D-Day Diplomacy Game

I recommend the French retreat their fleet to the North Atlantic, and on to operations in the Barrents as time progresses. We need to demilitarize England on a status quo basis, and free up the units there for operations against Austria, unless it is decided that he has won and we do not want to do anything about it. In that case, I will probably take Paris and Brest, because I can.

On further analysis there is a chance we can avoid Austrian Victory. I do not seem to have an email address for France, I would like to know France's decision, so I can congratulate Austria on his victory if France will not ally with Italy. If we can ally, then any Austrian celebration may be premature.

I envision French operations against Austrian forces in Northern Russia, Itaian operations in the Mediteranian, and coperative conquest in Germany and the Center. I hope Austria moved too soon with his stab, which after all is for one Italian center (Berlin). True, two more Italian centers in Turkey are likely forfit, but it seems to me that his supply center total can be kept below 18 if we retake Holland. He has one fleet, in the Black Sea. If France can get fleets in the Baltic and Gulf of Bothnia, and I get more fleets back in the Med, there are vulnerable supply centers that can be taken away from Austria by sea, with help from our limited number of armies. It may be tricky, as he is on the verge of victory, but we ought to try to defeat Austria.

I am hoping for an early email from France.
 
Austria wishes to thank Italy for a long and rewarding alliance...however, whilst we were fairly confident that Italy would be happy to share power equally in Europe, the difficulty comes in the detail. Had we kept to the agreement we had established, Austria would have risked losing in Europe as our potential for expansion into anything other than Italian territory was limited, whilst the Italians would have been able to quickly take French centres.

That Italy was in the path of Austrian expansion was just due to the nature of the war we fought against the Franco-Russians and maybe partially as I was happy to have Italy with vulnerable centres that I could attack.

Lastly, and most importantly: it was simplest, quickest and safest option to pursue.

The stab itself relied upon being proactive with attacks and persuade Italy to go for the Kiel move and to rely upon Austrian aid to take Belgium and also to risk Trieste to setup the attack upon Venice. I also negociated German inactivity to ensure St.Petersburg fell promptly.

The result is a position from which I cannot fail to convert into a victory. My peace terms to Italy would be generous, however they will always remain a junior partner to the great Austro-Hungarian Empire :)
 
Italy retreats Kiel to Ruhr, the French scuttle F Irish Sea and the current status is as follows (builds due by tomorrow):

Adjustments:

Austria: Supp 16 Unit 12 Build 3
France: Supp 7 Unit 7 Even
Italy: Supp 11 Unit 12 Remove 1

A new map will be supplied after the winter phase.
 
Just out of curiousity, how did you negotiate with Germany? He had nothing to gain by letting me fall...unless it was just the satisfaction of seeing me die out at the same moment that he did. Was that it?

Anyway, aside from the somewhat frustrating nature of the stalemate, I found this a very enjoyable game and was happy to participate. I hope some or all of you who were involved will hang onto my email address and keep me in mind for future games. I will do the same at my end.

I've expressed to Magnus my interest in maybe acting as GM for a future game. I can't commit the time to either GMing or playing at this point in time, but maybe closer to spring, if nobody has started a new game yet, I will be able to get a new game going, with some advice from Magnus.

This last remark is really for consideration *after* the winner or draw has been declared and the war is over: I know that Kitten of Chaos and barron of ideas are the most experienced players left in the game and I assume Magnus has a good deal of experience also...at the very least he had a unique GM's-eye-view of the diplomacy involved in this match. I'd be grateful and very interested if any of them (or anyone else who was involved in the game) feels like reflecting on any aspect of the D-Day game. Did anyone make any obvious, avoidable gaffes? From Magnus's perspective, were there any particularly amusing deceptions, either because they worked or because they couldn't have worked in a million years? No names necessary, to avoid embarrassing players, but the stories might instruct or entertain or perhaps even do both. Again, I'm only suggesting this right now because I'm out and it has occurred ot me...but I wouldn't ask anyone to comment on the game right now while it's still in progress.

