich, but that he reserves the right to help defend(!) Munich. I believe
him and this is a big relief. With time on my hands I worry about what
might go wrong. Italy could mess things up for us, but it seems he will not.
I have quit pestering him to attack France from the Mediterranean, although
it's possible that he could jump in and scavenge if he sees France
dying. Looking way down the road however, I expect to enter the Med myself.
Ivy
Message from Italy to Austria and Russia
>
> (I am including Roberto in this conversation in hopes
> that he can act as a moderating influence.)
>
I'm honored; however, I'm not completely comfortable in being privy to
private press. I understand the reasoning in including it as a history and
background to the current conversation but if there were a way to have this
discussion without quoting actual press, I'd prefer it.
It's apparent that AR have had some misunderstandings regarding Galicia and
Rumania. I'll let you two decide where units should be placed so that
you're both comfortable but we need to focus on Turkey. The bottom line is,
if the dust in the west settles before the dust in the east, all three of us
are SOL. I truly believe none of us want the Turk at our back for the rest
of this game and that his elimination is important for all three of us and
our future growth.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from England to Russia
Dear Nicky,
> Calm down, my friend, I didn't demand Den, I
>merely suggested it as a possibility to be considered
I am calm. Only joint action by Germany and France can rattle me at this
stage.
> Fredd tells me that I can have Swe this Spring,
>but suggests Fin-StP to position me to defend StP,
>or attack Nwy.
Nice guy that Fredd! I am now considering complete passivity in Norway
this spring with the veiled threat that I could support either you or
Germany into Sweden in the fall. My choice then would depend on the
overall configuration or could be determined by mere revenge. That could
only apply to Germany, since you have no possible move that could be
interpreted as anti-English this turn.
> (This also leaves Swe unsupported
>against Ber-Bal, followed by Den S Bal-Swe, of
>course.) Why don't you suggest Par S Pic-Bur,
I think this is coming.
> and suggest that you will consider ceding Bel to him later?
It's tricky. I insisted that France not get Belgium early, for that would
give him a 6-4 lead over me. He agreed to 5-4 with Belgium neutral. When
he finally gave me his blessing to enter Belgium last fall it was with his
understanding that my ownership was probably temporary. I didn't
explicitly agree to that. Nevertheless, France now takes the position that
it is my turn to do him a favor. Let's see what I can do, though.
All this assumes that I will decide to be proFrance. ProGermany is still
alive!!!
>If you want Den I would think Nwy-Ska, GoB-Bal, Fin-Swe,
>Nth-Den (to cut Den S Ber-Bal) would be necessary to
>give us 3 on 2 vs. Den. Do you agree?
That would work. The tactics are simple enough. I just need some
confidence that when the dust settles I will have claim, if not actual
ownership, to either Belgium or Denmark.
Having typed this, I looked at the map and noticed that there is always
Kiel. The path between Belgium and Denmark is wider than I thought. A
case of map blindness. Even so, I worry a bit about being pancaked between
a superpower France and a revived Russia. But I am calm. Yes, sir, I am calm.
>If you do
>can you talk up the Lepanto possibilities to AI, so
>that I might survive to be of further help to you? ;-)
Do I understand you correctly that you are no longer upset with Austria?
CALM,
Calm,
calm.
Most cordially,
Ivy
Message from Italy to Austria
>
> > I whole-heartedly agree. HOWEVER, I think Rumania should become
> > Austrian property in the process. Call it a good-will gesture
> > for not pushing north into Russian homeland. After all, the Turk
> > was as much responsible for the Rumanian debacle as Austria.
>
> Heh, thanks for this.
>
Not a problem. I understand Russia's argument but he's not negotiating from
a position of strength anymore.
>
> Support from Gre, Ser, and Rum; and Eas can hit Smy, forcing Arm to
> defend (assuming Ank-Arm this spring). Neat.
>
That's what I had in mind.
> I don't want to send Russia any promises or agreements; he wouldn't
> give them any credence, and he's liable to use them for propaganda
> purposes.
>
That does appear to be blatantly obvious. Like I said, I'm not really
comfortable with the private press passing. I'm going to have to be really
careful what I say to Russia now. If he'll quote you there's no reason to
think he wouldn't do the same to me. Not what I'm looking for in a friend.
> But I will move to Aeg, and help you get the next build.
>
Thanks. I think it's vital that I gain a build this turn and not just to
keep up with you. You're fighting more fronts than me at the moment and
it's reasonable for you to have more units. However, I don't want to become
easy prey for the west. I want them to think it will be a long and
difficult battle if they head towards Italy. Another Italian fleet
stationed in the TYS will do the job. France only has two fleets and to get
a third he'd have to take a center from either EG (or me I suppose). But,
if I get a build, taking a center from me would be virtually impossible and
it would keep France where I want him, battling EG.
>
> He built only one army. If you really fear Mun-Tyr behind your
> Tyr-Boh, I can order Vie-Tyr behind you. But I think Mun-Tyr would be
> fairly bizarre with the west still unsettled, unless the
> fabled western Triple actually comes to fruition.
>
I don't fear a Mun-Tyr move but I think I'm still going to have Tyrolia hold
if that's alright with you. As I see it, the west has four options: EF vs
G, FG vs E, EG vs F, and EFG vs the world. I can see advantages for Tyrolia
in 3 of the 4 instances.
EF vs G - Tyrolia would be used to support the German position in hopes that
EF don't achieve their goal too fast. It wouldn't prevent EF from
progressing but would hopefully slow them down enough.
EG vs F - Tyrolia would be used to distract Germany again with the hopes of
slowing down progress.
EFG vs the world - Tyrolia would be critical in this case. I'd have the
ability to go to Piedmont and it also prevents the disasterous Mun-Tyr move.
FG vs E - in this case, Tyrolia wouldn't be as important or influential in
slowing down the west so would be free to continue it's trek north.
However, just my presence in Tyrolia makes Germany think about his choice.
For all these reasons plus the fact that you already have an army
superiority over Russia, I think it best that I hold down the vital
defensive position in Tyrolia. Do you agree or do you still think I should
move to Bohemia?
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to Italy
My Friend, Roberto,
> > Austria is either a bad liar, or he is irrational.
>Both!
*chuckle* Perhaps he's one of the "sub-1700's" and
is fighting a losing battle with raging paranoia?
The skill level here certainly has me nervous, but
I assumed, (incorrectly, it turns out) that no-one
would do something stupid in 1901. I tend to
suspect that Austria saw an opportunity to take me
out, and decided to go for it, but I don't know what
Turkey was thinking when he agreed to it. You must
have him convinced that you have no Lepanto
intentions, but an early Italian attack on Austria
doesn't make any sense, either. *Nick scratches
his head…*
>I also think he's a bit of a 'loose cannon'. I
>received a message this morning detailing the
>need for Austria to shift it's primary target
>from Russia to Turkey.
