|
|
England: Removes 1 unit
France: Builds 1 unit
Italy: Builds 1 unit
Turkey: Removes 1 unit
Message from Italy to France
> France: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean -> Western Mediterranean.
Sigh!
After all I did for you? This is how you repay me?
Message from Turkey to France
Prince Boar,
Many thanks for your attacks into the Med. I look forward to mutually
beneficial cooperation between us against the Italian.
That was certainly an interesting turn of events there in Lowlands. Of
course, I have been hoping for EF cooperation, and I can only hope that the
Bel/Pic maneuver might have been pre-arranged, though I must confess that the
possible motivation behind it escapes me. Does this indeed mark renewed EF
hostility?
I look forward to seeing the game resume its former pace, and I hope we can
regain our former levels of communication.
Ali
Message from Italy to France and Germany
You may squash the 800 lb gorilla but you'll create a 1 ton turkey in the
process.
Boar, if you are confused by my terminology, seek clarification from Fredd.
Roberto
Message from France to France
I basically described my plans, views, and thinking
before the orders were processed. I decided to go with
England rather than Germany because:
* I felt that dealing with Germany would be difficult
* I felt that allowed me to get at Italy sooner
* I felt that in the long run I would have the best shot
at the win, which must be the ultimate goal as long as
there still is a reasonable hope.
Italy has already pointed out to me that this will create
a super large Turkey. I have accepted that. The hope
will be to manage that with a decent sized Russia and my
being able to stalemate him at Italy.
France
Message from France to all
1906 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and
Everything.
- by Prince Xavier Boar
[This is Stuart Scott here, I'm back!! I was finally let
out of the Turkish prison. They stamped a serial number
on me, but I will not tell you where! Let's just say
that I will not ask anyone to kiss it for a while. I
hope that Reece was not too obnoxious in my place. It is
my goal to be the most obnoxious one!]
You may notice that the Symposium is early this year.
Due to complications surrounding trying to move the
Superbowl, we asked that the conference move their date
earlier, rather than waiting for spring. Being great
guys, they agreed to do it. A few millions Francs did
make them more amenable. The Prince was eager to get
started so lets roll the speech.]
Good people of France, given the stressful times I
thought that I would start out with a little
light-hearted philosophical humor.
Descartes sits down at a sidewalk café and orders some
coffee, black.
The server ask "are you sure that you do not want any
milk, it is excellent today."
Descartes retorts, "I think not!"
And then *poof* he immediately ceases to exits!
[Chuckle, hey maybe this guy is not as boring as Reece
made him out to be.]
The year 1905 has shown a reversal in fortune for France.
Many of the foreign invaders have left France and we
have formed a nice ring of defense around the country.
By some quirk of fate, we even have a build to complete
the circle. Our fleets were aimed at defending on all
fronts. We wanted to avoid Italy returning to the
Western Mediterranean. In case Germany moved to
Piedmont, we wanted to be in place to defend Marseilles
without using our armies, and we did not want the English
to sneak back into the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. Luckily none
of those occurred.
Although things are looking better, we are still not out
of the water yet. An English army remains within our
borders. German, England, and Italian forces are all
nearby. We have a lot of diplomatic and tactical work
ahead of us. Rest assured that the Dauphin and I will do
everything in our power to protect both your homes and
your families.
[I like that ring defense thing. I wonder if it would
stop Michael Jordan? Now that he is returning, his age
may be the only thing that could stop him. It will be
fun to watch. Will his come back be as dramatic as the
French, the Turks, or the Russians. We will have to get
a panel of ESPN experts together to analyze who had the
best come back.]
[We now skipped the sensitive stuff and will not jump
right to the philosophy part. Somehow the Prince manages
to identify with a famous actor, as I will mention
below.]
Philosophy
Today's lecture is on the philosophy of Albert
Schweitzer. Schweitzer struggled to find the meaning of
Civilization. And his discoveries are appropriate for
the conflicts that we find in Europe. Many think that
being civilized is proven by intellectual or material
accomplishments, or the territory a country may own. He
felt that only human beings who achieved a certain
positive stability in their ethical relationships could
fully enjoy those material benefits.
