I suppose I should comment on this, as I said I would. I won't say too much as I wasn't in this game very long. Three years is probably my record quickest exit.

S01 The happened to start at a point in time where I had very little time for it. This was a pretty big stumbling block and one that I was never able to get over. Press with England was good, we agreed to work together, I offered BEL in 1901 and not to move to the channel. He offered not to move to the channel as well but I told him it wouldn't bother me, so long as it fit with the plan. Press with Germany was OK. We didn't get much of a chance to talk about too much, he did shoot down all of the ideas I brainstormed (move on italy, westerm triple). He promised not to move to BUR but I got very little of substance from him. Italy's press ins S01 was brutal. He basically said nothing including a few literal "blah blah blah" s.

A01 I was pissed at what happened, and the most pissed at G because he was the one who broke the promise. I tried to assess my attackers. England seemed the most regretful. Germany appeared to be the mastermind and as far as I could tell Italy didn't really think for himself. This kind of attack has never really happened to me before and I didn't know how to respond. Ultimately, I think I put on too inconsistent a prescence and therefore could never recover. In any event, I picked to block England because I figured he already had cold feet and this would help him along.

Also, I regretted my opening moves because they were really dumb. Almost any other s01 combination I could have built.

1902 came and things got weird. Russia built F STP after delcaring no interest in the west. Turkey had NMRed and been replaced. G and I both had great positions. This game was perfect for a CPA to emerge and destroy the board. Italy and Austria never could get along and I think this was really strange.

Anyway, I couldn;t motivate anyone to work against the CPA so my game was done. I tried to screw with England on my way out because I think his decision to keep on the attack was the most questionable.

I think that Germany doesn't really allow himself to persuaded by anything other than his own mind. He appeared to be the leader of the alliances the whole way through, and I never got the impression he took into consideration anything I said, including in S01. This resonates when Italy in his EOG says that Germany wouldn't continue to move against England with him.

I'll concede that when I hatch a plan, I'm not likely to deviate from it if it's still going well. Once EGI jump on F, there is little incentive for any of the three to break rank and make it 2 on 2 again. I explained above my reasoning for siding with E rather than Italy later on. I do change based on my view of the board, such as when I shifted to stab A instead of E.

As we headed toward EGA as the big three powers, there was an important distinction between my allies E and A. E wanted to 3wd and was worried about me attacking A. On the other hand, A fully blessed me attacking E. I knew he had his own solo ambitions, but I was fine with a race to solo / fiction of a 2wd. My recollection is that I supported A into Tyr (the turn that pissed Italy off) to give him a leg up on attacking Italy because I otherwise had too big of a lead on A.

I also wanted Italy in trouble to soften up Iberia for E to go there. As discussed above, E was not advancing into Iberia/the Med as fast as I wanted. I hoped the extra pressure of Tyr and defending his home centers would cause Italy to withdraw from Iberia and E's units would follow -- in turn setting me up to hit E.

So at the time of the Tyr move, I was moving to favor A over E in preparation for an attack on E. It was only after E started negotiating moves to protect himself (that I couldn't avoid without being obviously aggressive) that I shifted my focus to a stab of A instead. I thought I had a good chance of taking Vie and putting a lot of army pressure on A. If I could just finesse the diplomatic end with E by convincing him we should EGT 3wd, then I thought I had a shot at a solo.

I was a little surprised (and disappointed) that Italy and Austria never came to blows at the end of the game. I knew you guys were arguing enough that it was a possibility. I needed Austria to feel safe enough to give me a hand with Germany but was really hoping that Italy would make a move in 1909ish. Would have probably been my only real chance to make a run for a solo.

Like I said, I would have if you hadn't made that move back to MAO. It made it clear to me that you weren't going to give me any space with which to operate, and I would have been playing something like 9 on 11 even without you meddling.

Yeah, I think I may have overplayed how much I needed Austria's help against Germany at that point. Moving to MAO was probably overly cautious.
I was reasonably suspicious of you slipping into Gascony or supporting Germany into Burgundy. You had already stabbed me once and I don't think it's unfair to describe our relationship in the game as rocky so the suspicion may have been justified

Honestly, it surprises me to hear you say that. Maybe I wasn't understanding the situation, but I don't know how our relationship could have been better. We had turn after turn trusted the other person to make certain moves in Iberia. I didn't think our relationship was rocky at all.

