My initial strategy was establish myself both as a power by both land and sea. The former required avoiding conflict with both Germany and France, and the latter needed quick fleet builds from the SCs I gained in '95/'96.
I decided to promote conflict amongst my neighbours: France's invasion of Italian soil was quickly aborted when German units occupied much of western France. I tried to slow Egypt's initial grow in the hope that he wouldn't overwhelm Turkey too quickly, but instead Turkey appeared too powerful, so I quickly left Egypt to muster his defences.
I found dealing with NMRs and powers going CD quite difficult. Should one respond immediately and grab territory, and so risk losing an ally (who may simply have missed one particular deadline)? By the mid-game I was supporting as many CD units as I was attacking. Notably, Spain barely made a move, and with a strong Britain I need to act quickly to keep the western Med Italian. Hence my lone fleet strike for Morocco. This led to Italian fleets setting up a stalemate line around SOG against an angry Britain.
I was very pleased that France responded positively to my support of his units, and he didn't appear intimidated by the size of Italy when I crossed the Alps and quickly subdued German home territory. This success against Germany was the foundation of our alliance -- but we had a lot of work to do together before securing the draw.
By this stage I had sealed up the Med, and controlled half of Germany and the Balkans. To my dismay, Poland (who had been waging a successful campaign against Russia) went CD. Russia, already controlling half of the CD Ukraine was free to drive west at an alarming rate. Furthermore Russo-Turkish cooperation was such that Turkey was free to focus on eliminating Egypt.
In central Europe I tried to use CD Polish and Ukrainian units to hold up the Russia advance, while attacking working with Egypt to break the Turkish position along Gre-AEG-EME. Coordination with Egypt wasn't good enough: in the end Egypt crumbled and I was forced to attack Turkey alone in order to take Gre. With Russia armies outnuimbering me in central Europe I began to fall back from War-Rum in order to:
Russia did attack Britain in Scandinavia, but Britain appeared to believe that I was the true threat and threw armies in Spain and fleets into the Altantic. France recognized that his room for expansion into central Europe was limited by Italian positions, and so drove strongly into Spain with the builds he had gained from his victory over Germany. French fleets were able to break out of the Bay of Biscay, and Britain (having lost SCs in Scandinavia and Spain) fell. The Italian fleets that Britain had feared so greatly barely made it past the Straits of Gibraltar, and instead rushed east in reaction to a new development.
My struggle against Turkey had won me Gre and Bul. Then Russia units (currently restricted to Rum) appeared in Turkey, crossing the Caucasus and the Black Sea. I was greatly confused, because I didn't know how to help Turkey. Turkey disbanded his Med fleets, which I took as a sign that he was pro-Italy. I tried to support Turkey in Ist-Izm, but the Turkish armies remained in the Middle East, lined up against Egyptian fleets. Egypt was no longer of any use to Italy: I stabbed him and supported Turkey into Egypt, hoping that his armies might be enough to push back the Russian in the south-east.
France had achieved a strong naval position in the Altantic and Italy had enough armies in Germany and the Balkans to find a stalemate line. A few refinements were needed - convoyed attacks provided the threat that took Bul from Russia to Italy (and Bul is strong position to hold from the south-west), and late in the game Russia conceded Hamburg and Berlin to IF to secure his defensive position in the north. I had decided mid-way through the game that Russia could not obtain 33 centres from a solid IF alliance - bottlenecks at Cai, Ist and NTH should be fought over. Russia wasn't able to break into the Altantic or the Med, and with enough armies in central Europe, Italy was able to hold a line.
I'd like to apologise to Egypt and Turkey for treating such dedicated players so ruthlessly, and thank our GM and all the players who played out their position to its full. A special acknowledgement to France, who put up with a willful, overbearing ally in the early game, handling me very well in the mid-game (only snapping at me once, when an Italian fleet sailed too far west), before patiently establishing his position while Italy and Russia played out a side-show in the south-east.