His problem was defined by the Lion and the Zebra. The
latter is often food for the former. But what is clearly
good for the lion (getting fed) is not good for the Zebra
(getting eaten). There are no principles to ameliorate
this situation and bring about a happy ending. But this
evolutionary ethic does need to hold for humans, our
thoughts and feelings allow to transcend this instinct.
We can attempt to avoid such predicaments and solve them
when we must.
His solution was a "reverence for life", that means
respecting the will-to-live of every living creature.
Although in our power struggles in Europe, we may not be
able accomplish the true essence of his goals. In many
ways we are stuck as the Lion and the Zebra. Growth must
come at the expense of someone else. But it is my hope
that we can continue to try to live to up to his
principles of respect, and yes, reverence for all great
powers and we deal with this seemingly unsolvable
problem.
[If I am following this, I think that he basically
restating Al Pacino. And here I can at best paraphrase
"On any given Sunday you are either going win or you are
going to lose. The question is, will you win or lose
like a man? This Boar guy is almost as deep at Al.
Wow!]
[The Prince wants me to mention that he will try to write
individual letters later, after the philosophical
reception.]
[Stuart]
Message from Germany to France
Boar:
Well that didn't go well. I understand fully if you want to build a
fleet (or army) in Brest.
For my part, I'm withdrawing my army from TYR. With England and Russia
and Turkey against me I see no reason to pressure Italy. Yes I consider
Turkey against me. He has not answered press in at least two weeks.
But he goes have the gall to send one right AFTER the moves processed,
promising support of all things. A little too late, I should think.
Looks like we're on the same side, as we have the same enemies.
Unfortunately I'll probably lose two by next fall. Not much of an ally
to have.
Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces.
I'm not sure what Italy is referring to.
Fredd
Message from Germany to France
Oh I hadn't noticed before that there's an English army in PIC as a
direct result of your trying to cross me. Nah Nah
Fredd
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
Oh, where do I begin? There is so much to say.
>[This is Stuart Scott here, I'm back!! I was finally let
>out of the Turkish prison. They ...
That was one of the most rambling, incoherent discourses that I have read
in a long time. Drunk with joy are you?
By amazing coincidence, I first heard the Descartes joke ("I think not")
yesterday morning. It's probably been around a long time.
********
Italy's long streak of brilliant moves just ended. He could have been in
Galicia. He could have been in Venice. He could have been in the Ionian.
He could have been in the Eastern Med. He should have been in most of
these places after the fall move, but he is in none of them. He was too
preoccupied with what the Italian army in Tyrolia might do. Now you have a
powerful attack against him.
It is not clear to me what you should build in Marseilles. I am guessing
that Italy is going to build an army in Venice to protect himself from the
Italian army and to bounce you in Piedmont. After the spring move, you
could have fleets in Naf, Wes, and Lyo and something in Marseilles. Italy,
even with German help could not then protect both Piedmont and Tuscany.
Actually, the more I look at the board, the more troubles I see for Italy.
That move to Apulia was really a godsend for us.
Now Germany. He is weak in Denmark, Holland, and StP. How do we proceed?
I thought I saw a nice way to begin -- convoy my army to Holland. That
would untangle us immediately. There are minor problems, though. If we
take Holland first, then the German retreat to Kiel makes taking Denmark
more difficult. However, if you keep Germany out of Ruhr in the spring,
maybe with a double attack on Ruhr, then Denmark would be easier in the
fall. I could cut Kiel from Holland.
The second difficulty with a convoy to Holland is that I would have to
retain the Channel fleet. This is the most important topic we have to
discuss right now. Let me be clear. If you demand that I remove that
fleet so that you can comfortably move Mao against Italy, I will do so.
Certainly I prefer to remove Nao instead. Even if we do not convoy Picardy
to Holland, my preferred alternative would be Nth-Den, Eng->Nth this
spring. So removing the Channel fleet hurts me. I beg you to let me keep
it, but I leave the decision in your hands.
Paris and Brest? Do I have to comment? I would only bring us both down.
