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Italy: Builds 2 units
Turkey: Builds 1 unit
Message from England to all
Hats off to Austria, for he is one of us.
Most of the rest of us will be joining you in good time, my friend.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to France
Dauphin,
I gave it some thought, but finally decided that you and Italy were too
tight. The last move, in which Italy knew that he could have Spain if he
wanted it, only confirmed my feeling about FI.
I think that Italy betrayed Turkey, but I am not certain.
Ivy
Message from England to Turkey
Ali,
Hope you had a nice holiday.
That's the first time that Italy ever lied to me. It seemed so unnecessary
from my vantage point. The west would not have looked much different had
he been honest.
Perhaps he lied to me in order to cover lies to you? Were you especting
Italy in the Aegean or in Serbia?
Drop me a line when you get back.
As always,
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
Congratulations on one small victory. StP still stands!
Here is what I think happened in the south. Tell me if this agrees with
what you know. Originally, Turkey was supposed to give you Sevastopol, and
he told me he was going to do this. At the last minute, Italy talked
Turkey into a deal. Turkey should keep Sevastopol and get Budapest in
addition. Italy was supposed to get Vienna and Spain. Yes Spain! Italy
brought me into the deal. I was supposed to vacate MAO voluntarily so that
Italy could walk into Spain. But Italy crossed everybody. He let France
keep Spain. Italy did help Turkey into Budapest, but only so that he could
get Serbia. The Ionian was supposed to go west against France, but instead
went to the Aegean. Tyrolia was supposed to go to Piedmont, but went to
Trieste.
Any consideration I might have had of attacking Germany disappeared when
Italy promised to attack France with two fleets and an army.
So, because of Italy, you do not have Sevastopol and I did not get Italian
help against France. Well, because of Italy and the gullibility of Turkey
and me.
Ivy Wingo
Message from England to Italy
Roberto,
How about that!
Thats the first time that you were dishonest with me. Since it would have
made little difference in the west had you been honest, I suspect that you
had to lie to me in order to cover your play against Turkey.
Right?
Ivy
Message from Austria to all
> Most of the rest of us will be joining you in good time, my friend.
The Archduke fled the capital, and escaped in the confusion; from time to
time, I will pass on his messages and comments. At the moment, he is still
trying to familiarize himself with his new accomodations.
Miranda, for Austria-Hungary, by the Grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Italy to England
>
> Thats the first time that you were dishonest with me. Since it would
> have made little difference in the west had you been honest, I suspect
> that you had to lie to me in order to cover your play against Turkey.
>
Exactly. It was an unfortunate side-effect of the negotiations we got
involved in the other day. I agonized over the moves but when I really
looked at what Turkey wanted me to do, I realized I would be setting myself
up for a huge fall in a year or two. Yes, I could have successfully
attacked France and gained MAR and SPA but I would have had to move several
units west to hold them. In the meantime, Turkey is at 8 and growing and I
have virtually no defense of GRE/VIE other than his good graces. In the
final analysis, I didn't want to see a 12-unit Turkey in the endgame. I
wouldn't like my chances.
Now, my 'war' with Turkey will undoubtedly take many years to achieve
success, if that's even possible. I definitely do not want to see you be
taken over by FG so I'm not going to completely clear out of the west;
however, I can't promise that I will attack France anytime in the near
future.
I had a difficult choice to make. My units were already east. If I was
going to make a play for Turkey, it had to be now.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
> Congratulations on one small victory. StP still stands!
Yes, that is rather ironic. I assumed that Fredd would order
Sil-War, but figured that I should do everything possible to defend
StP for "political" reasons, and it actually worked. Of course, for
the second year in a row, the Turk has promised orders that would
give me a build, and then reneged.
> Here is what I think happened in the south. Turkey was supposed
> to give you Sevastopol, and he told me he was going to do this.
Yes. From the moment I proposed having the Turk destroy the
Austrian Army in Sev, the intention was to return it to Russian control.
Ali actually argued more strongly in favor of it, in fact.
> At the last minute, Italy talked Turkey into a deal. Turkey should
> keep Sevastopol and get Budapest in addition.
Well, the agreement called for me to get Sev, Turkey Bud, and
Italy Vie.