Anyway, thanks for the game and good luck to the remaining diplomats.
 
Thinking back, my diplomacy with Germany was irrelevant as long as Russia didn't enlist German support. Also, the Germans didn't fall for my ruse, but at the same time they opted not to act...you Russians had caused Germany far more harm than we Austrians.
 
But I did enlist German support...right up until this last turn. I offered support to him too, as much as I could give it after the Franco-Russian alliance was severed.

I certainly don't blame Toasty for letting me hang...especially, as you say Kitten, in view of the amount of trouble I'd caused him earlier in the game. I'd say he had every reason to draw satisfaction from the fact that I was exiting at the very same moment he was...I was just trying to do my utmost to hang on with all twenty nails and hope does have that crazy knack for springing eternal. :)
 
I'll confess to the biggest gaffe of the game from my perspective. I gambled that Austria would welcome my aid to break the stalemate in hopes of a better position, possibly with us trying to take as big a chunk of Europe as possible. I learned too late that The Tsar was right with his advice all along, and that Austria had no intentions of cutting a deal with me. I suspect, however, that the line that held the stalemate was about to break when I took over France part way through the game, as I couldn't maintain enough support to hold Munich. With that wedge, I was fighting a committed alliance on two fronts...
 
Sorry for the delay.

France removes F ANK

Austria raises F TRI, A VI & A BUD

Spring 1912 orders are due Thursday 2 December 2004at the usual time.
 

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You meant to say, Italy removes fleet Ankara...
 
Orders Received

Austria - Kitten OF Chaos
A Tyr - Ven
A Vie S A Bud - Tri
F Tri - Adriatic Sea
A Bud - Tri
A Gre - Alb
A Con - Sym
A Arm S A Con - Sym
F BLA - Con
A Sev - Mos
A Mos - Liv
A St.Petersburg - Finland
A Ber - Kie
A Holl S A Kie - Ruh
A Mun S A Kie - Ruh
A Kie - Ruh

France - Gnarfflinger
A Bel S A Ruhr to Holland
A Sweeden to Finland
A Par to Bur
A Bre to Pic
A York Hold
F Norway hold
A Den to Kiel

Italy - barron of ideas
A Smyrna to Ankara
F Apulia to Adriatic Sea
A Venice to Tyrolia
A Gascony to Marseilles
A`Ruhr to Holland
A Burgundy to Ruhr
F Engliah Channel to North Sea
F MAO to W Med
F Irish sea to MAO
F Liverpool to Irish Sea
F Edinburg to Norwegian Sea

Adjudication

Austria:
A Armenia Supports A Constantinople - Smyrna
A Berlin - Munich (*Fails*)
F Black Sea - Constantinople
A Budapest - Trieste (*Fails*)
A Constantinople - Smyrna
A Greece - Albania
A Holland Supports A Munich - Ruhr (*Disbanded*)
A Kiel Supports A Munich - Ruhr (*Cut*)
A Moscow - Livonia
A Munich - Ruhr (*Bounce*)
A Sevastopol - Moscow
A St Petersburg - Finland (*Bounce*)
F Trieste - Adriatic Sea (*Bounce*)
A Tyrolia - Venice (*Fails*)
A Vienna Supports A Budapest - Trieste (*Fails*)

France:
A Belgium Supports A Ruhr - Holland
A Brest - Picardy
A Denmark - Kiel (*Fails*)
F Norway Hold
A Paris - Burgundy (*Fails*)
A Sweden - Finland (*Bounce*)
A Yorkshire Hold

Italy:
F Apulia - Adriatic Sea (*Bounce*)
A Burgundy - Ruhr (*Bounce*)
F Edinburgh - Norwegian Sea
F English Channel - North Sea
A Gascony - Marseilles
F Irish Sea - Mid-Atlantic Ocean
F Liverpool - Irish Sea
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Western Mediterranean
A Ruhr - Holland
A Smyrna - Ankara
A Venice - Tyrolia (*Fails*)

Retreats

None, however:
Austrian A Holland has no retreats, disbanded.