Why would I commit murder-suicide? I still have a playable future.
Cheers,
Ivy
Message from England to all
Friends,
We seem to have a judge bug operating. I got the following message
appended to return messages from USIN:
>Adjustment orders for Winter of 1905. (titleist.021)
>
>England: Defaults, removing the army in Picardy.
>
>
>Orders not received for all units. If complete orders are not
>received by Mon Oct 01 2001 12:22:44 -0500, you will be considered late.
>You will be considered abandoned if nothing is received by
>Thu Oct 04 2001 12:22:44 -0500.
Defaults! When the deadline is not until Monday.
Then I submitted an actual removal and received a response that seems to
indicate that all is now OK:
>'Wait' status set.
>
>Adjustment orders for Winter of 1905. (titleist.021)
>
>England: Removes [censored]
Perhaps others who had adjustments got strange defaults prematurely as well?
I set "wait," because I still don't know what removal I will ultimately
choose. I have also alerted Doug in a separate message to the master.
Ivy
Message from Master to all
I checked the status of the game and don't see any errors -- I think that
the message back from the judge for removals always says "Defaults, ..."
even if the game isn't NMR and it's not really going to make your decision
for you.
Just a little strangeness in the way the Judge works, that's all.
Doug
PS: I'm off to New Jersey for 24 hours -- driving down to Pine Valley
Golf Club (the best -- or at worst, second-best -- course in the United
States). I don't get to play, but I'll be watching the final of the
"Crump Cup" tournament. P.V. is only open to the public for six hours
each year, so this is really my only chance to see the great course in
person. I'm kind of a golf nut, in case you hadn't noticed . . .
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
We went to so much trouble to save my army last turn -- your idea -- that
it didn't occur to me that removing the army was still one of our choices.
If removing NAO entails more risk than you are willing to take, then my
second choice would be to remove the army. Removing the Channel is a
distant third. I can see reasonable ways to take both Holland and Denmark
with the first two choices. To do so without the Channel would entail
putting your army in Holland, and that complicates matters unnecessarily.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I am sorry that I have been busy this weekend and have
not had time to write. I only have time for a quick
message now. I will try to write tonight, unless my
woman has some wild night planned. We may be scrubbing
pots and pans, or organizing the basement. I will spare
you the details. :-)
Rest assure that we will do what makes the most sense for
eliminating Germany quickly. That is most likely your
removing F NAO. Yes, we want to provide safety for each
of us, but right now that it the second objective. The
primary one is eliminating Germany quickly and hitting
Italy hard, before they can effectively unit. They have
15 units between them.
I do appreciate your sensitivity to likely worries. But
right now we have to work together as efficiently as
possible to be effective.
I need to study the board, but I think that an army in
Marseilles may be the best choice. I will write soon.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Sorry for the rush used with my last message to you. I
am sure that there were several typos and parts of it
were unclear.
The point that I was trying to make is that we should
focus first on how best to eliminate Germany. I
appreciate your taking into account that I would prefer
to not have your units border my centers. But for this
turn, lets just worry about which are the best units for
our attack on Germany. So yes, the fleet in the Channel
is essential. Go ahead and order the removal of the
Fleet in the North Atlantic Ocean.
I am putting in an army build in Marseilles as my
default, but I that is far from final. We should
certainly discuss it.
I am not sure if your convoy to Holland or
Nth -> Hel, Bur -> Ruh s by Bel, Pic -> Bur, Eng -> Nth s
by Nor is best. I guess the convoy to Hol is
guaranteed, so it may be the best. We just have to worry
about making it stick for fall, or having a situation
where if you lose Holland you end up with something else.
I have not really looked at the map yet, so I am talking
off the top of my head.
What are you telling people about your army in Picardy.
Are you telling that it was arranged or are you leaving
them guessing. I prefer the latter, but if you are
admitting our agreement to it, then it makes little sense
for me to try to make them wonder or imply otherwise.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I understand that you are upset with my being in the
Mediterranean. I noticed that you had a very good shot
at 10 centers, well everyone pointed it out so it was
hard not to notice. You very easily could have moved my
way in anticipation of that position. I thought that
there was a real chance at a bounce. Even if you held,
as you did, I was of course very concerned about your
size. It was also a requirement from both England and
Germany to help me in the North.
