ar@duke.UUCP (Andrew L. Reibman) (07/14/85)
Headlines "Grams" Diplomacy Game:
France and Italy go to war!
Germany attacks Russia! (England remains neutral)
Russia and Turkey Slog it out in Armenia!
Austria occupies Bulgaria and Tyrolia!
Here is an anlysis of the recently posted Spring '02 results:
ENGLAND:
F Nth -> Ska
F Nwy S F Nth -> Ska
A Yor -> Lon
F Edi -> Nth
England diffuses any thought of a joint Franco-German assault and
and moves into Scandanavia in force. It would seem that the British
are allied with Russia against Germany but (a) Germany failed to
defend at all against England (b) a stronger attack on Germany would
have gone for Hel,Ska,and North Sea all at once.
With Germany and Russia clearly at war and France and Italy
coming to blows, England is in the drivers seat in the North
- they can ally with either Germany or Russia but the belligerents
are not in a good position to ally against England.
RUSSIA:
F Bla C A Rum -> Arm
A Rum -> Arm (FAILS - TU A Smy -> Arm)
A Sev S A Rum -> Arm
F GoB -> Bal
A War -> Mos
A Swe -> Den (FAILS - GE A Den Holds)
Russia gives Bulgaria to Austria In the east, Russia must spin its wheels
against the Turks, waiting for the Austrians to move in and make the kill.
The move to Moscow is hard to explain, unless it is belated
attempt to cover St. Pete (where Russia probably should have taken a build).
The only thing that will save Warsaw is diplomacy, and a joint German-
British assault could probably take Sweden as well. Austria will
get most of the spoils in the South (maybe even Turkey as a client state).
Russia looks to be the Great Power in deepest trouble.
They need to to be real diplomats to keep England off their backs
and to get Austria and France to attack Germany.
FRANCE:
A Spa -> Gas
A Mar -> Pie (FAILS - IT A Ven -> Pie)
F Por -> Spa (sc)
F Bre -> Mid
A Par -> Bur
A Bel S A Par -> Bur
France moves against Italy and threatens Germany. Alone little headway
will be made against Italy; Austrian cooperation could insure the
conquest of Italy and the capture of Munich. Austrian help however
would probably cost all the Italian home centers - leaving France with
only Munich and Tunis for the trouble. England and France moving
in opposite directions should allow them to forge a strong alliance.
France and Austria would have to meet in the middle.
TURKEY:
F Ank S A Smy -> Arm
A Con S AH F Gre -> Bul
(FAILS - Not So Ordered)
A Smy -> Arm
(FAILS - RU A Rum -> Arm)
Turkey tries to throw its lot in with Austria (was this a wires
crossed situation or did Turkey gamble on showing the Russians an
alliance that wasn't really there?). Russia and Austria's failure to
actively cooperate probably insures Turkish survival for at least another year.
The German Barbarossa may then provide a reprieve. You can guess which
way the Turks want the British to go. If Turkey had committed last season
the prize might have been a piece of the Russian pie - instead it
will probably only be survival.
ITALY:
F Nap -> Tyr
F Ion -> Tun
A Ven -> Pie
(FAILS - FR A Mar -> Pie)
A Tun -> NAf
Italy moves against France - was their a tipoff from a third party
to either France or Italy? If the Austrians move against Italy
(a stong possibility) Italy is not long for this game. Look
for Italy to point out to both Austria and France that there is not
enough to share (especially Austria - who might be better served
by an Italian buffer).
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY:
A Ser -> Bul
F Gre S A Ser -> Bul
A Vie -> Tyr
A Bud -> Ser
A Tri S A Vie -> Tyr
The suppported move to Bulgaria fails to capitalize on Turkish goodwill
(or maybe suspects treachery). The move to Tyrolia could be
(1) hostile to Germany, (2) hostile to Italy, (3) supporting
Germany against a French invasion while Germany moves east.
Army Bud-Serbia shows faith in Russia and opens the opportunity
for a convoy next year against either Turkey or Italy.
I still doubt that Russia and Austria have a strong alliance
- that would have produced a move with Russia supporting into
Bulgaria while the fleet moved into the Aegean - instead the
Turks will still be with us for a while.
GERMANY:
A Mun -> Sil
A Ber -> Pru
F Kie -> Bal (FAILS - RUS F Gob -> Bal)
A Den Holds
F Hol Holds
The new German Kaiser felt he had good relations with both
France and Britain. The fleet in Holland could easily have denied
the British the North Sea - I think the Germans naively took the
British word that they would go for Russia - but the British move
could lead elsewhere. The French return to Burgundy also bodes
ill for the Germans. Germany is guaranteed Warsaw but the West
is awfully exposed.
In summary:
Russia takes over the title of holding the least enviable position,
with Turkey falling to second. Italy is bargaining like hell
to keep the Dual monarchy out of Venice this season.
If the Austro-French alliance materializes Italy will go quickly.
Germany is in the most exciting position - only the thin line of diplomacy
with Austria and England seperates continued growth from collapse.
Andrew Reibman
!{allegra,ihnp4}!duke!ar