I felt like we bickered a bunch on small moves even right from the start and that getting to an agreement was always a struggle. As if we were always jockeying for position so we could have the upper-hand in the eventual stab.
Maybe that's just because I entered the talks with a bit of a nefarious predisposition but I never was as confident in our alliance as I was at points with Germany or Austria.

That's because it never would have crossed my mind to stab you, England. ;)

This was my problem the whole game. Everyone kept projecting their sneakiness and generally sociopathic tendencies on me. I think the lesson learned is that I should be more nefarious, because people will assume I am being nefarious no matter what.

I dunno. For most of the game I was pretty confident that my overwhelming charm had rubbed off on Germany and that he wouldn't stab me. ;
I was definitely most reserved when dealing with you. Not sure if I can pinpoint why.

THM is much more charismatic than I. That probably helps.

And yet, Yonni picked to ally with me figuring I'd rub the other powers the wrong way.

I still need to finish my EoG, so bump.

Dang you type slow, Tasnica. :p

Don't worry THM, Tasnica's EoGs are normally as impressive as his Diplomacy. I think you'll find he uses his time for a very convincing account of what happened.

I can't wait!

It's true, I often hate him less after reading an EoG.

This has been quite a busy week, but in the interest of giving you all at least something to read I will post the portion of my EoG that I have had the time to write and edit.

Player: Tasnica
Nation: Austria
Result: Three Way Draw

-Pre-Game-

This game began on an interesting note, for two reasons.

Firstly, this was my only my second press game as Austria, and my first was one of the first games I’d ever played on this site. My observations in other games, however, had taught me the nation’s vulnerability, particularly early on, and the immense disadvantage the nation faced in any balanced conflict with Italy. This resulted in me putting a high priority on my defense early on, and an equal priority on constant vigilance against Italy, unless I were to become stronger than him (in which case he can be “safely” attacked or left alone).

The second was that this game began in the middle of the night. Knowing the importance of early press, I stayed up and began exchanging messages, despite being quite sleep deprived. This set an early tone in many of my relations that was not intended, but that I had to play with nevertheless.

-Spring 1901-

I begin my press with a sort of manic energy, with one clear message: don’t kill me.

This was not just an empty plea, of course. To varying degrees, I made it clear to my neighbors that early aggression against me would not pan out well for them. To some, I emphasized my positional value as an ally. To others, I emphasized that an early stab would see everyone _but_ them making gains. Being, as I mentioned, horribly sleep-deprived, none of these messages were particularly subtle.

At first, this didn’t go so badly. Germany reacted positively, and we talked a bit about a CPA. I expressed hope that he could exert diplomatic pressure on Italy and Russia to keep them off my back, in exchange for me keeping the east busy and working with him in the long run.

England and France are friendly enough, of course, but don’t offer much of substance other than England hinting that I should go after Germany or Russia. I keep this in mind.

Italy, meanwhile, is not amused, and asks me for concrete ideas. I respond by offering a bounce in Venice (I mention the Hedgehog variants), while I go after Serbia (I also mention hoping to acquire Greece at some point). Italy, in what would prove to be a recurring theme in our relationship, interprets my message in the worst possible way, as meaning that I want support into Greece _this year_, which of course is impossible (while still getting Serbia) in most Hedgehog openings (which typically see Vie-Gal and Tri-Ven).

Based on this assumption, he flatly rejects my proposal. I clarify, deciding to take a conciliatory tone, and offer to support him into Greece if he wants it. He makes no mention of it in his reply, but agrees to the bounce in Venice, so I’m satisfied.

Turkey, similarly, gives me the “offer me a concrete plan or stop talking to me” speech. Geeze, no one appreciates friendly banter and “here’s why you shouldn’t kill me” messages anymore! I concede the point, and get right to business. I inform Turkey of my as-yet inconclusive negotiations with Italy and Russia, offer to work with him against Italy and Russia, and offer to divide the Balkans evenly depending on who is fighting who (Rumania to the one fighting Russia, Greece to the one fighting Italy).