Given where I am, there is no certainly that a war
between us inevitable. What can you do to alleviate all
the concerns? My units could easily shift another
direction, especially in the spring.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Germany
Fredd:
Thank you for the support to Belgium. I am sorry that I
did not take you up on it. I was not comfortable with
any my neighbors so I felt it best to be self reliant and
have the best defensive position possible. If I am to
build in Marseilles, I need something to defend my
exposed homeland.
The question remains where do we go from here. There is
the opportunity for me to build an army in Marseilles and
try to work with you against Venice. But I understand if
you feel the need to pull that army home.
As for the army in Picardy. He must remove something,
perhaps it will be that?
--Prince Boar
Message from Russia to England and France
Gentlemen,
I'm including Prince Boar in this since it concerns him more directly
than it does me. 8-)
> > Note from Russia to England >
> Message from England to Russia in 'titleist':
>
> > I expect you'll disband A Pic *Nick thinks for a moment...*
> >Bel S Bur-Ruh, Pic-Bur, ECh-Nth, Swe S Nth-Den has a lot of
> >potential, though. That would imply a disband of NAO, I guess.
>
> After all that trouble to save the army via a convoy, I hadn't even
> thought of disbanding it. I guess that is a possibility, though.
>
> I am also suggesting to France that I convoy Picardy to Holland.
> That would disentangle our armies and still preserve an army for
> me. Your suggestion is excellent also.
Hmmm, will Bel S Bur-Ruh work? Fredd could block it with
Hol-Bel, Mun-Ruh, Tyl-Mun. I guess the other possibility is:
Bur S Bel-Ruh, ECh S Pic-Bel, both of those are forced moves.
(Well, given Mun S Hol-Ruh, FA Bel would retreat to Hol instead
of taking Ruhr, but that's almost as good. 8-) I think taking Ruh
this Spring is better than the convoy to Hol, since an enemy Army
in Ruhr is like one in the Ukraine, it makes defending the Homeland
nearly impossible. Taking Ruhr would also free up F Nth to take
Den, giving us supported attacks on Kie, Hol or Mun in the Fall.
I'll order Swe S Nth-Den no matter what, so you don't HAVE to
let me know what you two decide, but if you'd like my opinion, I'm
more than willing to contribute to the discussion.
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
Since I'm offering unsolicited advice, I thought I'd bother you,
as well. ;-) B F Mar, followed by either Mar-Pie, MAO-NAf,
WMed S Spa/SC-GoL, or Mar-GoL, Spa/SC-WMed,
WMed-TyS (Assuming TyS-Tun), MAO-NAf, both have
potential. I lean toward Mar-Pie, to keep Germany from ordering
or retreating Tyl-Pie, and you can then move Pie-Tus, to force TyS.
Nick,
(Who obviously has too much time, and not enough Units of his own...)
Message from Germany to France
Removing the army in Picardy? I hadn't considered that one. Of
course, maybe that'll work. After all Ivy says the convoy to PIC was
your idea in the first place. Although why you'd want a foreign army
next to two of your open suppy centers is a little bit beyond me.
Fredd
Message from France to Turkey
Ali:
Congratulations on guessing correctly. You managed to
keep both Rumania and Bulgaria and not give ground in
Galicia. I expected that you would be pleased with my
movement into the Mediterranean. As for England and I,
we continue to work on our relationship. I am hopeful
that diplomacy can bring a peaceful resolution to our
situation.
Italy is already pointing out that by my attacking him,
you will become very large and dangerous. I of course
realize that this will happen. I just hope to become
large enough to balance you. The difference is that I
have a less secure defensive position. As I ponder the
future, I recommend that you and I work to keep this
situation stable. It may be wise for your to grow
slowly. We are afterall, shooting for the two-way draw
that we agreed upon in 1901! :-)
I do not know what it makes sense for you to remove. I
image that Italy will either build an army in Venice or a
Fleet in Naples.
