Well, to whom it may concern. Spring 1901 moves are out. Central Europe is vacated and everyone is out for some vine and brie and the beaches in the eastern med. Is this the start of an Anschluss?
If you are interested in analyzing diplomacy games, feel free to give this opening a shot. I’m playing Russia and seem to have hit it off with the Turks, thank god!
Linky no worky…
Nor for me. But I’ll gladly do it if I can see it.
Me too. I’m really behind at work. Give me something to do!
Me four. The link is ineffective, except in providing some stuff in German.
That’s Swedish, not German.
BTW, it says:
Very interesting. I can’t see any reason to criticize any of the opening moves.
A first turn move into Sweden? :eek:
How did you do it?
Ahhhh. . . The old ‘edit map’ function.
Never seen it work, except when done by the GM.
Bloody brilliant.
Friggin link mofo!
Not to great… The moves are
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Alex)
F(Tri) - Alb; A(Bud) - Ser; A(Vie) - Gal
ENGLAND (Campbell)
F(Edi) - NTH; F(Lon) - ENG; A(Lpl) - Wal
FRANCE (Fred)
A(Mar) - Spa; A(Par) - Pic; F(Bre) - MAO
GERMANY (Erik)
F(Kie) - Den; A(Ber) - Kie; A(Mun) - Bur
ITALY (Gary)
F(Nap) - ION; A(Rom) - Apu; A(Ven) - Pie
RUSSIA (Johan)
A(Mos) - Sev; A(War) - Ukr; F(Sev) - Rum; F(StP) sc - GoB
TURKEY (Steve)
A(Con) - Bul; A(Smy) Stands; F(Ank) - Con
How about this link?
At least that one works for me now in preview.
The way I see it. T needs to take on A and R (myself) needs to go west into central Europe. If I tell G that I’m stabbing T I might be let into Sweden and get two builds. If that happens I’m thinking I’m of to Berlin.
A stabbing of T is tempting but maybe not so smart at this time. A bit about the personalities of the players:
I seems like a devious SoB.
G is a natural diplomat that is the true gentleman suggesting moves to everyone and is suggesting a Vodka for Brie program.
A seems a bit stressed and aggressive.
E is mute and not interested in talking to the wise Tsar.
F is brave in times of absolute darkness and wants help from T and R.
Maybe we can get I to change sides, maybe…
That’s a much better link. Can I assume that you are good pals with Turkey? Any chance he’ll try and grab BLA from you in the Fall?
It also seems that Germany has everyone on his side accept France, which is a sweet position for him. You might have to attack him just to balance that out. Austria and Germany have demilitarised, and it looks like Italy could play the Lepanto, so make sure Turkey is aware of that, which should keep him out of BLA. Ideal for you would be to have Turkey support you in Rumania and then move A Ukr-War, A Sev-Ukr.
If you can get Germany to let you take Sweden, then that’s a bonus. Explain to him you have to do something with that Fleet, and parking it in Sweden is better for him than moving south. Tell him if he does that you’ll build F StP(nc) and hassle the English for him (which it sounds like you’ll want to do, anyway).
Ah, I see it’s Dump-On-France Day. I’m glad I’m not him. Further east, Russia/Turkey have few worries, but that fleet in Rum isn’t exactly the most incisive instrument for Austria-bashing, and an army would have been better (yes, I know a Russian army can’t get into Rum in S1901). The idea about selling Germany on the prospect of a stab of Turkey is cool, but don’t go through with it whatever you do - France is going to be out of the running double-quick and where are England/Germany going next if not Scandinavia and Russia? By that logic, if Germany buys your proposal, he’s an idiot.
I assume from Turkey’s opening that his fleet is off to Aeg without further persuasion. That should bog down Austria/Italy if they really are planning a Lepanto. I’d say it was full steam ahead for the Juggernaut.