Turkey pats me on the head and says “good boy,” and suggests that I go after Rumania immediately. I’m hesitant about this, but fortunately negotiations with other powers allow me to honestly tell Turkey that I’m already committed to bounces in Tri and Gal (though I suggest that neither was my idea). This, I hope, will buy me time to figure my neighbors out.

Speaking of the bounce in Gal, this is precisely what I arrange with Russia. I also get a “maybe” for him taking Rumania with a fleet. Both these suggestions I made off the bat, which I attribute to my relatively positive initial reaction from Russia. Everyone is so impatient to get to business!

This is made ever more ironic by the fact that both France and England inform me that they have no useful intel. England even outright says that everyone is playing with “their hands close to their chest”. So, is it only _my_ neighbors that want concrete agreements right from the start?

Spring moves. I open Tri-Ven, Vie-Gal, Bud-Ser. And pretty much no one else opens as expected.

Italy bounces in Ven, as agreed, but throws his other two units at France! And he’s not the only one. England opens to the Channel, and Germany opens to Burgundy. France covers… none of these, having opened to MAO, Spain, and Picardy. Ouch.

Russia moves his fleet to neither Rum nor Bla, but to Arm! Given that he pairs this with an army move to Sev, and Turkey opens Smy-Ank, this is almost certainly an arranged move. Which everyone starts freaking out about.

-Fall 1901-

Predicting a Juggernaut, I work to solidify relations with Italy, which I figure shouldn’t be too difficult since he is attacking France. He fears a Jug as well, and my conversations with Turkey and Russia confirm my suspicions. Russia mumbles about making poor moves and asks for support into Rumania, while Turkey asks me to bounce Russia out of Rumania while letting him take Greece.

Yeah, right.

I point out to Turkey that if he wants me fighting Italy (which he has also suggested), then I should get Greece, as discussed earlier. He concedes the point, and agrees to support his fleet into Rum. I leave it vague whether I’ll be taking Greece now or next year.

I then inform Russia of this deal, and tell him that I suspect Turkey is lying to both of us and recommend that Russia move Sev-Rum. I also tell him that I might support him, but can’t confirm on the off chance that he is working with Turkey. Russia reluctantly accepts after I point out that just about everyone is warning me about him, and that he himself is under little threat at the moment.

I think about actually supporting Sev-Rum, but I’m fairly certain that Russia plans to work with Turkey (though I’m not sure whether Turkey feels the same), so I move to Greece instead.

Meanwhile, I maintain friendly chat with France, and he encourages me to request a borrow of Venice from Italy. I figure that it is worth a shot, and bring the subject up to the Italians. Like before, he interprets this in the worst possible way, and reacts strongly. I quickly back off, and tell France that it is a no-go.

The game is definitely tense as the turn nears an end. I don’t trust Russia in the slightest, Turkey is probably working against me as well, and the one power I really want as an ally, Italy, seems to have a trigger fuse and overreacts to every suggestion I make (but also gets pissed at me when I don’t make suggestions).

Feeling good about avoiding imminent death, but not-so-good about my long term prospects, I confirm my orders and wait to see what happens.

The results are… interesting. Germany gets a triple build, which I hope won’t bite me later, while Italy gets two and England gets only one. A relatively weak France and England doesn’t sit well with me, but this is countered by Turkey NMRing! Depending on his intentions, this may or may not have been a good thing. As it is, he builds nothing (by CDing), while Russia gets a build. Fortunately, I am able to convince him to make that build an StP fleet.

Other victories are F Berlin from Germany, and two fleets from Italy. I build an army in Bud myself, which I hope will further improve my relations with Italy.

-1902-

While looking for a new Turkey, I begin negotiating with Russia to take him out. If new Turkey talks him out of it, I have good relations with both England (who seems hesitant about continuing to attack France) and Germany as insurance.

Italy offers to assist me in the east, but after our earlier miscommunications I decide that it would be better to expand in opposite directions. Also, I know that new Turkey will be desperate for allies, and don’t want Italy to be in a position to take him up on his offer. While I don’t want to see France go so soon, Italy attacking him is preferable to him doing anything else, and I hope that the western powers will back off France and thus ensure that Italy doesn’t kill him too quickly (or at least force Italy to commit most of his forces to the west).

Italy insists on moving to Ionian, though, and I don’t push the matter, contenting myself with some DMZs instead.

