Commentary s09

Austria's destrucition has come at a swifter than anticipated pace. His advance into Serbia, while setting the Turk back, enabled Russia to quickly advance into two centers. Austria primary asset remains the ever faithful Italian. Italy currently has enough fleets to keep the Ionian locked down. Keeping Triested in friendly hands for as long as possible will be Italy's primary concern has the the northern route is Italy's primary weakness. Austria seems destined to be reduced to a one power state and will likely be eliminated next year.

R-T remain a strong alliance. Turkey's move out of the Black Sea is a further indicator of this. Turkey's forces will be kept busy in the south try to bust into the Ionian and Trieste. Russia has quite the fight on the had as Germany's blitzkriegs eastward. Germany's decision to strike east was a bit of a gamble as it temporarily left part of his western borders weakened. However, it was unexpected and France was probably looking for peace as he dealt with an aggressive attack from England. Now that Warsaw has fallen the eastern blitzkrieg is beginning to pay for itself. Reinforcement have been sent to the western front and Germany now seems to be confident that he can renew his two front war. With England making the necessary moves to agressively go after France, the E-G alliance or atleast NAP has been renewed. Germany's fortunes certainly have shifted in the last year or so.

France is now the beleagured western power. Somehow France keeps ending up with the short straw when drawing for alliances. Taking back the MAO was an important step. Still the presence of an English fleet in Gascony is a problem. With England's aggressive moves, it is proving difficult to keep the British bottled up and unable to bring all of their fleets to bear. As is, the Frenchman has managed to hold all of his centers and may continue to do so for some time.

Thanks for the thorough commentary once again Barn3tt. Do you have any opinions on how much longer this game will continue?

A09 is there already Barn3tt ;)
Keep writting :P

Spring 1910.

Commentary End 09:

The Rise of the 2nd Reich

Germany: With the conquest of Belgium, the Kasier has firmly reestablished his dreams of empire and can comfortably wage war on two fronts. While his first attempt at expansion left him humbled and encircled by his enemies, it will be much harder to confine him to Germany this time around. His renewed ties with England and the demilitarization of Scandinavia aide him significantly in his ability to project power abroad. At this time, his primary limitation are the narrow fronts that he is operating in (northern France, Galicia-Livonia) which may make it difficult for him to bring his full might to bear.

England: England continues to aggressively move against France. Last season's attack on Picardy enabled Germany to seize Belgium which is a solid step towards crushing French resistance. The loss of the fleet in Gascony was a blow to England as he too may have difficulty bringing his forces to bear. The fleet in the Mediterranean is quite strategic as it opens up a number of move options that would otherwise be unavailable and makes le empereur's life just that much more difficult. England's primary goal must be to get another build. If he is to be at war with France, it is critical that he is a beneficiary of these efforts.

France: Never has France been in such distress as now. The empereur's tactical abilities have served him well in the past and it will be interesting to see if he can muster the skills to repel France's invaders once again. The question is whether France can hold E-G long enough for the fortunes of war shift in France's favor.

Austria: Down to one center, the Hapsburg's days are numbered. Umm, not much more to say, I guess. gg, Austria

Italy: Italy has faithfully stood by Austria (even when Austria was less than deserving of it) through the course of this game. Like France, Italy is in the position of trying to hold his foes at bay long enough for other events to force them to look elsewhere.

Turkey: At 6 centers, the Sultan has risen to be the second strongest empire on the board. Turkey faces a critical decision at this juncture. Should he break through Italy's solid defenses, the Mediterranean will become his and many centers will fall to his forces while his north is protected by a loyal ally. However, with Russia hard pressed by Germany, their must be some temptation to strike north despite Russia's loyalty. Both paths offer distinct advantages and disadvantages to the Sultan and it will be interesting to see which course he chooses.

Russia: Russia's advances into Austria came none to soon as his new conquests have allowed him to absorb the loss of Warsaw and add a critical army in Moscow. The Russian made some excellent moves last season and is poised to retake Warsaw. England's navy in St. Petersburg is actually proving to be an asset as it limits the front that Germany can operate on. This is a critical year for the Russian and may determine if Russia rises to be one of the top powers or will be fighting for his life.

Damn Barn3tt you have my situation summed up to the 't'. That said, where is 5nk? I'd like to see what he'd say about this game.

Autumn 1910.

bump

Commentary S10

R-T advances

Southern Theater: Turkey appears to be standing fast with Russia. A successful move to Greece has enabled his fleets to be fully deployed. With this move, it is likely that 3 out of 4 Italian units will be kept perpetually tied up defending the Ionian. This may give Turkey greater flexibility in seeking alternative routes to Italy. Italy's move to the Adriatic gives him the potential of lending extra support to Trieste; if it can be spared, that is.