I agree. France is fucked. Next turn tells the tale, but a stronag R/T alliance is valuable. T is really limited on what he can do, and if he’s not coming north then the only place he can go is west which means your flank is safe, he’s occupying Italy’s attention and you can make strides against Austria. Greece is the lynchpin for him, if you can figure out a way to get an army into the Balkins to hlp him take Greece, ( Preferably by taking out parts of Austria ), y’all should go great guns. Watch yourself in the north- it’s easy to become tied up doen south and let England slip in- but England’s opening Liverpool to Wales argues that he’s consentrating on France for the moment, which should give you a bit of breathing room.
Everybody’s right. Germany’s aggressive opening has set the tone for the first two years. With him in Burgundy, E in the Channel, and and I in Piedmont, France is definitely not looking strong (Ven-Pie in particular shows an astonishing level of trust in Germany on Italy’s part, which does not bode well). With Russia opening to the south and presumably a strong relationship with England, I’m confident that Germany will bounce Sweden.
Looks can be deceiving in S01, but so far it looks like the three central powers plan to cooperate, and that G and E are allied. Thus cooperation between R and T is absolutely critical.
[li] I think Germany’s best play is Den-Swe, Kie-Hol, Bur-Bel. France has to play defense so he can take Belgium unopposed. Taking his allies into account, however, complicates things. Italy will want some return (and deserves it, too) for his risk in moving on Piedmont. England may also have his eye on Belgium. So the most likely set will be Bur S ITALIAN A Pie-Mar, Den-Swe, and Kie-Hol. This also prevents anyone from panicking at a German 3-center gain in 1901 (although one could make the case that seeing all three of E, G, I gain 2 should be even more worrisome to the eastern powers).[/li]
[li] France has few choices and no good ones. Personally I’d go with Pic-Bre, MAO-Por, Spa-Mar. If Germany decides to go for Paris he’s screwed, but that’d be very random. This way he loses Mar but gains the 2 Iberian neutrals, allowing an army build in Paris which at least keeps him competitive. If England goes for Bel and Germany and Italy follow my advice, though, you’re looking at 2 builds for each of his three neighbors, which spells doom.[/li]
[li] Russia has potentially the most impact on slowing the EGIA behemoth. Nothing can be done about Scandinavia at this point but cooperation with Turkey against Austria must be totally solid. Unfortunately, faced with a concrete IA alliance, Turkey can’t do much in 1901 and so will have to trust that Russia understands that he can’t afford to stab his only real ally and let Russia take the lead for the first year or two.[/li]
As Russia, I like: GOB-Swe, Ukr-Gal, Rum-Bud, Sev-Rum. If he can get Turkey to agree to this plan, I think there’s a good chance that Austria could be totally screwed by the end of 1902. It absolutely hinges on Turkey ordering Bul S RUSSIAN A Sev-Rum, however. Turkey also needs to ensure that Austria supports himself into Greece by giving the impression that he may order Bul-Gre. You figure Austria to order to Warsaw, not considering that Russia will do anything but bounce there. But Russia can afford to give up Warsaw in order to take Gal and Bud; Austria will net two builds (+War, +Gre, +Ser, -Bud), but with Russian armies in Gal, Bud, Rum and Turkey in Bul and AEG (and with Italy’s fleet out of the way in Tun for S02), a lot of damage can be done. Defending against the rogue Austrian army will be a pain, but can be done easily enough with the one army build Russia will get in W01 (if he manages to get Sweden too that’s just icing and the rout of Austria will be on). Of course, if you can prevent losing Warsaw that’s ideal, but you don’t really want to be stranded there if Austria orders to Budapest, which is why I favor Ukr-Gal.
There’s no benefit to messing around in a Balkan power struggle because the only road to success lies with a strong RT, and don’t forget that A must already have double-crossed R in his opening in order to get into Gal. The tough part is convincing Turkey that throwing his support behind Russia so completely will benefit him down the road. With Italy getting 2 builds he may be gunshy, but his best (only) bet is a rock-solid alliance with Russia.