Meanwhile, new Turkey shows up. He proposes a Mediterranean Alliance (A/I/T), which doesn’t exactly excite me, as I feel that it could easily transition into an I/T. I agree, in the interest of him attacking Russia, but don’t say anything to Italy about it as I don’t plan to follow through on such an alliance (and don’t want to encourage Italy to get close to him).

My diplomatic efforts pay off, and Russia and Turkey attack each other while I secure Serbia. Italy moves to Ionian, but honors all our DMZs. Germany and England start to put pressure on Russia, which I haven’t outright requested but have definitely implied. The only real downside for the turn is that England and Germany both continue to attack France, which I’ve mildly discouraged. This benefits Italy, taking pressure off him and ensuring further growth on his part. I definitely don’t want him getting eastern centers now.

Simultaneously, I become quite certain that I can manipulate Turkey and Russia against each other, and with western help take out both of them without Italy. This definitely appeals to me, as I neither trust Italy with eastern gains, nor do I want to rely on effective communication between the two of us after our previous missteps.

Of course, Italy doesn’t react well to this either (I am now convinced that he wants to dislike me, and will find a way to take offense to whatever I say [or don’t say]). I try to be straightforward with him, stating that I feel I can handle the east on my own, and want him to seize MAO as soon as possible in order to give our alliance longevity (both of which are true), but he remains stubbornly insistent on involving himself in the east.

Italy and I debate on and on about the how our alliance should proceed. It becomes clear that we either have very different philosophies on how this game should be played, or that Italy wants to position himself to make me his next conquest. Neither bodes well for me, and it is then that I reluctantly conclude that, as much as I love Austria-Italy alliances, this Italy is probably going to have to go, sooner or later. I start laying the groundwork with England (who has already begun pushing me to stab Italy) and Germany for a triple alliance, which I begin to perceive as my best path to the endgame.

That said, this debate with Italy does not reach a head until after the fall moves. Rewinding a bit, said moves feature me stabbing Turkey in Bulgaria, the first stage in my “kill both Russia and Turkey” plan. Turkey moves correspondingly, but Russia attempts to stab me by supporting Bla-Bul. Fortunately, I suspected that Russia would turn on me, and support myself into Galicia. This enables me to attack Russia in 1903, telling Turkey that I screwed up in siding with a treacherous Russia and want to work with him after all.

My moves do not include a move to Tyrolia, as England is encouraging (though the intensification of my debates with Italy soon prompts me to reconsider). Elsewhere, France collapses, and Germany seizes Sweden. The board is definitely looking like a strong CPA, which is ironic because that is precisely what I wanted but each conversation with Italy makes me want it less.

That said, any chance of me changing my mind and working with Russia is dashed when, instead of apologizing for trying to stab me (or even admitting that he did so), he instead berates me for breaking a Galicia DMZ (which was never agreed upon, and in any case I needed to free up Vienna for my second build). His hostile and demanding tone, when I am certain that he was plotting against me in 1901 and tried to stab me in 1902, eliminates any hesitation I have in kicking his ass.

But before I kick it, I kiss it, apologizing for causing any concern and agreeing to both build a fleet and vacate Galicia. Naturally, I already planned on doing both.

Meanwhile, Turkey is not reacting well to my offer to work against Russia once more, so I take a more aggressive approach, arguing that Italy and Russia are both eager to work with me and that Turkey can either help me out or die. Curiously, he actually reacts better to this, and the tone of our conversation lightens.

Remember when I mentioned my debate with Italy heating up? Chronologically, this is when it happens, in 1902 after fall moves. During this time I start to solidify my alliances with England and Germany, and determine to stall conflict with Italy for as long as possible. Unfortunately, I make a considerable blunder right off the bat, getting so caught up in the debate that I forget to inform Italy of my upcoming fleet build (which I intend to use against Turkey, then Italy afterward unless our relationship drastically improves). Almost every other player on the board knew of this build, which I made no secret of, and Italy is not pleased.

Speaking of builds, Germany puts an army in Berlin, which is good as it means I won’t be fighting Russia alone. Turkey builds a fleet in Con, as agreed, while Italy builds an army in Venice, which was not agreed. I don’t particularly mind, but it does irk me that he berates me for not sharing my build when he never shared his own.

