Diplomacy PBPM - Concert of Europe

[Moody the Wise]

Welcome to ... The Concert of Europe

The year is 1901. It has been 87 years since the great monarchs of Europe defeated Napoleon, convened the Congress of Vienna, and vowed to maintain peace on the continent.

Europe has changed a lot in 87 years. The powerful force of nationalism has birthed two powerful new states, Italy and Germany. The French, now under the rule of a President in their Third Republic, are once again a force to be reckoned with. Great Britain has just come off a massive industrial revolution and is feeling pretty good. The Austrian Empire has suffered much at the hands of the Ottoman Turks lately, but is still a mighty force on the continent. And that darn Czar is still going remarkably strong. In the East, the growing powers of India, China, and Japan challenge Western imperialism.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/grey_bishop/YTSpring1901-S1901M.jpg

Country assignments:

Tim_the_Enchanter - India
Raveler1 - The Ottoman Empire
viggo - Russia
Gygaxphobia - Austria
thewamp - Germany
Grey Bishop - Japan
J_Muller - China
melchizedek - England
KuH - France
Yggdrasil - Italy

First off, everyone needs to post here to confirm his or her continued presence. Use this post to specify the method of communication you would prefer: email or PM. Also use this post to introduce yourself and the character in which you will be conducting negotiations. That character can be yourself, that's fine, but it's helpful for people to know how to address you.

Examples: In the other Youngstown game, Electric_Monkey introduced himself as "Shogun Mon-Ke," a clear play on his name. On the other hand, I play in my standard game as "Tsar Mikhail," Michael being my first name. I also know someone (Makleveh) who just signs letters "Bri."

Spring Turn

Friday: Spring Map released, Spring negotiations begin.
Tuesday: Spring Orders due, adjudication, sending out of the map and requesting any necessary retreats.
Thursday: Retreats due.

Fall Turn

Friday: Fall Map Released, Fall negotiations begin.
Tuesday: Fall Orders due, adjudication, sending out of the map and requesting any necessary retreats.
Thursday: Retreats due.
Friday: Winter builds due.

The Spring 1901 turn processes February 27th; negotiations are allowed and expected starting as soon as I post this.


Everyone has until 10:00 pm (EST/GMT-5) of the day in question to submit orders. I will resolve within two hours barring any technical issues.

This schedule looks a little funny, but I tried to make it different from the schedules for the two other games that I know people are playing in. If anyone has any serious objections to the schedule, post saying so and it can be changed.

Good luck.

Oh, and for now I would like to be copied on all negotiations. If my PM box ends up filling up more quickly than I can empty it, I may switch to just asking for a brief summary of your negotiations over the season along with your orders.

[Raveler1]

Wireless Message:
cough - ahem - is this on? Oh, it is. Good.

Greetings to all from Istanbul/Constaninople. I am the Sultan Luke, recently elected *cough by divine right cough* leader of the once great Ottoman Empire. Under my leadership, there will be peace for all my nation - whether Jew, Christian, Turk, Muslim, or Armenian. We are a diverse people, with a long and glorious past - of peaceful rulership, fiscal responsibility, and occasional border expansion.

Don't be fooled by the slightly antiquated weaponry, however. Our troops are a match for any in Europe, Asia, or Africa. Should a foreign power act contrary to our peaceful intentions, we shall unleash our armies against them with the swiftness of the whirling dervish.

Too much, you think? No, I'm sure they'll understand our intentions. A peaceful coalition of peoples should be quite the carrot to the powers of Europe and Asia. Oh, right, the microphone. I really must look into getting a swi-

MESSAGE ENDS

EDIT OOC: Moody, do you want us to PM you everything the way Grey Bishop did in AGW? I rather like including the GM in on the discussions that take place.

[Gygaxphobia]

Good day to all, I have just finished my banquet of inaugaration and am pleased to make your acquaintances. *yawn*
I am Prinz Stefan of the Royal blood of the House of Hasburg. Our line in ancient and unrivalled, and we will continue as we have done for countless ages. *stretch*

In the grand tradition of the Emperors of Holy Rome, I rule absolutely, bringing benevolence and magnamity to my subjects *cough* and my allies; terrifying and bloodthirsty conquest to my enemies.

But enough of that, who's for polo?

[Grey Bishop]

TELEGRAPH TO ALL MAJOR POWERS

After much deliberation, the Empire of Japan has decided the various military and economic 'advice' we have received from the western world is of benefit to our most honorable nation. As the new Prime Minister replacing esteemed Yamagato, I have been honored by the Emperor Meiji to head both civil and military affairs after the most recent elections. All communication with the Empire of Japan will be directed to my office as I speak with the voice and authority of the Emperor Meiji, in his most enlightened rule.

Prime Minister Gurei Bishoppu

MESSAGE ENDS

OOC:
PM is preferred as I check here several times a day.
AIM - greybishop7 to talk directly with me.

[melchizedek]

Greetings fellow world leaders. This is Prime Minister Melchizedek of Great Britain. I will shortly be sending delegation to many of you expressing my hopes and dreams for the future. I hope war does not become necessary, but if it does, know that the British fleet will not hesitate to act.

[Xilehxt]

India

Salutations to all the world leaders. I, Sultan Xilehxt, wishes you all well. We, the people of India wishes to express common interests of all the nations to expand their territories peacefully and without conflict as to maximize our profits. Of course, conflict will be inevitable, but the humble Indian people wish to keep good relations with all unless provoked. May Ishvara watch over us and our allies and karma overtake our offenders.

(PM would work best. Also, I've been trying to get a name change for quite a while to Xilehxt, but it seems the Mods are not responding at all. So Sultan Xilehxt works fine.)

[Moody the Wise]

Yes, Raveler1, for now I would like to be copied on negotiations. I might change my mind later if I find my PM box filling up every other day, but for now I would appreciate that. No biggie if you forget, though, or if you've already sent things out.

Edit: I just read a negotiation I was copied on that made reference to an alliance in the other Youngstown game. Fortunately, it was one I knew about. For both of our sakes, just go ahead and don't copy me on any negotiations that make direct mention to the other game, if you really feel the need to directly mention it.

Also, I would encourage everyone not to judge your fellow players by your interactions with them in other games, to the extent that this is humanly possible.

[Moody the Wise]

If anyone is interested, this is a good website with lots of articles on Diplomacy: Diplomacy Archive (http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/home.htm). Don't take any of the things anyone writes there as canonical; every Diplomacy game is different, as it is largely determined by the personalities of the players. It is good to get you thinking about some things, though. Also, I don't think you'll find anything that specifically addresses the Youngstown variant. There are also some articles that are pretty funny - I recommend the "Coast of Moscow" article in the Humour section.

[Moody the Wise]

I apologize for the continual posts, but I feel as though if I just go back and edit things, people will probably miss it.

When you send in orders to me, please use the following format for the subject of the PM:

CoE: Season Year, Country's Orders

So England submitting his orders next Tuesday would write: "CoE: Spring 1901, England's orders."

Also, it is customary to write press headlines/short stories from your country following each turn and whenever else you feel it is appropriate to do so. Nobody will hold it against you if you don't, but I encourage you to do so; I've found it to be quite enjoyable, and I think it improves the sense of community. And after you've suffered a brutal stab, you might still enjoy playing off of your old ally in the presses.

[thewamp]

Also, it is customary to write press headlines/short stories from your country following each turn and whenever else you feel it is appropriate to do so. Nobody will hold it against you if you don't, but I encourage you to do so; I've found it to be quite enjoyable, and I think it improves the sense of community. And after you've suffered a brutal stab, you might still enjoy playing off of your old ally in the presses.

And hearing about God talking to the Germans is hilarious. :smallwink: Gonna miss having you write press releases in this game. But hey, I'm the Germans now...

------------------------------------------

Kaiser Wamp of the Germans greets all foreign powers in the hope that we can preserve this peace and that war will never again be necessary. However, he cautions that should war come upon us, the German Armies are not to be trifled with.

Good Day. We will be staying in touch.

[J_Muller]

The Dowager
Has been deposed,
And a new, righteous
Emperor reigns in Peking.

Emperor Muller wishes
For peace with all
Other peoples.

This new century
Will surely be one
Of peace and prosperity.

-"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting."
--Sun Tzu


((EDIT: Technically this isn't who I'll be conducting negotiations as (CNR on my part, sorry), since it gets tiring to continue to type like I did above. Address communication to Jhong Mingyu, Chief Councilor, Grand Council.))

[Moody the Wise]

And hearing about God talking to the Germans is hilarious. :smallwink: Gonna miss having you write press releases in this game. But hey, I'm the Germans now...


Who knows? You may hear from some independent press ...

[KuH]

President Ku Triumphant in French Polls

Coming from nowhere, President Ku has triumphed in the polls for the French presidency. 'Well, it was a choice between a Royal and old Nick. The voters didn't like either one. Though of course, as you can tell from my name I was hoping to be chosen as leader of an Oriental power. But who knows. Vive la France!'

Ambassadors Sent Out

France has sent out ambassadors to all of the worldwide powers, though some communications problems are reported. 'Mais, le francais est la langue de la diplomatie. Tout le monde le sait. Pourquoi tous les etrangers nous repondent en anglais? Mais, c'est bete, non?'

[viggo]

TO THE GREAT POWERS, FROM THE TSAR, ALEKSANDR POTENTAVSKY:

WE WILL BURY YOU. STAND IN OUR WAY AND FACE IMMINENT DESTRUCTION.





To all Great Powers, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viktor Davidovich:

Our Tsar is a mere child. Please direct all offers of negotiation to my office. We desire peaceful existence with our neighbors and isolation from the European nightmare. We will, however, oppose any who try to repeat the French mistake.


(P.S. vincethewiseguy is my AIM)

[Illuminaughty]

OOC:

This is Grey Bishop. Running two games and playing in this one is causing my PM limit to be reached quickly. As not to risk pertinent orders from my players in the two games I run, I have created this log in to use for games I play in. Please send all future negotiations for Japan to this log in. Given this could be an elaborate attempt to intercept communications meant for Japan, I have made Moody aware and he will confirm. Thanks.

Grey Bishop

[Moody the Wise]

OOC:

This is Grey Bishop. Running two games and playing in this one is causing my PM limit to be reached quickly. As not to risk pertinent orders from my players in the two games I run, I have created this log in to use for games I play in. Please send all future negotiations for Japan to this log in. Given this could be an elaborate attempt to intercept communications meant for Japan, I have made Moody aware and he will confirm. Thanks.

Grey Bishop

Yes, yes, this is Grey Bishop, unless somebody went so far as to hack into his AIM screen name too, in which case ... bravo!

[viggo]

muahahahahahaaaaa my master plan is working perfectly

[Moody the Wise]

muahahahahahaaaaa my master plan is working perfectly

Don't worry, guys, he's kidding.

[thewamp]

Don't worry, guys, he's kidding.
{{Well if he wasn't, he wouldn't exactly have told us would he...

Or maybe that's what he wants us to think, so he did tell us so...

AAAH! :smalltongue:}}

[viggo]

yeah definitely kidding. the risk/reward ratio is way too high on that one.

[thewamp]

Hey Moody, think you'll be able to do spontaneous "international" press releases entirely for humor's sake? :smallwink:

[Moody the Wise]

Hey Moody, think you'll be able to do spontaneous "international" press releases entirely for humor's sake? :smallwink:

Yes, I think I will be able to come up with some tantalizing stories come the end of Spring. I should think you've had enough of my press from CoW by now, though. We might even forget to fight with our armies, we're fighting so much with our presses. =)

[thewamp]

Yes, I think I will be able to come up with some tantalizing stories come the end of Spring. I should think you've had enough of my press from CoW by now, though. We might even forget to fight with our armies, we're fighting so much with our presses. =)

So much fun though! :smallbiggrin: Yeah, I think I'll give the press a break for a bit now... :smalltongue:

[Yggdrasil]

In the name of his majesty Vitorio Emmanuelle III the Italian Government accepts private message commuications from all powers. We hope the new age will be one of universal peaceand prosperity.

[Moody the Wise]

Independent Press Strikes!

The Haarlem Globe Trotter

Ectoplasmic River Discovered in St. Petersburg!

Dennis "The Menace" Poleman, our Russian roving reporter, stumbled upon a disturbing river of ectoplasmic sludge in the sewers of St. Petersburg earlier today. Luckily, he was able to recover a sample of it and bring it back to our laboratories for testing. It seems as though the sludge is the physical manifestation of negative feelings. Whether this sludge is of Russian origin or is being illicitly exported to the Russian sewers by another country is unclear, however there have been rumors that the Russian Tsar is really the reincarnation of a centuries-dead Carpathian. The major support for this theory is the following cryptic message sent by the Tsar recently: "muahahahahahaaaaa my master plan is working perfectly." This one is a close second: "WE WILL BURY YOU. STAND IN OUR WAY AND FACE IMMINENT DESTRUCTION."

All World Powers Promise Peace

Obviously, someone's lying. Personally, we expect to be conquered any day now. And what's with this defining peace only in terms of ten world powers thing all about anyway? Since when do independent countries not matter? In related news, the Worldwide Taurine Fecal Matter Index has risen 300% in the past three days.

[Xilehxt]

No need to be so negative...world peace is a wonderful thing!

[viggo]

Peace In Our Time

British Ministry of State official Neville Chamberlain proclaims that no war will break out any time soon anywhere on the planet. Watch out for this one, folks, he's surely got a brilliant career in politics.

[melchizedek]

In fact, Great Britain is officially declaring a national disbelief in war. We're under the impression that if you don't believe it exists, it will go away.

[Moody the Wise]

The Thai Thaimes

We here in Thailand are very excited to embrace the new philosophy developed by the English. Henceforth we cease to believe in Great Britain; we expect it to go away any day now.


In fact, Great Britain is officially declaring a national disbelief in war. We're under the impression that if you don't believe it exists, it will go away.

[viggo]

Great Britian Disappears - Russia Soon to Follow

Following news of the apparent miraculousness of the disbelief action (OOC: god I miss that), the Tsar of Russia decided to pretend he and his empire no longer existed. There is now a giant Russia-shaped hole in the universe.

[Raveler1]

Funny, we turks have always said:

In Mother Russia, the country disbelieves YOU!

[Moody the Wise]

Since I've been getting some rules questions lately - nothing that looked like disastrous misconceptions, but still - I'm going to try to head off that sort of thing by reposting this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33539&highlight=diplomacy). That's the recruitment thread for Grey Bishop's Youngstown game, and we discussed the rules of the variant a lot there. I will not be responsible if someone has a horrible mishap as a result of not knowing the rules. If you're confused about anything you read there, after having read the whole thing, ask me - you're better safe than sorry.

[Moody the Wise]

24 Hour Warning - Spring 1901 orders due by 22:00 EST (GMT -5) tomorrow: Tuesday, February 27th

[Moody the Wise]

No retreats.

France:
F Bre-Mao
A Par-Bur
A Mar-Spa
F Sai-Sch

England:
F joh-tha(ec)
F edi-nrg
F liv-iri
F lon-nth

Japan:
F kyo - soj
F tok - spo
F osa - ecs

Turkey:
A Bag - Jor
A Con - Bul
A Smy - Syr
F Ank - Con

China:
A pek-->man
A han-->kan
F can-->got

India:
A del - afg
A cal - brm
F mad - eio

Germany:
A ber - kie
F kie - den
A mun - ruh
A pos - sax

Austria:
A Klug-Rumania
A Budapest-Serbia
F Tri-Adr
A Vie-Tyr (Bounce 1:1 with Italian A Ven-Tyr)

Italy:

F Nap - Ion
A Ven - Tyr (Bounce 1:1 with Austrian A Vie-Tyr)
A Rom - Ven (Fail - A Ven failed to move)
F Mag - Goa

Russia:

A mos -> ukr
F sev -> bla
A oms -> sib
F stp -> gob
F vla -> kor
A war hold

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Concert%20of%20Europe/ConcertofEurope-F1901M.jpg

Notice: Starting this Friday, and lasting until March 18th, I will be on spring break. My family computer at home blocks the forum, but I'll figure out ways to get the next two weeks' turns up. I'll either use friends' computers or invite a guest GM if I have to - Makleveh, who is running the Intrigue game, has agreed to help me out if I need it. Some updates might be a little late, but they'll all get up.

[thewamp]

Various Newspapers Report:

The Kaiser Report
The Kaiser today noted with interest how... fascinating the Turkish army movements. "It's like reverse psychology," he said. "They're trying to trick us by not protecting their territory or moving to grab new territory.

Germany Daily
Heinrich Licht reports, "We've got many years of peacefulness ahead of us, it seems. I'm so glad that the nations of this world have decided to be mature and act peacefully. No silly warmongering.

Our Great Nation
Germany needs you to join the army! Think of the fun places you can go! The people you can meet! And think of the cool guns you can wield! Haven't you always wanted one! A fair and unbiased report of the News Situation suggests that joining the army may be just what you've always dreamed of.

{{I got too lazy for headlines...}}

[viggo]

Russian Third Army Exiled to Siberia

In a surprising turn of events, the Russian Third Army's general, Vladimir Namolov, punished his entire army for insubordination. "I ordered them into their new uniforms, but they refused." The General met with reporters in his orange Adidas jumpsuit. "Something about total lack of camouflage."

Massive pileup on the Italian Peninsula

"We haven't seen a trainwreck this bad since the Pope owned half our country!"

[melchizedek]

British Navy Takes To the Seas
Earlier this Spring, the British Navy left port heading in a variety of directions. While rumors abound, the British government claimed that the fleets didn't exist. "We do not acknowledge the existence of a British navy. Anyone who claims that the British navy does exist is either a liar or insane." Even when shown sources who claimed to have recently seen the fleet depart from port, the officials refused to believe it. When pressed, they covered their ears with their hands, and made random noises. When asked what their plans were for the newly occupied Thailand, the denied that Thailand existed, and denied that, even if it did exist, they would have occupied it.

[Illuminaughty]

Imperial Japanese Fleets launched

The Imperial Japanese Fleets have been sent out to the neighboring islands to search for new breeds of fish. Prime Minister Gurei Bishoppu had this to say, "The most honorable Emperor Meiji, in all his wisdom, is an avid Go... ur... met... what? No... it's French? Gourmet... oh. Ahem. We look forward to the new inventions the Imperial Diet will sample. Thank you." A pause. "I really don't like this French. Frenchmen? I don't think I like them either. The Emperor thinks they plan to steal his fish. What? It's still on? Oh."

[Gygaxphobia]

Royal Favourite
In exciting fashion news, the Crown Prinz Stefan Habsburg of Austro-Hungary has declared Orange to be his favourite color!
Henceforth the Navy will be called the Sunblush and all official buildings will be repainted to show the new Royal trend.
The Orange Paint Factory in Vienna is said to be exceptionally happy.

Crown Prinz approves of Serbia
Crown Prinz Stefan Habsburg is reportedly delighted with the shopping district of Serbia, and his shopping trip is said to be exceptionally well received by the Serbian public.
Sources quote the Prinz as exclaiming "What a marvellous country! Uncle Franz simply must visit, he would love it."

[Moody the Wise]

The Thai Thaimes

Sale of 'Imaginary English Sailor' Insurance Skyrockets!

Staff Prepares to Relocate!

[Moody the Wise]

Kuh has asked me to let you all know that he's on vacation, he's not ignoring your messages, and he'll be back in plenty of time to submit orders for Tuesday.

[J_Muller]

Chinese Empire Reclaims Homeland
Righteous troops from the mighty Qing Empire have reclaimed our Emperor's Manchurian Homeland from the nefarious Neutralians.

[viggo]

"I do hope that army you moved east isn't headed for Outer Mongolia. I would hate to start off this new century with a war."

We had a DEAL, you SNIVELING WEASEL. Our armies WILL move in to Outer Mongolia next season. DO NOT attempt to stop them. And how dare you claim territory on my border!

YOUR ARMIES ARE WEAK, EMPEROR. In fact, I have been joking privately about your silly cloth boots. Do you think you can honestly survive a war on the Russian border without protective gear? You're a joke. And with the way you're mismanaging your peasants, you'll probably have a revolution on your hands inside the decade!

SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN!

[J_Muller]

"I do hope that army you moved east isn't headed for Outer Mongolia. I would hate to start off this new century with a war."

We had a DEAL, you SNIVELING WEASEL. Our armies WILL move in to Outer Mongolia next season. DO NOT attempt to stop them. And how dare you claim territory on my border!

YOUR ARMIES ARE WEAK, EMPEROR. In fact, I have been joking privately about your silly cloth boots. Do you think you can honestly survive a war on the Russian border without protective gear? You're a joke. And with the way you're mismanaging your peasants, you'll probably have a revolution on your hands inside the decade!

SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN! SUN YAT-SEN!

...I do hope you realize you posted this instead of replying to my PM. Just pointing that out.

Also, I quote from our relevant PM exchanges:


The brutal warlord of outer mongolia subjugates my slavic brothers and i seek their liberation. The Han rarely fare well in colder climes. And I'm sure your Thai cousins would welcome liberation from the French.


Russia need not worry about Outer Mongolia. Surely you have more pressing concerns in Europe? The Middle Kingdom intends to bring Mongolia into its borders soon enough. A Russian occupation of Outer Mongolia would only cause tension between our nations.


Fair enough. Our european business is far more of a concern for us. May the Middle Kingdom prosper in its endeavors.

And, for completeness, the PM I sent that you quoted above:


I do hope that army you moved east isn't headed for Outer Mongolia. I would hate to start off this new century with a war.

If there was any "deal", it was that China occupies Outer Mongolia.

[viggo]

Wonders never cease. First threatening to seize territory that is rightfully mine, threatening to declare war if I didn't allow you to, and now attempting to sour my relations with the French?


If the validity of your claim is to be taken seriously, then so must this message
Quote:
Originally Posted by J Muller
Every nation in the world is led by a pack of mongrel dogs and I would like to drink the blood of their children!




and this

Quote:
Originally Posted by J Muller
I'm a silly Emperor that wears my underwear on my head!

[J_Muller]

...allow me to forward you your own messages back.

EDIT: There. I did. You accepted Chinese occupation of Outer Mongolia. Don't say you didn't.

Moody, if you want me to forward you the relevant PMs, I can. And, since Russia seems so intent on this, an IC response from the Emperor himself.

You have doomed yourself.
The armies of China march.
Prepare to die, fool.

[viggo]

I fear no Middle Kingdom!

[J_Muller]

dude that was all in character

((I went OOC the moment I reminded you that you posted in the thread instead of PMing me... sorry. Actually, now that I think about it, it would explain a lot if you've been IC the entire time. EDIT: he changed his above post, incidentally.))


((SECOND EDIT: If everyone could just ignore all the above posts, that would be great. I kind of assumed he was just being a dumbass and, in responding, kind of made a dumbass out of myself. I vote that we just pretend this never happened or something.))

If you desire war,
You have found it in Asia.
China shall crush you.

[Gygaxphobia]

OOC: Unfortunately I have this brain block thing called 'memory' I really can't retro-avoid anything like this. If you don't want it read, don't post it, and especially don't go public with it.

[J_Muller]

OOC: Unfortunately I have this brain block thing called 'memory' I really can't retro-avoid anything like this. If you don't want it read, don't post it, and especially don't go public with it.

((Is that directed at me or him? Because I only posted it here because he posted here--I just assumed he was being stupid, which I probably shouldn't have.))

[thewamp]

((Is that directed at me or him? Because I only posted it here because he posted here--I just assumed he was being stupid, which I probably shouldn't have.))

Don't worry about it. The best way to make it all go away is to stop talking about it.

[KuH]

French Troops Shopping for Wine

President Ku's ascension to leadership of the republic was celebrated with massive amounts of red Burgundian wines, thanks to the actions of French troops who went wine shopping in this province. Meanwhile the troops in Marseilles decided to get some more red wine of their own - in this case some good Spanish Riojas. 'We are looking forward to some good drinking this winter' stated the French president ... although I would like to try a little red from the Duoro valley, just for comparison purposes.

Oriental Threats Against the French?

After vaguely worded warning comments were issued against the French forces in Asia from nameless Asian powers, the French president noted that all troops in Asia were made up of the famous French Foreign Legion.

'As you know, we have the finest mercenary troops in the world. Our fleets in Asia have no ambitions beyond survival ... and as such will happily make themselves available to support the highest bidder.'

'Of course, reasons of state could always overrule these bids - if a major Asian power were willing to offer a strong and binding friendship guarantee that leaves us three intact colonies, then the Legion could be persuaded to curtail their mercenary activities.'

The French consulate in Saigon is rumoured to be importing large quantities of noodles, including buckwheat, wheat and rice varieties, to entertain the expected ambassadors and bidders.

[J_Muller]

China is no threat to French
In an interview with the Peking Times today, Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu of the Grand Council dispelled any rumors of Chinese threats against the Asian interests of France or any other country, excluding of course the belligerent Russians. "China has no ambitions of extending the empire southwards towards Saigon or Thailand." said the Chief Councilor. "Chinese citizens should rejoice, however, that before 1903 is up we expect to have extended the empire north into the possessions of the unworthy Russians. While they may talk big now, they will find their words no help when the countless soldiers of a Chinese army evict them from their eastern cities."

[KuH]

French Receive Submissions from Belgium

The French president received a delegation of Belgians today, who requested 'protection' from the Germany army. 'You call yourself a French people?', he snorted? 'Tell me, what do you drink? BEER!! My troops are only interested in lands which produce drinkable wines.'

Desperate patriotic Belgians are rumored to be attempting to produce a drinkable wine by the end of the year. The French are watching 'les ridicules attentats des belges' with a superior sneer on their lips.

[Illuminaughty]

Ninjas are better than pirates? A report from the Isles of Japan.

News circulates that the Imperial Japanese Navy has begun stockpiling large quantities of fish against rumored French piracy in the Pacific. When questioned, the Prime Minister had this to say, "What? Look, the Emperor likes his sushi. The French clearly intend to deprive the most honorable Emperor Meiji of several varieties, most notably the fabled Borneon Puffy Eel. I believe the Emperor had finally come to terms with this tragic culinary loss when he heard rumors the French are honorless ronin... mercenaries. Now the Emperor believes, in all his wisdom, that the French plan to engage in piracy against the Japanese Navy as they gather new varieties of fish for the Imperial Diet. Clearly we won't stand for this and the Imperial Navy stands ready to repel any piratical incursions. We are currently training detachments of Ninja to act as a marine force. Everyone knows ninjas are better than pirates after all."

[viggo]

Trial of Russian Third Army Ends in Acquittal, General Vladimir Namolov Institutionalized

After an unsurprising edict by the military high court, the Russian Third Army was acquitted of insubordination. Their commanding officer has been exiled to Argentina. "Let the savages deal with him," said Colonel Stanovich.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viktor Davidovich, has been given personal control of the Third Army. "Our first act will be to solidify our rule over Outer Mongolia. Given the unprovoked declaration of war by China, we have no choice but to defend our borders from the maniacal Manchu."

[J_Muller]

Declaration of war was totally provoked
Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu refuted Russian claims that the impending war was unprovoked in another interview with the Peking Times. "The treacherous Russians clearly betrayed China by ignoring our agreement for Chinese rule in Outer Mongolia. Their armies march towards territory which rightfully belongs to China. The fools will soon learn that they have made a grave mistake. The armies of China are without number, and they will easily crush these invaders."

[thewamp]

The Kaiser Report: "Funny, I count Three"
After hearing the Chinese announcement that their armies were without number, the Kaiser quickly hurried to his advisors, who showed him a tactical layout of the world. There, he carefully counted the chinese armies, but to his frustration, he kept coming up with a number. "I never get without number when I count. It's funny, I always seem to count three."

[Gygaxphobia]

Habsburgs Go One Better

Not to be outdone by the Krauts, the highly competitive Prinz Stefan of Austro-Hungary has declared that he has counted four Chinese armies. Sources quote him as saying "The Kaiser missed one! Let him stick that on his spiked helmet! Ahahaha!"

Critics have asked whether the Emperor needs some New Clothes and if there is a reward from the Prinz for finding a fifth Chinese army.

[viggo]

Fifth Chinese army found in hell, others to quickly join

"It's getting boring down here," said Seargent Hu Shin-Shek. "Thankfully, our brothers-in-arms will be joining us soon. I hope one of them dies with some mahjongg tiles, it's more boring than 'rousing' Imperial speeches."

[Gygaxphobia]

Prinz in Orange Funk
The Crown Prinz of Autro-Hungary has been in a sulk for some hours it is whispered, no one is quite sure of the cause.

[KuH]

French Foreign Legion Commander Exiled to Borneo for Insubordination

The French diplomats to the Japanese court were seen bearing submissions of friendship to the Shogun, saying that they had sent the commander of the ronin into exile in Borneo, and the French nation would now be happy to treat with the wonderful Japanese people in friendship, peace and harmony. They await an answer to their private missive, as they happily (and perhaps foolishly) told the reporter from La Republique, who promptly printed it in major papers distributed to all foreign capitals.

[Moody the Wise]

24 hour warning - Fall 1901 orders due by 22:00 EST (GMT-5)

[KuH]

French Foreign Legion Refuses to Follow Commander

'What are you exiling us to Borneo to eat eel for?' asked the troops of the French Foreign Legion. 'We want the big city lights, and the gambling of Macao. The heck with you - we are going to sail into Canton - and enjoy the gourmet food and entertainment of the big city.'

[J_Muller]

Chief Councilor Cautions French About Controlling Their Navy
Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu responded to reports that a rogue group of French ships may be on its way to Canton today by cautioning the French government to keep control of their armed forces. "If a French fleet were to invade Chinese ground", he said, "it would, in the eyes of the Emperor and the Grand Council, amount to a declaration of war between France and China. France would do well to regain control of its navy group immediately."

[Illuminaughty]

Japanese Imperial Diet in uproar

The Japanese Imperial Diet has recently met in closed session to discuss French threats to Asian powers. After 12 hours without break, Prime Minister Gurei Bishoppu emerged with this to say, "The age of European colonialism is at an end. The lesser Asian powers matter little, but an attack upon the Chinese would mean war not only with their nation, but ours as well. The Emperor is quite ready to see the Borneon Puffy Eel protected by the Imperial Japanese Navy and a French assault upon neighboring Canton would be the excuse the Imperial Diet is looking for. I do hope the French see the trouble this rogue fleet is causing and bring it back under control before it is too late."

[viggo]

Tsar of All Russia Declares New National Holiday

Called "The Diet Is For Fat People, Not A Governing Body, Silly Japanese" Day, its celebration is comprised mainly of securing Outer Mongolia. "That'll teach the Japanese for getting mad at our French friends," said the Tsar. "I don't even get their alphabet."

[KuH]

French Confused By Japanese Threats

The French parliament declared their official confusion over the missives they have been receiving from the Japanese people.

'It is clear that our navy needs to resupply', said the French parliament.

'First the Japanese tell us not to resupply in Borneo with declarations of war if we do. There declarations are so loud and belligerent that the universal diplomatic code clearly states that we are making the wrong choice in occupying this innocent, isolated, unoccupied island, and must select again from the alternatives. What is left but Canton?'

'We have no desire to hurt our Chinese friends, yet fear the threats of the mighty Japanese even more. And yet, now the Japanese are threatening us if we attack Canton - the choice they forced us into from the beginning. It seems that the Japanese navy is belligerent and warlike no matter what we do. And all we want is peace with our neighbors in Asia. Is there nobody who can help us? Will the great Japanese not have a change in heart, and leave us in peace?'

'Maybe we need to learn to read the little squiggles on the paper here, so we can understand what they are really communicating. Perhaps there are hidden subversive messages?'

[Moody the Wise]

Just so you all know, I don't have jDip here at home, so Grey Bishop is going to be doing the official game post for this turn. Unless I comment otherwise, assume that everything he posts is correct and on the level. And don't worry, I handed over the orders to him after 10:00, and after he submitted orders to me - I also didn't include anybody's commentary, just the orders. If anybody has a problem with this, deal with it, because it was a totally kosher transaction. Wait, did I say transaction? =)

[J_Muller]

If anybody has a problem with this, deal with it, because it was a totally kosher transaction. Wait, did I say transaction? =)

((Did he make you an offer you can't refuse?:smalltongue:))

[Grey Bishop]

General Notices

No retreating units; retreat phase skipped.

Order Results

Austria:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 1.
No moves recorded. All units holds.
F adr Holds
A rum Holds
A ser Holds
A vie Holds

China:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 1.
F got - vtn
A kan - sin
Bounced with sib (1 against 1).
A man Holds

England:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
F iri - ire
F nth Supports A ruh - bel
F nrg - nwy
F tha/ec - cam

France:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
A bur - bel
Bounced with ruh (1 against 1).
F mao - mor
F sch - bor
A spa - por

Germany:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
F den - swe
Bounced with gob (1 against 1).
A kie - hol
A ruh - bel
A sax - mun

India:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
A afg - ira
A brm Holds
F eio - jav

Italy:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
F goa - yem
F ion - pen
A rom - apu
A ven - tri

Japan:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
F ecs - can
F soj - kar
F spo - phi

Russia:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 1.
F bla Supports A rum - bul
Support failed. Supported unit's order does not match support given.
F gob - swe
Bounced with den (1 against 1).
F kor Holds
A sib - sin
Bounced with sib (1 against 1).
A ukr - rum
Bounced with rum (1 against 1).
A war - gal

Turkey:
Supply centers were gained. Units that may be built: 3.
A bul - gre
F con - bul/sc
A jor - egy
A syr - arm

[Grey Bishop]

Winter 1901
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/grey_bishop/CoEWinter1901-F1901B.jpg

[J_Muller]

((Erm, are you sure you got that right? Because not only are some moves plain innacurate (according to the moves, China should get two builds, not one.), the moves don't match the map.))

[Grey Bishop]

((Erm, are you sure you got that right? Because not only are some moves plain innacurate (according to the moves, China should get two builds, not one.), the moves don't match the map.))

OOC:
Sorry. Fixed. Had to amend the 'anticipated' orders I had entered with Moody's copy he sent me. Forgot to fix Russia's move from Siberia. Refresh if it still looks the other way.

Update:

A kie - hol... not A kie hold. Bah! Wasn't anticipating doing this for Moody (or at least this aspect of it) so made mistakes. Grrr. Fixing.

Update # 2: I even mistyped the update to say A kie - hold. Le sigh. My brain is melty because I've been using mass learning (cramming) for my Psych midterm. Sorry guys. Hey.. at least I remembered what mass learning was!

[thewamp]

Umm... my orders were submitted incorrectly... A kie moved to hol. I asked Moody to confirm

[J_Muller]

OOC:
Sorry. Fixed. Had to amend the 'anticipated' orders I had entered with Moody's copy he sent me. Forgot to fix Russia's move from Siberia. Refresh if it still looks the other way.

Update:

A kie - hold... not A kie hold. Bah! Wasn't anticipating doing this for Moody (or at least this aspect of it) so made mistakes. Grrr. Fixing.

((Yeah, it's good now. On that note:))

Treachery! Vile Treachery!
The foul Japanese have invaded Canton, striking a blow deep into the heart of the Empire! With the Canton Garrison away skirmishing with Russia in Sinkaing, the Japanese took advantage of China's trust and have forgone the capture of Formosa, which China would have tolerated, for a straight attack on China's own territory! Emergency plans are made for the raising of a second Peking Garrison in case the vile Japs intend to strike there next.

[Grey Bishop]

Umm... my orders were submitted incorrectly... A kie moved to hol. I asked Moody to confirm

OOC:
You are correct. Fixed again. Sorry, tired from studying for Psych test tomorrow.

[Raveler1]

Sultan Luke to offer tours of Egypt!

The tours will include the Giza Pyramids, tomb of the Kings, and Cleopatra's palace (diving bell not included). To aid in the tourism effort, the bland Suez Canal has been renamed Canal #5. Foreign heads of state are encouraged to check out "The New Turkish Empire".

Ottoman Empire reclaims old glories

The lands of Greece, Bulgaria, and Egypt have signed signatory pacts with the Ottoman Empire to rejoin its great state. These pacts were confirmed in each case by a regiment of soldiers or marines, standing in as honor guard for Sultan Luke. Reports also claim that the Imperial Harem has had three new additions, each more beautiful than the last.

[Moody the Wise]

Figured I'd post a little reminder - Winter 1901 build orders are due by 22:00 EST (GMT-5) Friday, March 9th.

[Illuminaughty]

The Imperial Sun: Japanese Fleet sails into Canton

In a move intended to counter a French Pirate attack upon Canton, a Japanese fleet has landed in China, disappointed to discover the lack of French pirates. With no pirates to face, the Japanese Admiral Yoshimoro has issued an extended leave to his men. This reporter caught up with the Admiral in the Cantonese night club 'Gao Xing Ji', who, while distracted by some dancers was recorded as saying, "Everyone was ready to fight and die if need be. That sort of expectation, when suddenly revoked, requires extensive... recovery time. The men have been given leave for the next... three to six months. Yes, that sounds good. Hey! Over here sweety!" The Admiral was not available for further comment and is said to be enjoying Canton quite well.

[viggo]

Tsar Christens New Territory

"It sure is strange here in Korea," said the Tsar. "I wonder if their women like borscht."

[Moody the Wise]

So, I was cleaning up my PM box, and I accidentally deleted all winter 1901 build orders that I had received (I checked them to download them, then forgot I was doing that and checked a bunch of old messages to delete). Since builds aren't due until Friday, it should be possible for everyone to get them in to me again. Sorry about that.

[viggo]

good work, moody

[KuH]

French Foreign Legion Basks in Borneo

Finally persuaded upon by their commander to join him in Borneo, the French Foreign Legion has pronounced itself delighted with the results. 'The famous puffy eel was everything promised - a real treat! We see no reason to ever want to leave this delightful paradise'.

English and German Tourists Invade Brussels

'We know that Brussels is the center of the European Union, but really, isn't this a bit too much?' the French were heard to say. 'Although in principle we had no objection to the Germans occupying this beer-swilling town, we had hoped they would wait a year to fully settle in, so that our embassy could have quietly pulled out. But somehow the English navy got misdirected and descended en masse with the Germans for a soccer game.'

'We are just waiting for the chants of one world cup and two world wars to break out'.

Fine Wines From the South

The marechale of the French troops in Spain disobeyed orders, and continued directly on to Portugal, to recover some of the Duoro red wines so beloved by his people. 'Hey, while you are off gallivanting in the south, we have neighbors here in the north' was the missive sent down to him. 'Return, return ... and bring some wine with you!'

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, I'll post build orders here, then someone (perhaps Grey Bishop, wink wink nudge nudge) will post an updated map sometime in the near future. Spring 1902 orders will be due by 22:00 EST (GMT-5) Tuesday, March 13th. I apologize for not having jDip at home, but c'est la vie.

*Note! It's REALLY helpful if you title your messages properly. "CoE: Season Year, Country's orders." Typing out Concert of Europe for CoE is fine too. But especially right now, when I'm not reading every bit of correspondence that crosses my desk, and I'm busy, it's nice to be able to round up the orders quickly.

Yggdrasil: On the honor system, if you sent me your build orders Tuesday night and I deleted them, you have an extra 24 hours from now to forward me the original build orders.
Edit: He did.

England:
A Lon
F Liv
F Joh

France:
A Par
F Bre
A Sai

Germany:
A pos
A kie
A ber

Italy:
A Mag
F Nap
A Ven

Austria:
A Klu

Russia:
A Vla

Turkey:
F Con
F Smy
A Ank

India:
F mad
A del
A cal

China:
A Han

Japan:
A kyo
F osa
F tok

[viggo]

i definitely don't trust the honor system. if the DM overrides me, fine, but I say we put it to a vote.

[thewamp]

i definitely don't trust the honor system. if the DM overrides me, fine, but I say we put it to a vote.

Given Italy's position, I don't see that them seeing what all the rest of us have done would really matter, except insofar as to choose to put the third unit in Africa or Italy...

[J_Muller]

We're already working on the honor system as far as letting Grey Bishop do up the maps. So, this isn't that far of a leap at this point.

[Moody the Wise]

Viggo - I am going to override you on this one. Like thewamp said, there's not much percentage in Yggdrasil lying about this. And when you mess up as a GM, you've got to make certain allowances. I understand your concern, but just because you've tried to bribe me doesn't mean Yggdrasil is below a little bit of honesty.

J_Muller - It's really not a leap of faith to have Grey Bishop doing the maps - I have all the orders. He made a few mistakes, but they were caught and fixed, and we're grateful for his help anyway.

And by the way, Yggdrasil did forward me those orders, and I've edited the previous post accordingly.

[KuH]

France Concerned Over English Buildup

'Those English shipworkers are swarming around the shipyard in Liverpool like beatles' said the French naval attache. 'And why build there, when Scotland offers much better access to Scandinavia?'

'We look forward to the English clarifying their actions.'

[Grey Bishop]

Spring 1902
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/grey_bishop/CoESpring1902-S1902M.jpg

Sorry about the delay. Didn't realise Moody was still away. Yep, no honor needed on my part. I get the info after the fact and Moody still has the original to check behind me with. I can be as dishonorable as I need! :smallcool: Kiddin', clearly. But there's our map. Enjoy.

[viggo]

Army Raised in Vladivostok, Japanese Aggression to Blame

"We don't want those silly Japanese taking our homes and turning them into temples for their crazy religion. I mean, seriously, Shinto? What the hell?"

[Moody the Wise]

Spring 1902 orders due by 22:00 EST (GMT-5) tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13.

That is approximately 27 hours from now. It's daylight savings time here in the EST timezone (at least, in the U.S. it is). On the off chance that someone will be confused or think it unfair, I'll give you the extra hour if you need it. The time on the forum has not been adjusted for this daylight savings time, so if you get your orders in by 10:00 pm according to the forum's clock, you're good. Technically, it will be 11:00 pm for me when I post the orders.

Along with your orders this turn, please send me a brief description of your feelings about daylight savings time - do you live in the U.S.? Do you recognize daylight savings time? Are you really confused about the whole thing? Did you know it came earlier this year by decree of congress?

Should I clarify that the time for orders being due is just relative to GMT, and ignore the whole daylight savings time thing? That would mean that, unless someone changes the clock, things would just run very nicely by the forum's clock. This is what I'm leaning towards, but I'm open to suggestions.

[Moody the Wise]

Here are the Spring 1902 orders - someone will mappetize them and adjudicate as soon as possible.

France:
A Bur holds
A Par support A Bur
F Bre - Eng
A Por - Spa
F Mor - Mao
F Bor - Sch
A Sai - Ann

Japan:
F can holds
F kar - npo
F tok - spo
F osa - ecs
F phi - sch
A kyo - fuj

Austria:
A Rum - Sev
A Klu - Gal
A Vie S Klu - Gal
F Adr - Tri
A Ser - Bud

England:
F Cam-Tha(EC)
F Joh S F Cam-Tha (EC)
F Liv-Iri
F Ire-nat
A Lon-Wal
F Nth-Lon

Germany
A mun - bur
A bel - pic
A kie - ruh
A hol S A kie - ruh
F den holds
A ber - kie
A pos - sax

India:
A brm - sha
A cal - brm
A del - snd
A ira - tur
F jav - mal
F mad - eio

Turkey:
A Arm - Sev
F Con - Bla
F Smy - Eas
F Bul (SC) - Aeg
A Gre - Bul
A Egy Hold
A Ank Hold

Russia:
a vla -> man
a ukr -> rum
a gal supports a ukr -> rum
a sib -> sin
f kor -> yel
f gob -> swe
f bla -> sev

Italy:
F Pen - Egy
A Mag - Eth
F Yem - Red
F Nap - Ion
A Tri S A Ven - Tyr
A Ven - Tyr
A Apu - Ven

China:
A kan-->sin
A man-->pek
F vtn-->got
A han holds

[Grey Bishop]

General Notices

Russia:
A gal must retreat or be disbanded; can retreat to boh, sil, war.

Order Results

Austria:
F adr - tri
.....Bounced with tri (1 against 1).
A klu - galAustria: A rum - sev
.....Bounced with arm (1 against 1).
A ser - bud
A vie Supports A klu - gal

China:
A han Holds
A kan - sin
.....Bounced with omo (1 against 1).
A man - pek
F vtn - got

England:
F cam Supports F joh - tha/ec
F ire - nat
F joh - tha/ec
F liv - iri
A lon - wal
F nth - lon
F nwy Holds; No order for unit at Norway; Hold order assigned.

France:
F bor - sch
.....Bounced with phi (1 against 1).
F bre - eng
A bur Holds
F mor - mao
A par Supports A bur
A por - spa
A sai - ann

Germany:
A bel - pic
A ber - kie
F den Holds
A hol Supports A kie - ruh
A kie - ruh
A mun - bur
.....Bounced with bur (1 against 2).
A pos - sax

India:
A brm - sha
A cal - brm
A del - snd
A ira - tur
F jav - mal
F mad - eio

Italy:
A apu - ven
A mag - eth
F nap - ion
F pen - egy/nc
.....Bounced with egy (1 against 1).
A tri Supports A ven - tyr
.....Support cut by Move from Adriatic Sea.
A ven - tyr
F yem - red

Japan:
F can Holds
F kar - npo
A kyo - fuj
F osa - ecs
F phi - sch
.....Bounced with bor (1 against 1).
F tok - spo

Russia:
F bla - sev
.....Bounced with arm (1 against 1).
A gal Supports A ukr - rum
.....Support cut by Move from Klug. Dislodged from klu (2 against 1). Can retreat to boh, sil, war.
F gob - swe
F kor - yel
A sib - sin
.....Bounced with kan (1 against 1).
A ukr - rum
.....Failed because Austria: A rum - sev failed.
A vla - man

Turkey:
A ank Holds
A arm - sev
.....Bounced with rum (1 against 1).
F bul/sc - aeg
F con - bla
.....Failed because Russia: F bla - sev failed.
A egy Holds
A gre - bul
F smy - eas

[Grey Bishop]

Fall 1902
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/grey_bishop/CoEFall1902-F1902M.jpg

[J_Muller]

One of my orders is wrong. It was kan-->sin

Also, *shakes fist in the air* f*ck you Russia. F*ck you all the way to Hell.:smalltongue:

[Moody the Wise]

That Russian retreat is due by Thursday, 10:00 PM Forum-Time.

Viggo - let me know in your PM if you're willing to just have the map updated as soon as your order comes in, rather than waiting until the deadline, since you're the only one.

J_Muller - I can tell your post wasn't meant to be hurtful, but let's keep the language - even with asterisks - clean.

[Grey Bishop]

One of my orders is wrong. It was kan-->sin[/I]

Corrected.

[Illuminaughty]

French Pirates repelled in South China Sea

Reports of French piracy in the South China sea have been confirmed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Admiral Tatsumo Hiroshi was heard to claim to have bested hundreds of the French pirates, but rumors persist that he quickly ordered the retreat of the entire fleet after the first skirmish leaving the South China Sea unclaimed.

Yesterday, a chastened Hiroshi was publicly executed for cowardice after refusing to ritually disembowel himself. His replacement, newly promoted Yoshimoro Date, has sworn to show great honor in the next engagement having said, "Our Ninja-Marine is coming along nicely. The first detachments await deployment in Fuji. Within the next year, we expect they will have rid the Pacific of piracy proving once and for all ninjas are indeed better than pirates."

[J_Muller]

Russia Betrays China's Trust... Again.
The belligerent Russian Empire once again demonstrated their aggressiveness and foolishness when they went back on promises of a truce with China and invaded Manchuria. While the Manchurian Army Group was redeployed to Peking in preparation for the retaking of Canton, a Russian army entered the territory and claimed it for Russia. Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu had this to say:
"The foreign aggressors may attack China, but they will never take Peking! Our courageous warriors will force them to pay a gallon of blood for every meter of our territory they seize! Long live China! Long live the Emperor!"

France planning to occupy Vietnam? ((OOC: Because we all know that's going to work so well...:smalltongue:))
A French army moved north, apparently in preparation for a French takeover of Vietnam. The French had best be careful, however, as foreigners are known to be vulnerable to a famous Vietnamese disease that is making the rounds--Dien Bien Phlu.

[viggo]

Study shows Chinese really, really gullible, about to become extinct

Scientists at the Imperial Russian Academy for Arts, Sciences, Population Control, Disinformation and General Badassery released a study today that the Chinese people are incredibly suceptible to even the most obvious of deceptions. It's okay, though, their spokesperson said. "The Chinese will soon be mostly extinct. Maybe some pockets of resistance in the Himalayas, but nothing worth mentioning. It's a great day to be Russian, everything I am and own belongs to the Tsar, hail Mother Russia, dasvidanya."

Much Strangeness in the Balkans

"We just can't figure it out," said the Minister of Cartography, Geology, Anthropology, Biology but not Exobiology or Zoology but definitely Botany. "It's total chaos. There are Italians in Austria, Austrians marching toward Russia... We've been trying to redraw maps. Look at Turkey! No one even knows what to think about the Ottomans."

[thewamp]

Outer Mongolians Celebrate Independence for Another Season
The international community was astounded today, after the large hullabalu made about Outer Mongolia, that it is still untaken. "It remains to be seen whether the Tsar intends to move into it in the Fall, but we have to say, we're surprised," said a local paper from South Germany.

In other News, the Germans apologize profusely to the French: "we really didn't mean to go into Picardy. But you know, we had a hankering to travel, and those soldiers, would you believe it, took so long to pack their things that we had to stay for the summer.

[viggo]

Russian Foreign Minister responds to German press

Outer Mongolia is a part of Russia. They govern themselves to a high degree, and we don't impose taxes or draft laws on them. However, as it can be seen, we do not tolerate foreign aggression on the people of Outer Mongolia. They are a living, breathing part of our Empire, and the Russian Winter Wolves will not accept incursion into our territory.

And for the record, it's independence.

[Raveler1]

Turkey, Austria: Our Generals need to talk!

What could have been a swift attack on Russian soil, leading to a mild victory against this global aggressor led to a major faux pas as both Turkish and Austrian troops entered the country at the same time, rather than one supporting the other. The Ottoman General was seen yelling into a bannana for days before the battle. When notified of his mistake, and that there was no one on the other end of his "wireless field telephone", the general responded "I thought that Austrian man was being extremely quiet for a Western Soldier". No word yet as to whether the cucumber inserted halfway through the General's beltloop will function as a sword when needed.

Italians show proclivity for battle

At every turn, Ottoman troops are running into Italian patrols "just checking our borders". Even on the open seas, Italy has established a blockade against Turkish goods. Sultan Luke is unhappy that the Italians would try to spark a battle, as his major vice is Italian food. "Surely we can come to some agreement... like, you leave Yemen to our purposes, and we'll allow you to maintain your colonial borders next to Egypt, despite the military penalty that causes."

[viggo]

Austrians, Turks and Italians silly, Russians still totally awesome

"We're not global aggressors," said Foreign Minister Viktor Davidovich. "We're just defending our borders. Our policy of border protection extends no further than that - our borders.

Our Asian situation remains physically and politically seperated from Europe. Do not think Russia intends on harming its neighbors. It is only when provoked that the sleeping bear arises."

[J_Muller]

China finds Russian Claims Laughable
"Not global aggressors? Ridiculous. The Russians intend to dominate Europe and Asia. Make no mistake, they'll be coming for Austria or the Ottoman Empire next." --Jhong Mingyu, Chief Councilor, Grand Council

[Moody the Wise]

Russia's retreat:
A Gal-War

Updated map when Grey Bishop gets the chance, probably tomorrow morning, but until then it's not really a hard change to picture. =)

[viggo]

Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USSR

"You don't know how lucky you are, boys," said Foreign Minster Viktor Davidovich to the soldiers of the Russian Second Army. "Warsaw is absolutely wonderful this time of year."

[Grey Bishop]

Original map updated with retreat from Russia.

[KuH]

Germans About To Dominate Europe?

Faced with an apparent mass of German tourists desperate to invade the restaurants of Paris, the French announce themselves baffled. 'Surely the Germans can see that we brew no beer in France - this is wine country.'

'And of course, history shows that Germans who invade France will shortly thereafter find themselves the target of a unified force of allies, who will ultimately destroy the empire for overreaching itself.'

English Welcome French Cruise Ship

As a French cruise ship entered the English Channel, with an intention of protecting France's weakened North Coast from the attacks of the German army, they were pleased to notice the reception committee planned by the English. 'Your whole army and navy has turned out to welcome us - in London, Wales and the Irish Sea - how thoughtful of you. We're so sorry we are not here on a pleasure cruise - it would have been so merry.'

French Take Vietnam

In reply to Chinese threats about the danger to France of taking Vietnam, the French Foreign Legion was heard to laugh. 'This Dien Phu place you talk about - that is the home city of our legion. We plan to occupy it for at least the next generation if not longer. What happens after that is none of our affair.'

'However, if the Chinese navy will allow us to enter Vietnam unopposed, our troops may be merciful to any Chinese merchants we find remaining in the town.'

[Gygaxphobia]

Austria cheers for German victories!

It's been too long since the French were put in there place, and now the Kaiser seems prepared to do it.
Prinz Stefan was rumoured to have banned French newspapers from his palaces in contempt for their inaccuracy.
In a speech to a crowd he shouted, "Surely they know that the Germans always have Europe's support for invading France. Even if Napoloeon is dead and buried, his successor will get the same treatment! Long Live the Grand Alliance! We remember Austerlitz even if they don't!"

[Moody the Wise]

Somewhat less than 24 hour warning: Fall 1902 orders due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT - 4 to account for Daylight Savings Time) tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20. That's the time the forum clock now runs on, if you haven't noticed.

[Moody the Wise]

Results for Fall, 1901 (Movement)

General Notices

All dislodged units destroyed; advancing to next phase.

Order Results:

Austria:

Austria: F adr - ven

Failed because Italy: A ven - tyr failed.

Austria: A bud - tri

Bounced with tri (1 against 1).

Austria: A gal - klu

Austria: A rum Supports A arm - sev

Support failed. Supported unit's order does not match support
given.

Austria: A vie Supports A bud - tri

Support cut by Move from Tyrolia.



China:

China: F got - can

Bounced with can (2 against 2).

China: A han Supports F got - can

China: A kan Supports A pek

China: A pek Supports F got - can

Support cut by Move from Manchuria.




England:

The Fleet in Thailand cannot retreat; unit destroyed.

England: F cam - sai

England: F iri Supports F lon - eng

England: F lon - eng

England: F nat - mao

Failed because France: F mao - bre failed.

England: F nwy - nth

England: F tha/ec - joh

Bounced with mal (1 against 1). Dislodged from sha (2
against 1).

England: A wal Holds


France:

The Fleet in English Channel cannot retreat; unit destroyed.

France: A ann - cam

France: F bor - gos

France: A bur - bel

Bounced with hol (1 against 1).

France: F eng - bre

Bounced with mao (1 against 1). Dislodged from lon (2
against 1).

France: F mao - bre

Bounced with eng (1 against 1).

France: A par - pic

Bounced with pic (1 against 1).

France: A spa Holds


Germany:

No order for unit at Denmark. Hold order assigned.

Germany: F Ska-Nth (Failed-specified unit does not exist)

Germany: F den Holds

Germany: A hol - bel

Germany: A kie - hol

Germany: A mun - bur

Failed because France: A bur - bel failed.

Germany: A pic Supports A hol - bel

Support cut by Move from Paris.

Germany: A ruh Supports A hol - bel

Germany: A sax - mun

Failed because Germany: A mun - bur failed.



India:

India: A brm Supports A sha - tha

India: F eio - cey

India: F mal - joh

Bounced with tha (1 against 1).

India: A sha - tha

India: A snd - ira

India: A tur - sin


Italy:


Italy: F red Supports F Pen - Egy/nc

Italy: A eth Holds

Italy: F ion - tun

Italy: F pen - egy/nc

Italy: A tri Supports A tyr - vie

Support cut by Move from Budapest.

Italy: A tyr - vie

Bounced with vie (1 against 1).

Italy: A ven - tyr

Failed because Italy: A tyr - vie failed.



Japan:

Japan: F can Supports A man - pek

Support cut by Move from Gulf of Tonkin.

Japan: F ecs - for

Japan: A fuj Holds

Japan: F npo - spo

Japan: F phi - sch

Japan: F spo - ecs


Russia:

Russia: F bla - rum

Bounced with rum (1 against 1).

Russia: A man - pek

Bounced with pek (1 against 2).

Russia: A sib - oms

Russia: F swe Holds

Russia: A ukr - sev

Russia: A war - gal

Russia: F yel Supports F can


Turkey: Big Fat NMR.

So, I'll try to be better about reading over people's orders and making sure they're legal before the deadline, but it's honestly not my job to remind you where your units are. Be very careful in submitting orders.

No retreats, so builds will be due on Thursday this week to speed things up a little bit, mmkay?

[Moody the Wise]

Here's the map:

Spring 1903:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Concert%20of%20Europe/ConcertofEurope-F1901B.jpg

[KuH]

French Anticipate English Treachery

'Our forces were all set to head to Vietnam' said the commander of the French Foreign Legion today 'and then we received an intercepted courier warning of an English plan to take Saigon. We therefore redeployed our forces to Cambodia. Thank goodness the courier was accurate. If the English could not have been relied upon to betray us, then we would have been left in a very awkward position in Southeast Asia, but thankfully Cambodia was vacant and waiting for our troops.'

French Called Upon To Defend The Homeland

'To sea, all we see is a line of British fleets; by land, a row of German troops. Fall back, fall back, brave soldiers and defend la patrie. Put up a fight, cause our enemies to vacate their other possessions ... and then let's see how long they stand'. President Ku - speaking for posterity

[Moody the Wise]

Just as a reminder, I suppose:

Russia gained two supply centers. Russia gets two builds.
England gained no supply centers, but disbanded a unit. England gets one build.
France gained one supply center and disbanded a unit. France gets two builds.
Germany gained no supply centers. Germany gets encouraging words and a pat on the back.
Italy gained three supply centers. Italy gets three builds.
Austria gained no supply centers. Austria gets a tissue. (FF7 reference)
Turkey gained no supply centers. Oh well.
India gained three supply centers. India gets three builds.
China lost a supply center. China must disband one unit.
Japan gained one supply center. Japan gets one build.

[thewamp]

World Countries and Leaders Report
The following is a survey naming the 10 largest powers in the world.
1. Italy - In a recent burst of African colonialism, Italy has become the dominant world power with 10 supply centers
2. India - After spontaneously throwing off colonial chains a few years back, India has grown at a tremendous pace and has 9 supply centers
2. Russia - Though the bear has been large for years, it is still growing, leaving it tied in power with India
4. France - Though its forces are split and its colonial empire appears on the virge of collapse, the recent anexing of Spain has boosted France to 8 Supply centers
5. Britain - With one of the strongest navies in the world, rivaled only by Italy and Japan, Britain could lose its colonial empire as well. Still, the Island nation has a powerful 7 Supply centers
5. Germany - Siezing the lowlands and bringing the glory of Germany to these lands has swelled the size of Germany to 7 Supply centers
5. Japan - The nation of islands has now become the nation of many, many islands as Japan has, in recent years, swelled to 7 Pacific Supply centers
8. Turkey - Though Turkey has managed to maintain its recent landgrab in the Balkans, it has expanded to a relatively little 6 Supply centers
9. Austria - After recieving a sudden attack from Italy, only its Balkans territory has managed to sustain Austria at 5 Supply centers
10. China - Heavily beaten back by Russian and Japanese attacks, China appears to be on the virge of collapse, with 3 Supply centers

[Moody the Wise]

Just so everyone knows, I'm waiting until tonight (the usual night for builds) in the hope of avoiding an ugly NMR.

[viggo]

((OOC: I'm starting another game, Youngstown, sunday and wednesday due dates for orders. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2246906#post2246906 ))

[Moody the Wise]

Winter 1902

Japan:
Build F Tok

France:
Build A mar
Build A bre

India:
Build A Del
Build F Mad
Build F Cal

England:
Build F Joh

Russia:
Build a Mos
Build a Vla

China:
Disband A Kan

Italy:
NMR

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/ConcertofEurope-S1902M-1.jpg

[Moody the Wise]

I'll make a separate post about this in case you don't notice my subtle edit.

I screwed up one of Russia's builds. It should have been A Mos, not A War. The map has now been corrected to reflect this.

[KuH]

Massive French Maginot Line Prepares To Hold Firm

The massive line of French fortifications on the frontier with Germany prepares to hold firm, and withstand the onslaughts of the German army ... now that the English threat has been lifted from our shores.

French Foreign Legion Our Last Hope

If we cannot be a European power ... at least we can be an Asian power, said the commander of the French Foreign Legion, as he put his hand into the front of his coat, and renamed the island of Borneo 'Elba'.

[Moody the Wise]

About 24 hour warning - Spring 1903 orders due 10:00, EST (GMT -4) Tuesday, March 27th.

If Yggdrasil NMRs again, or if anyone NMRs on move orders in the future, I'm going to institute a policy of giving supported holds in a reasonable pattern rather than all units holding. If anybody has a problem with this, let me know.

[viggo]

england smells

[Xilehxt]

I think countries in political turmoil should not have supporting armies. People need to take responsibility for the games they're in, and if they can't check in or let you know that they won't be able to check in on the game, they shouldn't have started in the first place. How about giving away positions to people after three (or however many you see justifiable) un-pre-notified NMRs?

[J_Muller]

((That seems reasonable to me... perhaps you could explain it IC by saying that people in the country in question secede and join a nearby country after a period of internal strife... For instance, in CoW, France would get London, Liverpool, and Ireland...:smallwink:))

[thewamp]

{{Uh... no?!? giving territories away is quite thoroughly unfair. The nearby countries should actually have to spend turns going to go get them.

We could always just recruit a new player though (I can't tell if this or the above is what you meant Tim)}}

[Moody the Wise]

Well, if it (NMRing) becomes a pattern, the most preferable option will be to try to find a replacement player to take over.

Tim, I understand that committing to a game is a very serious thing and that people should honor those commitments. I personally take all of my games very seriously, and have yet to NMR. However, I also don't think it's fun for anyone to have a free ride because another player doesn't submit orders.

So at least for now, I'm going to give Italy supported holds.

[J_Muller]

{{Uh... no?!? giving territories away is quite thoroughly unfair. The nearby countries should actually have to spend turns going to go get them.

We could always just recruit a new player though (I can't tell if this or the above is what you meant Tim)}}

((Unfair in my favor in CoW, though...:smalltongue: I wasn't really being serious.))

[thewamp]

((Unfair in my favor in CoW, though...:smalltongue: I wasn't really being serious.))

Darn me and my gullibility. Nevermind then...

[Moody the Wise]

Spring 1903:

France:
A Cam-Sai (Bounced 1:1 with English F Sai)
F Gos sup A Cam-Sai (Support cut by English F Joh-Gos)
A Bur-Pic
A Mar - Bur (Failed 1:3 against German A Mun-Bur)
A Par sup Bur-Pic
A (or F) Bre sup Bur-Pic (Support cut by English A Wal-Bre)
A Spa - Por
F Mao - Eng (Bounced 1:1 with English F Eng. Dislodged from Iri 2:1)

Japan:
F tok -> spo
F spo -> cel
F sch Supports F sai
F for Supports F sch
F ecs Supports F can
F can Supports A man -> pek (Support cut by Chinese F Got-Can

China:
F got-->can (Bounced 2:2 with Japanese F Can)
A pek S F got-->can (Failed. Dislodged from Man 2:1)
A han S F got-->can

England:
F joh - gos (Bounced with Gos 1:1. Dislodged from Tha 2:1)
F sai S F joh - gos (Support cut by French A Cam-Sai)
F Eng C A Wal-Bre
A Wal-Bre (Bounced 1:1 with French A Bre)
F Iri-Mao
F Nat S F Iri-Mao
F Nth-Nor

India:
A sin-inn
A ira-bag
A del-snd
F mad-ara
F cey-wio
A tha-joh
F mal Support A tha-joh
A brm-tha
F cal-bob

Germany:
A mun - bur
A ruh S A mun - bur
A bel S A mun - bur
A pic - par (Bounced 1:1 with French A Par. Dislodged from Bur 2:1)
A den S Nuclear Missile ber - gas (Illegal order. Hold order assigned.)
A sax - mun
A Holland stretches its wings, learns to fly and flies to Morocco, because it was only waiting for this moment to be free (Illegal order. Wings clipped, hold order assigned.)

Turkey:
A Arm - Sev (Bounced 2:2 with Russian A Sev)
F Con - Bla (Failed because Russian F Bla-Arm failed.)
F Aeg - Ion
F Eas - Egy(nc) (Bounced with Italian F Egy(nc))
A Bul Hold
A Ank Hold

Austria:
A Rum S Arm - Sev
A Klu - Gal
F Adr - Apu
A Bud - Tri (Failed against Italian A Tri H, 1:2)
A Vie - Tyr (Bounced 1:1)

Russia:
f yel support a man -> pek
a vla -> man
f swe hold
a sev hold
a oms -> sib
a mos supports a sev
a man -> pek
a gal -> ukr
f bla -> arm (Failed because Turkish A Arm-Sev failed.)

Italy:
A Try S A Tri (Support cut by A Vie-Tyr)
A Ven S A Tri
All others Hold

[viggo]

Germans deploy nuclear weapons!

World's like, wtf werner von braun?!

Combined ground/naval assault barely succeeds on Peking

"The Chinese put up a valiant effort. Cunning defensive maneuvers. It took many of our soldiers with naval support to finally force the Chinese into retreat."

Austria and Turkey still fighting for Sevastapol

The serfs of Sevastapol today returned to work after watching what they kindly refer to as "those nice Southern boys playing tag in the field." The Austrian and Turkish armies were again scared off by threats to hurt the pretty orange kitty.

[J_Muller]

Given recent events, Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu released a series of statements today:

Chinese Offer to exchange Vietnam for Nuclear Weaponry
"Okay, here's the deal. We give you Vietnam. You give us the bomb. Fair trade, in our opinion."

Holland attempting to learn to fly?
"What? Is Holland attempting to fly? I've never heard of such a thing... Perhaps we should ask the Germans if we can borrow some of their flying machines. We could really use some for a surprise attack on Moscow..."

Wernher von Braun?
"Gather round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun..."

In other news today:

Peking Taken! Emperor flees to Han Province

[Moody the Wise]

Retreats:

China:
A Pek-Kan

England:
F Joh-And

France:
F Mao-Wes

Fall 1904:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/ConcertofEurope-F1902M.jpg

[thewamp]

Germany Denies allegations of "Nuclear Weapons" or "Flying Machines."
Kaiser Wamp, in a short news noticed, denied any knowledge of these "Nuclear Weapons," or "Flying Machines." "Heck," he said, "we haven't even discovered if E really does equal MC^2!"

Immediately following the press release, a group of scientists gathered, whispers passing among them.

[Moody the Wise]

Policy change:

From now on, since I just started playing in my third game, I would no longer like to receive communications between players. Instead, if you wouldn't mind, just give me a little summary of what you've been up to and what you expect to see happen along with your order submissions. That way, I can laugh when you're wrong. =) Not really. Well, I will do that, but the purpose is nobler than that - it's just a nice way to be interested in the game. GMing can feel rather like a job at times (which is a duty I'm perfectly willing to do to give back to the community), but it makes it a lot more fun when you're connecting with players.

[viggo]

he's not kidding. he laughs at me all the time :(

[Xilehxt]

Sure. That works for me.

[Gygaxphobia]

He really just wants to follow my 692 turn plan to world domination, everything is going to plan so far... ;)

[viggo]

Tsar Declares National Day of Gutlaughing

"Given the hilarious nature of the Ottoman Empire's 'offensive', today all serfs are ordered to laugh at anything looking, sounding or acting Ottoman, Turkish, Armenian, silly, incapable, or downright ineffectual."

[Gygaxphobia]

Prinz order whiners shot
Due to the alleged whining of a number Russian diplomatic letters to various Austrian state offices, Prinz Stefan has ordered anyone who displays "excessive whining, whinging or complaining" to be executed as a Russian spy.

Rumours of irritating high-pitched Russian laughter that cannot be distinguished from actual childlike mewling seem to have broken out all along the disputed region and have been the cause of a number of executions under this law.

[Moody the Wise]

Hey guys,

I put out an ad for a replacement for Italy, and I just got a response from someone called Tarbrush. He should be posting here to confirm his assumption of the role of Italy. For now, feel free to barrage him with PMs, as you only have until Tuesday to negotiate for Fall 1904.

Sincerely,
Your Friendly Neighborhood GM

[Moody the Wise]

Less than 24 hour warning. Fall 1903 orders due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) tomorrow: Tuesday, April 3rd.

If tarbrush, who seems to have been confused and posted in the Bismarck's Gambit thread, doesn't get himself straightened out by then, I'll write up some orders for Italy (without looking at anyone's orders first). Don't worry, they won't be anything terribly earth-shattering, but they might not just be simple holds either. This is because I'm still operating under the assumption that someone will take up Italy, and its too big of a power to just put into civil disorder right now. If anyone has a problem with this, send me a polite and well-articulated PM about it and I'll read it, although I can't promise to care.

[Moody the Wise]

P.S. If you sent me anything you really want me to read along with your orders, remember that as of right now, unless I get orders from tarbrush tonight, I'm not reading anyone's orders until after the deadline, so send questions, comments et cetera in separate, clearly-labeled PMs.

[tarbrush]

Ah. Yes. Correct game this time? Good. I am the mighty tarbrush/Benito, ruler of Italy. I have almost no clue what's going on, so this should be interesting to say the least. I shall now spend a few hours working out who sent me what PMs and what they mean.

In my loose understanding of the rules, I'm owed a bunch of armies. Where can I put them?

[thewamp]

Nah, you've already got them on the map... not owed forces. Take a look at the picture above.

[viggo]

italy NMRd on builds. There's three that can be built right now, but you'd have to wait until build orders come due.

[thewamp]

Oh right. That's what you meant. That'll be after this next turn though, no?

[Moody the Wise]

Retreats are due, but I won't spoil it for you in case you want to read through all the orders; check at the bottom of the post to see which units need said orders.

Fall 1903 Orders:

Austria:
A Rum S Arm - Sev
F Apu - Nap
A Gal -Ukr
A Vie - Tyr (Bounced 1:1 with A Tyr; dislodged 2:1 from Tri)
A Bud -Tri (Bounced 1:1 with Italian A Ven-Tri)

China:
F got-->vtn
A kan-->pek (Bounced 2:2 with Russian A Pek)
A han S A kan-->pek

England: (No order assigned for F Nat. Hold order assigned)
F Mao-Bre
F Eng S F Mao-Bre
F And-Eio
F Sai-Cam (Bounced 1:1 with French A Cam)
A Wal H
F Nwy-Nrg

France:
F gos - sai (Failed because Sai-Cam failed)
A cam sup gos-sai (Support cut by move from Tha)
F wes - mao
A por - spa
A mar sup pic-bur
A pic - bur
A par sup A bre hold (Support cut by move from Bur)
A bre hold (dislodged 2:1 from Mao)

Germany:
A bel - pic
A bur - par (Bounced 1:1 with A Par; dislodged from Pic 2:1)
A hol - ruh
A ruh - mun
A mun - boh
F sails to the World's End to participate in the New Pirates of the Caribbean movie (Illegal order; hold order assigned)

India:
A inn S A pek
A snd - ira
A bag hold
F wio - som
F bob - brm
A tha - cam (Bounced with Sai 1:1)
A joh - tha (Failed because Tha-Cam failed)
F mal - joh (Failed because Joh-Tha failed)
F ara - yem (Bounced 1:1 with Red-Yem)

Italy:
F Egy(nc) is so happy it could riverdance (Illegal order; hold order assigned)
A Eth-Sud
F Red-Yem (Bounced 1:1 with Ara-Yem)
A Tri-Vie
F Tun-Tys
A Tyr S A Tri-Vie
A Ven-Tri (Bounced 1:1 with Bud-Tri)

Japan:
F spo -> cel
F sch -> ann
A fuj -> can
F for -> sch
F ecs Convoys A fuj -> can
F cel -> bor
F can -> sik

Russia:
f yel S a fuj -> can
a ukr -> war
f swe -> gob
a sib -> sin
a sev S a snd -> ira (Support cut by move from Arm)
a pek S a fuj -> can (Support cut by move from Kan)
a mos S a sev
a man -> omo
f bla -> ank (Bounced 1:1 with Con-Ank)
a arm supports its own suicide (Illegal order; Russia doesn't even control that unit; demerit assigned)
a han cowers in fear (Illegal order; Russia doesn't even control that unit; demerit assigned)

Turkey:
A Arm - Sev (Bounced 2:2 with A Sev)
F Ion - Pen
F Eas S F Ion - Pen
A Ank - Arm (Failed because Arm-Sev failed)
F Con - Ank (Bounced with Bla 1:1)
A Bul - Con (Failed because Con-Ank failed)

Units needing retreat orders:

French A Bre (may retreat to Gas or disband)
German A Bur (may retreat to Gas, Bel, or disband)
Austrian A Vie (may retreat to Gal or disband)

Retreat orders technically due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) Thursday, but I'll post them as soon as I get them.

Build orders will be due Friday by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4).

As a reminder, since it might happen soon: if two units are ordered to retreat to the same territory (Gascony), both units are disbanded.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/ConcertofEurope-F1902R.jpg

[viggo]

Russia declares war on Austria!

Foreign Minster Viktor Davidovich had a statement: "We have tried on many occasions to reason with the Austrians, but they persist at invading our territory. We told them Ukraine was sovereign Russian territory that was not to be violated. They were also told seizing it would be an act of war. It is with a heavy heart that I send our brave soldiers to war with our neighbors."

Outer Mongolia finally taken!

[Illuminaughty]

War with France

Admiral Date reported that he had pursued a band of French Pirates all the way to within sight of Borneo but could not act to capture them as long they were within French territory. According to an official report, Admiral Date was given leave to enter Borneo after the French agreement to take Vietnam from the Chinese fell through. Prime Minster Gurei was quoted, "We had arranged to protect the French territories in the Pacific but that deal was contingent upon their aid in our war with China. The honorless French made a pact and then broke it. After that, I gave the Admiral permission to do what he had to in order to deal with these pirates. I didn't think he'd actually conquer Borneo, but I like his initiative. Good for him."

Succesful deployment of Ninja-Marine in Canton

The rumored Ninja-Marine is rumor no more. The 1st Imperial Ninja-Marine was deployed in an amphibious landing in Canton this past month. Russian forces were deployed to assist the landing, but were cut off by Chinese forces. Seaman Oni, one of the first of the Japanese naval forces to arrive in Canton seemed unhappy to be leaving. "It's great," he said. "We raided the kitchens of this Chinese General Tso guy and took his chicken. Really good stuff. But I'll miss the night life even more. There's just so many Chinese women... I mean... wow. Now the stupid ninja-marine land, don't even have to fight, and we get shipped off. Bummer."

[Moody the Wise]

Retreats:

Austria: A Vie-Klu
France: A Bre-Gas
Germany: A Bur-Bel

Map will be updated later today.

The Prince Caspian

Austrian Emperor Murdered by Anarchists!

Gygaxphobia informed me earlier today that he did not want to continue with the game. I doubt I could find anybody terribly willing to take up Austria's position right now. I'll leave it up to a vote this time as to what you'd like me to do about it. The options are:

1) Hold orders
2) Supported hold orders
3) Just take it over (including possibly coordinating with other powers *cough* Turkey)

You can only vote once. Send me a PM to vote about it.

[viggo]

it's unclear to me what the "just-take-it-over" option is

[Xilehxt]

I assume that it would mean to disband all the Austrian armies and who ever gets there gets it.

[thewamp]

I thought it meant Moody would "NPC" it, which I'm against...

[Moody the Wise]

I thought it meant Moody would "NPC" it, which I'm against...

To clarify, option 3 would mean that I "NPC" it. Basically, I'd try to do what Gygax would have done. Since you all are the players, I am leaving the decision up to you, but I request that you don't vote simply based on self-interest. Don't look at continuing to have Austria submit moves as unfair to his enemies, look at having Austria drop out as unfair to his allies.

I'm also going to introduce a crazy fourth option suggested by Melchizedek, with a slight change:

4) Each turn, each power submits one order for one Austrian unit. For each unit, that move is taken that received the most orders. If a set of orders is tied, the unit holds. Example: Two powers order A Rum S A Arm-Sev, but another two powers order A Rum-Bul, so A Rum ends up holding. One power orders A Klu-Ser and nobody else gives A Klu an order, so that one is taken. (That only accounts for five powers, but oh well, it needn't be comprehensive, it's just an example).

I'm not sure how I'd vote on that one if I were playing in the game, but since Melchizedek suggested it, it can't hurt to throw it out there.

So now the choices are:

1) Hold orders
2) Supported hold orders
3) Have the GM play it in the spirit of Gygax
4) Crazy fourth option

[Moody the Wise]

Also, if you're unsure about if you can build, be unsure no more!

Turkey gets no builds.
England holds steady.
Russia gets 3 builds.
Austria's got nothing.
France must disband 2.
India gets zippo builds.
China must disband 1.

Japan gets 1 build.
Italy gets 2 builds.
Germany gets 1 build.

Also, admire my acrostic poem skills.

[Moody the Wise]

If you were wondering, a TERAFIC JIG is the little dance you do when you get out of your car because you're in really bad stopped traffic and need to stretch your legs.

The Swiss Miss

International News and World Report Rankings - Top Ten Powers!

1. Russia (12)
2. India (10)
3. Italy (9)
4. Japan (8)
5. England (7)
5. Germany (7)
7. France (6)
7. Turkey (6)
9. Austria (5)
10. China (2)

If someone wants to do a creative write-up of this, rather than just the facts, I'd love to see that happen, since it's your game. If nobody feels like doing it, I'll come up with one later.

[Moody the Wise]

STOP THE PRESSES

Strategos, a player in the newly-formed Bismarck's Gambit game, just told me he's been following the Concert of Europe for a while and would gladly step in as Austria. I will give him the go-ahead to do so if nobody expresses violent but articulate opposition by the Friday builds deadline.

[Xilehxt]

India welcomes rulership, despising anarchy and chaos else where. Austria may have him rise to the throne.

[Raveler1]

Turkey is fine with a new ruler in Austria... no really... really, really fine with that...

[viggo]

strategos is a good man. i wouldn't have had him in my game if i thought otherwise.

[thewamp]

That's the best solution of all. I say go for it.

[Moody the Wise]

Start the Presses Again!

Seriously, guys, are you all too busy for press these days or are you just uninspired? You can't let The Swiss Miss be the world's only source of (mis)information!

[viggo]

World Cartographer's Conference descends into chaos!

1. Russia (12) - A bout of border militarization by the Tsar has led Russia back to its position as the largest empire in the world. Although it has not gained as much new territory as others, it has doubled in size since 1901.

2. India (10) - Praised by some as a leader in anticolonialism, the Indians have captured seven new supply centers since 1901, more than doubling in size.

3. Italy (9) - Despite Austria and Turkey's attempts to shrink the Italian Empire, its holdings in the Balkans continue to expand. When asked about Mediterranean setbacks, the Italians told us it was temporary. They are still holding at three times their original size.

4. Japan (8) - With his ally Russia, Prime Minister Bishoppu has led his countrymen to great victory in the Pacific and China. When asked about his campaign, he said his greatest conquest was General Tso's chicken recipes. At almost triple its original holdings, Japan has become a significant player in world affairs.

5. England (7) - Showing great tenacity in Southeast Asia and expanding into Scandinavia has put England solidly in the middle of the pack. Recent acquisition of Brest has given them a European continental foothold.

5. Germany (7) - Still holding strong in its war with France, Germany is poised to march into Paris. "The French are on a path to extinction anyway," said the Kaiser. "We're just here to toughen them up, make sure they can survive a real war."

7. France (6) - The French Empire has been shrinking fairly rapidly, losing 1/4 of its holdings this year alone. No one responded to press inquiries.

7. Turkey (6) - Recent acquisition of Pentopolis merely offset the loss of Baghdad to the Indians. Turkey holds steady at twice its 1901 holdings.

9. Austria (5) - Political turmoil and anarchic military power structures have led to an oddly-shaped Austrian empire. Austria and Italy seem content in trading home supply centers. To what end, no one can really tell.

10. China (2) - This year signals the end for the Chinese empire. The Chinese people will be safe in the hands of the Russians and Japanese, but the safety of its ruling elite and culture cannot be ensured.

[KuH]

French Foreign Legion In Dire Straits

"It just goes to show what happens when you trust those slippery Asians" said the commander of the French Foreign Legion. "Both the Japanese and the Indians professed friendship and support for France ... and both attacked us when our back was turned. It's a good thing we have the Maginot line in France to protect us.


French Homeland in Dire Straits

"Although the vaunted Maginot Line has repelled the German invaders, our coast has been attacked by the treacherous English, coming across the dire straits from their island homeland. Fear not, la republique, we will stand firm" said the French president.

[J_Muller]

Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu Announces Temporary Holiday
Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu announced today that he will be at his estate in Vietnam until next season. He will sort things out with his command staff before leaving, but come tomorrow morning his ability to receive and respond to messages may be greatly impaired.

((OOC: Easter's at my grandparent's house this year. I might be able to get onto the internet, but I also might not. I'll be back late Tuesday evening, too late to do anything but sleep at that point.))

[Moody the Wise]

Oops.

So, India does get a build, but I said he didn't, so I'm going to extend the deadline to 10:00 tonight for builds.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, you can figure out what was built/disbanded by comparing maps.

Spring 1904 orders due Tuesday, 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4).

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Spring1904-1.jpg

[viggo]

Russia declares ceasefire with Austria!

"We are glad to report that the new Austrian Prinz and his foreign minister have proven most reasonable. It turns out the incursion into the Ukraine was a rogue general looking for grain for his men. We expect this border clash to end soon.

The Turks have lost their main ally, and with Indian troops pressing their borders, we do not think they have the capacity to continue pressing their war on our great nation. We give them until the end of the season to approach us with apology and offers of restitution for our poor displaced nationals. If they do not come to us, it is unfortunate that we must continue our war against them."

[Moody the Wise]

So, apparently I'm really slipping. Please note the recently updated map which now correctly reflects Austria's units. Also, I didn't announce if on Friday, but Strategos is officially playing Austria.

[viggo]

Nasty syphilis outbreak in German Expeditionary Force, Bohemia!

[tarbrush]

Treacherous Austrian Invasion Soon to be Repelled By Bold Naval Action

Admiral Da Zara of naval command expresses confidence that homeland will soon be recovered. Questioned about the impending loss of Yemen, he insists that Europe must be his priority.

[Moody the Wise]

Orders for Spring 1904 should be due in an hour, but since I forgot to give you guys a 24 hour warning, I'll extend until 10:00 PM EST tomorrow. I don't yet have everybody's orders, but if I get them all between 10:00 tonight and 10:00 tomorrow night, I'll post them as soon as possible thereafter, so as to lose as little time as possible.

[viggo]

Russia declares war on God!

Scientists attempt to discover ways to fire rifles at 90 degrees to reality

[Moody the Wise]

Spring 1904

France:
A cam-tha (Failed 2:1 to Joh-Tha.)
F mao-bre
A Par supports mao-bre (Support cut by Pic-Par.)
A Gas supports mao-bre
A mar-bur (Failed 3:1 to Mun-Bur.)
A spa-por

China:
All units hold (not an NMR)
F Vtn holds (Dislodged from Ann 2:1)
A Han holds (Dislodged from Pek 2:1)

Japan:
F sch -> cel
F sik Supports F ann -> vtn
F kyo -> soj
F ecs -> sch
F cel -> tim
A can Supports A pek -> han
F bor Supports F mal -> gos
F ann -> vtn

Turkey:
A Ank - Smy
A Arm - Syr
F Con - Aeg
A Bul dances with the devil in the pale moonlight (Illegal order; Hold order assigned)
F Pen - Egy (nc) (Bounced 2:2 with Egy.)
F Eas S F Pen - Egy (nc)

Germany:
A boh S A kie - mun
A kie - mun
A mun - bur
A ruh S A mun - bur
A bel S A mun - bur
A pic - par (Bounced 1:1 with Paris)
F den - kie

England:
F Nat-Mao
F Eng S Nat-Mao
F Bre-Gas (Bounced 1:1 with A Gas. Dislodged 2:1 from Mao. Cannot retreat; unit destroyed.)
F Nrg-Nat
F Sai S Sch-Gos (Failed. Does not match order given.)
F Eio-Jav
F Wal H

India:
A inn hold (Dislodged from Omo 2:1)
A ira-arm
A bag S A ira-arm
F ara-yem
F som-wio
F mad-eio
F mal-gos
A tha-lao
A joh-tha
F brm S A joh-tha
Have a nice day~~ (Illegal order; Sentiment appreciated; Get out of jail free card granted.)

Austria:
A ukr - gal (Bounced 1:1 with A War-Gal)
F nap - apu
A klu - vie
A bud S A klu -vie (Bounced 2:2 with A Vie)
A rum - ser

Russia:
f gob -> swe
a war -> gal (Bounced 1:1 with Ukr-Gal)
a sev S a ira -> arm
a oms -> tur
a omo -> inn
a sin S a omo -> inn
a vla -> sib
a pek -> han
f yel -> man
a stp -> lvn

Italy:
F Mag holds
A Vie holds
A Tyr S A Vie
A Ven-Tri
F Rom-Nap
F Tys S F Rom-Nap
F Red-Sue
F Egy(nc) holds
A Sud S F Egy(nc)

[Moody the Wise]

Retreats:

China:
A Han can retreat to Kan
F Vtn can retreat to Got

India:
A Inn can retreat to Kan, Pek

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Spring1904retreatmap.jpg

Retreats due by Thursday, 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) unless someone absolutely needs those extra 24 hours back.

[J_Muller]

China Toppled! Emperor escapes to Gulf of Tonkin!
A mighty blow was dealt to the forces of decency and civilization today when the Chinese Empire was brought down in mortal combat with its ancient enemies of Japan and Russia. Escaping just in time to the Gulf of Tonkin on a small boat, the Emperor of China lamented the end of China as a great power. Even now, as this brave reporter writes this dispatch, the Russian army closes in on the remaining areas of Han Province. More to follow...

[viggo]

Emperor Muller: Please disband your troops!

The safety and security of your people and their culture will be secure if your troops just disband. Don't continue this senseless fight - it can only lead to more bloodshed and further reprisals against your civilian population. The generals are fairly insistent on this point, and there is little I can do to cow them.

Sincerely,

Foreign Minister Viktor Davidovich

[KuH]

French President Ku Offers New Post to Emperor Muller

"It is clear that with the name of Ku, I was fated to rule the troops of China, and you were fated to rule the troops of France. I hereby offer to resign my post as President of La Republique to allow you to escape the ignominy of total destruction as China."

"As for me, I wish to retire to the island of Elba to consume Borneo eels."

[melchizedek]

British Warn Emperor Muller Against French Offer
"The French Emperor is trying to pass his failings off to you. He recognizes that his empire is on the edge of a major collapse and is hoping to put the blame on you. Do you really want to be know as the emperor who lost two empires? Ignore the French offer. Let the French nation die in peace."

[KuH]

OOC: This is For Real

I do want to step out of the game, as soon as someone will replace me.
Real life is making too many demands.

[J_Muller]

Ah, no thanks.
Emperor Muller has no plans to take over control of France. At this point, he is planning a quiet retirement to Manchuria.

[Moody the Wise]

Very sorry about these being late. If anyone wants one, I'll give an extension, but these retreats aren't terrible earth-shattering, so I imagine you'll all be fine. By the way, I do from time to time forget things, so don't feel bad about bugging me. I'd much rather somebody send me a PM at 10:01 on the deadline day asking me where the *heck* the map is than have nobody say anything and it end up being two days late.

Retreats:

China:
A han disbands
F vtn retreats to got

India:
A Inn-Kan

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Fall1904.jpg

Unless otherwise noted in a later post, Fall 1904 orders still due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) Tuesday.

[Moody the Wise]

Less than 24 hour warning: Fall 1904 orders due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) TONIGHT. That's about 12 hours. I can extend the deadline by 12 hours if absolutely necessary, but I'd rather everyone just get the orders in tonight, since we've (maybe) got retreats and (almost certainly) got builds to take care of this week.

[Moody the Wise]

Fall 1904 Orders:

Italy:
Tys-Ion
N Nap S Tys-Ion
Tyr - Ven
A Tri S Vie
A Vie S Tri
Sud - Fez
N Egy S Sue
N Sue S Egy
Mag - Dan

Austria:
A klu - vie
A bud S A klu - vie
F apu - adr
A ukr - rum
A ser holds

France:
A Cam - Sai
A Gas - Bur
A Mar supports Gas - Bur
F Bre - Pic
A Par - Pic
A Por - Spa

Germany:
A bur - gas
A pic - par
A bel S A ruh - bur
A ruh - bur
A mun - sax
A boh S A klu - vie
A kie - den

India:
A arm - Ira
A bag S A arm- ira
F yem hold
F wio - ara
F eio - jav
A kan - han
F gos S F sch -sai
A tha - cam
A lao S A tha - cam
F brm - tha

Japan:
F bor -> gos
A can -> pek
F cel -> mal
F soj -> kor
F sik Supports F vtn
F sch Supports F bor -> gos
F tim -> eio
F vtn Supports F sik

England:
F Mao-Mor
F Nat-Mao
F Eng S F Nat-Mao
F jav S F tim - eio
F sai S A cam

Russia:
a war -> gal
a tur hold
f swe hold
a sin -> tib
a sib -> sin
a sev -> arm
a mos -> sev
f man -> pek
a lvn -> war
a inn -> kan
a han S a inn -> pek
f bla hold

Turkey:
A Syr - Jor
F Aeg - Ion
F Eas S F Aeg - Ion
F Pen - Egy
A Bul buys Turkey burgers from the local Sleven (Illegal order; hold order assigned)
A Smy scouts the Turkish borders from a low-flying balloon painted to look like a flying saucer (Illegal order; hold order assigned)

I'm going to go ahead and not add in all the explanations of how orders worked out; I assume you can all figure that out by looking at the map and the orders. If anybody really wants me to, post about it and I'll edit accordingly.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Fall1904Retreatmap.jpg

Retreats due by 10:00 PM EST (GMT-4) Thursday, but I'll post as soon as they're all in.

Builds for Winter 1904 due by 10:00 PM EST Friday.

Retreats that are due:

Italy: A Vie
India: F Eio, F Gos
France: A Cam

[Moody the Wise]

Please read this and respond.

How do you guys all feel about replacing France? I feel like it's a marginal power at this point and that I might have a hard time finding anyone to do it, but I'll try if that's what everyone wants. Thoughts?

[thewamp]

Umm... well obviously I'd prefer all units holding all the time...:smallwink:

Supported holds seem to make the most sense though.

[thewamp]

Kaiser Wamp: "Wow, Uncoordination."
In what has been called one of the biggest management blunders of German history, the Kaiser, issuing orders very late at night, got a bit visually dislexic and swapped two of the places.

{{Lesson, do not write orders late at night. I'm not saying which orders I screwed up, but I think it's rather obvious.}}

[viggo]

Indian Army attempts march on Hankow!

"In an unfortunate turn of events, our friends the Indians decided it would be in their best interest to invade the newly-acquired province of Hankow. We are forced to march against them.

Thusly, the Russian Empire is now at war with the Indian menace. May God have mercy on their heathen souls."

[melchizedek]

I'm going to say the same thing as thewamp. I have no problem with you not trying to find a replacement for France. He's not going to last long anyway.

[viggo]

if i wasn't sitting so pretty i'd take it :)

[J_Muller]

I won't be taking it, but I'd have no problems with that. Not that I have much influence left anyway...

[melchizedek]

Russia remains steady at twelve supply centers. They gained one supply center in their war with China, but that gain was countered by the loss of Korea.

India takes a net gain of one supply center, leaving them with eleven. They picked up Cambodia and Yemen, but lost Java.

Japan gained two supply centers, giving them a total of ten. They picked up Vietnam and Korea and are poised to gain more in the near future.

The Italians lost ground, giving up Yemen and Vienna, but regained their home supply center in Naples. They were reduced to eight supply centers.

Also at eight supply centers are the British. Picking up Morocco and Java, but losing Brest, the British are now ready to begin an invasion of the French homeland.

Germany has had little luck breaking the French border and was unable to gain any supply centers this year. Their constant offensive also meant that they didn't lose any supply centers. Their units stand ready to break the French lines this year.

Turkey likewise did not gain any ground. Conflicts on several fronts have made it difficult for them to gain ground.

Austria remains steady at five supply centers. They lost Naples, but were able to reclaim Vienna. They need to start gaining ground soon, or they will go the way of the Chinese.

France dropped to five supply centers. They managed to reclaim Brest, but lost Morocco and Cambodia. With the loss of their southeast asian colonies, the combined British and German forces surrounding them, and the loss of their leader, they are likely to be the next country eleminated.

The London Times: "British Empire Not Yet Lost"
Due to valiant efforts and excellent informants, the British government was able to make gains in Southeast Asia. They issued a statement saying, "Although the Indians may have chosen to rebell and attempt to dominate other nations in Asia, we are not willing to relinquish our claims. We will continue to fight for as long as possible." With the defeat of the French forces in the devastating Battle of Cambodia, the British forces will be the only remaining European troops in Southeast Asia. The onset of hostilities between Japan and India, however, might give British forces a chance to reclaim lost territories in the region.

"French on the Verge of Collapse"
Although the French managed to reclaim Brest from the British, government officials feel confident that this will be the year when the French continent is breached. "We hope to see British and German forces swarming across France before the year is out," reports a government official. The abdication of President Ku might have something to do with their optimism.

[Suvarov454]

Well, if you do want to have France actively played, I wouldn't mind riding their position down to the bitter end, fighting for every inch of ground, making the invaders of La Belle France pay dearly for her loss.

[viggo]

I think we should just let France die.

[tarbrush]

Italians Left Fuming

The Italian government is ruminating on the value of thirty pieces of silver in Deutchemarks after the treacherous and unprovoked attack on Italian sovereignty.

The foreign minister vowed not to take this insult lying down.

[thewamp]

Germany defends decision to commit troops
"Yesterday," said Kaiser Wamp, "the Italians issued complaint at the use of German troops in recovering Austrian territory for the Austrians. And they're accusing us of being invaders.

"I think the situation speaks for itself, but just to be clear: they were invading a neighbor and were on our border. Germany was concerned that the overly greedy Italians were planning an attack on German territory. Even if they weren't, we were justified in returning Austrian territory to Austrian control."

[Moody the Wise]

India's fleets disbanded, so the did the French army in Cambodia, and Italy's army in Vienna retreated to Tyrolia.

Also, barring major objection (with some justification) I will let Suvarov454 take over the post of France.

Builds are due TOMORROW night by 10:00 PM EST(GMT-4). If you're not sure whether or not you have a build, COUNT. If you can't count, send me a PM, and I'll count for you. I will just mention that Italy must disband one unit.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Winter1904.jpg

[Moody the Wise]

I'll be catching a bus back home today, and I'll be at a folk festival almost all of tomorrow. I will be able to post builds later tonight and this won't interfere with the regular processing of the Spring turn on Tuesday. Just wanted to let everyone know because I'm usually so quick to respond and I wouldn't want anybody freaking out when I go dark for most of two days.

[Moody the Wise]

So I was wrong, it did interfere with things. Turns out my parents' computer is in very bad shape and I couldn't get it going Friday night. I'll post when I get back to school later tonight.

What does everyone want to do about the regularly scheduled Tuesday turn? I could extend it a day or two, skip the whole week, or just do it as normal. Three options, one vote - please give your feedback.

[Moody the Wise]

Spring 1905:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Spring1905.jpg

Pretty easy to tell what happened, so pardon me if I don't post the build orders. Please read my last few posts and respond about Tuesday.

[J_Muller]

The Peking Times

Emperor Muller Retires to Tibet!
As a result of the fall of China, Emperor Muller has retired to neutral Tibet, in a secluded mini-palace well away from the path of Russian troops moving through.

No Sign of Chief Councilor!
After reports that former Chief Councilor Jhong Mingyu has gone into hiding to escape possible Russian capture, no sign remains of the man who was once China's highest public official.

Peking Times Gets New Editor!
The Peking Times would like to welcome to its staff its new editor in chief, Mr. Johng Mingyu. We believe that under his leadership, we shall continue to be a sterling example of unbiased news media, and continue to report on world events as they occur.

((Down, out, but not really out yet. I'll stick around, watch what happens, and write headlines about it.))

[viggo]

continue as normal

[melchizedek]

I agree. Continue as normal.

[thewamp]

extending it 24 hours would be really awesome.

[Xilehxt]

Don't care really. I'll go with the majority. If I'm the tiebreaker, then I'll say continue as normal.

[Moody the Wise]

Update:

Since thewamp has requested an additional 24 hours, and I was, after all, a whole 48 hours late, I'll grant the extension. Orders for Spring 1905 are now due Wednesday at the regular time. Retreat orders, since they always come in quickly anyway, will still be due Thursday as usual.

[Suvarov454]

My thanks to Moody the Wise (oh! so aptly named:) and to you all. I would be very, very pleased to be allowed to assume the role of the leader of the French people. I haven't heard many (any?) objections since I asked to join. Please speak up, if you disagree, but I'll start campaigning on behalf of France as if I had a right.

[Moody the Wise]

12 Hour warning - Fall 1905 orders due by 10:00 PM EST(GMT-4) tonight. Since this is an extended deadline already, I'm going to go ahead and not really care that this isn't a 24 hour warning.

[Moody the Wise]

Yeah, apparently it's Spring 1905. Sorry about that - I don't think it's confused anyone, the PMs I've gotten have all said Spring 1905.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, here's the deal: I'm wicked tired and so, it seems, is my computer. I'll post all the moves now, but the official map will have to wait until probably sometime tomorrow. Apologies to those of you who have trouble visualizing things or adjudicating in your head.

Retreats will hopefully be due by 10:00 PM EST tomorrow, although if someone doesn't send me a retreat because they didn't know they had to retreat because I didn't adjudicate the orders ... I'll extend it until Friday. It's a good thing we don't have builds this season.

India:
A cam-lao
A bag S A ira
A ira hold
A del - afg
F yem - per
F ara S A ira
A cal - nep
A mad - cal
F tha - brm
A lao - sha

Japan:
F vtn -> ann
F sch -> cel
F sik -> vtn
F osa -> ecs
F mal -> eio
A kyo -> fuj
F kor Holds
F gos -> joh
F eio -> wio
A can -> sik

France:
Army [spa] to [por]
Army [mar] to [bur]
Army [gas] support Army [mar] to [bur]
Army [par] support Army [mar] to [bur]
Fleet [bre] to [eng]

Austria:
A rum holds
A ser - mon
A bud - tri
F adr S A bud - tri
A vie S A boh tyr

Turkey:
A Bul - Gre
F Aeg - Ion
F Eas - Egy
F Pen S Eas - Egy
A Jor S Eas - Egy
A Smy digs for buried treasure

England:
F sai - gos
F jav - mal
F Liv-Iri
A Edi-Liv
A Wal-Bre
F Eng C A Wal-Bre
F Mao S A Wal-Bre
F Mor-Wes

Russia:
a war -> mos
a tur -> afg
a tib -> nep
a sin -> tur
a sev -> ira
f man -> pek
a kan -> tib
a han -> sik
a gal -> war
f bla S a arm
a arm S a sev -> ira
f swe hold

Germany:
A sax - mun
A boh S A sax - mun
A ruh - bur
A bel S A ruh - bur
A bur - par
A pic S A bur - par
F den does jumping jacks. Don't ask.

China:
Has been eliminated

Italy: NMR - All units hold

[viggo]

Tsar Surprised at Indian Strategy

Look, you knew Japan was sailing up your backside. Why, then are you concentrating your forces on our border? I mean, yeah, I won't kill you, but Japan will. Good work.

[Illuminaughty]

Japan Announces Treaty of Joharra

After declaring war upon India in defense of their ally England, Prime Minister Gurei Bishoppu met with Indian representatives in the recently taken Joharra. After a lengthy diatribe a treaty was prepared but a Japanese signature was delayed. After a hasty meeting with the Russian ambassador with word from the Tsar that seemed to bother Prime Minister Gurei, Japan returned to Joharra and signed the treaty. A copy of the treaty's details were forwarded to us and we now present it to you, in summary, as the official version was many pages long, filled with boring technical data.

The Treaty of Joharra:

India will officially cede the currently occupied regions of Java and Borneo to the Empire of Japan, followed by Ceylon with two years. India will return the occupied region of Joharra to the Crown of England and refrain from further attacks against English colonial assets, which operate under the protection of the Empire of Japan. Both England and Japan will withdraw from the Russo-Indian War, henceforth declaring neutrality in that conflict, in so long as India continues to honor the agreement.

India has also agreed to other specifics such as a gradual disbandment of all fleets, no further attempts at expanding into Africa, and the presence of military observers and inspectors to assure compliance.