Ian York (ian.york@brunel.ac.uk)
My opening was non-committal, trying to get extra units into Scandinavia and avoiding the appearance of directly attacking anyone, especially Turkey. (I was fairly certain I'd have a bad game if both Poland and Ukraine turned on me, so I didn't worry about that possibility.) I did have to spend the early part of the game repelling Poland, but I was able to pick up the extra SCs needed by gobbling up the Ukraine.
Like Ian (Italy), I was in a quandary when powers went CD. Having been forced against the ropes already in the opening, I didn't want to assume that the player had dropped permanently, because I had no idea if a new player would step in. It took me three extra turns to gobble up Poland from that caution, and that caution also probably cost me the solo win when I didn't at least grab Edinburgh from Britain. Without a foothold there, I had no hope of getting to 33.
There was a good stiff struggle in the center of the board against the Italian armies, and I was able to take advantage of the fleets in Bornholm and Baltic Seas to anchor the attack that got me as far as I did. That became a static situation very quickly, even though we traded off control of Krakow and Berlin.
The decision to stab Turkey in 2002 wasn't taken lightly. He'd been a good ally, and, at the time, Italy appeared overextended on the continent and it wasn't certain that his alliance with France would hold. But I thought a quantum leap in units would allow me to sweep through. Italy was able to quickly form a defensive line, however, only conceding Bulgaria and Krakow. And, since ruthlessness and tentativeness make a bad combination, I ended up making the rest of my gains by gobbling up the remainder of Turkish territory.
I was amused to find how Italy was able to make diplomatic suggestions with his excess fleets, a maneuver I copied too late for it to do any good....
The most frustrating part of the game was trying to manipulate my northern forces. My fleets kept getting in each other's way. The convoy of an army to Iceland was, I thought, the only I could get all my fleets to the front. In retrospect, that was my best opportunity to get a toehold on the British Isles, as France had already invaded the south.
At the end, I knew I could form a stalemate line by conceding the two German SCs, knowing that I had two superfluous fleets to drop when Italy forced its way into Istanbul and Izmir. (I can hold everything else.) (It does seem that there are many more opportunities for stalemate lines in this game, since there are more units to deal with.)
Congratulations to Ian and Kent for a well-played game and a solid alliance (darn it). Also, a hearty congratulations and sincere apologies to Erik, who played very well.
I like this variant. I'm ready to do it again!
It was asked if Russia considered 33SCs a possibility, in the face of such a solid I/F alliance. Well, I had some hopes it wasn't all that solid, what with the Italian fleet hanging about in Gibraltar and the small dustup in the South Atlantic around 2008 or so. I also wondered if Italy might try for the solo win with a timely stab of France.
I knew I couldn't get to 33 when I was unable to get any of the British Isles.
I knew the IF alliance wouldn't break after Britain was removed. There was no other opportunity for instability.
I wasn't secure in the draw until I'd locked up Cairo. If Italian fleets get into the Red Sea, Italy could easily get to 25 or so, making a stab of France much more tempting and likely to work.
The Master noted that "Some of the powers in Modern fall back on a defensive position when attacked, leaving them invulnerable to an invasion on a single front." That's what made the most inviting places to attack those where the forces of three countries met. I doubt I could have gained Hamburg and Berlin, nor kept them as long as I did, if not that the adjoining territories were split between French and Italian forces, allied or not. The co-ordination isn't there. Similarly, I could really only force my way into Bulgaria while Italy and Turkey were splitting the influence. Italy was easily able to recapture it (and I wonder why it hadn't fallen sooner) once it controlled the Aegean.
I was tempted, when I was first forced out of Berlin, to retreat to Saxony, and hope to cause some havoc behind the Italian lines by hopping from SC to SC and perhaps forcing a collapse of the frontline. If Italy hadn't held a build or two in reserve at that time, it might have proved effective. As it was, it wouldn't have been an annoyance for more than a year.