So, on to 1903! Relations with Italy are rapidly deteriorating, no thanks to my accidental omission, but my relations with England and Germany are strong, and I hope that will keep me going long enough to settle eastern affairs before Italy and I come to blows.

[Continued]

More! More! And how about an EOG from LanGaidin? And did anyone ever hear from Imhotep why he bailed on us after S01? That ticks me off.

Yes. Tas. Quit teasing us.
Never heard anything from Imhotep. I know he did continue playing other games on the site which is just that much more of a slap in the face.

He liked us better :D

Ooh, Tas, you stopped at the part right before Turkey sent me a complete log of your messages because he was sick of your shit. You should also know that I was actually completely honest with you up to that point, with the exception of my withholding suspicions of your being out to get me. I couldn't even sell the truth to anyone in this game, it was awful.

Your suspicious opening moves (and not telling me about them, especially given that we were discussing fleet occupation of Rum), and later misordering Rum S Bla-Bul, didn't exactly help you sell the truth. :P

Austria EoG Part II

-1903-

I start coordinating moves with Germany, who is hitting Russia in tandem with me but is hesitant to move to Tyrolia just yet. Relations with Turkey are also surprisingly good (despite my confusion over why he reacts best to messages that end with “or die”). While he isn’t eager to move on Russia, he does seem more anti-Italy than anti-Austria, and in any case seems most concerned with his own defense (as opposed to retaking Bulgaria and the like).

Spring moves yield few surprises. Russia stabs me by moving to Galicia (which we actually have DMZed this time), but I’m stabbing him myself so I don’t mind much, and it wasn’t like I trusted him anyway. Meanwhile, Germany hits Russia hard and continues to coordinate with England. Italy continues to do his thing in the west.

The only real surprise comes from France, who refuses to retreat into Italian Marseilles. He cites revenge against Germany and gratitude toward Italy as his motive, and when I press him he expresses a strong desire for Italy and myself to work together. He then mentions that Italy hates my guts, possibly because of my press style, but that he grudgingly accepts that it is in his best interest to work with me for the time being.

Quite possibly contrary to France’s intentions, this only convinces me that Italy truly does want to dislike me, no matter what I do, and that I have to take him out before peace with me ceases to be a “necessary evil”. A shame, after all the effort that I’d put into establishing an A/I, but a nation that dislikes me, distrusts me, and has a conflicting style of play does not make for a good ally. Especially when he’s my neighbor. Even more especially when he’s my neighbor _and_ we have adjacent home centers.

Oh, and by the way, France informs Italy of my suggestion that he retreat to Marseilles. Despite his claim that he wants Italy and I to work together, this is the second time that he’s driven us apart (the first being his encouragement to request Venice in 1901).

I tell Italy that, yeah, if I were France I would have retreated to Marseilles, and we leave it at that.

Germany and I hammer out our fall moves, which see him putting pressure on Italy and Russia while I continue tidying up affairs in the east. I enjoy working and coordinating with Germany, and for some reason the two of us seem to work together far better than Italy and I ever did.

Fall moves turn out great, with Germany keeping his word and Turkey remaining non-hostile. Russia loses StP (to England) and War (to Germany), while I hold onto Rumania. Italy gets no builds, courtesy of Germany’s attack on Marseilles, and our conversation becomes civil enough. Unfortunately for Italy, this comes too late, and only a few minor details remain in the way of me stabbing him.

Thinking ahead, I work on cementing my relations with both England and Germany while gradually working to turn them on each other. Ideally, I want England to keep Italy busy until I stab him, then for England to himself get stabbed by Germany. I strongly push Germany to build fleets, but he is hesitant about the English response.

In the midst of the build phase, England sends both Germany and myself a long manifesto detailing our triple alliance. I am convinced that he wants to work with us, but the problem is that I am not able to convince him to allow for any German fleets. This is bad news, because without at least one fleet build Germany will be vulnerable to England _and_ a threat to me. Not exactly a stable alliance, let alone one that will allow me to eventually come out on top. I work hard to convince England of the former, but in one of my larger diplomatic failures in this game I am utterly unable to convince him to budge. Germany, consequently, builds two armies. I am certain this won’t bode well for me in the long run, but he’s still a more appealing ally than Italy.

