Scuba_Ben, I am Italy, not England. 
Moribund, not long to live, perhaps - but not dead, yet!
My apologies. Though I’m still at a loss to understand England’s last move. Yours makes more sense – Austria simply outmaneuvered you.
I’m trying to lose more to Germany than to France. All I can do now is try to control how I die.
Lose to me, lose to me!! I backstabbed you first!!
I already lost some to you! Jesus, you guys act like manufacturing centers grow on trees.
They don’t? 
I’ve got two S.C. Trees in my back yard. Beautiful foliage this time of year, too.
Just so you know, those are German.
Fall 1903 Orders are in.
Very interesting.
[ul]
[li]Did Germany purposefully order all units to HOLD or was it an accident? Either way, it works out well for him. (and me)[/li]
[li]Russia backs off on Germany in Scandinavia, while simultaneously, and at the same time, inching closer in the center, right up against Munich. A more dependable target, however, is the under-defended Vienna.[/li]
[li]Italy staves off evisceration with a bit of luck(?), but can’t help Turkey get out from his bottleneck.[/li]
[li]Turkey got basted. Without a fleet in the Med, he has little influence. Does a Fleet in Ankara do any good?[/li]
[li]England makes good on his promise to lose to Germany.[/li][/ul]
Did I say too much?
Respectfully,
garygnu, Minister of France
I call it the Tango Technique - two steps forwards, one step back and a boot up the backside!!
Or would have, if the German courier hadn’t been waylaid by a passing Oktoberfest and failed to deliver his orders…
Grim
Yeah, the Holds are usually a symptom of what used to be euphemistically called “civil disorder”, as in the person in question failing to get his orders in before the deadline, and the rules demand that all units hold in place.
Once again with my annoyingly insightful commentary 
:
France isn’t wasting time with the Med front, and in fact his moves in conjunction with Russia’s makes me wonder if there’s a secret alliance there. It will remain to be seen if France is Italy’s savior, or not. Italy probably intended his move to Venice as an attempted support cut, but he’s not going to complain. Austria is undoubtedly rueing what he did with his Fleet Trieste, but that was part of a whole slew of guessing games involving Venice and his home centers, and he guessed wrong pure and simple.
Elsewhere, England gets a reprieve thanks to Germany going into CD. Russia eschews the guessing games and a possible build this turn for a superior position for 1904 (tho Germany remains a possible target as well). The lack of an Austrian build this year thanks to Italy’s sneak attack will really hurt the Archduke as Venice is now toast. Turkey and Italy also seem to be partners now, and while Russia helped Turkey into Rumania, the Sultan cannot build a fleet on a Med-adjacent square, which will keep him bottled up. But France just altered the balance of power down there in a big way, and it will be interesting to see who plays up to the Frenchman, and who becomes his next victim. I’m not sure what Russia is doing in Scandinavia but he obviously wants to avoid antagonizing either France or Germany and is performing a 1,000 mile march to get another army into play down south.
France & Russia are the clear leaders now as they have the most mid-term growth prospects. Turkey probably just took the last center he’ll get for a good long while, and Germany’s fate depends on his owner’s. Austria, last year’s leader, may be in serious trouble now, surrounded by enemies and holding thin lines. England and Italy are just hanging on but may still be significant factors. Germany (if still in the game) actually is about to have a big say in what happens next as he could easily throw his weight (1 build remember) in a dozen different directions, either bolstering the French-Russian alliance (if it exists) or moving against it and aiding Austria.
Wild and crazy stuff, I like it…
So what do we do about Hawkeye going awol?
Beat him with a stick? I’m here I’m here. Sorry about my absence. I was going to put in my moves on Friday afternoon, but as it turns out, the site is now blocked at work. I left work and had a 6 hour train ride to Philly, and then promptly fell asleep. In Philly I had access to internet, dial-up internet that is. I logged in briefly on Saturday (I thought I had until Sat to make moves, I miscalculated a bit), saw that I couldn’t do anything, and logged off. Did I mention dial-up internet? AOL even. Wasn’t worth fighting through unless I absolutely had to. I’m back though, have my build in, and am all ready to undo the damage of my departure.
Ouch. That sucks, my friend.
I’m glad you’re not gone. I’ve had both allies and sworn enemies leave previous games. It’s rarely a good thing either way.
I’m struggling to see the new moves - it still says it’s in a Build Phase, although the time left is Zero…
Anyone else having a problem?
Grim
Grim, yes - I’m having the same problem. I’ll check in again tonight. The way things have gotten for me this past week, I can’t really check more frequently than that.
It seems to be resolved now - predictable builds really…
Germany plays it safe and decides not to trust my motives in Bohemia.
France plays it safe and decides not to trust Germany.
Turkey builds on the only spot available and another army joins the queue.
The Royal Navy is no more, only the Welsh Guards remain.
Grim
Spring 1904 Orders are in.
I gotta say, the on-map representations of move orders on this site pretty much suck compared to DPJUDGE.
Well, things are a little bit clearer this turn, with a few notable exceptions:
France is indeed riding to Italy’s rescue it appears, and the latter may very well keep his 3 centers by the end of the year. Turkey and Russia remain buddies, tho the Sultan’s armies are nonetheless still bottled up. Poor Austria doesn’t appear to have any friends (Germany maybe), and his fate was likely sealed last year when he failed to hold Venice.
The weirdness exists in the enigmatic French/German relationship, where France bounced the Kaiser out of Edinburgh while those German armies all moved away (or tried to) from French soil. Germany’s window to stab France may have just passed for good. The Tsar and the Kaiser still seem to be on good terms. What will be interesting is what happens in the fall with all three of these powers trying to work their way into the Balkans-will Germany and France kiss and make up, or is there something sinister at work between France and Russia?
Fall 1904 Orders are in.
My orders were my “pre-negotiation” orders. I probably should have changed them, huh?
Turkey got hosed again, I don’t think being in Civil Disorder really changed much.
Can I get a quick recap? can’t view the game from work.