Diplomacy - Subterfuge

[Shular]

This is your 12 hour warning!

[Neftren]

What a strange turn of events in the Atlantic.

I really don't see how Russia is supposed to hold StP, though. I can't find a defense that holds against the English orders

Nwy, Bar S Fin -> StP
Swe-Bot
Bal-Lvn

Germany had better watch out. Those English fleets only really have one or two places to go after the Scandinavian campaign.

I can assure you that England's fleets will remain in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions (unless I am engaged by the French) after the Russian campaign. Perhaps they'll even return home for a bit.

[Abelard]

"Engaged"? I hardly know ya!

<rimshot>
Thank you, thank you; I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

[Shular]

Fall 1906 results:



Russia:
Ukr - Rum: Bounce with Gal;
Mos - War: OK
War - Sil: OK
Bot - Fin: OK
Lvn - Bot: Bounce with Swe; Dislodged by Bal 2:1;
StP "Surrenders to the English Force": Dislodged by Fin 3:1;

Italy:
Gal - Rum: Bounce with Ukr;
Tus H: OK
Nap H: Dislodged by Ion 2:1;

Germany:
Bur - Par: Bounce with Par;
Pic S Bur - Par: OK
Eng - Bre: Bounce with Bre;
Mun - Bur: Bounce with Bur;
Pru S Bal - Lvn: OK
Bel - Eng: Bounce with Eng;

France:
NAt - Liv: OK
MAt S Bre H: OK
Bre H: OK
Par - Bur: Bounce with Bur;
Mar S Par - Bur: OK

England:
Fin - StP: OK
Bar S Fin - StP: OK
Nwy S Fin - StP: OK
Swe - Bot: Bounce with Lvn;
Bal - Lvn: OK

Austria:
Ion - Nap: OK
Rom S Ion - Nap: OK
Ven - Tus: Bounce with Tus;
Adr - Ion: OK
Vie - Bud: Bounce with Ser;
Ser - Bud: Bounce with Vie;

Russia may retreat army in StP to: Mos

Italy may retreat fleet in Nap to: Apu Tyn

Russia disbands unit in Lvn

Retreats due Saturday, January 3rd, 23:00
Builds due Sunday, January 4th, 23:00

[Kroy]

Russia surrenders it's second largest city and falls back to Moscow (A StP R Mos). If it hasn't been obvious who I am, reread all my posts.

[Neftren]

Just curious... isn't Liverpool, England supposed to be Lvp and not Liv on the map?

[Moody the Wise]

Just curious... isn't Liverpool, England supposed to be Lvp and not Liv on the map?

Yeah, on most maps it is abbreviated as Lvp to distinguish it from Livonia, which is abbreviated as Lvn for the same reason. These are the 'canon' abbreviations which appear on the actual game board (note: abbreviations are only listed for territories whose abbreviations are NOT simply the first three letters of the territory name).

But ... oh well.

[Shular]

1 hour warning.

Still waiting on Italy's retreat.

[Moody the Wise]

Er, right. Just disband it, because it's going bye-bye in the winter anyway.

[Neftren]

Yeah, on most maps it is abbreviated as Lvp to distinguish it from Livonia, which is abbreviated as Lvn for the same reason. These are the 'canon' abbreviations which appear on the actual game board (note: abbreviations are only listed for territories whose abbreviations are NOT simply the first three letters of the territory name).

But ... oh well.

Okay, so it's not just me going crazy. Whew, good to know. Anyway... good playing with you Moody. Maybe things will turn out differently next time. I regret having never fought an open war with you... or against you.

[Shular]

Retreat results:



England takes StP from Russia.
Austria takes Nap from Italy.
Austria takes Rom from Italy.
France takes Liv from England.
Austria takes Tun from Italy.

Russia may build 1 unit.
Italy disbands 2 units.
Austria may build 2 units.

Italy has no centers, so both units will disband.

Builds due Sunday January 4th, 23:00

Spring 1907 orders due Wed. Jan. 7th, 23:00

[Moody the Wise]

I regret having never fought an open war with you... or against you.

Oh, it's fun alright ... just ask Shular.

[Kroy]

Russia builds an army in Sev.

Edit: Italy Defeated! Let me guess, was it Moody?

[Psionic Dog]

Austria builds armies in both Bud and Tri.

Yep, I'm Austria. I figure by now everyone already knows that, particularly since everyone else has already announced their own identities.

No point in trying to keep an expired secret eh?

[Kroy]

England is doomed.Do you remember my previous analysis of the war? Well I "forgot" to include the fact that the loss from Liv cancels out the gain from StP. Now, the English cannot build a unit to defend it's homeland. And, they can't conquer any more of Russia because they have a single army, and all of remaining Russian are either land locked, or protected by France and Austria.

[Kalirren]

Interesting. I was expecting better tactics from the Germans in France. The way the units were actually ordered, it looks like a de facto stab on England.

Not that I blame Germany, of course. The Franco-German alliance is more valuable in the long run because of Marseilles.

In the long run I think my money is on the Austrians. They're done dealing with Italy and Turkey, and Russia's -still- committed in the north. Good job, Psionic Dog. Allies from the beginning!

[Neftren]

England is doomed.Do you remember my previous analysis of the war? Well I "forgot" to include the fact that the loss from Liv cancels out the gain from StP. Now, the English cannot build a unit to defend it's homeland. And, they can't conquer any more of Russia because they have a single army, and all of remaining Russian are either land locked, or protected by France and Austria.

England is hardly doomed. Austria is doing very well, and Russia will soon cave against Austria (should Austria go East). A Franco-German Alliance wouldn't do much at this point and really would only hurt the Germans (who are already close to winning against France). If Austria pushes West, France will collapse. Germany gets to hide behind Switzerland while Russia gets crushed from three sides.