Hmmm, and he didn't share this news with me, because…
He realizes that Turkey building Armies is bad for
Austria in the long run, so he needs you to harass
the Turk while he makes gains in Russia.
>He came to this conclusion despite the fact that
>he was not at all happy that you broadcast his
>private press. I hope this latest message doesn't
>change his mind back.
Well, as I said, if he hadn't formally agreed to a
limited term DMZ, and the reneged on the deal one
turn later (for no good reason), and THEN tried to
justify his action as self-defense, I would have
executed the Foreign Ministry official who leaked
the story to "Pravda". Given the nature of
Ferdinand's act, however, I felt that making the
other Great Powers aware of how untrustworthy he
is, was appropriate. I did consider the risk
inherent in including you, but felt that since we
had established AIR communications regarding the 1902
Turkish attack, I could appeal to you as a moderator.
>We need to focus on Turkey and we can deal with
>Austria at the appropriate time.
Agreed.
>England has told me that he has no interest in
>moving to STP.
He's said the same thing to me, and France claims that
he's lobbying Ivy on my behalf. Given F Ber, F Bla,
and A Gal, it seems pointless for me to defend StP,
in any event. What's your impression of which way the
West will go? Have you heard from the Turk? I haven't,
in spite of having pointed out to him how wide open to
the Lepanto he is. (He can't defend against it, in any
event, but I hoped he would consider joint operations
against Austria.)
Nicky.
Message from Italy to England
>
> I find our relationship interesting. I never ask you about
> your preference for Austria or Turkey.
>
I wouldn't tell you anyway. :) I will tell you have a choice and I'm not
opposed to listening to your opinion on how I should proceed.
> You never ask me about mine for France or Germany.
>
Like you would tell me anyway. :)
Truth is, I really don't care at the moment. If you prefer EG vs F, Germany
and I have an agreement to split you up afterwards. If you prefer EG vs F,
you and I can split up France afterwards. It really is true, no matter what
you do, it's good for Italy!!
You can sit back down, I was just kidding about that Germany agreement part.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Observer to Observer
--- In vgfp_titleist@y..., povisils@y... wrote:
> --- In vgfp_titleist@y..., "Douglas T. (Doug) Massey "
> <masseyd@b...> wrote:
> > Amongst the seven powers, they've sent over 500 pieces of mail in
> > the first year of the game. It's absolutely flying back and
forth.
> > A couple of the players have commented to me that it's even more
> > than they're accustomed to.
>
> But to get the number of *game related* presses sent in the first
> year, we first have to subtract the bike race broadcasts:
>
> 500 total messages - 241 bike race broadcasts = 259 messages.
>
> 259 game related messages in the first year isn't so uncommon in the
> first year, is it?
I'm not counting broadcasts at all. And they're not talking about the
TdF in their partial press . . .
Doug
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy
>Message from Italy to Austria and Russia in 'titleist':
>
> > (I am including Roberto in this conversation in hopes
> > that he can act as a moderating influence.)
>
>I'm honored; however, I'm not completely comfortable in being privy to
>private press.
My apologies. I do not normally make a habit of
forwarding or publishing Press, but I do tend to
quote extensively in reply, and my previous note
began it's life as a private reply to Austria.
When I got to the end, however, and Ralassa's
inability to discuss troop movements, it became
a matter of interest to Italy, since we need to
coordinate our efforts against Turkey. So, I
changed the "Press to " line, and added the note
explaining why I had included him.
Nick.
Message from Italy to Russia
> I tend to
> suspect that Austria saw an opportunity to take me
> out, and decided to go for it, but I don't know what
> Turkey was thinking when he agreed to it.
>
Looking at the map, Gal-Sil and Vie-Gal with support from Budapest requires
Fin-Lvn to defend Warsaw. Of course, this would leave Rum and Sev and Swe
as lost causes. I do not envy your position my friend.
> You must
> have him convinced that you have no Lepanto
> intentions, but an early Italian attack on Austria
> doesn't make any sense, either. *Nick scratches
> his head...*
>
If I were to follow thru with the Lepanto, I would be in blatant violation
of a DMZ agreement. Here's an early press release for the next edition of
the "Pravda" should I actually make the fleet move.
Message from Italy to Turkey in 'titleist':
> In any case, let us solidify this position:
> that if I build an army, you agree not to send any
> fleet to Aeg or EMS. Agreed?
>
Agreed.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
>
> Hmmm, and he didn't share this news with me, because...
> He realizes that Turkey building Armies is bad for
> Austria in the long run, so he needs you to harass
> the Turk while he makes gains in Russia.
>
Entirely possible but I tend to want to believe him since the Lepanto is
virtually slapping us in the face. He has agreed to move to the Aeg and
convoy Tunis to Bulgaria this fall. If he fails on either account, he will
have my immediate and undivided attention. If I 'harass' Turkey while he
attacks you, it would force you and Turkey into a defensive alliance and
that would not be good for Italy.
> What's your impression of which way the West will go?
EF vs G. Just a gut feeling.
> Have you heard from the Turk?
>
Not yet but I did send him a message telling him that Austria had agreed to
move to the Aegean and asked him if Bulgaria was available to support an
attack on Greece. Previously, Turkey had expressed interest in supporting
my move there. After all, I have to get something out of not pursuing the
Lepanto.
I'm fully committed to the Turkish attack though since, as you previously
pointed out, IR vs A would be tactically better than IR v T with the added
advantage of eliminating my most natural eastern fleet enemy.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Turkey to Italy
Roberto,
I'm a bit behind on my mail, so if you've sent another press that I didn't
answer I apologize. I did want to get off a quick reply to this one though.
> Just heard from Austria and he has told me he is moving Gre-Aeg. Is the
> army in Bulgaria free to support Tun-Gre as we previously discussed? I'd
> also move Nap-Apu in preparation for taking the Adriatic in the fall. I'd
> also seriously consider a Tyr-Vie move just in case Austria happened to
> vacate in a push into Russia. I would return the favor and support you
into
> Serbia at your request.
Many thanks. I am ordering Bul to support Tun-Gre. I had planned to attack
Rum, but I can do that in the fall. I'd much rather begin our mutual
efforts now if you're so inclined.
> I'm sure your answer depends on how you think Russia will react to the
moves
> of the first year and specifically what you think his Ukranian army will
do.
> If you think he'll use it to defend Warsaw, then Sevastopol could be yours
> and we'd each build this coming year.
I do expect Russia to be on the defensive, unless he's had strong
encouragement from AI for a 3-way effort against me. My gut reaction is
that you're on the level, and I'm willing to risk it. So, I will push into
Armenia and will use Bul to support your attack.
> I understand if you feel the need to use Bulgaria to influence whatever
will
> happen in Rumania this coming year.