> Italy was supposed to get Vienna and Spain. Yes Spain! Italy
> brought me into the deal. I was supposed to vacate MAO voluntarily
> so that Italy could walk into Spain. But Italy crossed everybody. He
> let France keep Spain. Italy did help Turkey into Budapest, but only
> so that he could get Serbia. The Ionian was supposed to go west
> against France, but instead went to the Aegean. Tyrolia was
> supposed to go to Piedmont, but went to Trieste.
Interesting... That does explain why the Turk betrayed me again. I
have, of course, suspected that Italy was doing a masterful job of
manipulating Austria and the Turk, but this does confirm it. (Does
Roberto see me as that much of a threat? Flattering, but troublesome.)
> Any consideration I might have had of attacking Germany
> disappeared when Italy promised to attack France with two fleets
> and an army.
Understandable, but you still have the option of attacking Germany,
now, and it still seems like your best bet, to me. I can use my influence
with France to play up the Italian threat, (he is the leader, after all),
and
under a combined EFR attack, Germany should crumble.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
My Brother has allowed me the opportunity to write to you
during this holiday season. Since we must wait for some
of the major powers, he said that I could chat with you a
bit. I must say that your last message surprised us.
You always seem to have such a grasp on the political and
strategic situation that we are scratching our heads
wondering if we are truly way off base. Let me go find
the exact quote for you.
>I gave it some thought, but finally decided that you
>and Italy were too tight. The last move, in which
>Italy knew that he could have Spain if he
>wanted it, only confirmed my feeling about FI.
Surely you do not think that Italy is that committed to
France. In your previous letter you were telling us how
he simply was waiting for a second fleet before he took
his share of France. In fact, we felt he was tight with
you. He would not orders his units as we desired,
because of his relationship with you. Either one of us
is very wrong, or he is playing us both like Bach plays a
piano.
The reason that your statement really surprised me is
that it does seem obvious to me that he is only helping
me because he wishes to stalemate our situation. As long
as we are at war, and no one is winning, he has the time
to do as he pleases in the south without concern for his
other border. The reason that I was willing to trust him
is because I felt confident that he would not take Spain,
because he did not want you to have the advantage over
me.
The person that I think Italy tight with is Germany. He
continues to decline to help me if it requires harassing
Germany. He has not gone that far with you in that he
has helped me against you. And he has limited my help
against you. But to keep his positive relationship with
Germany, there is no such slights or minor insults.
I wish you to honest tell me how it has been working with
Germany. I had hope this last turn, but aside from one
note, I was unable to engage him in any meaningful
negotiations or conversations.
If Italy manages to take out Turkey, he will soon be in a
position where he will guarantee almost being the largest
member of a draw, or in position to accept the victory if
he can manage it. The west is behind the eight ball, so
to speak. We either resolve our situation now, or else
we will at best be able to manage a losing position in a
draw. Do you truly believe that either of us could
manage to deal with Germany effectively to make it
happen? Surely you must see that France is no long the
big threat that you once worried that we were. You
initial choices have neutralized us and we are at best a
second class power. Unfortunately that has left you in
the same category.
If we worked together there is a chance that we could
take out Germany fast enough to get after Italy before
Turkey is eliminated. Having that thorn in his back, we
might be able to whittle him down enough to prevent his
securing an unbreakable position. It is very easy for
Italy to secure 14 centers that cannot be breached. It
is not hard for Italy to get 2-3 more either in lower
France or Russia. I realize that he is not there yet,
but look at his position. He is lined up against Turkey.
He drove a wedge between Turkey and Russia (by
convincing Turkey to betray Russia near Sevastopol).
Therefore he has an ally against Turkey. If I hold you
back, what will stop him?
Do you see obvious flaws in my logic?
>I think that Italy betrayed Turkey, but I am not
>certain.
That is my guess too, as the above suggests.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to all
France wishes the Best to Archduke Ferdinand.
May he enjoy his retirement. We shall be thinking of
him.
Also please give our best to Felicia. We enjoyed our
conversations with her.
--Prince Boar
Message from England to Turkey
Ali,
A little more reflection makes it obvious to me that Italy is indeed
attacking you. It seems to me that we both need Germany more than ever
now. Certainly, Germany could help reduce the Russia/Italy pressure
against you.
Germany needs to believe that we now have EGT vs IFR. Thus, he has to be
convinced that if he and France jointly attack me, then France will
continute northward and attack Germany in turn with Italian help. In
particular, it stands to reason France will not be attacking Italy after
all Italy has just done for him.