Michael R. Walsh (mrw@well.com)
In fact Spain did move once. He bounced me out of Portugal. Well done, you know how to pick your enemies. :)
In 1902 I felt the wind of fortune when Italy decided to join me against Germany. Suddenly my defensive strength was enough and when Italy walked in to Germany it all was over. I also was lucky when Britain got into CD. giving me the whole isle.
Italy played very clever and growded slowly but shurely. In fact I think Italy made the best game of us all. He didn't gain so much help from CD's like I and Russia. I'm very pleased that he invited us to a threeway-draw so that we didn't have to try and stab each other. I like keeping an ally to the end. :)
Russia had a very interesting opening, not clearly good with enemies in Poland and Ukraine. With a little luck and good play he got the upper hand and with Turkish help it seemed like he was able to win alone but feel on the goal line (at least that's what we say in Sweden).
A special thanks to Turkey who played to the end, and after reading his story I believe he was worth a better finnish.
I wanted to mention to Italy tht I didn't notice any extreme "diplomacy" during the game, only simple "attack him" and "I'm your friend"
Russia wrote that he wasn't secure in the draw until he'd locked up Cairo, and that if Italian fleets got into the Red Sea, Italy could easily get to 25 or so, making a stab of France much more tempting and likely to work.
If Italy would have come that far I had moved my armies against him to try to force the draw. With 2 builds pending this was one thing I always had to count on. With 3 armies in Europe ready to defend, Italy couldn't have gotten his SC's fast enough.
Thanks to the GM for taking good care of us. You're not the only one trying to win with another country that has never won. Who knows, we even might be allies in another game!
Best regards, Kent Liljegren.
Master: Simon Withers simsikin@idirect.com
Britain: Gerrit Eicker G.Eicker@t-online.de
Egypt: Steve Messier messier@salus.med.uvm.edu
France: Kent Liljegren kent.liljegren@mbox200.swipnet.se
Germany: Steve Stackhouse stevest@primenet.com
Italy: Ian York Ian.York@brunel.ac.uk
Poland: Joseph W. Carl Jr jcarl@cannet.cannet.com
Russia: Michael R. Walsh mrw@well.com
Spain: Arnold Patrick arnold@langods.com
Turkey: Erik Stensland estensla@csgp.com
Ukraine: Kevin Hughes carrera@carrera.seanet.com
from F1996R: Bill Stein
Game parameters are/were as follows:
Move clock 1410 min 12.00 next 12.00 grace 24.00 delay 0.50 days
SMTWTFS
Retreat clock -1 min 0.00 next 12.00 grace 24.00 delay 0.50 days
SMTWTFS
Adjust clock -1 min 0.00 next 12.00 grace 24.00 delay 0.50 days
SMTWTFS
Access: Different-site, Level: Any, Moderated, Unrated, Dedication:
-100.
Variant: Modern, Gunboat.
Flags: NMR, NoProxy, DIAS.
Press: None (except to Master).
Winning Centers: 33.
Index: 142
Judge: USIN.
Game Started: Sun Jul 14 21:25:11 1996
Draw declared: Fri Oct 4 15:14:48 1996
The game was declared a draw between Italy, France and Russia.