I can wait on Rum until this fall. Hopefull I'll be able to take either Rum
or Sev. Meanwhile, having you in Greece and possibly Vie would be most
excellent.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Austria to Italy
> I don't fear a Mun-Tyr move but I think I'm still going to have Tyrolia hold
> if that's alright with you. As I see it, the west has four options: EF vs
> G, FG vs E, EG vs F, and EFG vs the world. I can see advantages for Tyrolia
> in 3 of the 4 instances.
Your analysis is thorough. But I would still prefer the army to move to
Boh, so that I don't have to consider my vulnerability to a stab which
includes Tyr-Tri in the fall. I don't currently think such a stab is in
your interest, and I trust you to follow that interest, but it is possible
that I might have to make sub-optimal moves in the fall to ensure that
Tyr-Tri continued to not be in your interest. If you order Tyr-Boh in the
spring, I am freer to move with full aggression against Turkey and Russia
withou worrying about my back.
For most of your scenarios, Boh is as strong in support or threat to Germany
as Tyrolia would be. It lacks the ability to move to Pie, and does leave
Tyr itself open if Germany chooses Mun-Tyr. But it gains by being closer to
Ber, War, Mos, and StP. If it were my own unit, I might have a slight
preference for Tyr, but given the lessening of the stab concern, I think
Tyr-Boh is better for us jointly this turn.
Since Gal is going to be employed in and around Rum, Warsaw will not be
taken this fall. Your army in Silesia will probably be involved next year
in the taking of War. Getting to Silesia this fall should be that army's
best use, with its influence on the western situation a secondary utility.
All that said, if you really prefer that it stay in Tyr, it is your army to
order, and that will cause no serious harm to our alliance.
Idalia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
I finally got an answer to my two-way draw question, (though I suspect the
question may well be moot for us).
> Message from masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master to Russia in 'titleist':
> >Originally, in the event of a 17-17 (or other tied for the lead) draw,
> >there was going to be turn by turn rollback until one Power had more
> >Centers than the other, and that Power would be declared Tournament
> >Champion, but in your opening press for 'titleist' you indicated that
> >an equal center-count draw would be treated as a draw, and
> >co-champions would be declared. Which one applies?
>
> The tie-breaker was needed when players were advancing to the next
> round. There's no round after this
> I didn't want to decide the final champion on a technicality like
> SC-counts-through-history.
> I think this has been the rule *for the final* from the beginning.
> My original post to this game stands -- if you'd like to share it with
> everyone else, I'd point them to the history file for the game (July 3,
> 22:08 EDT).
So, a two-way is, in fact, possible.
Nick.
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
> Gal-Sil and Vie-Gal with support from Budapest requires
> Fin-Lvn to defend Warsaw. I do not envy your position my friend.
Yeah, I understand why Austria did what he did, though he should
have the courage to admit it. I don't understand why Turkey ordered
Bul - Rum, though. Austria could easily go to 8 Centers this year, and
Turkey's best hope is to get 5, but remaining at 4, or actually losing
one, is more likely.
> If I were to follow thru with the Lepanto, I would be in blatant violation
> of a DMZ agreement. Here's an early press release for the next edition
> of the "Pravda" should I actually make the fleet move.
>
> > In any case, let us solidify this position:
> > that if I build an army, you agree not to send any
> > fleet to Aeg or EMS. Agreed?
>
> Agreed.
Ali built an Army, and you did not send a Fleet to Aeg or EMed during
Builds, as agreed. Has this agreement been extended into, or beyond
1902? If not, I don't see that you have a problem moving to EMed in
S1902M. Or, do you feel this agreement binds you for all time?
> Entirely possible but I tend to want to believe him since the Lepanto is
> virtually slapping us in the face. He has agreed to move to the Aeg and
> convoy Tunis to Bulgaria this fall. If he fails on either account, he
will
> have my immediate and undivided attention.
Yes, but if he takes War, Rum and Bul, which is possible, I'm sure
that his 8 Units will not be that bothered by your 4.
> If I 'harass' Turkey while he attacks you, it would force you and
> Turkey into a defensive alliance and that would not be good for Italy.
No, I'm allied with you. At least I thought I was, aren't I? If you
'harass' Turkey, this Spring, I'll survive and help you against A and T.
If you don't, you're likely to be facing an 8-10 Center Austria in a year
or two.
> I'm fully committed to the Turkish attack though since, as you previously
> pointed out, IR vs A would be tactically better than IR v T with the added
> advantage of eliminating my most natural eastern fleet enemy.
If you're committed to the Turkish attack Ion-EMed, Nap-Ion greatly
increases Turkey's headaches, and will ease the pressure on Sevastopol.
If you come to an agreement with Austria, any information you can provide
about his intentions would be appreciated.
Your Friend,
and Hopefully Your Ally,
Nicky.
Message from Russia to Germany
Fredd,
England still claims he's not going for StP. He did finally say that
France
agreed to let him take Bel in 1901, but that now France wants it as the
price
for an alliance against you. Have you heard anything from Austria? I'm
concerned that he may order Gal-Sil to gain a supported attack on War this
Fall, but I doubt that he'd violate your border without discussing it with
you.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Germany to Italy
Roberto:
After further investigation, the following appears to be true.
England didn't know about MOS-STP. However he did know about STP-FIN,
and apparently believed Russia. He also did know that Belgium would be
open.
So I didn't really come up with a great theory earlier. But it still
is instructive to see that France told England that Belgium would be
open.
Fredd
Message from Russia to England
> Message from England to Russia in 'titleist':
Very briefly, because Alexandra is demanding access to our correspondence
secratary.
> ProGermany is still alive!!!
I don't object as long as that is antiFrance, and neutralRussia.
I kinda NEED Swe.
> Even so, I worry a bit about being pancaked between
> a superpower France and a revived Russia. But I am calm.
If I get to that point I can as easily build Armies and push thru
Germany to harrass France, and since I would owe you more, I'd
be more inclined to do that.
> Do I understand you correctly that you are no longer upset with Austria?
Austria is an untrustworthy, scum-sucking slimeball, but I'll happily
work with him to eliminate Turkey if it extends my survival. ;^}
Your Friend,
Nicky.
Message from Austria to Russia
> Ok, let's review: S1901M: I propose a DMZ of Gal, and
> honor it, while moving Mos-StP, Sev-Bla.
I agree that you have committed no act of war, no act of
treachery, and no act contrary to the interests of the
alliance we hoped to form.
I did attempt to explain the Archduke's decision to enter
Galicia. This was not intended as accusation, nor even as
justification. You did deserve to know why such a move was
made, and I was instructed to tell you.
> How does my being unwilling to finalize my
> move 3 1/2 days before the deadline translate to a
> lack of commitment to the alliance against Turkey?
Because the alternative you were allegedly ruminating was an
uncommitting move, despite the Archduke's thrice-repeated
preference for the relatively committing Sev-Rum.
