|
|
Message from Russia to Turkey
> Adjustment orders for Winter of 1909. (titleist.037)
>
> Turkey: Removes the army in Ankara.
Interesting... Is there anything in particular you'd like to do with
your Fleet?
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
If I reveal a State Secret, do I have your word of honor that it
will not be passed on to other Powers?
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I will not pass on your comments (secret) to anyone because your
specifically asked me not to do so. I can betray people in a game of
diplomacy with my moves. But making a promise like this is a matter of
personal honor, something that I value. So I will not pass on your
secret or even admit that I know one, you have my word of honor.. So if
you choose to tell me, it will be safe. Besides, you are the only one
that I really trust in this game. (As well as the only one that I want
to work with at all)
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> I will not pass on your comments (secret) to anyone because your
> specifically asked me not to do so. I can betray people in a game of
> diplomacy with my moves. But making a promise like this is a matter of
> personal honor, something that I value. So I will not pass on your
> secret or even admit that I know one, you have my word of honor.. So if
> you choose to tell me, it will be safe. Besides, you are the only one
> that I really trust in this game. (As well as the only one that I want
> to work with at all)
My thanks. If I did not trust you, I would not have asked the question,
since without trust, such a promise is meaningless. Before I share the
Intelligence coup with you, however, I need to ask a question to confirm
the reliability of my source. Have you heard from Turkey recently, or
perhaps suggested that he support Mos-Sev this Fall, or disband his
Army, rather than his Fleet?
Conspiritorially Yours, ;^}
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>Have you heard from Turkey recently, or
>perhaps suggested that he support Mos-Sev this Fall, or disband his
>Army, rather than his Fleet?
I have not heard from Turkey in about 2 game years. I always write him
at least once. After the fall moves I wrote to him the following:
==begin note==
Ali:
I guess that the end is finally near. I again apologize
for my part in your elimination. I could have strayed
from my course the last two years, but I guess that you
were too fed up to try and get me to. At this point
there is probably little reason to talk about it. If you
want to take one final stab at Italy rather than die, let
me know and we can ponder it. If you prefer to just die
in silence, that is fine as well. Either way I wish you
the best.
--Prince Boar
==end note==
He did not write back. I was going to ask him to keep the fleet, but I
was too busy and did not get the chance.
--Xavier
Message from France to all
1909 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and
Everything.
- by Prince Xavier Boar
[Hello this is Richard S. acting as this year's
commentator. My contract states that I can reveal my
identity as was true with the last commentator. I am a
bit disappointed in that Prince Boar will not be
lecturing this year. I guess that he was afraid of my
*sharp* wit!]
Hello good people of France. I will keep this State of
the Union speech short because I am excited about our
guest speaker. Things were looking very good, but they
are a bit shaky now. Rest assured that the Dauphin and I
will do our best. Just assume that I took my usual shot
at Ivy and sent warm fuzzies to Italy and Russia.
[Notice how short he kept his speech, fearing my *sharp*
tongue of critique!]
Philosophy
Our guest speaker today is Henri Bergson. He is a
Faculty member at the College de France. He has occupied
a chair in Greek Philosophy and now one in Modern
Philosophy. I consider him a teacher, a mentor, and a
good friend of France. His recently finish work (1907)
"Creative Evolution" is sure to someday be considered for
the Noble Prize. Without further ado, here is Professor
Bergson.
Bonjour. There is two things that I wish to teach you
about today. First that the world (through evolution)
has purpose and meaning, and I assure you that God is
still there. The second is that the primary function of
human intelligence is to to go to the heart of things, to
understand objects and events in the real world exactly
as they are. Let's start with the first goal ....
[Blah, blah, blah. I think that it is time to just end
this thing.]
[Richard S.]
[It is a good thing that they are paying me so well to
comment on this thing. Otherwise it would be unbearable.
I better cash this check before France collapses.]
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
I have been sending Rasputin to Ankara with messages two or three
times a year since the Turks occupied Moscow. Since he is a holy man,
he has been able to pass through enemy lines without being harassed.
Rasputin is also a Mystic, with powers from God, (you may have heard
how he has helped my son, Alexi, who has the bleeding disease), and I
believe that Rasputin has gained influence over a key member of the
Ottoman Imperial General Staff.
Last Fall he returned from Ankara with a brief note offering Turkish
support, and my request for support into Sevastopol was acted upon.
Further negotiations with Italy made me decide to attempt to recapture
Warsaw, instead, since I had not received indications from Rasputin
that he had been successful in his entreaty. After the Fall results came
in, I dispatched Rasputin again, with instructions for the Turks to keep
their Fleet. You can see the results.
Rasputin is back in Ankara at the moment trying to learn if there is
something in particular that the Turks desire, but there has been no
response as of yet. None the less, I believe that we can use the Turks
against Italy this year, if you'd care to consider that option. (Who says
there's no reason to write to someone who doesn't write back?)
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from England to Italy and Russia
France now has seven armies. That's a lot of power once they get
organized. The army situation in the center of the board will be
important. This is what I was thinking of when I built two armies a couple
of years ago. That wasn't the smartest decision, though, given my
limitations.
I worry about the Russian fleet. In its current location it can be
vaporized when France gets to Burgundy and/or Ruhr. If we can get it to
Holland it will be safe. We can hold northwestern Europe with units in
Holland, Kiel, Berlin, and Silesia.
Some moves. First draft.
North Sea supp Belgium->Holland
Kiel supp Belgium->Holland
Berlin->Munich
Channel->Picardy
Irish Sea supp NAO->MAO
[Alternatively, Holland could be attacked from Yorkshire. Or Kiel could
support Berlin->Munich]
Norway->Sweden (then Sweden->Denmark in the fall)
Ukraine->Galicia
Warsaw->Silesia (pretty please)
Moscow->StP or Warsaw
Then there's that @*^&*% Turkish fleet.
Sevastopol->Armenia?
Constantinople->Ankara?
Smyrna->Constantinople?
Who knows?; this is tricky. Idalia will have to decide how to handle this.
Ivy
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Interesting factoid (Rasputian and Turkey). I was
thinking about how to involve Turkey against Italy. My
thoughts were to just send him requests and hope for the
best. When noticing his support for you I thought that
perhaps you would be the one to enlist his help. It
seems that the second thought was more on target than I
thought. Whatever you did, congratulations, nice job.
How to use it though? In the spring you probably want
him to hit Rumania to increase both our odds of taking
centers from Italy. In the fall, we should try to help
him get Rumania from Italy. You could support it from
Sevastopol? I really need to study the map, but I was
thinking that you could order Ukr to Sev in the Spring
and then Moscow to Warsaw in the fall. This would
require Kiel -> Prussia or Silesia in the spring.
I was thinking about committing more forces in the south.
I cannot cover both the south and the north. By doing
this we risk English growth. But if we can eliminate
Italy, we could then turn and prevent England from
winning. Yes, I said winning! Add Bel, Hol, Ber, Mun,
and Swe to his 7 centers and you get 12. With me
committed in the south, he has access to Balkan and
French centers, and he might advance on Russia. So we
need to make fast work of Italy in order to prevent that.
We also need to get you your home centers back so that
you can build and defend your homeland from England.
With me committing to the south, if you actively help
England in the north, he will bust through my line and
probably win. So I need you to help me hold him back in
the North. Think of it as not only repayment for all
that I have done for you in the North (continually
supporting your German positions rather than moving
south) and think of it as necessary to keep yourself from
losing.