I would think that Germany might be open to GT cooperation against Russia.
Let me know if you have any bright ideas. I will be OK for some time if
Germany stands with me. You are going to have rough going against Italy if
no one can come to your rescue.
The worst scenario would be GF vs E and RI vs T.
At least we will not finish 7th !
Ivy
Message from England to Italy
Roberto,
> > That's the first time that you were dishonest with me. Since it would
> > have made little difference in the west had you been honest, I suspect
> > that you had to lie to me in order to cover your play against Turkey.
>
>Exactly. It was an unfortunate side-effect of the negotiations we got
>involved in the other day.
Just for the record. Although including me in the deception was probably
the safest thing to do, I would have been discreet had I known that you
were not going to take Spain. Veteran diplomats can handle lies routinely,
but I think most of us don't forgive tattle-tails. I would have been aware
that our relationship would have been ruined forever if I had known of your
plans and had warned Turkey. Besides, I too was worried about the growing
power of Turkey.
As for my move MAO->IRI, which was the result of our recent conversations,
I say you owe me a little! Let me know when you are ready to repay
me. Remember, from me you will get compound interest on small acts of
kindness.
Most cordially,
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
> > Congratulations on one small victory. StP still stands!
>
> Yes, that is rather ironic. I assumed that Fredd would order
>Sil-War, but figured that I should do everything possible to defend
>StP for "political" reasons, and it actually worked.
Germany is much too concerned about getting stabbed. He doesn't trust
enough. True, his edginess probably protects him from stabs occasionally,
but it also hinders his development. It certainly has in this game.
> Well, the agreement called for me to get Sev, Turkey Bud, and
>Italy Vie.
I know that Turkey was actually going to do it, until Italy proposed his
scheme.
>Understandable, but you still have the option of attacking Germany,
>now, and it still seems like your best bet, to me. I can use my influence
>with France to play up the Italian threat, (he is the leader, after all),
>and
>under a combined EFR attack, Germany should crumble.
My key consideration has always been this: what would France do if I
attacked Germany? Most of the time my best guess is that he would take
advantage of the situation and plow into me with everything he had. You
could not save me then.
You must think I am a passive, carebear player. I doubt there are any such
players in this final. Unfortunately, I feel I am caught in a situation in
which I have only one reasonable strategy. I don't like my position any
more than you like yours, but every time I think about changing strategies,
I only see matters getting worse.
Ivy
Message from England to Germany
Fredd,
Good old Italy has done it again. Using his favorite weapon, the lie, he
has turned on Turkey and used me in the process.
There was an agreement in which Turkey was supposed to get Budapest and
Sevastopol, and Italy was supposed to get Vienna and Spain. Yes
Spain! Italy brought me into the deal. I was supposed to vacate MAO
voluntarily so that Italy could walk into Spain. I liked this, because at
this point I would take anything that reduced the French strength.
But Italy crossed everybody. He let France keep Spain. Italy did help
Turkey into Budapest, but only so that he could get Serbia. The Ionian was
supposed to go west against France, but instead went to the
Aegean. Tyrolia was supposed to go to Piedmont, but went to Trieste.
Now I wonder if Italy ever intended to attack France in the first
place. He had probably been leading me on for several seasons. Italy's
style is now so clear. Lie and stab. We all do it on critical occasions,
but he does it annually. Something to remember if we ever get in a
non-gunboat game with him.
France, meanwhile, is joyous. He believes that his position with Italy is
solid now.
Anyway, you can see that I continue to uphold our friendship. I could have
taken Holland but to what end? An ally is worth several centers any
day. It looks to me like we have to consider Turkey as some kind of
partner and Italy, France, and Russia as the enemy. Perhaps you and Turkey
can finish off Russia together.
As you can guess I could fill the library of Congress with notes from
France and Russia begging me to attack you. Old notes, new notes. The
theme rarely changes. They don't care about me, of course, they just see
their only future in a war between us.
It seems to me that the year that we lost due to my Nth move has come and
gone, and we now once again find ourselves at France's doorstep. The
difference is that this time he only has two armies and his weakness is on
land. Penetrating Burgundy will be easy. Which way is best?
If Italy builds an army in Venice, it will got to Tyrolia immediately. I
don't think you want a French army in Burgundy that would work with an
Italian army in Tyrolia.