> I ordered Mos-StP. If I ordered Ukr-Gal
> in the Fall, breaking our agreement, I would
> have been left with an unsupported attack on
> Rum with my Fleet.
If you had ordered Ukr-Rum, as you gave indications was
likely, you could not have built a new fleet in Sev, but only
an army in Warsaw. Your position would have been more
threatening to Austria-Hungary than to Turkey. The Archduke
was surprised and embarassed that your moves actually were the
superior Sev-Rum. He takes full responsibility for the
current unfortunate situation; my responsibility is to attempt
to resolve it.
> I view treaty violations as a bit more than
> "private misunderstandings", particularly when
> there is no justification for the violation.
If we publish our treaties, then their violations will also be
public. If we reach a private agreement, then the custom in
my nation is that misunderstandings and disagreements should
be dealt with in private.
> That Austria intends Russia harm seems a much more
> reasonable conclusion than the one which you claim the
> Archduke drew from our negotiations this Summer.
Yes, it does; and I am aware that it does. We are at the
brink of a war. But there is still hope that war will be
averted.
> The time to discuss them grows short. I have
> laid out a reasonable course of action which gains
> Austria, Italy, and Russia a build this year. I
> await your response.
Your proposed course is indeed reasonable, but even if I were
to indicate that Austria-Hungary would move in accordance with
it, what reason have you to believe me? While if you do mean
me harm, truthful information about intended military actions
could be used to gain advantage. No, I will not be discussing
the spring orders with you. If you move in accordance with
the Italian plan, you will probably not be disappointed.
Ralassa, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Italy to Germany
Thanks for the info. It's late now and I'm going to bed. I will try to
write something constructive first thing tomorrow morning. For what it's
worth, I think England knew about Mos-Stp and I'll share why when I have
more time tomorrow.
Roberto
Message from Russia to Austria
Ralassa,
> If you had ordered Ukr-Rum, as you gave indications was
> likely, you could not have built a new fleet in Sev, but only
> an army in Warsaw. Your position would have been more
> threatening to Austria-Hungary than to Turkey.
I urge you and the Archduke to reread my my review of our
negotiations, or our negotiations themselves. I never indicated that
Ukr-Rum was likely, I merely offered it as an intelligence-gathering
alternative to Sev-Rum. Indeed I, in fact, indicated that I was
expecting to order Sev-Rum and build F Sev as you had requested.
Secondly, even if I had moved Ukr-Rum, that does not force a build
in War, I could still have built in Mos or StP, and even if I had build
in War, my position would still have been less threatening to Austria
than Austria's is to Russia now, or, for that matter, than Italy's is to
Austria now.
> > I view treaty violations as a bit more than
> > "private misunderstandings", particularly when
> > there is no justification for the violation.
>
> If we publish our treaties, then their violations will also be
> public. If we reach a private agreement, then the custom in
> my nation is that misunderstandings and disagreements should
> be dealt with in private.
The Foreign Ministry representative has been reprimanded for
leaking the information to the newspaper, but frankly, the fact that
the Archduke places so little value upon his word, is something the
other Great Powers deserve to know, in our opinion.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy
Ralassa, and Roberto,
Ralassa, speaking for the Archduke, Wrote >
> Your proposed course is indeed reasonable, but even if I were
> to indicate that Austria-Hungary would move in accordance with
> it, what reason have you to believe me?
Frankly, very little, but if you commit to a set of moves to both
Russia, and Italy, then reneging on that agreement would represent
a betrayal of two allies, and I suspect that even the Archduke would
be relucant to do that.
> While if you do mean me harm, truthful information about intended
> military actions could be used to gain advantage.
Oh, come now, what "advantage" could I gain? Security for my
Home Centers, perhaps the build I was entitled to last year for
Rum? Even if you lay out your plans for me completely, the most
I could do would be to support a Turkish Convoy to Rum, while
moving Ukr-Gal, and the mount a two Unit attack on Budapest
which you could easily repulse. And the end result of that would
be two Turkish Units adjacent to Sev. I may be a fool, but I'm
not an idiot!
> No, I will not be discussing the spring orders with you. If you
> move in accordance with the Italian plan, you will probably not
> be disappointed.
This is, simply, unacceptable. Austria-Hungary violated our
agreement without cause, and gave support to Russia's enemies,
but I am willing to set those actions aside, and work with you
toward the greater European good of eliminating Turkey.
For Russia to do that, however, I need you to commit to
pro-Russian, anti-Turkish moves, and then execute those moves
this Spring. If you do not wish to reveal your full plan to me, then
fine, reveal it to Roberto, I am willing to accept his word in this
matter, but the actions of the Austrian Army in Galicia, and the
final status of Rumania are subjects that we must agree upon.
Czar Nicholas II, for Russia and the European Economic Union.
Message from England to Germany
Good Freddy,
My moves are in. Right now they include Norway holding under the
assumption that you have Den s Ber-Bal. Then we have 3 on 2 against Sweden
in the fall. If you want me to change that to Norway s Den-Swe
immediately, just let me know.
On another matter, my home modem has a nasty habit of conking out most
evenings. I have not been able to find the source of the problem.
If you anticipate sending a last minute message, can you give me a warning?
If I expect a late message from you, and the home modem is having one of
its fits, I will drive the 3 miles to my office and check the mail from
there.
This is an important day in the history of our two little nations. I am
with you all the way.
Most warmly,
Ivy
Message from Russia to Turkey
Ali,
Your continued silence is troubling, but I will order
Sev S Ank-Rum this Spring. AI are planning to take Bul this
Fall, whether or not Italy orders Ion-EMed this Spring, so
you'd be well advised to accept my help.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II.
Message from Germany to England
I don't expect to have any late minute notices. I screwed up (a bit)
when I did that to France. I really hate that. In one of the other
games I had a partner who did that all the time. So I attacked him.
You have my moves. I don't see the need to chance anything. Certainly
France suspects. We're not really even talking too much.
Talk tomorrow.
Fredd
Message from England to Turkey
Ali Baba,
Ages ago, it seems, I sent you a note urging you to cooperate with Austria
in the elimination of Russia.
I value your opinion of me, so I should tell you that I, myself, cannot
attack StP this turn. My highest priority is to survive within the EFG
triangle and make a friend of either France or Germany. For their own
mysterious reasons BOTH France and Germany do not want me going for
StP. Thus, I will not.
This does not change my feeling that a nation, like Russia, that is on the
ropes ought to be finished swiftly for the good of all survivors. I doubt
that Russia will hold on in the north much longer.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Austria
Edna,
Ages ago, it seems, I sent you a note urging you to cooperate with Turkey
in the elimination of Russia.
I value your opinion of me, so I should tell you that I, myself, cannot
attack StP this turn. My highest priority is to survive within the EFG
triangle and make a friend of either France or Germany. For their own
mysterious reasons BOTH France and Germany do not want me going for
StP. Thus, I will not.
This does not change my feeling that a nation, like Russia, that is on the
ropes ought to be finished swiftly for the good of all survivors. I doubt
that Russia will hold on in the north much longer.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to France
Good Prince,
All is quiet. Very quiet. My moves are in and I wait.
Yours,
Ivy
Message [from France] to all
BG> Holey Lepanto Diploman, did I miss something?
DM> Yes Boy Gambit, we have had a fall move as well as an adjustment phase.
BG> Wow! Are there any betrayers that we can bring to justice? I read in the
news that Austria betrayed Russia?
DM> Well, it appears that Austria and Turkey combined to betray Russia. But we
have not yet heard their side of the story.
BG> We should bring them in just in case.
DM> Now now, Boy Gambit, due process must be followed.
BG> What about Germany and France. Do they keep bouncing in Burgundy because
they cannot get along or was there a German betrayal?
DM> We have not heard but are vigorously investigating the matter. What
situations do you see that bear watching for this season?
BG> Well, Turkey seems to have a big kick me sign on his back. He must trust
Austria and Italy. Will that trust be betrayed?
DM> Yes, Boy Gambit! Excellent! Anything else?
BG> Ummmmm.
DM> What about the English-French-German triangle. Something must give up
there.
BG> Oh yeah. But whom will be betrayed?
DM> That is a good question. We must watch and see.
Message from France to all
Tour de France Stage 15 Results:
Today's stage was won by Rik Verbrugghue of Team Lotto
Adecco. He was part of a huge breakaway, but one that
did not contain any of the contenders. No points were
awarded for our game. Since the contenders were all in
the main pack (peloton), they were all given the same
time. Therefore there was no change in the standings at
the top.
Official Tally:
Austria (Domo-Farm Frites): 0 points
England (USPS): 30 points
France (Festina): 10 points
Germany (Telekom): 20 points
Italy (Fassa Bortolo): 10 points
Russia (Robobank): 20 points
Turkey (CSC): 20 points
Doug (O.N.C.E.): 0 points
Selected Standings:
1. Lance Armstrong (USP) 62 hours, 15 minutes, 4 seconds
2. Jan Ullrich (TEL) @ 5:05
3. Andrei Kivilev (COF) @ 5:13
4. Joseba Beloki (ONC)@ 6:33
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>All is quiet. Very quiet. My moves are in and I wait.
Me too. Except your note, a gray, and Russia's
broadcast, I have received nothing today.
I believe that it is because the west is settled. We are
just waiting for the deadline. But the Southeast is busy
negotiating. I suppose that I should spend some time
influencing it. But I have been busy all day until now.
I hope that you are not offended that we hired your third
cousin to commentate at our symposium. If if bothers
you, the guillotine is always and option.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nicholas:
>I have to take my wife to the Emergency Room, and I
>haven't got my orders in, yet. My apologies if
>I'm late.
I hope that everything works out well. Please do not
worry about being late. In fact you should have just
rushed off and apologized later.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba:
With this extra day, the Dauphin has spent some time
studying your situation. I must tell you that he is very
nervous for you. You could very easily be stabbed
visciously by Austria and Italy. If you are not careful
you could end up losing both Bulgaria and a home center.
Alarmed at this I asked him what you should do. Well, I
really did not understand it all. But it involved making
peace with Russia (which I did follow), taking Rumania
from Ankara or Bulgaria, and moving an army to Smyrna.
He said the convoy from Ankara may be best so you do not
get a unit disbanded. If this is not clear, please let
me know and I can ask the Dauphin to write it all down
for me.
I am sure that you have advisors that are equally gifted
in military strategy as the Dauphin thinks he is.
Therefore I am sure that have a great plan in mind. But
because we have a long term agreement to split Europe, I
thought it best to indulge the Dauphin and send you this
information. I felt I should error on insulting your
intelligence rather than with holding an idea which may
improve your security. I apologize in advance if the
former was true.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Turkey to Austria
Tamara,
I trust that your Archduke is doing well and is refreshed after his travels.
I apologize that I did not reply sooner; I was also out of e-mail contact
for a brief but untimely period. This was unexpected and unavoidable, and
it in no way signals Turkish ill-will for Austria. Anyway, down to
business.
> I have been travelling (good weather, amazingly) and regret that I didn't
> get a chance to try to talk you out of the army build. A fleet would seem
> superior both strategically (the army is more useful for attacking
> Austria-Hungary than Italy) and tactically (Gre could have bounced with
Smy
> in Aeg, then slide into Ion behind Eas s Ion-Aeg while Smy stayed put in
the
> fall, cutting off the Italian fleets and killing Italy).
Admittedly, there were many opportunities to the fleet as well. I now find
myself wishing that you had talked me out of it. Since I did not hear from
you, I assumed you had no objection. I assure you that my build was aimed
100% at Russia, not Austria-Hungary. I was too focused on Russia, I
suppose, and I had hoped Italy could be convinced to head west. I now see
this didn't happen.
It is clear that Italy will be ordering the leponto move of Ion-EMS,
Nap-Ion. If you're still with me, you could easily defeat this with
Gre-Ion. This would still enable me to attack Russia while keeping Italy
off my back. What do you say?
> By the way, I haven't studied it yet, but Russia sent a proposal to Italy
> and I jointly, that the three of us cooperate to take you out. I suspect
> that he and Italy have already discussed sandwiching me afterward, but
I'll
> review his proposal to see if there's anything there we can use.
Find anything interesting? I hope that you are not taking them up on this
proposal, as you surely will get sandwiched between them. England and
Germany have apparently decided to go easy on Russia after his rough start.
England writes that he will not be attacking StP, at Germany's request. So
chances seem good that Russia will gain Sweden after all. If you conspire
with Italy and Russia against me, then Russia has a good shot at Rumania as
well (as I will assist him if I'm stabbed).
> More later,
I'm eager to hear the latest news. I hope that we are still on board as we
had planned. We were the only two powers who actually cooperated in the
first year. My feeling is that could give us an advantage, if we only carry
through. I very much hope you're still on board.
I look forward to your reply,
Ali Baba
Message from Turkey to Italy
Roberto,
Well I guess this is where it all becomes clear. I do indeed have a "Kick
Me" sign painted squarely on my back, and you're the one wearing the boots.
I can only hope that our earlier conversations will bear fruit, and that
you're on the level regarding IT cooperation. I hope you will write to
confirm, to ease my fears if nothing else.
I have decided against the move to Armenia. Assuming that Austria moves to
Aeg, I will need to defend my home centers somehow. I am attempting a
combination that should leave me in place to attack Serbia as you suggest in
the fall, and still protect Con and Smy.