Meanwhile, Russia and I engage in some lighthearted banter, and he ultimately agrees to disband Galicia in exchange for ensuring that Sev ends up in Turkey’s hands. I agree, and mean it, as I’m not comfortable with Germany in Sev, not with all those armies he has.

Speaking of Sev, I offer to support Turkey there in exchange for his support into Ionian. Happily, he accepts, which cements my decision to move on Italy. I know that I need to make it effective, and make it fast, so that I can secure my position before Germany turns on me (unless I can convince England to hit him first).

-1904-

My plan is to hit Italy hard in the spring, with both German and Turkish support, but Germany nearly balks. After the failure to secure any German fleet builds, however, I am unwilling to budge further. I am suspicious enough of Germany as it is, and if I can’t secure his immediate support I intend to call the whole thing off.

I redouble my diplomatic efforts, and Germany and I have a long debate during the last hour of the phase. I ultimately sway him by offering him Venice in the fall if he loses Marseilles, with no expectation of help from his units this year beyond spring support into Venice. The deal is made, I am fairly certain of Italy’s moves (through my own conversations with and understanding of him), and the stab of Italy is confirmed.

It goes off without a hitch, with both Germany and Turkey providing the promised supports. England ends up in Moscow, but better him than Germany in my opinion. Already I begin thinking of Turkey’s demise, and how to finish off Italy.

Speaking of Italy, he reacts surprisingly well (which, considering how he treated me when we were friends, is not exactly convincing). I stall, pretending (mostly, as you never know) to listen to him while I contemplate how to finish him off. This eventually turns into another long debate, and I consider keeping him alive as a buffer state, but am unable to convince him to make any useful moves.

It is at this point that I make a decision that I am still not sure whether I regret. There is a clear opportunity to lie to Italy about pulling my punch, which [might] get him to stay focused on England and Germany and allow me to consolidate my position. On the flipside, lying to him again might secure him as a foe, when I might need his cooperation later. And what are the odds that he will abandon the west even if he knows I am going after his homeland? I decide that it is worth the risk, but as insurance I have Turkey moving to Ionian (with my own fleet hitting Aegean on the [likely, as I perceive it] chance that Italy doesn’t go after Ionian).

Meanwhile, I support England into Sev to begin Turkey’s downfall and secure his allegiance.

Alas, my gamble mostly doesn’t pay off, as Italy throws everything at me. Turkey’s fleet is bounced, so I don’t get the easy win in Turkey, and the Germans are bounced out of Venice (though I’m not too upset about this). Another mixed blessing is that Germany keeps Marseilles. This should weakens Italy, and should allow Germany to build a fleet and finally move on England.

Build negotiations! Italy and I immediately resume our prior debate, and man that guy rubs me the wrong way. He has this way of talking tough and overplaying his position, which just makes me want to kill him off while I have the chance instead of keeping him alive and making him useful.

Here’s how a conversation goes when someone tries to kill me:

“I’m going to kill you.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I can still be useful to you in X way, and if I’m gone you won’t be able to stop bad thing Y from happening.”

Here’s how a conversation goes when someone tries to kill Italy:

“I’m going to kill you.”
“Actually, you’re not. In fact, I’m going to get back all the stuff you just took. If you let me, we can be friends again afterward. If you don’t let me, too bad. I’m going to do it anyway.”

The latter response, to me, just wants me to make sure that person dies all the more. And this is precisely how I felt toward Italy. I just had to figure out how to convince him to make his demise easier.

After much more negotiation, I convince Italy to disband Tunis, retake Marseilles, and let me have Venice (in exchange for Naples). Works for me!

Negotiations do not work so well with Germany. He remains insistent on building an army in Kiel and not tipping off England to a stab, and I have a gut feeling that threatening him won’t get him to move on England any faster. It doesn’t help that England himself is very hesitant to stab Germany, though he doesn’t seem to mind the prospect of _me_ doing the stabbing (which I bluntly inform him is simply not possible at the moment).

Meanwhile, Turkey on I manage to keep our conversation lighthearted enough, though he demands that Sev be returned to him before he cooperates further. With me now fighting Italy, I can’t intimidate Turkey so easily anymore, so I stall instead.