If you truly want to eliminate everyone that own a
Russian center (besides yourself), then your only option
is a two-way with me. We are a long way from that, but
if we eliminate Italy and give him enough resources from
it, and I slowly lose ground to England, we may end up
closer to even and then can decide whether to go for ERF
or FR. Since FR is a long way off, lets just focus on
EFR for now. But let's not allow E solo!
--Xavier
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
Our boy Italy wrote me two (two!) notes in one day. He's feeling his oats
all of a sudden.
I had written him privately to point out the obvious. Without a viable
Russia, we are all still dead. I cannot defend Belgium/Holland/Kiel/Berlin
by myself. France now has seven(!) armies and if the line in northern
Europe collapses, then France gets all of them and the game is over.
Italy wrote back to say that he had no intention of trying to eliminate
you. Then in a separate note, he asked about the necessity of
Warsaw->Silesia. My response:
"Silesia is the key to Holland/Kiel/Berlin. France will set up in Ruhr and
Munich. If he gets to Silesia before we do, then Berlin is in trouble. If
we get to Silesia first, then northern Europe is fairly safe."
[Italy had suggested that it would be more natural for Russia to occupy
Silesia]
"Right. So let's look at this carefully. Berlin can also be defended from
Prussia. Maybe we can get a Russian army in Silesia or Prussia before
France gets to Silesia. Something like
Warsaw->Galicia, Ukraine->Warsaw. Not sure. I just know that an
immediate Warsaw->Silesia puts the matter beyond doubt. If we did do this,
the I could see Silesia->Bohemia or Silesia->Galicia as soon as Russia
could bring up a replacement. So, yes, let's consider moves other than
Warsaw->Silesia if you are
uncomfortable with that, but they ought to be moves that secure Berlin,
Kiel, etc."
I'm pretty sure that I prefer Warsaw->Silesia to guarantee northern safety,
but if anyone (you, Italy, me) can find a different safe way to the same
goal, that would be fine.
Ivy
Message from Russia to all
Busy. More later.
Message from Master to all
This is your gentle reminder to submit an E.O.Y report, if you're
so inclined.
Doug
Message [from Russia] to all
>Broadcast message from masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master in 'titleist':
>
>This is your gentle reminder to submit an E.O.Y report, if you're
>so inclined.
Or even if you're not so inclined. :)
Message [from France] to all
>Broadcast message in 'titleist':
>Or even if you're not so inclined. :)
We know that is you Ivy :)
You just forgot to "mess up" and let us know.
Message from Turkey to Russia
> Interesting... Is there anything in particular you'd like to do with
> your Fleet?
More to the point, is there anything in particular you would like to do with
it? The fleet, so long as it remains, is at your disposal.
Ali
Message from Italy to England and Russia
Italy's first draft:
England
===================
nor - swe ( -> den in the fall)
nth s bel - hol
kie s ber - mun
eng - pic
nao - mao
iri s nao - mao
yor - wal (in case eng->pic is successful and France move bre-eng, then
Wales and North Sea can be used to self-bounce in London without worry of
France convoying to Wales.
Italy
===================
war - sil
sev - arm
rum s ukr - gal (or rum->bud but that has drawbacks in dealing with the TF)
Russia
===================
ukr - gal
mos - ukr
bel - hol
ber - mun
I like Mos->Ukr this spring because it can be used against the TF in the
fall if needed or can move to Warsaw in the fall if not needed against the
TF. In addition, there is no guarantee that War->Sil won't bounce so I'd
hate to waste Mos-War in that event.
I like the double attack on Holland/Munich. If Tyrolia tries to move deeper
into Austria, Holland would have to hit Kiel to defend Munich but then it
would be dislodged. Probably a trade of Belgium for Holland but that's a
better position for us to defend. Plus, it requires me to move War->Sil
(something the both of you want) to prevent the retreat.
That just leaves the southeast corner. I've actually considered 'Ser s
Bul-Gre' and 'Smy s Con-Aeg' but I'm certainly open to suggestions.
Ser->Tri/Bud certainly has merit as well as does Con->Ank (in conjunction
with Sev->Arm should take Ankara in the fall for sure). Let me know what
you guys think might be best. I would think it probable Turkey will go down
helping France but I can't be sure.
Idalia
Message from England to Italy and Russia
>Italy's first draft:
>
>England
>===================
>nor - swe ( -> den in the fall)
>nth s bel - hol
>kie s ber - mun
>
>eng - pic
>nao - mao
>iri s nao - mao
>
>yor - wal (in case eng->pic is successful and France move bre-eng, then
>Wales and North Sea can be used to self-bounce in London without worry of
>France convoying to Wales.
This is completely compatible with my suggestions. I like the
Yorkshire->Wales idea. I did worry about the very slight chance of
Brest->Channel succeeding, but then I would get the Mid-Atlantic. I think
France gets the worst of that deal.
I think the sine qua non is that Russia has to be in Warsaw in the
fall. That can be accomplished with the moves you suggest below, and they
are fine with me. Here is an alternative to consider: Warsaw->Prussia,
Moscow->Warsaw. Those moves are guaranteed to work, and we could then do
Warsaw supp Prussia->Silesia in the fall.
The Turkey situation is going to involve guesswork no matter how you cut
it. I really don't think Turkey has or will communicate with
France. France is guessing Turkey's moves just as we are. That's one
reason why France stumbled last turn.
Ivy
>Italy
>===================
>war - sil
>sev - arm
>rum s ukr - gal (or rum->bud but that has drawbacks in dealing with the TF)
>
>Russia
>===================
>ukr - gal
>mos - ukr
>bel - hol
>ber - mun
>
>I like Mos->Ukr this spring because it can be used against the TF in the
>fall if needed or can move to Warsaw in the fall if not needed against the
>TF. In addition, there is no guarantee that War->Sil won't bounce so I'd
>hate to waste Mos-War in that event.
>
>I like the double attack on Holland/Munich. If Tyrolia tries to move deeper
>into Austria, Holland would have to hit Kiel to defend Munich but then it
>would be dislodged. Probably a trade of Belgium for Holland but that's a
>better position for us to defend. Plus, it requires me to move War->Sil
>(something the both of you want) to prevent the retreat.
>
>That just leaves the southeast corner. I've actually considered 'Ser s
>Bul-Gre' and 'Smy s Con-Aeg' but I'm certainly open to suggestions.
>Ser->Tri/Bud certainly has merit as well as does Con->Ank (in conjunction
>with Sev->Arm should take Ankara in the fall for sure). Let me know what
>you guys think might be best. I would think it probable Turkey will go down
>helping France but I can't be sure.
>
>Idalia
Message from Italy to England and Russia
> I like the Yorkshire->Wales idea.
> I did worry about the very slight chance of
> Brest->Channel succeeding, but then I would get the
> Mid-Atlantic. I think France gets the worst of that deal.
>
The moves that went thru my mind were bre-eng; pic-bel; spa s mao. In this
case, you don't get the MAO but rather Picardy and France is in the Channel.
Who gets the worst of that deal is up for debate.
As an aside, I doubt France will order as to risk losing the MAO so I expect
to see bre s mao & spa s mao.
> Here is an alternative to consider: Warsaw->Prussia,
> Moscow->Warsaw. Those moves are guaranteed to work, and we
> could then do Warsaw supp Prussia->Silesia in the fall.