Regarding the suggestion of Tyr-Vie, I would urge an attack on Trieste
instead. If, as it seems, Austria is comfortable with AI relations, then he
may not defend it, instead attacking Bul and Rum. And if he does move to
Tri, you will surely want to cover Venice and still move to the Adriatic.
I have no doubt that the Czar is urging both you and Austria to join him to
quickly take me out. If you do, you will be left with neighbors who will
come after you eventually. Conversely, if you join with me then you will
have a secure eastern front and an ally you can trust. I will continue to
build armies and move them to places where they do not threaten Italian
interests.
I built as I did largely to demonstrate my intentions, and to show that I
will follow through as we discussed. If you instead move to attack me, I
will do whatever I can to see that Austria reaps the lion's reward from it.
I hate to make threats (and such a puny threat at that)... but I have thrown
my lot in with you, and I'm banking on your goodwill. If that goodwill
turns out not to exist, then I will have few options for survival. If it
comes to that, I will surely lose my mind and there's no telling what I
might do.
In any case, I'm cautiously optimistic that it will not come to that. My
order supporting Tun-Gre has been confirmed; that order will be there in the
move result, and I hope you take advantage of it. I look forward to hearing
from you at your earliest opportunity.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Italy to Germany
> After further investigation, the following appears to be true.
> England didn't know about MOS-STP.
I'm not too sure about this. Shortly after the S1901 moves came in, I got a
message from England. It was a "lots of conservative moves", just staying
in touch type message. At the end, he says "just wondering if you knew why
Russia moved to *FIN*" [emphasis mine]. Mind you, this was after the spring
moves and Russia had only moved to STP. It was a slip and one I don't even
think he knows he did. But, it makes me tend to think he knew about the
move to STP and that it would be going to Finland.
> He also did know that Belgium would be open.
Whether he would have gotten there or not without the Burgundy bounce is
something I guess we'll never know until EoG come out.
> So I didn't really come up with a great theory earlier. But it still
> is instructive to see that France told England that Belgium would be
> open.
>
Yes, and that they are communicating right up until the deadline.
> BTW England has told me that France has agreed NOT to go to
> the MAO. No telling if that's true, of course.
Well, France has agreed not to move to Spa/sc either. So where does the
fleet move? Or does it hold?
> Reading between the lines leads me to believe that E and F
> are working together.
That is my gut feeling as well.
> There is another piece of the puzzle. Your communications with France
> and England. England has hinted more than once that you're seriously
> looking at attacking France. Has England been really trying to get you
> to do this, or is he feeling you out to see where you're going?
I think mostly the former. He's just trying to get me to spill the beans.
Like I said before, I doubt he'd move against France even I if told him I
wanted to. And I'm not about to lose my credibility by lying just to see if
he's being credible or not.
My apologies for delays in responding. I've been quite busy with ART the
past few days.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Turkey to Russia
Czar Nicholas,
I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply sooner. I was out of e-mail contact due to
unexpected but unavoidable circumstances.
I see the same things on the board that you do. I'm sure you've been
writing to AI with plans for the three of you to quickly take me out. You
may hope that if Austria stabs me, I'll throw centers to you. This would
not be my reaction. Austria is too strong for you to take on by yourself,
so if you're interested in turning things around then now is the time.
Here's the bottom line. If you order Sev S Ank-Rum this turn, then I'll be
glad to switch back to RT, and will order Bul S Rum-Ser in the fall, leaving
Rum for you to move into. I realize this move might be with your fleet,
leaving Sev open for a build, but I'd have to trust you not to build in Sev.
Indeed I would hope you'd build armies to shore up your position in the
center.
What do you say? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Ali Baba
P.S. On a personal note, I hope your wife is ok. Nothing in my life is as
important to me as my family, and I know how traumatic it can be when they
are threatened. You have my very best wishes and prayers that all will be
well.
Message from Turkey to England
Ivy,
Sorry I've been out of touch recently. A bad time to be away from e-mail
contact, but nothing I could avoid. In any case, down to business.
I'm beginning to believe that Russia is not so much on the ropes as we'd
like to think. I've been getting the feeling that Austria is about to
double-cross me. As was mentioned in that broadcast, I've got a "Kick Me"
sign on my back, in big red letters, and Italy just bought a new pair of
boots. So, I'm not sure how much trouble I'll be able to give Russia
myself.
This is what usually happens when a power gets "ganged up on" from the
start. Everyone starts worrying, gee, if he goes down fast that'll help
that *other* guy more than me. So things turn around. It wouldn't be far
fetched for Russia to make a comeback.
Still, I share your assessment that we'd both be better off if Russia were
to go away soon. I am reacting to events in the south at the moment, so my
options are limited. However, I've not given up on hopes of defeating the
Czar. Like you, I'm eager to keep ET relations going in a positive
direction, so I thank you for your candor. Let us keep in touch where
Russia is concerned, not to mention other events.
I will be most interested to see how things shake out in the West. I'm sure
you are as well. Hopefully the FG conflict is genuine, in which case you
should have your choice of allies.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Turkey to England
Ivy,
Sorry I've been out of touch recently. A bad time to be away from e-mail
contact, but nothing I could avoid. In any case, down to business.
I'm beginning to believe that Russia is not so much on the ropes as we'd
like to think. I've been getting the feeling that Austria is about to
double-cross me. As was mentioned in that broadcast, I've got a "Kick Me"
sign on my back, in big red letters, and Italy just bought a new pair of
boots. So, I'm not sure how much trouble I'll be able to give Russia
myself.
This is what usually happens when a power gets "ganged up on" from the
start. Everyone starts worrying, gee, if he goes down fast that'll help
that *other* guy more than me. So things turn around. It wouldn't be far
fetched for Russia to make a comeback.
Still, I share your assessment that we'd both be better off if Russia were
to go away soon. I am reacting to events in the south at the moment, so my
options are limited. However, I've not given up on hopes of defeating the
Czar. Like you, I'm eager to keep ET relations going in a positive
direction, so I thank you for your candor. Let us keep in touch where
Russia is concerned, not to mention other events.
I will be most interested to see how things shake out in the West. I'm sure
you are as well. Hopefully the FG conflict is genuine, in which case you
should have your choice of allies.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Turkey to France
Prince Boar,
Sorry I was unable to write sooner. I was away from e-mail contact due to
unexpected and unavoidable circumstances. In any case, now I'm back. A
most unfortunate time to be away, it seems.
I entered my build order based on certain assurances from Italy. You can
see for yourself where those assurances got me. I am indeed wearing a "Kick
Me" sign, and Italy's wearing the boots.
Russia proposed to me that he would support me to Rumania in exchange for RT
peace. I have responded favorably to his overture, and have ordered the
attack he suggested. If he goes through with it, then I intend to keep
things going in that direction. If you're genuinely interested in seeing
Russia recover (and what France wouldn't), then I urge you to write to
Russia and encourage him to follow through. I myself will be acting in
accordance with my promises to Russia, so he would be well-advised to do as
he's promised.
If instead things boil down to an IAR vs. T, then this whole conversation is
moot. In that case, I will surely go insane and there's no telling what I
will do. Obviously I've made a botch of things so far, but the game is
young yet and there's always time to turn things around.
I look forward to hearing any thoughts you may have.
Ali Baba
Message from Turkey to Germany
Freddy,
Sorry it took me so long to respond. Hope things are going well in the
west. Things are franky a mess down here.
I had hoped that I would be able to launch an early campaign against Russia,
but it seems AI had other plans. I very much fear that Austria will stab me
this turn. Also, from what I'm hearing, there seems to be a general
consensus in the West to leave Russia alone. Obviously both of these
developments are bad news for Turkey, especially when taken together.
I'll be trying to hang on down here as best I can. I urge you not to assume
Russia's done for; from where I sit, I think he's got good chances of making
a speedy recovery from his rough start.
Best of luck in the result. Let's keep in touch.
Ali Baba
Message from Italy to Russia
First off, I hope your wife is okay.
>
> > If I 'harass' Turkey while he attacks you, it would force you and
> > Turkey into a defensive alliance and that would not be good
> for Italy.
>
> No, I'm allied with you. At least I thought I was,
> aren't I? If you 'harass' Turkey, this Spring, I'll survive
> and help you against A and T.
>
Sorry, not what I meant. I think what I meant was, that if Austria were to
continue to attack you, I would need to 'harass' Austria otherwise you might
be eliminated and thus IR becomes totally moot. But I don't want to put
myself in a position where I move against Turkey in the spring and then be
forced to move against Austria in the fall. That scenario doesn't help
solve the east one iota. I'm looking for a 3-way coordinated attack on
Turkey or Austria. Turkey seems the more logical choice.
>
> If you're committed to the Turkish attack Ion-EMed,
> Nap-Ion greatly increases Turkey's headaches, and
> will ease the pressure on Sevastopol.
Just got a note from Turkey saying he decided not to move to Armenia arguing
he wanted the unit in case he needed to defend Smy/Con. He must be playing
with a different map because in my eyes, Armenia and Ankara defend Smyrna
with the same force and Con won't need defending for at least another year.
> If you come to an agreement with Austria, any information you
> can provide about his intentions would be appreciated.
>
He doesn't tell me his moves but wants to know, and worse even dictate, my
moves. My patience grows thin.
Again, I hope your family is alright.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from France to Russia
Czar Nicholas:
Sorry to disturb you at a time like this with mundane
things like diplomacy. Perhaps you had time to reflect
upon your predicament in the ER. There is always ample
amount of waiting time in that location.
I have been working on Turkey to change his plans and
instead side with you. He assures me that he is of the
same mind. He claims that he is following through with
the plans that you proposed. I think that you best bet
is to follow through as well.
May you do well enough to get reelected at the next
General Union Election. Oh wait, you need no election,
you are born to power. Your biggest concern is keeping
your head. I can empathize with that.
-- Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali Baba:
I have written Russia as you requested. I have talked
enough with him before that I think that he would follow
through with the plan.
My babbling before on moves was that an Army in Smyrna
would allow you to cover Constantinople or Bulgaria with
the Fleet in the Black Sea. Since I do not know your
plans, it is hard to comment further. But I would guess
that Austria and Italy would move to Eme and Aeg and
Bulgaria is safe as long as it is covered. But I have no
hint at what IA might do.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Austria to Turkey
> I apologize that I did not reply sooner; I was also out of e-mail contact
> for a brief but untimely period. This was unexpected and unavoidable, and
> it in no way signals Turkish ill-will for Austria.
I understand; no apology is necessary, and no ill-will was presumed.
> It is clear that Italy will be ordering the leponto move of Ion-EMS,
> Nap-Ion. If you're still with me, you could easily defeat this with
> Gre-Ion. This would still enable me to attack Russia while keeping Italy
> off my back. What do you say?
If I act so clearly against Italy's interest, I'll become his primary
target. I don't doubt that I would prevail, nor that you would prevail
against Russia at this point even without my help. But the resultant
position will be awkward for both of us, with you inland from me. Also, in
fighting Italy, I would probably want to build a fleet, which would become
useless for further expansion.
> Find anything interesting? [in the Russian-Italian proposal for an AIR
> alliance]
They want me to move to Aeg and support Russia to Rumania.
> I hope that you are not taking them up on this proposal, as you surely
> will get sandwiched between them.
Yes, that's apparent enough that I'm looking for something further hidden
behind it. But Russia has nothing to lose by proposing it, and Italy comes
out in good shape whether I accept it or reject it.
> England and Germany have apparently decided to go easy on Russia after his
> rough start. England writes that he will not be attacking StP, at
> Germany's request.
Germany doesn't want Russia to fall too quickly; Russia locked into a
struggle against you and I is perfect for him. I am surprised that England
is going along, but that may be the cost of an EG rather than an FG
alliance.
> So chances seem good that Russia will gain Sweden after all. If you
> conspire with Italy and Russia against me, then Russia has a good shot at
> Rumania as well (as I will assist him if I'm stabbed).
Of course.
I would prefer to keep Italy at worst uncertain about my intentions, until
you get an outside fleet built. Gre-Aeg would help that, and also let you
scream "stab" and set up Russia in the fall. If we go ahead with that, I
can either follow the IR plan completely in the spring (Bud s Sev-Rum),
which lets you take both Rum and Sev in the fall and ruin Russia; or I can
carry on against Russia in the spring, letting you take Rum yourself and
presumably Sev in the fall anyway, while I take War.
Again, if you prefer, I will eschew the fancy play, and go for the straight
AT alliance play immediately. As I warned you earlier, I am perhaps too
enamored of complexity, and I rely on you to advise me if I'm going
overboard.
But in this case, straight alliance play seems likely to lead to an awkward
position in a couple years, where your best strategic play might be to stab
me. I don't look for an ally to bypass his best play out of loyalty, and I
prefer to ensure that my ally always has better expectations by working with
me than stabbing me.
The Archduke has not ordered his forces yet, but he would like to order
Gal-Ukr, Bud-Gal, Ser s Bul-Rum, Gre-Aeg, and Vienna either -Tyr, -Tri, or H
depending on the vibe from Italy. Your thoughts?
Tamara, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to England
Ivy,
> I value your opinion of me, so I should tell you that I, myself, cannot
> attack StP this turn. My highest priority is to survive within the EFG
> triangle and make a friend of either France or Germany. For their own
> mysterious reasons BOTH France and Germany do not want me going for
> StP. Thus, I will not.
Germany's reason isn't mysterious; he wants Russia tied up in conflict, not
eliminated, so he doesn't have to worry about Austria-Hungary on his
southern and eastern borders.