Germany hinted that you offered to work with him against
Italy. I think that we should try to keep Germany and
Italy from working together. Let's just not help either
of them grow. We want to cut both of them down to size.
Then the four of us can figure out what to do next.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Congratulations to you. I am glad to see that your
situation looks much brighter. England supported you to
Sweden as promised and you are in position to take back
St. Petes. I will write more soon and right now write a
joint message to you and Ivy
--Xavier
Message from France to England and Russia
Ivy, Nick:
It looks like we are in great position against Germany.
Some of our goals seem obvious: the liberation of St.
Petes, a Germany center for England, and if we can manage
it, taking a third center from Germany. We have a couple
of options. We can begin to ponder them. I still have
to decide on my adjustment and then we can go forward.
Let's pledge to stick together at least until Germany is
eliminated. I realize things may get tricky after that.
But we have one good goal. Shorter term, we need to
keep Italy and Germany from working together.
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
>Sorry for the rush used with my last message to you.
Somewhere in the middle of last week I got caught up with my work and
consequently this has been a relaxing weekend. I went for a long walk this
morning and watched the Steelers this afternoon.
The Steeler victory was OK, but they may have beaten the worst team in the
NFL. I'm not so sure that the Pack has been tested yet either. Still, 3-0
ain't bad against any opposition.
Now I will write a long letter. There is no hurry to reply. We have
several days.
>What are you telling people about your army in Picardy.
I am telling them the truth. It's what I like to do when at all possible.
I had to play games with Germany last turn to keep him from bouncing me in
the North Sea. After that, I know I won't be able to deceive him any
more. After Germany, there is no other player whose moves I could
conceivably influence this turn by lying about Picardy.
>Go ahead and order the removal of the
>Fleet in the North Atlantic Ocean.
OK.
>I am putting in an army build in Marseilles as my
>default, but I that is far from final. We should
>certainly discuss it.
I would lean that way, if it were my choice.
>I am not sure if your convoy to Holland or
>Nth -> Hel, Bur -> Ruh s by Bel, Pic -> Bur, Eng -> Nth s
>by Nor is best.
One thing to consider is that I have promised Russia that Norway can be
used to take StP this year. That almost certainly means Warsaw supp
Mos->Livonia & Norway->StP in the spring to drive the Russian army back.
In the fall Norway supp Livonia->StP.
>I guess the convoy to Hol is
>guaranteed, so it may be the best. We just have to worry
>about making it stick for fall, or having a situation
>where if you lose Holland you end up with something else.
> I have not really looked at the map yet, so I am talking
>off the top of my head.
I've looked at the map a lot, and I don't see how it would be possible to
lose Holland after taking it in the spring. The best Germany could hope
for would be to have Ruhr and Kiel occupied after the spring. Even then I
could still support Holland from the North Sea. Germany loses two units
and we really tear him apart the following year.
The German moves that I have been considering are a) Munich->Kiel &
Tyrolia->Munich or b) Hol sup Munich->Ruhr & Tyrolia->Munich. However,
in his current state of mind, Germany might throw in the towel and order
Tyrolia->Piedmont at Italy's request. That could keep the wolf from
Italy's door, but Germany is all the weaker. Fredd might not care, though.
Fortunately Tyrolia can't go both directions.
How likely do you think Munich->Burgundy might be?
The reason I asked is that without that move, I think we can get three
centers from Germany this year. Make the convoy supported by Belgium and
also issue Burgundy->Ruhr. If you look at the map you will see that, with
Ruhr vacant, my army in Holland would be free in the fall to cut the Germay
army that will then be in Kiel. Denmark would fall in addition to Holland
and StP. The risk? Munich->Burgundy is the risk.
As an alternative to the above, I can live with the convoy without
Burgundy->Ruhr. That still takes down Holland and StP this year.
But wait! Forget all of the above (I think).
The following is starting to look veeery good to me: Bel supp Bur->Ruhr,
Pic->Bur, Swe supp Nth->Den, Eng->Nth. If Germany has moved
Tyr->Mun->Kiel, then you have an *excellent* shot at Munich, something that
I didn't think was possible this year. If, instead, Germany bounces us in
Ruhr via Hol supp Mun->Ruh, then I have an excellent shot at Holland. Take
a look.