>
The only concern I would have is that FA Silesia can adversely effect
Galicia next fall.
> I really don't think Turkey has or will communicate with
> France. France is guessing Turkey's moves just as we are.
>
Maybe, but I can't assume that to be true. I'll make my best educated guess
though.
Idalia
Message from Russia to Turkey
(Hand-delivered under seal by Gregory Rasputin since it is easier
for Holy Men to pass through the lines.)
Ali, My Friend,
> More to the point, is there anything in particular you would like
> to do with it? The fleet, so long as it remains, is at your disposal.
My thanks. I'm trying to balance the necessity of preventing the
French Solo with avoiding being eliminated by EI as they strive
for a three-way draw with France. So, I'm thinking that if you
support France to Bul/SC this Spring, he can then support you
into Rum or Con in the Fall. If you have any ideas, I would
welcome them, but I would encourage you to maintain your
silence toward England and Italy for obvious reasons. As my
plans for this Spring come together, I will be in touch.
Nick.
Message from Russia to all
> 1909 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and Everything.
> - by Prince Xavier Boar
> The primary function of human intelligence is to go to
> the heart of things, to understand objects and events
> in the real world exactly as they are.
"Does a tree falling alone in a forest make any sound?"
Isn't human understanding a function of individual interpretation, and
isn't it therefore influenced by our different experience and perceptive
limitations? In attempting to understand objects and events in the real
world, do we not influence and alter those events and objects, making
their fundamental nature inherently unknowable?
The living entity's original constitutional position is pure spirit. But a
human being who identifies with the material body may be said to be
in Maya. Maya means "not this." In the twilight, a curled-up rope is
sometimes mistaken for a snake. The imagined snake is "not this"
rope. One thing is mistaken for another. Thus beguiled by Maya, the
conditioned living entity considers the body to be the soul.
However, how can we mistake the rope for a snake unless we know
what a snake is? The conception of a snake is not in itself untrue or
unreal. The false identity is untrue or unreal. Similarly, the material
body is a product of Maya, the material energy of the Lord. Similarly,
the material world is ever manifest and again annihilated, just as waves
in the sea rise and recede. Thus the material world is a product of
Maya, just as the body is.
Therefore, in attempting to understand the "real world", you are
blinding yourself with illusion. The primary function of human intelligence
is, therefore, to understand itself, and its place in the true world of the
spirit.
Gregory Rasputin.
Message from Russia to all
"Moscow Izvestia"
by: Alix Hesse-Darmstadt January 15,
1910
A bruised, battered, and torn nation keeps vigil tonight as Czar
Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandria return to Moscow and convene
an emergency meeting of the Council of Advisors as the sounds
of war grow ever closer.
Sources report that Finance Minister, Sergei Witte, returned from
Siberia where he has been overseeing the construction of the
Trans-Siberian Railway, and began the meeting by tossing fistfuls
of Lira onto the council table; protesting the drain on expected
revenues that Italian occupation of Warsaw and Sevastopol had
caused, and warning the Czar that financial insolvency was likely
and that construction of the TSR would have to be cut back, if
not halted completely. "The economy is in near ruin and if action
is not taken quickly to drive the Italians from Russian soil, the
Empire will fall.", proclaimed the Finance Minister.
The issue of the continued occupation of St. Petersburg by the
English was raised by Union Steward V. I. Lenin. Lenin warned
that worker morale was suffering, and that this was negatively
impacting Production, pointing to the loss of Kiel and Holland
this Fall. Though Lenin did not mention it, revolutionary
pamphleteering has also increased sharply.
Okhrana signals experts reported that while there was no
evidence that the Turkish General Staff was responding to any
messages sent to Ankara, intercepts indicated that the French
continue their efforts to influence Turkish military planning. The
Okhrana analysts speculate that this is the most likely reason for
the continued Turkish occupation of the Black Sea, though they
were forced to admit that they had no hard evidence to support
this assertion. The signals experts also warned of increased
communication between England and Italy, and the possibility of
Anglo-Italian cooperation to further reduce Russian holdings.
Tsarina Alexandria made a calm but emotional plea to the
advisors to remain focused and to maintain trust in, and allegiance
to, the Czar; but while the Tsarina received due respect, the
presence of the "Mad Monk" Rasputin at her side has continued
to diminish her influence with all but Czar Nicholas.
Organized citizen rallies are on the decline, though strikes continue
to plague the economy, and widespread food shortages are
reported. Unrest and violence is becoming rampant as foreign
forces continue to occupy Russian cities. The question is will the
citizens rise up against the enemies of the State or the against the
Czar himself? .
Message from Russia to Master and Observer
Russian EoY for 1909:
Well, it's 1910. The good news is that I'm still here, and
Turkey, the third Power to take Home Centers from me
without my consent, is about to be eliminated. The bad
news is, I'm STILL at four Centers, and Italy is sitting in
War and Sev with an unusable build.
Italy claims that he stabbed into War this Spring because
I deceived him, though I can't find that I said anything
untrue or deceptive to him after a review of every letter
we have exchanged since F1907B. Hopefully he'll
address this in his EoY.
England wanted to move Den-Kie, "to defend against a
French stab", even though such a stab would not have
given a winning position, and France had no reason to
stab me as long as I was taking Centers from England,
but I conceded to England's wishes in the hope that Italy
would also move War-Sil, and I would be able to build
a fifth Army in Moscow.
Italy tried to take Moscow, instead, but seems to have
come around now that I have declared in favor of EIR
vs. F. We'll have to see whether EI think they can
eliminate me, and still stop France, or whether they
realize that France is still a big enough threat that they
need my help.
Nick.
Message from Russia to England and Italy
> Message from England to Italy and Russia in 'titleist':
> I worry about the Russian fleet. In its current location it can be
> vaporized when France gets to Burgundy and/or Ruhr. If we
> can get it to Holland it will be safe.
F Hol is not really threatened this Spring, so it seems like it would
be a mistake to pull back at this point. We want to pressure France
don't we? France does have seven Armies, true, but he's also got
two widely separated fronts to fight on.
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> Interesting factoid (Rasputian and Turkey).
Knowing that you were sending him suggestions, I've maintained
to EI that you must be still doing so.
> Whatever you did, congratulations, nice job.
I didn't really do anything other than giving him Sev early on,
and continuing to write after he took Mos. *shrug*
> How to use it though?
My thought was to have him support you into Bul or Con, and
then try to get him into Rum, Bul, Con or Ank.
> I was thinking about committing more forces in the south.
> I cannot cover both the south and the north. By doing
> this we risk English growth. We also need to get you
> your home centers back so that you can build and defend
> your homeland from England.
Given that I allowed Den-Keil and EIR is at 7-8-4, I'm going to
try to insist that I grow before England does.
> With me committing to the south, if you actively help
> England in the north, he will bust through my line and
> probably win. So I need you to help me hold him back
> in the North.
You could tell me your alternative moves for your Northern
Defense, and I could offer my advice, about what I think
would be most effective... ;^} I can't afford to actively help
you until my own position is more secure.
> If you truly want to eliminate everyone that own a
> Russian center (besides yourself), then your only option
> is a two-way with me.
Well, so far England has not taken a Home Center from me
without permission, so he doesn't HAVE to be eliminated... 8-)
The move to StP was part of the anti-German campaign.
> But let's not allow E solo!