France's reason isn't mysterious; he wants Russia to survive as his
potential ally against either E or G, or both. My information is that it
was France who encouraged Russia's opening to StP, as he feared an EG
alliance and wanted to ensure that E, at least, had to focus elsewhere.
I urge you to at least support Den-Swe, which certainly would promote EG
amity, and keep alive the possibility of Nwy-StP in the fall.
Edna, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Italy to Russia
Nick,
If Turkey has shown an interest in convoying Ank-Rum, I would not be opposed
to seeing you support such a move. It would give me a free shot at Smyrna
in the fall, with Austrian support of course but it shouldn't be difficult
to convince him to help me. AIR would be able to take Rumania from Turkey
in the fall.
Not sure if Turkey has asked for this support from you but just thought I'd
check.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Austria
> But I would still prefer the army to move to Boh, so that I don't
> have to consider my vulnerability to a stab which includes Tyr-Tri
> in the fall.
Russia has told me flat out that if I move to Bohemia, any deal involving
AIR against Turkey would be out of the question. I'd prefer to hold in
Tyrolia until progress has been made on Turkey.
I have no doubts that taking Warsaw from Russia will be a simple exercise in
tactics whenever we decide to make that move.
I'll be much more comfortable moving the army north once I have another
fleet in hand to defend against anything France might have in mind and we're
well on our way to finishing off Turkey.
I understand your analysis and definitely reconsidered the move but I think
it best for Italy to hold Tyrolia at this point. I'm glad to hear that it
will not jeapordize our alliance because I think we have the best shot at
making progress than anybody else. I might be proven wrong here shortly,
but that's what I think as an aside observer just looking at the map for the
first time.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to Turkey
> Message from Turkey to Russia in 'titleist':
> Here's the bottom line. If you order Sev S Ank-Rum this turn,
> then I'll be glad to switch back to RT, and will order Bul S Rum-Ser
> in the fall, leaving Rum for you to move into.
Consider it so ordered.
In Haste,
Nick.
Message from Italy to Russia
One last thing. Austria has been encouraging Tyr-Boh. I've tried to
explain to him that I would like to use Tyr to influence the Western powers
but that didn't seem to be enough for him. So, I told him that you told me
that if I moved to Bohemia, you would not help us in attacking Turkey. In
case Austria asks for confirmation, thought you might want to know that I
slipped a small white lie to Austria.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to all
My thanks to everyone for their well-wishes. The good news is that the
doctors ruled out any life-threatening, critical causes for the pain my wife
is experiencing. The
bad news is, they're not quite sure what is causing it. We'll be motoring
off to see our family physician in the morning, so please forgive me if my
responses are not as prompt or as detailed as they have been in the next day
or two. Once again, our thanks.
Nick, Alexandra, and Alexi.
Message from Russia to Italy
Roberto,
I understand your reluctance to order Ion - EMed, and don't have a
problem with it. Everything seems to suggest that Austria has no true
interest in a peaceful relationship with me. I'll order appropriately.
Nick.
Message from Austria to Turkey
I know it's only been 4 hours, but I haven't heard from you following my
last message, and it's less than half an hour to deadline. I will be going
ahead with my own proposal, and hoping you aren't too offended. I really,
really want your fleets at the front of the assault on Italy, and don't want
to start a war with him myself when you can't take any Italian SCs.
My orders will be:
Gre - Aeg
Bud s Bul-Rum
Gal - Ukr
Ser - Bul
Vie - Gal
The Ser-Bul move will bounce Con-Bul, so you won't have two armies on my
border at once.
This will look very stabby, and you should be able to convince Russia to
"work together," so we'll end up taking War and Sev while holding Rum in the
fall.
Tamara, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to Turkey
OK, now I'm confused. I thought the judge was on US eastern time? It looks
like it's on central time.
I'll be around until shortly before the deadline.
Tamara, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Turkey to England
Ivy,
Sorry I've been out of touch recently. A bad time to be away from e-mail
contact, but nothing I could avoid. In any case, down to business.
I'm beginning to believe that Russia is not so much on the ropes as we'd
like to think. I've been getting the feeling that Austria is about to
double-cross me. As was mentioned in that broadcast, I've got a "Kick Me"
sign on my back, in big red letters, and Italy just bought a new pair of
boots. So, I'm not sure how much trouble I'll be able to give Russia
myself.
This is what usually happens when a power gets "ganged up on" from the
start. Everyone starts worrying, gee, if he goes down fast that'll help
that *other* guy more than me. So things turn around. It wouldn't be far
fetched for Russia to make a comeback.
Still, I share your assessment that we'd both be better off if Russia were
to go away soon. I am reacting to events in the south at the moment, so my
options are limited. However, I've not given up on hopes of defeating the
Czar. Like you, I'm eager to keep ET relations going in a positive
direction, so I thank you for your candor. Let us keep in touch where
Russia is concerned, not to mention other events.
I will be most interested to see how things shake out in the West. I'm sure
you are as well. Hopefully the FG conflict is genuine, in which case you
should have your choice of allies.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Turkish Army Bulgaria → Rumania (*void*)
Austria: Army Galicia → Ukraine
Austria: Fleet Greece → Aegean Sea
Austria: Army Serbia → Bulgaria (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Vienna → Galicia
England: Army Belgium SUPPORT German Army Munich → Burgundy
England: Fleet Edinburgh → North Sea
England: Fleet London SUPPORT Fleet North Sea → English Channel
England: Fleet North Sea → English Channel
England: Fleet Norway HOLD
France: Fleet Brest → English Channel (*bounce*)
France: Army Paris → Burgundy (*bounce*)
France: Army Picardy SUPPORT Army Paris → Burgundy
France: Fleet Portugal HOLD
France: Army Spain → Gascony
Germany: Fleet Berlin → Baltic Sea
Germany: Fleet Denmark SUPPORT Fleet Berlin → Baltic Sea
Germany: Army Holland SUPPORT Army Kiel → Ruhr (*void*)
Germany: Army Kiel SUPPORT Army Holland
Germany: Army Munich → Burgundy (*bounce*)
Italy: Fleet Ionian Sea → Eastern Mediterranean
Italy: Fleet Naples → Ionian Sea
Italy: Army Tunis HOLD
Italy: Army Tyrolia HOLD
Russia: Army Finland → Gulf of Bothnia → Livonia
Russia: Fleet Gulf of Bothnia CONVOY Army Finland → Livonia
Russia: Fleet Sevastopol SUPPORT Turkish Army Ankara → Rumania
Russia: Army Ukraine → Warsaw
Turkey: Army Ankara → Black Sea → Rumania
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea CONVOY Army Ankara → Rumania
Turkey: Army Bulgaria SUPPORT Italian Army Tunis → Greece (*void*)
Turkey: Army Constantinople → Smyrna
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