Watch our for Ukraine->Moscow, because Russia can support StP from
Moscow. Another possibility for you to consider is a shift of armies
Hol->Ruh->Mun->Sil. That would postpone Burgundy for a turn, but give you
a stronger play against Russia.
Lots of choices.
Oh, yes, welcome back. Hope you had a good holiday.
Ivy
Message from Germany to England
Can't believe that I'm not building. I actually never considered the
moves that Russia made. Although I doubt that i would have changed
anything if I had. DEN, HOL, and MUN had to be protected.
I wonder what Italy will build. I would expect an army in VEN. On the
other hand an army there will draw my attention. Italy will have to take
on Turkey big time now. Can he afford to have me battling south?
Probably not.
If I were him I'd build two fleets. Send one of them west to start
taking France apart.
Like I said the problem with the fleet in the north sea is getting it
out of there. Just look where I've had to go to protect my territory.
I'm getting real tired of pussy footing around. You're totally
correct. I can bust in on BUR. That's my intention.
What do you think of these moves?
RUH - BUR supported by MUN
BEL s ruh - bur
nth - lon
hol s bel
To be blunt, we're screwing around while Italy is gaining a big lead.
I'm worried that Italy will take over Turkey while I'm trying to get
through an old and tired Russia.
The bottom line is that I'm still with you, but I won't be if the fleet
remains in the North Sea for even one more turn. To be perfectly
straightforward if that fleet is still there after the next turn, I will
attack you.
Luckily I have a solution to all of this. Instead of moving to London
move to Norway. Then in the fall support me to STP. In the fall I'll
move DEN to SWE.
At the same time I'll be in Ruhr. France will probably have retreated
BUR to GAS. The probable fall move will be to support BEL to PIC, while
I move HOl out and get it into the action again.
Fredd
Message from England to Germany
Fredd,
>Can't believe that I'm not building. I actually never considered the
>moves that Russia made. Although I doubt that i would have changed
>anything if I had. DEN, HOL, and MUN had to be protected.
I never did either. If I were Germany, and if I had noticed the
possibility, I would have risked Munich and entered Silesia->Warsaw in
order to cut the possible support. That guarantees StP while risking
Munich. At worst you come out even, but you probably gain.
>I wonder what Italy will build. I would expect an army in VEN. On the
>other hand an army there will draw my attention. Italy will have to take
>on Turkey big time now. Can he afford to have me battling south?
>Probably not.
No, both Italy and Turkey will be after your friendship. Italy will want
you to be neutral, for he has a good edge over Turkey. Turkey may be
sufficiently in need of help that you may be able to persuade him to help
you against Russia.
>What do you think of these moves?
>RUH - BUR supported by MUN
>BEL s ruh - bur
>nth - lon
>hol s bel
My first reaction is that your own alternative below is superior.
>Luckily I have a solution to all of this. Instead of moving to London
>move to Norway. Then in the fall support me to STP. In the fall I'll
>move DEN to SWE.
This seems pretty good to me.
It would require only one adjustment -- I'm thinking as I type here -- We
would have to bounce in the North Sea with your Denmark and my
Channel. Otherwise you have a stab that gives you two of my centers. I
never had that great an opportunity against you. With this bounce, if you
take Belgium then I should be able to arrange for France to get most of my
other centers.
The downside is that I may lose the Channel to France with this bounce, but
that is far from certain.
>At the same time I'll be in Ruhr.
Burgundy, I think you mean.
>France will probably have retreated
>BUR to GAS. The probable fall move will be to support BEL to PIC, while
>I move HOl out and get it into the action again.
OK, let's both look at all of this a little more carefully. In the
meantime it will be interesting to hear what Turkey and Italy say.
One day, I swear, I will be handing over Norway to you as suggested long,
long, ago. Then we break out the champaign.
Ivy
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
> It would require only one adjustment -- I'm thinking as I
> type here -- We would have to bounce in the North Sea with
> your Denmark and my Channel. Otherwise you have a stab that
> gives you two of my centers. I never had that great an
> opportunity against you. With this bounce, if you
> take Belgium then I should be able to arrange for France to
> get most of my other centers.
>
> The downside is that I may lose the Channel to France with
> this bounce, but that is far from certain.