Incidentally, I’d consider ordering GOB-BAL. Let Germany strand himself in Sweden while Russia threatens Den, Kie, and Ber. I’d only order to Swe if I thought there was a legitimate possibility that G wasn’t bouncing Swe, and as things stand now I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t. The other option as Russia would be to focus your energies on turning England away from Germany. It has to happen sooner or later, as Russia you’d just want to see that it happens before E/G hits Russia as opposed to afterwards. E/G cannot succeed indefinitely.
[li] Italy’s moves are obvious. Pie-Mar, ION-Tun, and Apu holds. If he supports G into Mar he’s a tool and Turkey should be very scared as Italy would spend the rest of his game devoting his 4 units to helping A against T until he gets stabbed by G and/or A. If he doesn’t nab Tun he’s just silly. With 2 fleet builds in W01 he can choose to either focus on taking Iberia from France, playing the Lepanto, or just hang around and dominate the Med.[/li]
Austria’s position isn’t nearly as good as it looks. He’s likely to get locked into conflict with R/T, and none of his allies will be in much position to swing that battle in his favor. Once Italy sees some success in the west he’s unlikely to want to commit against Turkey for a while. Austria will need to foment mistrust between R and T or else he’s in for a long, hard road.
KICK ARSE reply WL only my Russian unit in Rum is a fleet. I went with the rumanian opening and ended up with an austrian army up my arse.
I was thinking
Build A War
Too defensive? Perhaps have the Turks support F in Rum and F Rum S A Sev-Ukr?
Army, fleet… that’s the kind of minor detail that I prefer to ignore. 
Well, my advice is bollocks then.
The problem with Build F StP (nc) is that it will antagonize England, and I don’t think you want that. If he stays in good with G you’re in trouble with your southern opening and a committed enemy in Austria. E isn’t likely to throw over an alliance with G in favor of F because F is so thoroughly jacked. So E’s only options are: try to swing around the Gibraltar and conflict with Italy over the Iberians, or cooperate with Germany and land an army in St. Pete’s. Which course would you take? (In case it isn’t clear, I’d take him for an idiot if he did anything other than attack you. Trying to break a 2-fleet defense of Gibraltar in 1903 would be folly.) His vector from 1903 on will be EG vs. R or ER vs. G. You must ensure that he chooses the latter.
Impress upon him the importance of your StP (nc) build, then forego it. Make sure he understands that you’re doing it because you appreciate his goodwill (don’t let it backfire on you though. If you get the sense that he’s committed to the EG, just take your pill in the north and keep your fingers crossed that the Austrian is a poor tactician).
The fleet in Rum puts you in an awkward position. You’re going to need gains against Austria to balance the feeding frenzy in France (an alternate course would be to explain to A how G/I will turn on him as soon as they get done with F and try to get him headed West. This is a longshot plan, though, as neither you or T can actually help him fight I yet, and if you did develop a good relationship with him that just leaves T out in the cold and you can’t afford to be letting him have any doubts right now), and you’re going to need that unit in Rum to be able to support inland in order to do that. But there’s nowhere to put that fleet that won’t make T nervous.
At any rate, I’d favor Sev-Ukr and Ukr-War because a sneaky Austria would expect you to bounce War and order to Ukr instead, forcing you to waste time building in Mos and forcing him back.
Essentially you want to keep Turkey on your side at all costs, do what you can against Austria, and tread water in Scandinavia. That’d be my strategy for 1901-1902. Keep in mind that I’m terrible at actually playing this game, and don’t forget that you know a lot more about the circumstances here than I do (for instance I’m recommending GOB-BAL, but that decision is completely dependent on your sense of what G is going to do with Denmark).
Oh, and hey, don’t forget to keep us all updated!
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by White Lightning *
**[li] Austria’s position isn’t nearly as good as it looks. He’s likely to get locked into conflict with R/T, and none of his allies will be in much position to swing that battle in his favor. Once Italy sees some success in the west he’s unlikely to want to commit against Turkey for a while. Austria will need to foment mistrust between R and T or else he’s in for a long, hard road. **[/li][/QUOTE]
Really? I’ll have to keep that in mind if I ever play Austria…:smack: