Ugh. This game just... ugh.
As England, I opened pro-France, having had good luck being on the other side of that team in gunboats in the past. Germany opened with something I'd never seen, a sort of hedgehog that left him unable to grab Denmark, which I did in part to position myself against the strong northern opening from Russia.
France's '01 builds worried me, and my suspicions were confirmed in Fall '02 with the move to Irish Sea. Thankfully, Germany was keeping him occupied and seemed unfazed by my presence in Denmark, allowing me to play tag with the Russians in Scandinavia and pick up another build, and again in '03 I grabbed the whole of Scandinavia and St. Pete's in time to lose Liverpool.
Spring '04, still locked in battle with France, I took a gamble to swing around him into MAO and head for Iberia. I hoped that I could catch him off guard, and start pulling his forces south and away from my home SCs. I was worried about leaving St. Pete's unprotected, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when the '04 build phase saw Russia disband Livonia, guaranteeing me another round uncontested in the frozen north. My grab at Iberia was successful, and I managed to get another build off to knock France back to the mainland.
By the end of '05 the map had changed considerably. I had evidently worn out my welcome in Denmark, and Germany pounced on the weakened Spain as well, essentially knocking him out of contention. My units were scattered, Germany and Italy were spreading like wildfire, and it looked like trouble was ahead.
Spring '06 my plan was to withdraw a bit and solidify my holdings, in particular locking down the Atlantic and trying to ward off any German aggression. The loss of St. Pete's wasn't a huge issue, since I had a spare build I wasn't able to use in '05 -- and the general lack of attack from Germany was a relief, though his continued naval build-up was worrying. So, Spring '07, I extended a peace offering to Germany and turned my full attention to keeping Italy out of the Atlantic.
Autumn '07 is really when the whole thing fell apart. Germany attacked me in Sweden, confirming my fears. I didn't notice the friendly Munich build that fall, and was more worried that at this point, he seemed more interested in pushing for a solo than setting a line against Italy. I'm sure the ongoing struggle against Turkey made Italy look tempting, but I wasn't about to allow a German solo anymore than I wanted to allow an Italian one.
Any doubts I may have had about German intentions were dispelled in Spring '08, as Germany positioned himself against Norway and grew to (I believe) his largest size until the end of the game. To counteract the loss of Norway, and hopefully show Germany I wasn't interested in seeing him solo, I convoyed into his homeland in fall '08. Of course, the attack on Norway didn't come, and so I was treated to an unexpected build, which I eagerly used to fuel up for further attacks.
Honestly, my problem was that, having convinced myself to attack Germany, in retaliation, I didn't follow through with it *enough*. I felt I still needed his armies to hold the line against Italy, and (this being gunboat) had too few means to convey the threat I felt I was under, the response I made, and my desire (after watching Italy finally crack Turkey's shell) to get back to the more important task of stopping Italy. I am too used to being able to waggle a silver tongue and fix problems, and didn't put my full effort into the attack against Germany at any point. Eventually a stupid mistake on my part cost me the Atlantic, and from there the game was inevitable.
Great play to all involved. Thanks for an enjoyable game!
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Slayer
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