Fall Fall 1912 Orders due Tuesday 7 December @ 2359 hours GMT.
 

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I would like to explore the support for a vote for a 3 way tie among the surviving powers. My count of likely Fall 1912 Austrian centers gives them 17, and I don't see much chance of them getting to 18 for victory, as Venice is not likely to fall, at least not soon. The French/Italian alliance has a decent shot at the Ruhr, and then Kiel, with my fleet in the North Sea going to Helgoland bight. Once a fleet is in the Baltic or Gulf of Bothnia, St Petersburg is possibly vulnerable, as is Berlin, and possibly Munich from Ruhr, Kiel, Burgundy. I think Italy can get enough fleets in the Med to hold at a minimum, the Ionian Sea, which keeps Italy and Tunis safe. Offensive operations might be possible by Italy, but not by Austria unless they can build more fleets, which involves leaving Trieste open in the Fall. Tricky to do, safely, as long is Venice is Italian. I don't see a short, easy way to defeat Austria, but as long as the Italian/French alliance holds, and it must as the alternative is Austrian victory, there is a stalemate likely in the forseeable future.

Anyone want to declare a 3 way tie on Peal Harbor day?
 
So that's one vote for a three-way tie and one vote here for a four way tie. ...No? Anybody? Anybody? :D
 
Nice try Slappy, but I'd be happy with the three way split.
 
Bah, should have kept to my initial orders.

It is going to be a long hard war...so, I think I'll be happy to sign up to a 3 way split of Europe as long as the Austrian possession of all the centres she holds and in addition Ankara is recognised by Italy and France.

As for fleets, Austria will have 3 by the end of 1912...that is a simple matter, not much of a problem. In the long term, Austrian prospects in the Med are okay, the problem is very much Germany and that Kiel would probably fall.
 
If the Baron can live with that, then I'm okay with that too.
 
Bah, the Baron has waited too long. We Austrians will continue the fight, we can get another fleet this Fall with abit of self-induced bounciness and win in the Med against the paltry forces Italy has in the area. We shall talk of peace again, later, should the situation dissolve into a stalemate.
 
It might be fun to see how this plays out, the $64 question of course is what happens to the French/Italian alliance once the Austrian Victory is postponed permanently.

Italy will be very happy to not lose, and it seems unlikely France will stab Italy any time soon, as an Austrian victory would be the likely result. It appears, based on what Austria has said, to be my fault for allowing him to stab me. I didn't think it made sense for him to stab for what turned out to be a net of 2 centers. Berlin and the two Turkish supply centers, less Holland. Or was it three, Kiel might have been counted as Italian? In any case, he traded a very likely 2 way draw for at best a 3 way, and at this point, I might hope for a two way Italian/French draw. If Austria builds up his naval forces, can he defend his non-coastal provinces? The more centers he loses, perhaps Berlin and St Petersburg, the harder it becomes to hold Munich and Moscow. And then further crumbling may occur.

I have not made a study of all possible stalemate lines, but if France and Italy remain allies to the end, and Italy won't break this alliance as it is clearly not in my interest to do so, I expect Austria can't defend everywhere. If I am wrong, and there is a stalemate line available to Austria from its current position, I will certainly be happy to know about it and once again advocate a 3 way draw.

This is not the longest email Diplomacy game on record, by any means, but I don't much want to play on beyond 1920 if there is no prospect of eliminating Austria. I would be glad if it turned out Austria's stab was a mistake. Eliminating Austria would go a long way to removing the sting i felt when "betrayed." Its not that I didn't realize people got stabbed, hey, this is diplomacy, get over it. It was that I didn't think it was time yet. I hate to be wrong about something like that. So If possible, lets prove I was right, it wan't the right time for Austria to stab me, even with a very good misdirection getting me to move in ways not particularly to my advantage.