My goal is to let no-one solo other than me. ;^} (Since I see
no way for that to happen, I'll accept a draw, and settle for
survival if it's the best I can manage.)
Nick.
Message from Russia to England and Italy
> Message from Italy to England and Russia in 'titleist':
> > Here is an alternative to consider: Warsaw->Prussia,
> > Moscow->Warsaw. Those moves are guaranteed to work,
> > and we could then do Warsaw S Prussia->Silesia in the fall.
> The only concern I would have is that FA Silesia can
> adversely effect Galicia next fall.
How about Mos-Lvn, War-Sil, Ukr-Gal this Spring then?
> > I really don't think Turkey has or will communicate with
> > France. France is guessing Turkey's moves just as we are.
>
> Maybe, but I can't assume that to be true. I'll make my best
> educated guess though.
It seems unlikely that Turkey is writing to France. Turkey isn't
writing to anyone else, and France has denied hearing from
Turkey since Ali went silent. France did admit to requesting the
support into Aeg back in S1908M, though, so I'd be willing to
bet that France is still proposing moves to Turkey, and the fact
that Turkey kept the Fleet might means he's still listening. If so,
that suggests an attack on Con or Bul.
In Alliance,
Nick.
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
> If I know France, he has been bombarding you with mail,
> speaking calmly, wisely and making sense. Please be careful.
He's hardly bombarded me. He wrote to express his
disappointment in my Fall moves, and then to play up the danger
that you and Italy will try to eliminate me for an EFI 3-way, (like
I wasn't aware of that already), and the danger of your solo if I
support you too strongly against him in the North. 8-)
> I hope that we can push this game toward a configuration that
> is balanced between the four of us. [...]
This sounds nice, but I'll believe it when I have War and StP
back, and seven or eight Units on the board. It's not that I don't
trust you two, it's just that I'm half the size of either one of you,
and that leads to thoughts of imminent elimination.
Nick.
Message from England to Italy and Russia
>F Hol is not really threatened this Spring, so it seems like it would
>be a mistake to pull back at this point.
If the fleet was ever dislodged from Holland it can still retreat to
Helgoland and remain useful. If dislodged from Belgium, it vanishes.
However, Belgium-> Holland is not something I feel that strongly about. Do
you have an alternative suggestion?
Perhaps something like Nth supp Kiel->Holland, Berlin->Kiel? We would
still need Channel->Picardy.
Or ... ?
*******
On another subject:
>> > Here is an alternative to consider: Warsaw->Prussia,
>> > Moscow->Warsaw. Those moves are guaranteed to work,
>> > and we could then do Warsaw S Prussia->Silesia in the fall.
>
>> The only concern I would have is that FA Silesia can
>> adversely effect Galicia next fall.
>
>How about Mos-Lvn, War-Sil, Ukr-Gal this Spring then?
I don't even like my own suggestion very much, mostly because I think that
Warsaw->Silesia will succeed. So yes, the moves Mos-Lvn, War-Sil, Ukr-Gal
are fine with me.
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
> ... and the danger of your solo if I
>support you too strongly against him in the North. 8-)
MY solo!? Drat. I hoped no one would notice.
>> I hope that we can push this game toward a configuration that
>> is balanced between the four of us. [...]
>
>This sounds nice, but I'll believe it when I have War and StP
>back, and seven or eight Units on the board.
Exactly. I predict that you will get Warsaw and StP smoothly. No sweat.
But sparks may fly when you try to reclaim Sevastopol. I hope that you
don't bring it up this turn for fear that Italy may do something screwy.
I support the return of Sevastopol for perfectly selfish reasons. Your
being able to build a southern fleet will be a check on Italy. Also, he
needs Sevastopol to rebuild that stalemate line that he almost had once.
There is no threat to the world if Russia owns Sevastopol. The problem
comes when the owner of the southwest corner and the Balkans has it.
Ivy
Message from England to all
>"Does a tree falling alone in a forest make any sound?"
>
>Isn't human understanding a function of individual interpretation, ...
>The living entity's original constitutional position is pure spirit. But a
>human being who identifies with the material body may be said to be
>in Maya. ...
>However, how can we mistake the rope for a snake ... The primary function
>of human intelligence is, therefore, to understand itself, and its place
>in the true world of the spirit.
>Gregory Rasputin. ...
... who was intent on continuing, when Groucho, Harpo, and Chico turned
from pelting the hapless Margaret Dumont with tomatoes and redirected all
their frustrations at the even greater insanity coming from eastern Europe.
Message from France to all
Sacre Bulle!
All this talk of philosophy. I say we take Rasputin &
Bergson and put them together in a room, then throw in my
brother, lock the door and throw away the key. (I was
tempted to include Ivy too because of his contribution to
the discussions, but although we have our differences, I
would not punish anyone that much.)
Philosophy, Bah!
I say we end our differences, shake hands, and then get
together to invade Germany and take over Frederick's hot
tub!
LE DAUPHIN
Message from France to all
Mes Amis:
Did anyone go see Harry Potter? If so, or if you go
soon, please let me know if you think that it might be
too scary for an 6 and 8 year old. The Dauphin wants to
see it and he cannot handle too much excitement!
(Seriously, I am debating whether I should take my kids.
Any opinions would be much appreciated!)
France
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I forgot to say thank you for trusting me. I appreciate
that you would trust me. I will not betray that trust.
I have been very accommodating with you, continually
giving in to your preferences in the North. I admit that
I was doing so partly to prevent your siding with
England, but it was done as a genuine attempt to help you
grow. I also point out that it was a sacrifice on my
part in that I delayed moving forces south and I am
paying for that now.
I feel that I will once again have to be accommodating,
but I do believe that it is also your turn to do so as
well. If you want me to expend the effort necessary in
the south to help you eliminate the Italian threat, then
I will be very exposed in the North. I WILL need your
help. If it is not active help, it must at least be
neutrality. You cannot help England advance on my
position.
I do realize your dilemma, but we must both share the
risks. Consider the following:
Ber -> Kie s by Mun
Hol -> Ruh
Bel -> Hol
This drives England back out of Germany and consolidates
your position.
I would be willing to help protect Belgium if it is
necessary for you to build. (Chances are that Hol and
Bel might bounce, but you could find out about that I
suppose). Ideally, Bel -> Hol would bounce with Yor ->
Hol). You could get Turkey to help you take back
Sevastopol or take St. Petes, but you would want to try
to do it in a way that would allow you to build.
Speaking of Turkey, I am willing to try my best to help
him get a center in the fall. But I think that it is a
very bad idea to help him take one in the Spring. The
reason is that if he is in the Black Sea, there are so
many options that Italy could not cover them all. With
our help, we could get him a center. But if he moved to
one in the Spring, then Italy could concentrate his
effort to bounce him out with no where to go. Even if he
risked allowing you and I to take other centers, getting
rid of that fleet in the Black Sea would be a priority
for him.
--Xavier
Message from England to all
Did anyone else see the meteor shower?
My wife and I and a friend drove into the country to a dark spot at 4:30
a.m. this morning and saw about 1000 meteors in a little over an hour.
Spectacular.
I haven't seen Harry Potter yet. We expect to see it this holiday weekend
with our younger son, who is considerably older than Prince Boars children.
Ivy Wingo
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> I forgot to say thank you for trusting me. I appreciate
> that you would trust me. I will not betray that trust.
(Unless it will get you the Solo...)
> I have been very accommodating with you, continually
> giving in to your preferences in the North. I admit that
> I was doing so partly to prevent your siding with
> England, but it was done as a genuine attempt to help you
> grow. I also point out that it was a sacrifice on my
> part in that I delayed moving forces south and I am
> paying for that now.
I do appreciate your accomodation, but I did suggest that
you pull back from Ruh and Mun, and your hesitancy was
based on your own security, rather than mine, if I recall
correctly.
> I feel that I will once again have to be accommodating,
> but I do believe that it is also your turn to do so as
> well. If you want me to expend the effort necessary in
> the south to help you eliminate the Italian threat, then
> I will be very exposed in the North. I WILL need your
> help. If it is not active help, it must at least be
> neutrality. You cannot help England advance on my
> position.
I feel that I must appear to support the EIR vs. F cause
this year, in order to get Italy out of Russia, and to gain a
build and some Centers. That does not mean that we
cannot arrange a French Defense that gains England
nothing while you lose Hol and Mun to Russia, and gain
Bel, Bud, and perhaps Bul.
> I do realize your dilemma, but we must both share the
> risks.
The difference is that your risking the loss of a potenial
solo position, while I'm risking elimination. Both are
serious, but you can still win the tournament as the largest
Power in a draw, elimination gains me nothing but
honorable mention for refusing to give up.
> Speaking of Turkey, I am willing to try my best to help
> him get a center in the fall. But I think that it is a
> very bad idea to help him take one in the Spring.
I agree, that was the plan that Rasputin proposed in his
last trip to Ankara.
Your Stubborn Friend,
Nick.
Message [from Russia] to all
> Broadcast message from England in 'titleist':
>
> >"Does a tree falling alone in a forest make any sound?"
Yes.
http://www.banned-width.com/shel/works/differentdances/treefalling.html
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
> Exactly. I predict that you will get Warsaw and StP smoothly.
> But sparks may fly when you try to reclaim Sevastopol.
As things stand, I don't see myself retaking Sev unless Italy
requests or agrees to it, or France + Italy < 18. The moment
I start building Fleets in Sev, Italy becomes expendable.
Nick.
Message from Russia to England and Italy
My First Draft: (I'm not overly invested in any of these moves.)
England
==================================
F NORTH SEA S Bel - Hol
F ENGLISH CHANNEL - Pic (or S Iri - MAO)
F NAO S Iri - MAO
A KIEL S Ber - Mun
F IRISH SEA - MAO
A YORKSHIRE - Wal
A NORWAY - Swe
Italy
======================
A BULGARIA S Con
A SEVASTOPOL - Arm
F CONSTANTINOPLE S Bul
A RUMANIA - Bud
A WARSAW - Sil
F SMYRNA S Con
A SERBIA - Bud
Russia
==============
A MOSCOW - Lvn
A BERLIN - Mun
F BELGIUM - Hol
A UKRAINE - Gal
Message from England to Italy and Russia
Nick wrote:
>My First Draft: (I'm not overly invested in any of these moves.)
With only one day left to negotiate, I am willing to go with these moves in
the northwest if you reply one more time to say that you prefer them. We
need to settle on something. Fortunately, we seem to be in good shape. I
do have one suggestion for you to consider based on Italy's observation
that the Channel could end up in Picardy while Brest gets into the Channel,
plus your observation that Holland really isn't in any danger.
>F NORTH SEA S Bel - Hol
If, instead, Bel supp Yorkshire->Holland (via convoy), then France can't
get the Channel without giving up MAO.
Either way, though, France needs to guess correctly on Munich and on
Belgium/Holland. If he does guess correctly, we add Silesia to the mix in
the fall.
>Italy
>======================
>A BULGARIA S Con
>A SEVASTOPOL - Arm
>F CONSTANTINOPLE S Bul
>A RUMANIA - Bud
>A WARSAW - Sil
>F SMYRNA S Con
>A SERBIA - Bud
These seem to be fairly reasonable moves for Italy. He'll have to decide
though.
Ivy
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
> Bel supp Yorkshire->Holland (via convoy)
That works for me.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>> I forgot to say thank you for trusting me. I appreciate
>> that you would trust me. I will not betray that trust.
>(Unless it will get you the Solo...)
You insult me. I promised that I would not reveal your secret. I do
not see how it could help me get a solo, but even if it could, I gave my
word. I will not discuss it unless you give me permission to.
>I do appreciate your accomodation, but I did suggest that
>you pull back from Ruh and Mun, and your hesitancy was
>based on your own security, rather than mine, if I recall
>correctly.
Yes, one turn I held in Munich with nothing to do. This was the turn
that you insisted on taking Belgium rather than accepting Munich. I
could not afford to let you have both (although you were hinting :-).
You betrayed my trust the very next turn, for what it matters. But no
use spinning the past, it gets us nowhere. It was not my main point
anyways. Forget that I brought it up. You are right, it was my own
fault.
>I feel that I must appear to support the EIR vs. F cause
>this year, in order to get Italy out of Russia, and to gain a
>build and some Centers. That does not mean that we
>cannot arrange a French Defense that gains England
>nothing while you lose Hol and Mun to Russia, and gain
>Bel, Bud, and perhaps Bul.
I think it highly likely that I will not have even two of Bel, Bud, and
Bul, let alone not lose Greece or something else. AND you want Munich!
:-)
This is a very dangerous game that you are playing. It seems more of a
stall plan that an alliance with me. But if true, know that you must
handle it perfectly. Let me be honest with you. I am losing my
excitement for this game. If I help you in the south and England breaks
through my line, through your direct action or your inaction, I shall
let England win. I can follow the course that you are outlining above;
it would require a great deal of trust on both our parts. But if you
are playing a game with me, then I shall fulfill my promise with no
chance of turning back. Two real life years is a long time; it is time
to end this thing in a fitting manner. In my mind, the people who
deserve to be in the draw are you, I and Ivy.
Since you expressed doubt that I would not keep your secret, you will
most certainly not believe me when I tell you that I am prepared to
offer to not go for the solo without your permission. This offer could
be accepted if and when you are actively working with me. If you are
interested in such an agreement let me know.
>Your Stubborn Friend,
:-) A very accurate statement.:-) In fact, Ivy was practically
gloating that he was able to get you to accept his way last turn. I did
not look down on him for it; rather I was envious.
For what it is worth, concerning Ivy, he tells me that he plans to even
up our supply center count before the game ends. For some reason it is
important to him. Whether he really cares about how many centers he has
in the draw or if it is just a ruse to go for a win, I do not know. But
he cannot expect to get 4-5 centers from me, unless I roll over. So he
must be counting many of yours.
--Prince Boar
PS: Reviewing the message, I worry that you might think it was written
in bitterness or anger. Believe me it was not. All that I am is tired
and a bit sad.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> >> I forgot to say thank you for trusting me. I appreciate
> >> that you would trust me. I will not betray that trust.
> >(Unless it will get you the Solo...)
> You insult me. I promised that I would not reveal your secret.
I apologise most profoundly! I misunderstood what you were
refering to regarding my trusting you. I thought you meant my
trusting that you wouldn't stab me. I do not see you stabbing
me unless doing so would give you a forced win. I had no
doubt that you would never break your word, it just seemed
so obvious, that no thanks were necessary. I'll address the rest
of your letter later, but wanted to get this off at once.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to Master
Doug,
As you may have noticed, I've been sending my EoYs to you and
the Observers for some time now, and while I have been honest in
my assessment I have also shaded my statements somewhat to
avoid offending any Powers who might request a game history in
mid-game. I think that Italy may have stabbed for Warsaw in S1909
because of something he read in my 1908 EoY, since he pointed out
that they were available in history, but I can't see anything there that
would have upset him. Nonetheless, I intentionally slanted my 1909 EoY in
favor of EIR, assuming that Italy might read it. Here is the
unslanted version.