Prime Minister Gurei spoke quickly before returning to Japan, "The sovereign nation of India had offered terms of surrender, but this was not the desire of the Empire of Japan or the Emperor. We went to war to force compliance with agreements made between India and Japan years ago which they had decided no longer needed honoring. Now, they see the error of their ways, and we are once more friends." When asked about the Russian-Japanese friendship, the Prime Minister frowned and said, "Well, now. We had some misunderstandings with the Indians and now seem to be having some with the Russians. It has been the policy of our nation to try to keep the two giants of Russia and India from warring for some time, but over the years it became clear they both sought war with the other. So now, we will let them fight. It'll be good for them. Maybe they'll even hug and be friends after. That would be nice. That little debacle in Sinkiang was a... training exercise... put together at the last minute. We replaced the general of that particular army when he... failed the test. No actual conflict there. Nope."

[Moody the Wise]

Italy's orders got lost in cyberspace but the situation has been set straight. Here they are:

F Dan - Eth (Unit does not exist)
F Nap - Ion
F Tys S F Ion
A Fez - Pen
F Egy S A Fez-Pen
F Sue S F Egy
A Tyr S Tri
A Ven S Tri
A Tri S Tyr

I'm working on the map and will have it up before too long.

[Moody the Wise]

Here is the map, finally! Good news is that there are no retreats. Some units have been destroyed, so if you're looking for a unit, and there's somebody else's unit where you hoped to find your own, check the orders, because it means you've been dislodged and had nowhere to go. As is my new policy, I won't post next to the orders the technical adjudication of everything, but if you have any questions as to why certain moves produced certain results and you can't answer that question by looking at all the orders submitted ask me and I'll explain.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Fall1905.jpg

[angusb26]

can you let me know if there are any new games opening?
i would love to join asap

[Moody the Wise]

Fall 1905 orders due by 10PM EST (GMT-4) tonight would be great, but that's in three hours, and I forgot to post the warning, so I'll extend 24 hours if necessary.

Retreats will still be due Thursday at the regular time and builds Friday at the regular time.

[Moody the Wise]

Fall 1905 Retreat Map:

Just one due - Italy's A Tyr

It is due in 22 hours.

Builds are due in 46 hours.

Here's the map; I'll post the actual orders tomorrow.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Fall1905retreat.jpg

[Moody the Wise]

I made a mistake in processing England's orders. As a result, the French army now in Spain should still be in Marseilles (it should have bounced with A Liv-Spa). I'll make the correction to the map when the retreat comes in.

[Moody the Wise]

I made a mistake in processing England's orders. As a result, the French army now in Spain should still be in Marseilles (it should have bounced with A Liv-Spa). I'll make the correction to the map when the retreat comes in.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, I've got this *bleep* of a paper to do tonight, so I'll post the retreat and the new map sometime tomorrow after noon EST when I have a break for a while.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, here were the orders for last season:

England:
F Gos-Mal
F Mal H
A Bre-Gas
A Liv-Spa
A Iri C A Liv-Spa
A Mao C A Liv-Spa
F Wes S A Liv-Spa

Germany:
A mun - tyr
A boh S mun - tyr
A pic S ruh - bur
A bel S ruh - bur
A ruh - bur
F den holds an international square dance.
A par S ruh - bur

Italy:
A Fez - Pen
F Tys - Tun
F Ion - Adr
A Ven-Tri
A Tri - Vie
A Tyr S A Tri-Vie
F Egy S A Fez-Pen
F Sue-Eas

India:
A del S A cal - nep
A mad - cal
F brm S A mad - cal
F per S A ira
F ara S A ira
A bag - arm
A ira S A bag - arm
A lao - sik
A sha A A lao - sik

Japan:
F wio -> som
F vtn Holds
F kor -> ecs
F joh -> and
A fuj Holds
F eio -> wio
F ecs -> spo
F cel -> jav
A can Holds
F ann -> sch

France:
A mar-spa
A por S A mar-spa
A gas S A mar-spa

Torquey: (The name of my Physics Olympics team in my junior year high school physics class. We were very proud of our cleverness. We also made a flag. It was the normal flag of Turkey with one end of the crescent moon made into a wrench head. Anyways, back to Diplomacy.)
F Pen - lib
F Eas - Pen
A Gre - Con
F Aeg C Gre - Con
A Smy Hold
A Jor - Egy

Russia:
a sev -> ira
a tur -> afg
f bla S a arm
a arm s a sev -> ira
f swe hold
a kan -> sik
a han S a kan -> sik
a tib -> nep
a sin -> tib
a mos -> sev
f pek -> yel
a war -> mos

Austria: NMR

[Moody the Wise]

And here is the Winter build map:

Italy NMRed on the retreat, so A Tyr disbanded. Also, I fixed the situation in Spain.

Japan, Germany, India, and Italy each get one build.

Those builds are due by NOON TOMORROW, EST(GMT-4) since I'll probably be going to bed early tonight and waking up late tomorrow. God, the end of the semester sucks.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Winter1905.jpg

[Moody the Wise]

Sorry about it being late, builds slipped my mind.

Germany: A Mun
Japan: F Tok
India: A Mad

Maybe I'll do a map later, but it's easy enough to visualize.

Spring 1906 Orders due Tuesday by 10:00 PM EST as usual.

[Moody the Wise]

Builds have been added to the map. Also, a minor clerical error involving a certain Indian army has been corrected.

I would like to remind everyone to check, double-check, triple-check, and check once again all of their order submissions.

So without further ado, I give you the Concert of Europe Spring 1906 Map!

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/moodythewise/Spring1906.jpg

[Moody the Wise]

And once again, I forgot to post a 24 hour warning. So, orders due 24 hours from now (11:00am EST tomorrow) or, if I get them all, by 10:00pm tonight.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, since access to the forums has been terrible today (and at least for some time officially shut down) I'll postpone the season until such a time as I regain dependable access. However, I've got my last final exam tomorrow and a lot of work to do to finish up another class, then I've got to pack and drive home, so I may just postpone things all the way until next Tuesday.

[Moody the Wise]

Alright, the Spring 1906 season has officially been extended until next Tuesday (10pm EST, as usual).

This decision has been made for the aforementioned reasons and to give our latest replacement for Italy, Void, a chance to catch up diplomatically. Let's all give Void a warm Diplomacy welcome. Remember, hugs are an excellent pretext for gaining access to a victim's exposed back.

[Void]

World News Today

Legionnaire Argus Nero masterfully directed many battles and was hero among the ranks of both ranks of the Italian armies and the nations people. The current leader could not handle the strain of leadership and when the people of Italy demanded change he handed leadership to Nero. Some say it was at the edge of a sword and Nero’s loyal legions, others say it was out of respect as well as fear. All that is for sure is Italy has changed to an imperialism and is now lead by Emperor Argus Nero.

[viggo]

Russian Foreign Minister sends gifts to new Italian emperor

An official envoy arrived in Rome today carrying 10,000 fiddles for the new Emperor Nero. The Emperor appeared to be pleased, and the envoy left with his head.

[Moody the Wise]

Yeah, I forgot to post to this effect, but Void's takeover of Italy is legitimate and official.

Also, orders for Spring 1906 due in 26 and a half hours.

Even more also, if someone who has jDip can adjudicate the orders that I post tomorrow night and post a Fall 1906 map, that would be great. I can't guarantee that I will have access to the program.

[Void]

I can adjudicate the turn, if you think you can email me or transfer me the current saved .jdip file. Otherwise it will take me a lot longer as I will have to start and edit the file from scratch and no guarantees.

Regards,

Void

[Moody the Wise]

Grrr ... tried to post this last night but apparently it did not go through.

I made a mistake in my last post when I said that orders were due tonight; they're due tomorrow night. I was confused.

Also, Void (and/or anyone else who wants to take this up), I don't have the jDip game file for the same reason that I don't have jDip. Editing isn't really that bad - just take a new game, advance one season on no orders so that it is in the Fall season, then edit it to reflect current unit placements - the year that the game thinks it is doesn't matter. That said, I'll try to be sneaky and handle things myself.

[Moody the Wise]

Spring 1906 moves:

Japan:
F som - goa
F wio - som
F jav holds
F and - eio
F sch - cel
F ecs S A can
F spo - tim
F tok - spo
F vtn - got

Germany:
A tyr - pie
A mun - tyr
A boh S A mun - tyr
F den bakes cookies
A bur - gas
A par S A bur - gas
A pic - bur
A bel S A pic - bur

India:
A mad - dec
F brm - bob
A sha - brm
A lao - sha
F ara - snd
A ira Hold
A bag S A ira
F per S A ira
A cal - nep
A del S A cal - nep

France:
A gas-spa
A mar S A gas-spa
A por S A gas-spa

England:
F Gos-Joh
F Mal H
A Bre-Gas
F Wes-Gol
F Mao-Wes
F Iri-Mao
F Eng H
A Liv-Wal

Turkey:
F Lib - Ion
F Aeg S F Lib - Ion
F Eas S F Lib - Ion
A Jor - Egy

Austria:
A mon - ser
A bud - tri
A vie S A bud - tri
A rum - bul
F adr - ion

Italy:
A Ven – Apu
A Tri – Ven
F Ion – Pen
A Fez – Lib
F Tun S A Fez – Tun
F Sue – Eas
F Egy S F Sue - Eas

Russia:
F Yel-Kor
A War-Ukr
A Tib S A Kan-Sik
F Swe-Nwy
A Sev-Ira
A Nep S A Afg-Del
A Mos-Oms
A Kan-Sik
A Han S A Kan-Sik
F Bla S A Arm
A Arm S A Sev-Ira
A Afg-Del

Void should be posting the map relatively shortly. Retreats, if applicable, will be due as usual by 10:00pm EST on Thursday.

[Void]

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/VoidDiver/ConcertF1906-1.jpg

Order Results:

Austria:
Austria: F adr -> ion
Bounced with lib (1 against 1).

Austria: A bud -> triAustria: A mon -> serAustria: A rum -> bulAustria: A vie Supports A bud -> tri

England:
England: A bre -> gas
Bounced with bur (1 against 1).

England: F eng HoldsEngland: F gos -> johEngland: F iri -> maoEngland: A liv -> walEngland: F mal HoldsEngland: F mao -> wesEngland: F wes -> gol

France:
France: A gas -> spaFrance: A mar Supports A gas -> spaFrance: A por Supports A gas -> spa

Germany:
Germany: A bel Supports A pic -> burGermany: A boh Supports A mun -> tyrGermany: A bur -> gasGermany: F den HoldsGermany: A mun -> tyrGermany: A par Supports A bur -> gasGermany: A pic -> burGermany: A tyr -> pie

India:
India: F ara -> sndIndia: A bag Supports A iraIndia: F brm -> bobIndia: A cal -> nep
Bounced with nep (1 against 1).

India: A del Supports A cal -> nep
Support cut by Move from Afganistan.

India: A ira HoldsIndia: A lao -> shaIndia: A mad -> decIndia: F per Supports A iraIndia: A sha -> brm

Italy:
Italy: F egy/nc Supports F sue -> eas
Support cut by Move from Jordan.

Italy: A fez -> libItaly: F ion -> penItaly: F sue -> eas
Bounced with eas (1 against 1).

Italy: A tri -> venItaly: F tun Supports A fez -> libItaly: A ven -> apu

Japan:
No order for unit at Fuji. Hold order assigned.No order for unit at Korea. Hold order assigned.Japan: F and -> eioJapan: A can HoldsJapan: F ecs Supports A canJapan: A fuj HoldsJapan: F jav HoldsJapan: F kor HoldsJapan: F som -> goaJapan: F sch -> celJapan: F spo -> timJapan: F tok -> spoJapan: F vtn -> gotJapan: F wio -> som

Russia:
Russia: A afg -> del
Bounced with del (1 against 1).

Russia: A arm Supports A sev -> iraRussia: F bla Supports A armRussia: A han Supports A kan -> sikRussia: A kan -> sikRussia: A mos -> omsRussia: A nep Supports A afg -> del Support cut by Move from Calcutta.

Russia: A sev -> ira
Bounced with ira (2 against 3).

Russia: F swe -> nwyRussia: A tib Supports A kan -> sikRussia: A war -> ukrRussia: F yel -> kor
Bounced with kor (1 against 1).

Turkey:
No order for unit at Constantinople. Hold order assigned.No order for unit at Smyrna. Hold order assigned.Turkey: F aeg Supports F lib -> ionTurkey: A con HoldsTurkey: F eas Supports F lib -> ion
Support cut by Move from Suez.

Turkey: A jor -> egy
Bounced with egy (1 against 1).

Turkey: F lib -> ionTurkey: A smy Holds

No retreats do.

Regards,

Void

[viggo]

my fleet should be in korea, not japans

[J_Muller]

No, the bounce was 1:1 if I'm reading the orders right.

[Void]

Looks like I accedently placed a japanesse fleet in korea that was not on previouis map. This would put viggo's fleet in korea. I will correct that this evening. My appologies.

Regards,

Void

Above map has been edited for accuracy

[viggo]

many thanks

[Moody the Wise]

Fall 1906 orders due in 33 hours.

Void, can you make the map again?

[Void]

Yep, not a problem.

Regards,

Void

[melchizedek]

Just realized this, but Saigon should be British, not Indian.

[Xilehxt]

I'd like to say it's India's, but yes, it does belong to the English. Please fix it.

[Moody the Wise]

In light of my reception of a whopping FOUR sets of orders for Fall 1906, I'm going to extend the deadline indefinitely. It's one thing when one person NMRs, but it's another thing when over half of your players don't submit orders. I'd like everyone to seriously think about their commitment to playing this game and write a post about it. Also, if you haven't submitted orders yet, the sooner the better.

[thewamp]

Wow... okay, lame excuse but what with the ending of the other games I'm in and the extension in this one, I'd accidentally just filed this away as another game that had died. When I saw the post about orders being due (fall 1906) I assumed it was "restarting" like CoW and that I'd already submitted orders.

And it's exams! Which everyone else has too, I'm sure.

Orders submitted.

[melchizedek]

I'm definitely interested in continuing play. I'm really enjoying this game, and it would be a shame to see it die. But, if only four people submitted orders, we might not have much choice.

[J_Muller]

Don't look at me, I'm already out. I think that Viggo might not be coming back, though.

[Void]

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/VoidDiver/ConcertF1906.jpg

Okay, unless anyone else see's something I missed this is updated and accurate map.

I am still interested, but obviously I have only had one round to get myself involved in it. Hope others choose to continue. If not I would be interested in playing another. I just started DMing one that should be starting next week and depending on how that goes, might be interested in running another one as well.

Regards,

Void