Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to DC310: Umbra. This briefing is classified top secret and contains sensitive information, and is not to be repeated or discussed outside this room. At 02:00 Hours this morning, a coordinated assassination was carried out on seven nations across this continent by members of an ancient terrorist faction. You seven individuals have been selected to lead these now leaderless nations to greatness in the coming years. We do not know how history will look back on us, but one thing is for certain: Some will be victorious, while others will fall, defeated into the forgotten annals of time. My name is Sam Buck, and I will be your operations officer. I will be your senior military commander, carrying out your orders and relaying the results back to you. Due to the complexities of this task, there will be deadlines upon which I must know your final decision regarding your troops. If one or more of you neglect to send me orders, even after a reminder, I will have no choice to order your units to hold and to place a NMR credit on your record. In the event that you accumulate 3 such credits, I will be forced to seek a replacement for your office. This is a great task before you, but I have no doubt that all of you will accomplish it well. It is now my duty to provide you your assignments.
Replacing His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria is Robert Choi, contactable at Robert.choi(at)invescotrimark.com. Good Luck, Mr. Choi. Austria is counting on you.
Taking over the throne for His Majesty the King Edward VII of England is Adam Janis, email alliancedata(at)yahoo.com. We wish you the best of luck, sir. England depends on it.
Representing the French Parliament will be Steven Hu, at steven.by.hu(at)hotmail.com. France is yours. Sir. Treat her well.
In the place of His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm the Second, by the Grace of God, German Emperor shall be Doegred Winsterhand, diplomatic offices located at feanorsfirstborn(at)gmail.com. Good luck to you, Kaiser.
Taking for himself the crown vacated by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Kolin Loconti, kolinloconti(at)gmail.com, will become the newest Italian Monarch. Again, good luck, sir. 
In the East, replacing His Imperial Majesty Czar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, we have Lee Clark, leeaclark(at)btinternet.com. Russia is under your command. ??????????.
Finally, in the southeast corner, taking over for His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan Abdulhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, is Stu Hobbs,stuhobbs(at)gmail.com. Fight Well, Turkey relies on it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you have your orders. You know the rules, you know how the game is played. The first deadline for your spring 1901 orders is Tuesday, April 6th, 2010, at 23:59 GMT (7:00 EST). In the future, your individual times will be sent out, but that is not yet ready. THis will be a fast paced game, with years going by in about a week and a half. If you need an extension, ask for one. If you must leave the game, tell me. If you have any other questions, I am here. Other than that, I wish you all luck. You shall need it. 
-Sam BuckYour GM
P.S. - "Umbra" means the darkest part of a shadow. We now enter into the Umbra of War.