> England wanted to move Den-Kie, "to defend against a
> French stab", even though such a stab would not have
> given France a winning position, and France had no reason
> to stab me as long as I was taking Centers from England,
> but I conceded to England's wishes in the hope that Italy
> would also move War-Sil, and I would be able to build
> a fifth Army in Moscow.
I actually allowed Den-Kie hoping that would keep England
from joining with Italy to eliminate me.
> Italy tried to take Moscow, instead, but seems to have
> come around now that I have declared in favor of EIR
> vs. F. We'll have to see whether EI think they can
> eliminate me, and still stop France, or whether they
> realize that France is still a big enough threat that they
> need my help.
I'm going to have to play a very delicate double-game in 1910,
and 1911. I have to make EI believe that I'm fully onboard in
the "Stop France" coalition, while feeding France information
to keep him strong enough that EI can't afford to think about
eliminating me. At the same time, I can't afford to let France
get too strong.
In the "Big Surprise" department, Turkey, whom no-one has
heard from since early October, actually wrote to me, and only
me, twice this year! I guess my regular notes offering cooperation
finally paid off. I'm hoping to use his Fleet against Italy, while
while making it look as though he's working with France. This
has the potential to blow up in my face, but I've been on the edge
of elimination since 1902, so what's one more risk?
France is not happy about my allowing England into Kiel, but I
think he understands my reasoning. Hopefully, we can work
together to weaken the Italian positison to the point where Italy
is no longer a threat to me.
Nick.
Message [from Austria] to all
> My wife and I and a friend drove into the country to a dark spot at 4:30
> a.m. this morning and saw about 1000 meteors in a little over an hour.
> Spectacular.
I agree. (Hey! Ivy's on GMT-5 = Eastern Standard Time!)
> I haven't seen Harry Potter yet. We expect to see it this holiday weekend
> with our younger son, who is considerably older than Prince Boars children.
I suspect that children everywhere are going to join in the old lament -
"The movie was OK, but the book was better."
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I have not read your other notes, let me address this one
first.
>I apologise most profoundly! I misunderstood what you
>were refering to regarding my trusting you.
I am sorry, I admit that my note was not clear. But
since your last movements clearly showed that you did not
trust me, the only thing that you could have trusted was
my word. But as it was not clear, I am sorry for over
reacting.
This time of year (Oct - Dec) is extra hard with too many
things going on (not just the holidays). And many
stressful things are going on in life. I do not want to
bore you with the details or expect any sympathy. I just
wanted you to know that my stress level is very high. I
also tend to get emotional at the end of diplomacy games.
This is completely the opposition of the way I behave for
the other 90% of the game. I may overreact at times.
(Hence the reason that I just want to get to the end of
this thing, but an appropriate end.)
I wanted you to know this before I read your other notes.
I may get emotional or overreact :-) and would not be
able to explain it.
Now, on to the other notes. Taking a deep breath :-)
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I guess that none of the other messages were from you!
:-)
I sure am glad that I said that I was taking a deep
breath before reading your other messages and did not say
that I was holding my breath until I read them :-)
--Prince Boar
Message from France to all
>I suspect that children everywhere are going to join in
>the old lament -
>"The movie was OK, but the book was better."
Maybe they will say that about this game too? :-)
When they make the movie, do we get royalties?
Message from England to Russia
> > Bel supp Yorkshire->Holland (via convoy)
OK. I'm submitting moves.
North Atlantic s Irish-> Mid-Atlantic
Channel->Picardy
Nth Sea convoy Yorkshire->Holland
Norway->Sweden
Kiel support Berlin->Munich
Ivy
Message from England to Italy and Russia
OK. Moves are in. Wait not set.
Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
>You betrayed my trust the very next turn,
I accept and admit that I betrayed your trust, but I
did not do so because I did not trust you. I did so
because I felt that I either had to support your solo
bid right then before I was eliminated by EI, or allow
England to move to Kiel, and hope that I could walk
the tight-rope of that most dangerous game of playing
both sides off each other and hope to gain strength in
the shake-up.
>I think I will not have even two of Bel, Bud, and
>Bul, let alone not lose Greece or something else. AND you want Munich! :-)
Hol S Pic-Bel, Par-Bur will let you hold Hol this
Spring. Tyl S Mun will, of course, hold Mun, but
allowing Kie S Ber-Mun to succeed would let you
retreat toward Austria. The Italian situation is
less clear, but I do not believe that Greece is
threatened, and Bla & Aeg S Gre-Bul/SC, actually
stands a good chance of success. Please let me
know what you want to do in the Eastern Med, so
that I can dispatch Rasputin to Ankara.
>This is a very dangerous game that you are playing.
I'm aware of that. 8-) An open alliance with you
will cause EI to attack me, while weakening you
significantly will cause EI to attack me.
>It seems more of a stall plan that an alliance with me.
You're at 14 Centers, I'm at 4, if you don't stall,
you'll solo. ;^}
>If I help you in the south and England breaks
>through my line, I shall let England win.
You can, of course, threaten this, but since I
already view English growth as detrimental to
Russia's long-term viability, it is a meaningless
threat. I don't trust Ivy, but I need him to hold
the NAO-Iri-ECh stalemate line to prevent your Solo,
and to influence Italy to oppose your growth rather
than try to eliminate me.
>In my mind, the people who
>deserve to be in the draw are you, I and Ivy.
I agree.
>I am prepared to offer to not go for the solo without your permission.
>This offer could be accepted if and when you are actively working with me.
>If you are
>interested in such an agreement let me know.
As I see it, I NEED you to try for the Solo. That
threat is the one thing keeping England and Italy
from eliminating me.
> >Your Stubborn Friend,
>:-) A very accurate statement.:-) Ivy was practically
>gloating that he was able to get you to accept his way I was envious.
I did not accept his way. He was clearly wrong about
the threat of a French stab into Russian held Germany,
and I knew that he was. I made the judgment that the
risk posed to Russia by IA War and IA Sev was greater
the the risk posed by EA Kiel, however, and that
allowing Den-Kie was my best chance to gain another
year or two of life.
>Ivy tells me that he plans to even up our supply center count before the
>game ends. For some reason it is important to him.
If 'titleist' ends in a draw, the Power with the
greatest number of Centers will be declared
Tournament Champion. I think that's reason
enough. 8-)
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to Turkey
Ali,
Support for Gre-Bul/SC seems most likely to succeed
at this point. If further information develops, I'll
let you know.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Based on your inside knowledge, tell me tonight how to
order Holland and Picardy to best achieve my requirement
of not having a foreign army in Burgundy or Picardy. As
long as my Burgundy-Picardy-Brest-MAO line never falls,
then I will not go bullistic ;-)
Sorry to threaten, but I wanted to make it clear what I
would do if that line is broken.
I am placing a great deal of trust in you. I expect you
to not betray it. Similarly, I will not reveal, suggest,
or even hint at the fact that you were supplying me with
infomation concerning moves in the North.
I just want this game to end in FER as soon as possible.