German-Russian Theater: The vodka is flowing in St. Petersburg as the Russians make an important advance into Warsaw and are gladdened by the loyalty of their Turkish comrades. The Russian must hold the line, and Warsaw, for one more season. The addition of another army (and the loss of a German unit) should stabilize this front (potential 4 armies per side). It will also free up the Russian to be more active in his role in the southern theater, something that he has been unable to do this year. The eastern front is where the wehrmact has invested a majority of his resources. Compared to his moves in the west, his eastern tactics have been much more aggressive. Clearly he was looking for a break through, but, alas, the Russian has successfully countered his blitzkrieg. With the prospect of losing a center and Russian reinforcements on their way, the wehrmacht may be forced to look to the west for additional conquests.

French Theater: The beleaguered Frenchman continues to hold out vs. E-G. England persists in his uncharacteristically aggressive assault against France- making a key advance into the MAO. France has benefited from the Kaiser's focus on the Russian front and will likely hold on to all of his centers.

As we enter next year, E-G and R-T have established themselves as the dominant alliance blocks. As these alliances vie for dominance and stalemate in east (my prediction), greater emphasis may be placed upon France and Italy as their survival or fall will greatly influence the respective power of the great alliances. Of course this is diplomacy, and neither alliance block is set in stone and anything can happen.

Spring 1911 (almost)

looks like someone wants a pause

Italy, if you pm me, I can pass on any pertinent info to group.

OK, Italy will be gone this weekend (Fri-Sun). Please press pause. The game will restart on Sunday/Monday.
thnx

Bump

bump

This game is paused, and I am passing the time by playing another ftf.

Commentary End of 1910

Southern Theater: Turkey successfully shifted his armies into position in preparation for next years assault on Trieste. The Ionian will likely consume the efforts of 6 fleets in both defensive and offensive capacities. This does not leave Austria or Italy with many units to spare. Unfortunately, Italy's assault on Tyrolia was unsuccessful. Austria, with little else to do, should have placed a support move just in case. However, now that the Turkish assault teams are in place, a similar opportunity may not be repeated.

German-Russian Theater: This theater looks to be grinding down into trench warfare. With the addition of another army, the Russian should be able to hold Germany barring a surprise move by the wehrmact or a blunder by the czar. The Russian made some strong moves last year that enable him to retake Warsaw and grind the German offensive to a halt.

French Theater: The clever empereur made some great defensive moves that may enable him to withstand the continued assault by E-G. His supported move to Spain and Burgundy was a calculated risk. Should A(Gas) have not been bounced and successfully moved to Spain, the German A(Bur) would have retreated to Gascony and threatened 4 French centers simultaneously. As is, the Frenchman's gamble paid off; leaving the wehrmacht's western forces in disarray. With Belgium threatened, Germany may have to regroup before renewing his assault with full force. This will buy le empereur some more time, but will it be enough....

should read: Italy's assault on Vienna

bump.

phase change

Spring 2012, first phase change.

*first elimination

Lets get some commentary!

Maybe we should slow down a bit and wait for commentary?

We finally have a good pace.

woah... that was fast.

Commentary S 1911:

Germany and England continued there aggressive assault on France. Germany made a good move by cutting support to Brest from Paris. This once center, once lost, will be unlikely to return to French hands. England's move to Gulf of Lyon was also strategic as he could now threaten Marseilles in addition to Spain with it.

In the east, Austria probably made a mistake in attacking Vienna. Holding Trieste was more important and the loss of Trieste forced Italy to retreat rather than support hold. Russia made a series of attacks that were well executed and enabled him to safely take Livonia.

Commentary End 1911:

Austria eliminated

France continued his strong defenses against superior E-G forces. With the loss of Brest, the tipping point is being reached where further France will simply be too weak to effectively counter his foes.

In the east, Vienna is easily retaken by Russian forces. The czar decided to gamble with a move to the north rather than blocking Galacia with support. Germany finally has a breach in the Russian defenses. As it stands, R-T continues vie for dominance vs. E-G. With Austria out and France faltering, it will be interesting to see how Italy navigates in between these opposing alliances.

Commentary S 1912

Dire straights for France

France seems to have decided to go out swinging at the German. England read France well and sailed into both Portugal and Marseilles. A move to Spain was a solid choice for France as a bounce there could potentially have frustrated two English moves (F Lyon-Spain and F(MAO-Por) As is, France will certainly lose Portugal and will most likely lose at least one more in the south. I am curious to see if he is able to comfort himself with a German center in the north.

In the east, Italy read Turkey well with his move to Tyrolia and so the guessing game continues. Russia seems ready to roll the dice this year. Howver, the czar appears to be on a roll thus far. Rather than hold Warsaw, the czar chose to seize St. Pete's from the distracted British and set himself up for retaking Warsaw in the fall. In doing so, moves to both Rumania and Vienna were left open. Fortunately for the Russian, the German made the move to Warsaw from Galacia as he predicted him to do. As is, the Wehrmact shouldn't unpack their gear in Warsaw as it is unlikely that they'll be staying long. So far the Russian has done well for himself this year. The final result of this wager will ultimately depend upon the loyalty of his southern friend.

Bump. Autumn 1912, almost 1913.

Thanks for the marathon commentary Barn3tt.