Well I did see the possibility of the move to NTH. Actually considered
it also. Mainly because I just wanted to say "Now you know why your
move to the North Sea caused such a reaction from me"
I think that I'd rather not have you go to Norway if it's going to mean
that your fleets will retreat further. That's not going to get us
anything. Unfortunately the same problem occurs if you move NTH
anywhere, and I know about it.
We might be reaching an impass here. I want to get things moving. I
can't while you're in the North Sea. But if you move out you leave me a
stab opportunity. (and how many times have I said how difficult it
would be to get back out of NTH?)
How about moving to Yorkshire? You can still protect EDI that way. Or
better yet the Norwegian Sea? Then you can protect EDI and NWY.
Depending on how the guesswork goes.
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
>Germany is much too concerned about getting stabbed. it hinders his
>development.
Yes, I pointed out the same thing to France.
>what would France do if I attacked Germany? my best guess is that he would
>plow into me with everything he had. You could not save me then.
I don't see France reacting that way at all,
especially given the threat of an 8-Center Italy
lurking in the Western Med. France is likely to
ally with Germany if Germany attacks you, but if
you attack Germany, your honesty, (assuming you've
been honest with France), and you greater willingness
to communicate, should win him over, especially if
we both play up the Italian threat to Prince Boar.
>You must think I am a passive, carebear player.
No, true care-bear's don't get to this level.
>I feel I am caught in a situation in which I have only one reasonable
>strategy. I don't like my position anymore than you like yours, but every
>time I think about changing strategies, I only see matters getting worse.
Can matters get better, following your current
strategy? As I see it, you have to pull back from
France, or from Germany, and hope to form an alliance
with that Power. Maintaining a forward defense
against both just means they will ally against you,
and eventually wear you down. I don't much like my
position, but imagine how much worse it would be had
I stuck with my original strategy, and not Convoyed
A Fin-Lvn in S1902M. There are times to stay the
course, but there comes a point where not changing
course, dooms you to failure as surely as constant
vacillation does. You are about to pass that point,
I fear.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
I was thinking about this game last night after I turned off the
computer. What a lousy partnership we have. I have six units, you have
five. We still haven't made a dent in France, and we're actually going
in the other direction.
The reality is that we should have all the other powers banding
together to stop us because we're so damm tough. But what's happening
is that we're impotent while the stab king is gaining a lead.
Well I for one am tired of this. I'm willing to get my ass in gear.
My question is; are you?
I would like to move my fleet in DEN into the Baltic, to counter any
Russia move from Warsaw. (This is how pathetic this has become, I'm
worried about Russia when he should be on the verge of elimination from
me)
I also will blast BUR out of the way. My goals in France remain the
same. However, time has run out and if I have to take a French center
to knock him down, so that you can push in then so be it.
What I really have to do (and quick) is engage Italy. Turkey will not
survive. Although I expect a long battle. But without help I don't see
Turkey holding out the Italian.
What are you willing to commit to?
Fredd
Message from France to England
Wingo:
I am back on duty. My brother was disappointed that he
did not have the opportunity to converse with you. C'est
la vie, I told him. Perhaps you were out of town, or
just enjoying the holiday.
Are we going to continue to waste each other's chances in
this game? Will we do so without even discussing the
options?
Le DAUPHIN
Message from England to France
Dauphin,
Very sorry. Work has been horribly time-consuming lately. Since we are
only in the build phase, I felt I had to set aside Diplomacy briefly. I
hope to get a proper letter to you ASAP.
Ivy
>Wingo:
>
>I am back on duty. My brother was disappointed that he
>did not have the opportunity to converse with you. C'est
>la vie, I told him. Perhaps you were out of town, or
>just enjoying the holiday.
>
>Are we going to continue to waste each other's chances in
>this game? Will we do so without even discussing the
>options?
>
>Le DAUPHIN
Message from England to Germany
Fredd,
My work load is suddenly picked up considerably, so my responses may not be
as timely as before. Fortunately, we have a lot of time. Let me respond
to your two e-mails one at a time.
>I think that I'd rather not have you go to Norway if it's going to mean
>that your fleets will retreat further.
I had never considered Norway myself; I was just responding to your idea.
>Mainly because I just wanted to say "Now you know why your
>move to the North Sea caused such a reaction from me"
One difference though. When you were worried about a stab from me, you had
6 units to my 5, and I would have only been able to pick up one of your
centers with the stab. In the current situation, when it is still 6 to 5
in your favor, if you entered the North Sea you would get two of my
centers, making it 8 to 3. That's not just a stab; that is death.