By the way, Turkey finally wrote and said that you asked
him to do as I requested of him. He suggested support
for Aeg to Bul. Do you think that an attack on Rumania
might help in more areas.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
>Based on your inside knowledge, tell me tonight how to
>order Holland and Picardy to best achieve my requirement
>of not having a foreign army in Burgundy or Picardy.
IF Ivy is telling me the truth, and I'm not 100%
certain that I'm not going to get stabbed by EI this
Spring, then Hol S Pic-Bel will cut Bel S Yor-Hol,
leaving Pic, Bel, and Hol in place. Kie S Ber-Mun
will take Mun, but leave Ruhr open, and Bur
unthreatened. You then have the option of retreating
to Ruh, or Tyl, (assuming Tyl-Tri this Spring.)
>Turkey finally wrote and said that you asked
>him to do as I requested of him. He suggested support
>for Aeg to Bul. Do you think that an attack on Rumania might help in more
>areas.
Rum S Bul has not been mentioned as a possible move,
(I proposed Ser-Bud, Rum-Bud to bounce Vie-Bud),
but Italy hasn't responded with a firm plan, yet.
Bla S Gre-Bul/SC or Bla-Con to cut Con S Bul,
seems better to me.
In Covert Alliance, ;^}
Nick.
Message from Master to all
I saw Harry Potter on Friday -- the movie toned down the dark themes
of the book. There are a few big ugly monster scenes at the end as
H+R+H solve the puzzles at the end of the movie that I would think would
scare 6 and 8 year-olds. But otherwise, I thought it was pretty light
on all the "Voldemort killed my parents" stuff that I would think
kids might have a hard time with.
With regards to the worry that kids will think the movie was OK
but the book was better: the movie was pretty darn true to the book.
The lopped of just a few things -- Mr. Dursley's skip-to-my-lou into
madness, the growth of Norbert the dragon, the potion puzzle in the
end -- but really, that was just shortening things a bit. I read
the book 3-4 months ago and couldn't remember much that was different.
The ending was "spot-on", as those wacky Brits would say. :-)
Have they read the book? If not, I'd take them to Monsters, Inc.
instead.
But what do I know? -- I'm not a parent.
Doug
Message from Master to all
We have an extension request from Wed 11/21 until after Mon 11/26 --
does anyone wish to add to that?
Doug
Message from Master to all
By the way, I wore the sweatshirt for the first time yesterday (for
those of you observing who are unaware, the players of 'titleist'
gave me a very gracious gift for running the VGFP tournament -- a
dozen Titleists and a sweatshirt with the Diplomacy map on the front
and this on the back: "Vermont Group Full Press Diplomacy Tournament"
and "I finished in 37th place in my OWN tournament!" Ha, ha, very
funny . . .). I drove to Cambridge Mass and played a game against
Adam Silverman, Mike Boutot, Melissa Nicholson and a few others.
On my way home, I stopped and McDonald's for a quick bite.
A gentleman approaches me in a McDonald's and asks me if
I play, so we talk about the game as I munch down a cheeseburger.
He mentions that he doesn't like email Diplomacy, but his son
used to play a good bit. I ask what his son's name is and he
says David Rosen, whom I recognize as a member of the Vermont Group
(but not one who lives in Boston or was playing at the game).
Neat, huh?
Doug
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
So what is Italy doing? His two fleets can take from my
three fleets if I am not careful. I probably should not
be in Albania, but I wanted the flexibility to support an
army to Trieste.
Is Italy moving to Galicia and Budapest? Italy is
usually tight-lipped and I do not expect him to share too
much info with you. But anything you can find out will
be great. We need to crush him quickly, else EI will be
able to push me back and squeeze you out.
I will ask Turkey to support Greece to Bulgaria.
Thanks for the advice on Pic, Hol. I will make those
orders unless I hear differently from you.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
>So what is Italy doing?
War S Sev-Mos, probably. (I'm a pessimist.)
:: Ivy's suggestions::
:: Sevastopol->Armenia?
:: Constantinople->Ankara?
:: Smyrna->Constantinople?
:: Italy's First Draft:
:: war - sil
:: sev - arm
:: rum s ukr - gal
:: (or rum->bud but that has drawbacks in dealing with the TF)
:: I've actually considered 'Ser s Bul-Gre' and 'Smy s Con-Aeg'
:: Ser->Tri/Bud certainly has merit as well as does Con->Ank
:: (in conjunction with Sev->Arm should take Ankara)
:: My Suggestion
:: A BULGARIA S Con
:: A SEVASTOPOL - Arm
:: F CONSTANTINOPLE S Bul
:: A RUMANIA - Bud
:: A WARSAW - Sil
:: F SMYRNA S Con
:: A SERBIA - Bud
What will Italy do? I don't know, he hasn't written
since Saturday.
>I probably should not be in Albania, but I wanted the flexibility to
>support an
>army to Trieste.
The guts move of Aeg-EMed, Gre-Aeg, Alb-Gre, has
potential, actually...
>Is Italy moving to Galicia and Budapest?
Officially, I'm moving Ukr-Gal. If I don't hear from
Italy soon I may change that, though.
>I will ask Turkey to support Greece to Bulgaria.
That's as likely to succeed as anything else. If I
hear more, I'll let you know.
>Thanks for the advice on Pic, Hol. I will make those
>orders unless I hear differently from you.
Ivy has his orders in and NoWait set. Mine are in
with Set Wait, so I can alter the East if need be,
but I don't see the West changing at this point.
Nick.
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
Any word from Italy since Saturday? My moves
are in as discussed, but I do have wait set to give
Italy a chance to alter our plans in the East, if
he has a better idea. *sigh* Silent allies make me
nervous.
Nick.
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
> Any word from Italy since Saturday?
None. None since he sent in his version of a "first draft." If memory
serves me, he was quiet a week ago also and then got very active on Monday
afternoon.
Ivy
Message from Russia to England and Italy
Gentlemen,
Are we in agreement on our moves? Mos-Lvn, War-Sil,
Ukr-Gal, is strongly anti-French, but when combined
with Sev-Arm, it does leave Sev/Rum somewhat exposed
this Fall. Roberto/Idalia, would you care to weigh
in here?
Nick.
Message from Italy to England and Russia
>
> Are we in agreement on our moves? Mos-Lvn, War-Sil,
> Ukr-Gal, is strongly anti-French, but when combined
> with Sev-Arm, it does leave Sev/Rum somewhat exposed
> this Fall.
>
I think I'm okay with Sev/Rum. Combined with a self-bounce in Budapest,
Turkey can't be in Rumania (I suppose he technically could be but I don't
see France ordering vie s rum-bud). If he moves to SEV, I'll have Armenia
and Rumania to kick him out and Con-Ank becomes a slam dunk.
My orders are in and I have no disagreement with the specified orders.
Idalia
Message from Russia to England and Italy
Message from Italy to England and Russia in 'titleist':
>I think I'm okay with Sev/Rum.
Okay, I'll Set NoWait, then.
>I have no disagreement with the specified orders.
Gotta love paranoia... Does this mean you've ordered
Sev-Arm, War-Sil? 8-)
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
Italy confirms Rum-Bud, Ser-Bud, Sev-Arm, War-Sil.
Of course, he could be lying to me to set up an
attack on Moscow... Gotta love paranoia...
Nick.