*******
What I would do if I were Italy? First, somehow enlist Germany to move
Tyrolia->Piedmont. Without that move, I wouldn't want to be Italy. Also,
take Galicia. Then Italy has the option of a triple attack on Rumania or a
triple attack on Bulgaria. The Black Sea has to guess which to defend.
It's 50-50, then that Italy will get another build. Without it, he is in a
mess. Even with good guessing, he is in trouble. Soon you will be
descending on Italy via Munich.
*******
Every prediction I have made in this game has proved to be worthless, but
once again I will try. After the death of Germany, my units will be
positioned naturally to engage Russia; your units will be aimed at Italy.
Turkey, even if temporarily weakened, has no love for either of Russia or
Italy. I think you and I can stay at peace and work with Turkey and get
the game down to three.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I have a dilema.
To get a good shot at Tunis, I need to build Fleet Marseilles.
To defend Marseilles from an army through Piedmont,
I need to build an Army.
I am leaning towards building the fleet and because
of that, preferring Pic -> Hol. That allows a more
controlled advance on Germany. Next year,
Bel to Ruh s by Hol and Bur, then an attack on
Munich.
It is a pain having your centers exposed at
the front. I envy your island. :-)
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
>To get a good shot at Tunis, I need to build Fleet Marseilles.
>To defend Marseilles from an army through Piedmont,
>I need to build an Army.
I don't quite see the logic here, but I am a bit rushed this morning.
>I am leaning towards building the fleet and because
>of that, preferring Pic -> Hol. That allows a more
>controlled advance on Germany. Next year,
>Bel to Ruh s by Hol and Bur, then an attack on
>Munich.
Nor here.
But it doesn't matter. Build what you think is best. We will sort out the
moves later.
>It is a pain having your centers exposed at
>the front. I envy your island. :-)
Really Prince? Then why didn't you select it over France? 8-) 8-)
Cordially,
Ivy
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
My first message was hurried, because of an 8:00 obligation. Now I sit
leisurely in my office.
>I am leaning towards building the fleet and because
>of that, preferring Pic -> Hol. That allows a more
>controlled advance on Germany. Next year,
>Bel to Ruh s by Hol and Bur, then an attack on
>Munich.
Certainly, Pic->Hol has the advantage of disentangling our units and making
you more secure. Perhaps the extra security is what appeals to you
most. Even with Pic->Hol, we have a good chance of picking up a third
German center if you are willing to risk Bur->Ruh. Of course, it would be
I who could have a shot at the third center, whereas with the other set of
moves it would more likely be you.
Anyway, given your weird position this turn, I am ready to agree to
anything that you propose. I do appreciate the risk that you have
taken. Strange, isn't it, that my "sacrifice" of a unit so you can build
and stop Italy has placed you at risk? Do you play chess? 8-)
Nevertheless, you and I do recognize that what we did has given both of us
a better future.
Ivy
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I will build the fleet. This is a very pro-English
choice. :-) (Perhaps as much because it is
anti-Italian as anything.) It also shows and requires
quite a bit of trust from you. But we both could have
betrayed each other last year. We can do so again. It
is just a question of realizing that is the not best long
term choice and wanting to have a relationship that one
can count on for the long run.
You know, I did not think about another choice for last
year:
Bel -> Ruh s by Bur
Pic -> Bel s by Eng
This would have protected Belgium and provided a better
spot for your army. Of course hindsight! I only have
two weeks to think of it, but I was not really thinking
about the game much.
I will try to better explain my ramblings about
preferring Pic -> Hol later. It is about a more control
attack on Germany without worrying about excessively
exposing my homeland.
--Prince Boar
England: REMOVE Fleet North Atlantic Ocean
France: BUILD Fleet Marseilles
Italy: BUILD Army Venice
Turkey: REMOVE Army Ankara
Centers
England: 4
France: 6
Germany: 6
Italy: 9
Russia: 3
Turkey: 6
|