Fortunately, you are still coming up with reasonable alternatives.
>How about moving to Yorkshire? You can still protect EDI that way. Or
>better yet the Norwegian Sea?
The Norwegian Sea works for me. Anything that does not expose me to an
immediate loss of two centers. We would still need the bounce in the North
Sea this turn, so that I would only risk Belgium. But with your army in
Burgundy, we would be once again well under way against France, and our
mutual trust would take a big leap.
*********************
From your second note:
>What are you willing to commit to?
That's a fair question. Without thinking too hard about tactics for a
moment, let's look the general strategic situation. Several cases:
A. I could risk the loss of two centers. For example, by simply vacating
the North Sea.
B. I could risk the loss of one center. For example, I could risk Ruhr by
vacating the North Sea while we bounce there.
C. We both could risk a center. For example, I could stay in Nth for
exactly one more turn, while you move Den->Bal. Ruhr is at risk and so is
either Holland or Denmark, but not both.
There must be other permutations, but you get the idea. We have lived a
long time with one center under risk, whether it be Holland or Belgium or
both. Stabs are rarely made for one center.
Anyway, here is my answer to your question. I will commit to any set of
moves that does not risk the loss of two centers. I have not had the time
to examine the tactics in detail, but something should prove to be mutually
satisfying.
Most cordially,
Ivy
All of this is highly temporary. Once we are inside France againthis fall
our trust will increase.
Message from Master to all
Okay, I think my email is back. I got nothing in or out of
masseyd@btv.ibm.com for four or five days, then I got a flood
of about 300 mails in the last hour (in reverse chronological
order, for some reason).
Anyway, everything seems to be back to normal on my end.
I think we have everyone back from Labor Day vacation in the
U.S. and are ready to continue with the F1904B deadline
tonight.
Doug
Message from France to England
Wingo:
Surely France can wait. Take care of your other
important business.
Le DAUPHIN
Message from Turkey to England
Ivy,
Yes, you can bet that was a genuine Italian attack. Gre/Bla were supposed
to bounce in Bul, and Roberto specifically told me at the end of that
flurry
of negotiations, "I have ordered Vie S Tri, Tri S Ser-Bud." So, that was
certainly not the result I had hoped for. Roberto must be feeling pretty
damned confident if he feels he can screw over England and Turkey in the
same turn. If the game turns into IFG, he may be right.
Germany has written me twice since the deadline, with conflicting
suggestions. First he proposed GT efforts against Russia. Then he said he
might cut a deal with Russia, that he would leave Mos/War alone if Russia
gave up StP, and urged me to instead try and get Russia on my side. Either
way, I will be strongly urging Germany to stick with England. It won't be
hard to make the argument that if he joins France now, he'll have French
fleets all over him afterwards, since I do believe this to be the case.
Anyway, I don't think I have much choice other than to try and make amends
with Russia at this point, especially if Germany doesn't commit any centers
to the south. I have written Russia with a description of the events of
last turn. I will also copy it in joint press to you and him, asking for
your confirmation. I feel I've given an honest and accurate description;
if
you disagee with any of it, then please feel free to say so. But to those
elements that you know to be true, I hope you will confirm to Russia. It's
about the only chance I have of keeping Russia from being an Italian
janissary.
In any case, if Russia sides with Italy then I won't last long. I'm sure
to
lose Bud to Italy at the least, and I'll have to withdraw from Sev if I'm
going to have any chance of mending fences with Russia. Given that Italy
has literally no threats on the board, IR cooperation would mean a quick
death for Turkey.
As always, any thoughts you might have would be most welcome.
Ali
Message from Turkey to England and Russia
Gentlemen,
Below is an excerpt of my recent press to Russia, describing the events of
the last turn. Ivy, I ask you to answer honestly: do you agree that my
description is accurate, at least in terms of those elements of which you
had direct knowledge?
Ali
----- Original Message -----
> Nick,
>
> I realize you have no reason to believe a word I say, but here is the
> absolute truth. Throughout last week, I pushed hard to get me into Bud
and
> return Sev to you. Italy gave it lip service, to both of us, but he
*never*
> said "I have entered vie s ser-bud" or any such, despite my pressing him
for
> a concrete answer. He said the matter would be decided on Thursday, and
of
> course on Thursday the judge was down.
>
> Throughout the diplomacy phase, I had extensive discussions with Ivy
about
> my reasons for wanting to keep you alive, my argument being that a viable
> Russia would be good for him against Germany. I specifically said that I
> didn't want to burn any bridges with you this year, and urged him to
contact
> you to get the ball rolling on ER cooperation. I made detailed
suggestions
> of how he could turn to attack Germany, either by cooperating with Italy
or
> with France, but in any case with Russia harrying German flanks.
>
> Friday morning, with the deadline passed, there was a flurry of diplomacy
> between me, Roberto and Ivy, including joint press from E to IT and from
I
> to ET. The jist of it was that EI would at last cooperate agaisnt
France.
> The plan was for Ivy to withdraw from MAO (hence MAO-IRI), thereby
allowing
> WMS-Spa/sc. I was included in the discussion because Roberto claimed
he'd
> need my permission since that would mean he might be building 3. Of
course,
> I found the idea that Italy would build 3 units alarming, since one of
the
> main tenents of our relationship has been that we would grow at the same
> rate, my preference being one unit a year (which was another reason I was
> pushing for Austria to be split evenly among us).
>
> Anyway, at the last I was able to get Roberto to agree to support me to
Bud,
> though I remained very leery of it all. I stayed in Sev so that if
Roberto
> stabbed me (which it turns out he did) I would at least have one build to
> match his potential 3. Very short-sighted, but that's how you tend to be
> when you're second-guessing everything at the last minute (in this case,
> with an expired deadline). Then just when Roberto got his order in, the
> deadline was extended. After that, I did not receive any further
discussion
> of moves from anyone, and I left on vacation that afternoon without
seeing
> the result.
>
> So the bottom line is that I argued strongly in favor of splitting
Austria
> between ITR, to both Italy and England. I argued for stability and
> flexibility, and until Friday morning, meaning, until after the deadline,
my
> order was Bla S Sev-Rum. If nobody had been late, that would have been
my
> order for the turn. But it seems stability and flexibility weren't what
> Roberto had in mind. Once again, he played me like a violin, and it
seems
> Ivy as well.
Message from Master to Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey
Just signing on to encourage End Of Year statements from the players,
especially from Austria (who I think mentioned that he'd be forthcoming
with one soon, anyway).
Thank you for playing Austria; I hope you'll stay on as an observer.
Feel free to continue to affect play in a verbal manner, if you wish.
Doug
Message from Italy to all
And adjustments haven't processed because ......
Message from Germany to England
Ivy:
> My work load is suddenly picked up considerably, so my responses
> may not be as timely as before.
No problem. My opinion is that less is more in this game. Everyone has
their own agenda here. That agenda rarely matches anyone elses. If you
talk too much to someone, you'll soon get pissed at that guy because you
can never agree on anything.
> One difference though. When you were worried about a stab from me,
> you had 6 units to my 5, and I would have only been able to pick up
> one of your centers with the stab. In the current situation, when
> it is still 6 to 5 in your favor, if you entered the North Sea you
> would get two of my centers, making it 8 to 3. That's not just a
> stab; that is death.
Actually any of us can pick up two centers from the other in a quick
hurry. I could take two of yours right now, provided that certain
people help me out either through action or inaction. Obviously there's
the quick snatch of Belgium, but one of our friends has pointed out a
way that I can take Norway, guaranteed.
Just as certainly you can grab HOL, with France's help. Or swing NTH-SKA
and ENG-NTH, to grab DEN. Or both.
The reason that we don't do these things is that neither of us likes the
end result. That's a strong France. We both know that we'll be at war
with him that minute you or I get depleted. We also both know who
usually wins that war. Add in that Italy will probably have already
won, and I don't like the results of grabbing a quick center.
I'd like to stop talking about bouncing NTH. Once before we both moved
away simultaneously. I can do that again. How about you?
DEN - BAL and NTH - NWG seem the best moves. I don't think that we
have a turn to waste on that bounce.
Fredd
Italy: BUILD Fleet Naples
Italy: BUILD Army Venice
Turkey: BUILD Fleet Smyrna
Centers
England: 5
France: 5
Germany: 6
Italy: 8
Russia: 3
Turkey: 7
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