Should the Germans choose to betray the English, for every supply center they take from me, I can take one or more of their home territories in return. I'm not saying that I'll do that since I'd much rather be fighting the French or the Russians, but from a strategic standpoint, France and Germany doesn't achieve much (assuming they do negotiate something). Germany has spent the majority of its time and effort fighting France and now he's wedged his foot in the door. We just need to see if he can force the door open now.

[Abelard]

Really? Germany takes London, you get DEN. Next year, the F/G takes EDI and he can still hold the rest of his dots from you. So even if you take some more centers somewhere, you can't build.

So, while I wouldn't say England is doomed, I would go so far as to say this is a very interesting juncture of the game.

[Shular]

Since you folks seem confident about the builds, I'll post the new map now to give you a little more tinme for discussions.



Spring 1907 ordes due: Wed, Jan. 7, 23:00

I'd love to throw some of my own opinions into the discussion, but as the judge, I must remain neutral (and not give anyone any ideas, or spoil possible strategies).

[Shular]

This is your 21 hour warning!

[Shular]

Spring 1907 results:



Russia:
Aeg - Con: OK
Sil - Ber: Bounce with Pru;
War - Lvn: OK
Fin - Bot: OK
Mos S War - Lvn: OK
Ukr S Mos H: OK
Sev S Mos H: OK

Germany:
Bur - Gas: OK
Mun - Bur: OK
Pru - Ber: Bounce with Sil;
Pic H: OK
Bel S Pic H: OK
Eng - Iri: OK

France:
Liv - Wal: OK
MAt S Bre - Eng: OK
Bre - Eng: OK
Par - Bre: OK
Mar S Bur H: Void;

Austria:
Vie - Boh: OK
Bud - Vie: OK
Ven - Tyr: OK
Rom - Ven: OK
Ser H: OK
Tri H: OK
Nap H: OK
Ion C Tun - Apu: OK
Tun - Ion - Apu: OK

England: NMR

England may retreat fleet in Lvn to: Bal

Retreat order due Thursday, January 8, 23:00
Fall 1907 orders due Sunday, January 11, 23:00

[Psionic Dog]

French prepare for London Invasion!

Germans Smash French Defenses! Paris Guards Desert.

Austria Annexes Munich! Troops sent to impose order.

Scandinavian Tide Shifts! Russians begin to retake lost ground.

English Government Evacuates London! Orders lost in resulting anarchy.

This has been a *most* interesting spring.

France is dying by German hands, but appears ready to drag England down with them.

England is dying by French hands, and there isn't much they can do. England's ridding the Russian Bear, if they try to move their troops they'll get eaten. Even a stab on Germany wouldn't save them: The troop shift would let the Russians advance again, and without a German check the French would overrun the English.

I could be wrong, but I suspect we'll see one or two more players eliminated before the game ends. So, even though a English -> German stab would seal England's fait, it would also doom German to an even earlier premature end, and thus leave England as one of the final four... possibly reason enough to make the futile stab.

I suspect these next few turns will be *very* interesting.

[Kalirren]

Oh, that's funny. I've never seen anyone play the NMR like Neftren does. Well done. England plays the NMR and lets Russia stab Germany for him.Isn't it great?

How long is the Russo-Austrian alliance going to last? At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to see Germany be the only country eliminated for a 4-way EFAR draw.

France is far from lost, and Germany's in a fix. Paris may be vacant, but the only guaranteed center to be lost is Mar, and that comes at the cost of Munich; of course, the only way Munich will be held is if the Russians cooperate and stab Austria. Since France has an extra build anyway, I don't know what's going to happen if Mar falls, especially since Austria is moving against Germany. I expect Ven-Pie in that case.

[Neftren]

Okay I swear I sent in orders last night.

[Abelard]

News from the French wires...

Troops charged with defending the capital city elected to protect the shores of the Bay of Biscay instead. "If we're going to die," one lieutenant remarked, "then let it be on the beach, watching the sun set with a glass of Burgun... whoops, we don't own that anymore... with a glass of Champag... whoops, not that, either. OK, then - Sangria for all!"

Since we have much better control over our surf than our turf, our engineers are considering the possibility of moving the entire French population onto floating apartments. The appalling English term of "houseboat" has become all the rage.

Military psychologists have confirmed that the Germans have contracted the virulent malorder that seems to be plaguing the continent. Called "Defensive Cow Disease", the scientists say that it started in England, took root in France, and has now spread east. The symptoms are a keen focus on offense, leaving little or nothing at home to defend from an imminent and predictable attack except some cows. England may succumb to it, while French immunologists are feverishly trying to devise a cure. Will it come too late to save our Tuetonic neighbors?

[Shular]

Okay I swear I sent in orders last night.

I triple checked, Neftren. I even delayed processing until the morning, just in case. Did you check your "Sent Items" folder? I assure you I did not see any orders.

[Shular]

Sigh. No retreat orders received. English fleet Lvn disbands. Map remains the same.

Fall 1907 orders due Sunday, January 11, 23:00

Belay that. Neftren's PMs seem to not be getting to me, so I'd like to resolve this issue before continuing. I will likely allow the retreat order, unless there are objections from anybody else.

[Kroy]

Well it would screw me over. However, from a unbiased view, he should get the retreat.

[Shular]

Well, I don't know what's going on. Neftren is either not PMing me, or I'm just not getting the messages. I will allow the retreat, but since he doesn't seem interested in helping me figure out why I'm not getting some of his messages (but am getting others), going forward I will have to go by what I have at the deadline. Speaking of which...

Fall 1907 deadline extended (due to uncertainty) to Sunday, 23:00.

[Neftren]

I sent you a reply yesterday... did you get it?