I have so much respect for KittenOFchaos I don't want to have to run the risk, in this game, of him pulling it out and getting victory. In another game, started from scratch, I would ally with him in a heartbeat, I need the very best allies I can get. He always wrote, intelligently, and understood and mostly agreed with what I was trying to do. When we disagreed, son of a gun, he was right.

However, for completeness, perhaps the Austrian/Italian alliance is not "made in heaven" as I hoped. Some countries have to ally with their neighbors, but it hard to stay allied all game long. Of course with 3 powers left, every winning alliance of 2 against 1 is unstable, except perhaps in these special circumstances where Italy would be reluctant to set himself up for another stab by the same person.
 
I'd be willing to see a 17-17 split with Italy just to show it can be done. I think that Austria hit Italy a year too early. But I'll take a 3 way draw when Austria is willing to negotiate. The sooner Austria does, the better it will be for him...
 
The most anticlimactic turn yet! :crazyeye:

Orders Received

Austria - Kitten OF Chaos
A Arm - Ank
A Sym S A Arm - Ank
F Con S A Arm - Ank
A Mos - St.Petersburg
A Liv Stands
A St.Petersburg - Finland
A Mun - Bur
A Ber S A Kie
A Kie S A Ber
A Tyr - Pie
F Tri - Adriatic
A Vie - Boh
A Bud - Gal
A Alb - Tri

France - Gnarfflinger
F Norway hold
A Sweeden to Finland
A Den to Kiel
A Bel to Ruhr
A York to London
A Paris to Gascony
A Pic to Bel

Italy - barron of ideas
Fleet Apulia Supports Army Venice
Army Venice supports Army Marseilles to Piedmont
Army Marseilles to Piedmont
Army Burgundy Supposrts French Army Belgium to Ruhr
Army Holland supports French Army Belgium to Ruhr
Fleet North Sea to Helgoland Bight
Fleet Western Mediterranian to Tyrrhenian Sea
Fleet Middle Atlantic Ocean to Western Mediterranian
Fleet Irish Sea to Middle Atlantic Ocean
Fleet Norwegian Sea to Barrents Sea
Army Ankara to Constantinople

Adjudication

Austria:
A Albania - Trieste
A Armenia - Ankara
A Berlin Supports A Kiel
A Budapest - Galicia
F Constantinople Supports A Armenia - Ankara
A Kiel Supports A Berlin (*Cut*)
A Livonia Hold
A Moscow - St Petersburg (*Fails*)
A Munich - Burgundy (*Fails*)
A Smyrna Supports A Armenia - Ankara
A St Petersburg - Finland (*Bounce*)
F Trieste - Adriatic Sea
A Tyrolia - Piedmont (*Fails*)
A Vienna - Bohemia

France:
A Belgium - Ruhr
A Denmark - Kiel (*Fails*)
F Norway Hold
A Paris - Gascony
A Picardy - Belgium
A Sweden - Finland (*Bounce*)
A Yorkshire - London

Italy:
A Ankara - Constantinople (*Disbanded*)
F Apulia Supports A Venice
A Burgundy Supports A Belgium - Ruhr (*Cut*)
A Holland Supports A Belgium - Ruhr
F Irish Sea - Mid-Atlantic Ocean
A Marseilles - Piedmont
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Western Mediterranean
F North Sea - Helgoland Bight
F Norwegian Sea - Barents Sea
A Venice Supports A Marseilles - Piedmont
F Western Mediterranean - Tyrrhenian Sea

Retreats

None, however:
Italian A Ankara has no retreats and is disbanded.

Adjustments

Austria: Supply 17 Unit 14 Build 2
France: Supply 7 Unit 7 Even
Italy: Supply 10 Unit 10 Even

Winter 1912 Adjustments due Wednesday 8 December @ 2359 hours GMT.
 

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