As the year ends, the game is at a crossroads. If Germany doesn’t stab me, then with English help I plan to continue dismembering Turkey, while stabbing Italy a second time and preventing him from making any net gain against me. If Germany does stab me, then I have contingency plans with England and the groundwork for cooperation with Italy, and even Turkey if necessary.

-1905-

My hopes rise as Germany and I begin to discuss a stab of England. Germany tells me that he will take StP, vacate Tyrolia, and move west.

Meanwhile, Turkey demands that I support him into StP. I suggest that we ask Germany to provide support instead. Germany actually agrees to support the attack on StP, while bouncing me in Ukraine to force an English disband. Unfortunately, Turkey does not believe that Germany will actually support him. I reluctantly agree, but move to Ukraine anyway, counting on Germany supporting Turkey (and thus proving me right) to satisfy the Turks.

Meanwhile, I convince England to support me into Ukraine. The net result is that, if all goes to plan, Germany will stab England, but there will be no evidence of my involvement. Germany and I can then kick Turkey out of Sev again, while I justify to England that I am setting myself up to help him out against the Germans (which may well be true, provided Italy isn’t causing trouble).

Naturally, everything falls apart at this point, and I find myself the victim of a brilliant stab by Germany. Not only does he throw his armies at me, but he doesn’t support Turkey, leaving me to take the blame. He even manages to stall English intervention.

Of course, I immediately scrap my plans to stab Italy, and convene with England to ensure that he is still on my side. He assures me that he is, and that he trusts Italy to side with us against Germany. This is problematic for me, as I decidedly do _not_ trust Italy, and the friendliness between him and England does not sit well with me. I resolve to stall Italy’s involvement anywhere in the east for as long as possible, and to maintain the possibility of England stabbing him. I also decide to repair relations with Germany and Turkey if at all possible, in order to counteract any England-Italy alliance and prevent them from forming any triple that does not include myself.

To pull this off, I agree to support Turkey into Sev. Again. This, I hope, will prompt him to at least second-guess the wisdom of working closely with Germany, even if it does not repair our alliance. I inform England of this move, pointing out that a Turkish Sev is better than a German one, and that Turkey is threatening to help Germany however he can if I don’t (this is true). England doesn’t say much, as his press is very sparse this turn, but I get the impression that he reluctantly accepts.

Additionally, I want England weakened somewhat, so that Germany becomes a direct threat to his existence (and/or a solo threat). This, I feel, combined with England being kicked out of the east, will force England into an anti-German position for the foreseeable future.

Also, part of me still hopes that Germany will take to heart my willingness to work with him, and back off, allowing me to turn around and finish off Italy (while either holding Turkey at bay or convincing him to skirmish with the Germans).

Alas, just as my repeated efforts to work with Italy early on didn’t pay off, neither do my repeated efforts to work with Germany. He takes Vienna, losing ground to England and Italy but getting two builds in the process. I am forced to disband one of my three fleets, but initial talks with Turkey seem promising.

For a brief time period at the end of 1905, things don’t look all that bad. I’ve got everyone [somewhat begrudgingly] on my side except Germany, and his solo attempt has failed before it even really began. I’ve lost my dominant position on the board, but I hope that Germany will see that all is lost and side with me once more, allowing me to divide and conquer Italy and Turkey and regain my former strength.

It is at this point, of course, that my new plan is thwarted by Turkey suddenly falling silent and, effectively, playing gunboat. This lasts for more or less an entire year, and prevents me (or anyone else) from coordinating with him during that time.

Relations are further damaged by him building a fleet in Smyrna. It looks like Gunboat Turkey and I will be at odds.

[Continued]

"Oh, and by the way, France informs Italy of my suggestion that he retreat to Marseilles. Despite his claim that he wants Italy and I to work together, this is the second time that he’s driven us apart (the first being his encouragement to request Venice in 1901)."

LOL - Merry Christmas Tas. You really have a knack for this kind of thing.

Cool EOG guys, thoroughly enjoyable to read!

"His solo attempt has failed before it even really began" -- I *hate* it when that happens.

Don't feel bad THM, mine failed several years before it began. At least you got to stab Tasnica. That probably feels good.

Which is ironic, as Germany is one of the few players that I had not screwed over in any way up to that point! Even my conversations with England about stabbing him were halfhearted, at best.