Message from Italy to England and Russia
>
> Gotta love paranoia... Does this mean you've ordered
> Sev-Arm, War-Sil? 8-)
>
Well, the last time I flat out told somebody an order, he used it against me
and it was the beginning of the domino effect which has led to the current
map so you'll have to forgive me for not directly answering this question.
It can be safely assumed, however, given that these two orders were in my
suggested set of moves, that indeed I have ordered Sev-Arm and War-Sil.
There is a chance, though, that I did something else, although nothing that
would cause alarm.
My goal is simple - put myself in a position to prevent France from soloing
while at the same time putting myself in a position to be able to throw the
game to him if somebody moves to eliminate me. Gaining centers and
advancing back to my home centers would be gravy.
Even before that, the elimination of Turkey is still first and foremost. If
that means I lose some combination of WAR/BUD/SMY/??? in the process,
sobeit. I'll deal with that next year.
I'll be the first to admit that this is a very fine line I'm walking.
Idalia
Message from Russia to Italy
Idalia,
> the last time I flat out told somebody an order, he used it against me
> so you'll have to forgive me for not directly answering this question.
Well, I intentionally did not ask about the rest of your order set, for
just that reason. Sev and War, however, represent a potential threat
to my one remaining Home Center. I would, therefore, prefer a
promise from you that those Armies will move as proposed, so that
I can move Mos-Lvn, Ukr-Gal, without facing revolt from the
Bolsheviks.
In Alliance,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
thanks for all the information. If anything changes, let me know. I
will check again later.
Do try to have yourself in position to nab Rumania in the fall from
Italy. I understand that you will appear on their side in the spring,
hence Turkey support for me and not you. But in the fall, we should take
advantage of every shot we can, especially those that help you (or
Turkey) take Italian centers!
Now to do about F Alb. I suppose that it could be ordered to Greece, or
else the Ionian. I could support Tyr -> Tri, but if the orders that you
told me are true, this will not be necessary. I shall have to follow
the Dauphin's gut later on tonight.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> thanks for all the information. If anything changes, let me know.
I'm about 90% sure on Ivy's moves, but much less so of Italy's.
> Do try to have yourself in position to nab Rumania in the fall from
> Italy.
If you don't bounce me, I should be in Gal. Hmmm, of course, if
you do I'll still be in Ukr, and be in position to take War and Sev
this Fall... Interesting...
> Now to do about F Alb. I suppose that it could be ordered to
>Greece, or else the Ionian. I could support Tyr -> Tri,
My gut says Alb-Gre makes the most sense. If you take Bul, you'll
be able to support it from Gre, or bounce Ser-Gre, if Italy orders it
this Spring. It is, of course, the Dauphin's call to make.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Did you want me to bounce you from Galicia. I though about moving there
a while ago to bounce Italy. I could claim that was my intention.
Let me know.
--Xavier
Message from Italy to Russia
War-Sil
Sev-Arm
have been ordered.
But you didn't hear it from me. :)
Idalia
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> Did you want me to bounce you from Galicia.
I'll leave that decision to Le Dauphin. Vie-Gal is a reasonable move
for France to make, indeed Italy's first draft called for Rum S Ukr-Gal,
so it wouldn't surprise anyone. Whether I'm in Ukr or Gal, I'm
adjacent to three Italian Centers, so it doesn't really matter that much
to me, but Ukr is adjacent to Sev. I'd say that you should make the
best attack against Italy that you could if you didn't know how he was
moving, and I'll plan my Fall moves based on where we all end up.
Nick.
Message from Russia to Italy
Idalia,
> Message from Italy to Russia in 'titleist':
>
> But you didn't hear it from me. :)
Did you say something? I must have missed it... ;^}
Nick.
Message [from Russia] to all
> Game 'titleist' has a deadline of Mon Nov 19 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
> One or more players have not gotten their orders in.
Four hours until deadline people, let's get those orders in before the
Thanksgiving holiday is upon us!
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I have ordered Pic to Bel, Mun to Kie, and Hold s Mun to Kie. Holland's
support will be broken as will Belgiums. So the net result is you take
Munich and Holland and Belgium remain where they are. I think that this
choice makes it look less obvious that you are helping me.
I have basically put both our futures in your hands. I hope that things
do not go horrible wrong.
I also decided to order Vie to Bud, to keep up appearances. Your being
in Galicia opens up the possibility of supporting me to Budapest :-)
:-) I may have to make up for the loss of Munich and Holland you know
:-) At least it opens up that option. We can discuss in the fall.
--Xavier
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
What is Moscow doing? In reading your last message I realized that
perhaps it was not covering Sevastopol. Is it moving to Warsaw? Is
this why you need to be in Ukraine in order to be able to take both Sev
and War?
You might consider holding in Moscow. Just tell IE that you were
paranoid that they were going to try and pull a fast one. This gave you
more options You will still take Warsaw in the fall, so it did not hurt
you to go slowly. The army in Warsaw was just going to hold anyway.
So what do you hear from IE?
--Xavier
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
My orders are in and I am going to bed. Wish us luck. If this year
goes well, we shall be home free. We can eliminate Italy and achieve a
three-way draw. If things go poorly, well, that could hasten the end
too I guess, but why dwell on that.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
>I have ordered Pic to Bel, Mun to Kie, and Hol s Mun to Kie. the net
>result is you take Munich and Holland and Belgium
Actually, since Pic-Bel will cut Bel S Yor-Hol, Hol will
remain French, and Mun will be able to retreat to Ruh or
Tyl, so you lose Mun to me, but England will gain nothing
this Spring.
>I also decided to order Vie to Bud
That's also reasonable.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
your message caught me as I was finishing up some other business.
I was obviously not clear. Let me break it up better:
So the net result is
you take Munich
and
Holland and Belgium remain where they are.
:-) So I think that we are agreed :-)
Bonne Chance et Bon Soir
Xavier
England: Fleet English Channel → Picardy (*bounce*)
England: Fleet Irish Sea → Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*bounce*)
England: Army Kiel SUPPORT Russian Army Berlin → Munich
England: Fleet North Atlantic Ocean SUPPORT Fleet Irish Sea → Mid-Atlantic Ocean
England: Fleet North Sea CONVOY Army Yorkshire → Holland
England: Army Norway → Sweden
England: Army Yorkshire → North Sea → Holland (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Aegean Sea → Constantinople (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Albania → Greece
France: Fleet Brest SUPPORT Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Fleet Greece → Bulgaria (south coast)
France: Army Holland SUPPORT Army Munich → Kiel (*cut*)
France: Army Marseilles → Piedmont
France: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean SUPPORT Russian Fleet Belgium → English Channel (*void*)
France: Army Munich → Kiel (*bounce, dislodged*)
France: Army Paris → Burgundy
France: Army Picardy → Belgium (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Spain (south coast) SUPPORT Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Army Tyrolia → Trieste
France: Army Vienna → Budapest (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Bulgaria → Constantinople
Italy: Fleet Constantinople → Ankara
Italy: Army Rumania → Budapest (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Serbia → Budapest (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Sevastopol → Armenia
Italy: Fleet Smyrna SUPPORT Army Bulgaria → Constantinople
Italy: Army Warsaw → Silesia
Russia: Fleet Belgium SUPPORT English Army Yorkshire → Holland (*cut*)
Russia: Army Berlin → Munich
Russia: Army Moscow → Livonia
Russia: Army Ukraine → Galicia
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea SUPPORT French Fleet Greece → Bulgaria (south coast)
|