Historical Supply Center Summary
--------------------------------
Mor Nap Mil Cro Gre Ist Ank Isr Ale Lib Irn Kha Kie Rum Aus Kra Gda Bie
Year Tun Rom Ven Ser Bul Izm Ada Cai Asw Sau Geo Sev Ode Hun Cze War Lit Mos
1994 . . I I I I . . . . T T T T . E E E . . . . U U U U . . . . P P P . . R
1995 B . I I I I . I T T T T T T E E E E . T . R U U U U U U I P P P P P P R
1996 B I I I I I I I T T T T T T E E E E E T T R U U U U U I I P P P P P P R
1997 I I I I I I I I T T T T T T E E E E E T T R U R R U U I I P P P P P P R
1998 I I I I I I I I T T T T T T T T E E E E T R R R R R U I I P P P P P R R
1999 I I I I I I I I T T T T T T T T T E E E T R R R R R U I I I P R P R R R
2000 I I I I I I I I T T T T T T T E T E E T T R R R R R U I I I P R R R R R
2001 I I I I I I I I T T T T T T T E E E E T T R R R R R I I I I P R R R R R
2002 I I I I I I I I T I T T R T T E E E E T T R R R R R R I I I I R R R R R
2003 I I I I I I I I I R R T R T T E T E I T E R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2004 I I I I I I I I I R R R R T T T T E I E E R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2005 I I I I I I I I I R R R R R T T T E I E T R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2006 I I I I I I I I I R R R R R T T T E I T R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2007 I I I I I I I I I R R R R R T T T T I T R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2008 I I I I I I I I I R R R R R R T T T I R R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2009 I I I I I I I I I I R R R R R T T T I R R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2010 I I I I I I I I I I R R R R R R T T I R R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2011 I I I I I I I I I I R R R R R R I T I R R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
2012 I I I I I I I I I I R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R R R I I I R R R R R R
Historical Supply Center Summary (cont)
---------------------------------------
Gor Stp Nor Swe Ber Mun Bel Mon Lyo Bor Liv Lon Sve Mad
Year Ros Mur Den Ham Fra Hol Swi Mar Par Ire Edi Gib Bar Por
1994 R R R R . . . G G G G . . . . F F F F . B B B B S S S .
1995 R R R R B G R G G G G G G F F F F F F B B B B B S S S .
1996 R R R R B G R G G G G G G F F F F F F B B B B B B S S .
1997 R R P R B G R G G G G G G F F F F F F B B B B B B S S B
1998 R R R R B B R G G I I G G F F F F F F B B B B B B S S B
1999 R R R R B B R G I I I G F F F F F F F B B B B B B F S B
2000 R R R R B B R B I I I F F F F F F F F B B B B B B F B B
2001 R R R R B R R F I I I F F F F F F F F B B B B B B F B B
2002 R R R R R R R F R I I F F F F F F F F F B B B B B F B B
2003 R R R R R R R F I I I F F F F F F F F F F B F I B F F B
2004 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F B F I I F F F
2005 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2006 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2007 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2008 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2009 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2010 R R R R R R R R R I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2011 R R R R R R R F I I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
2012 R R R R R R R F I I I F F F F F F F F F F F F I I F F F
History of Supply Center Counts
-------------------------------
Power 1994 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 Player
Britain 4 7 8 8 9* 9 11 9 7 3 Gerrit Eicker
Egypt 3 4 5 5 4 3 3 4 4 3 Steve Messier
France 4 6 6 6 6 8 9 10 11 14 Kent Liljegren
Germany 4 7 7 7 4 2* Steve Stackhouse
Italy 4 6 9 10 12 14 14 15& 15 17 Ian York
Poland 3 6 6 7 5 2 1 1 \ Joseph W. Carl Jr
Russia 5 7 7 8 12* 14 15 16 20 22 Michael R. Walsh
Spain 3 3 2 2 2 1 \ Arnold Patrick
Turkey 4 7 8 8 9 10 10 9 7 5 Erik Stensland
Ukraine 4 6 \ Kevin Hughes
5 3 1 1 1 \ Bill Stein
Index: 14 36 43 46 54 65 73 76 86 101
Power 2004 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 Player
Britain 1 \ Gerrit Eicker
Egypt 3 2 1 \ Steve Messier
France 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 Kent Liljegren
Italy 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 20* 21& Ian York
Russia 25 26 27 27 29 28 29 27 27 Michael R. Walsh
Turkey 4 4 4 5* 3 3 2 1 Erik Stensland
Index: 113 121 126 126 136 134 139 138 142
* = 1 unused build.
& = 2 unused builds.
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