Congratulations, Gerry - very well played!
The view from Paris:
As always, I started by communicating with everyone, to get a feel for
the lay of the land and open the diplomatic lines as early as
possible. Grant was the first to respond (in fact, I think he emailed
me first). While he seemed very enthusiastic and friendly, he was also
a bit more aggressive than I've usually seen in email Dip; he seemed
anxious to attack someone - anyone - as long as he could get an ally
to do it with. Gerry was friendly and personable, and seemed quite
experienced (as the war would eventually prove!); we agreed to leave
each other a friendly DMZ, and left open plans for mutual cooperation
in the future that would bear fruit (up to a point). Sean was friendly
enough, and definitely seemed like someone I could work with. Luke,
unfortunately, missed out on the furious first weekend of emails; by
the time I heard back from him, my plans were already pretty much set,
and there wasn't really much he could do to change my mind. To be
honest, though, he would have had a tough job anyway; as France, I
have never seen an alliance with England that didn't end with France
being stabbed, so I was predisposed to take him out as quickly as
possible. Chris and Vinny responded politely, but we didn't have much
to discuss in the early stages.
After getting the lay of the land, my initial plan was to attack
England with the help of Germany and Russia. That would let Grant get
some of his aggression out and remove an immediate threat to me. It
would also let Russia move some units west without unduly alarming
Grant, who (at the time) both Sean and I felt would be a bit of a
loose cannon. Once England was down, Sean and I were planning to take
out Germany, who would hopefully have overextended himself by going
after England.
The first part of the plan went swimmingly. Luke didn't seem to
suspect a thing, and the initial attack on England gained ground
quickly. The attack bogged down after a while, though, and by 1903,
Grant had begun to worry (rightfully) about Russia's advances on his
border. As the situation evolved, it became increasingly apparent that
Grant was willing to follow my lead on tactics, and when Sean had to
drop out of the game and a new Russia took over, I decided to change
my initial plan and side with Germany against Russia. (Note that this
had nothing to do with Matthias personally; he was friendly and a good
negotiator, but the game situation made it clear that Germany was a
better ally for me in the immediate term.) Once England was finally
knocked out in 1904, Grant and I could concentrate our efforts on
Russia (and eventually Austria, who decided to go after some German
SCs himself)...and then I stabbed Grant. I felt quite bad about it,
actually, but I also felt like it was a now or never situation, and if
the stab went well, I could make a reasonable push for a solo or a
strong draw.
To my grateful amazement, Grant not only acknowledged that my stabbing
him was a good move, but agreed to continue to assist me! He agreed to
move his units as I asked in return for my trying to keep him alive,
and he stayed true to that agreement to the end. For what it's worth,
I was doing my best to keep his units around, but the tides of battle
just didn't permit it.
By 1906, Turkey was gone, Germany and Austria were crumbling, and
Russia was being slowly nibbled away at. Gerry and I were in the
driver's seats, and were discussing plans for an F/I draw proposal
(assuming we could get Matthias to accept it). However, Gerry saw the
opportunity for a solo, and (quite rightly) decided to go for it. I
might have been able to beat him to it, or at least slow him down, but
Matthias then gave me an ultimatum - withdraw French units from
Scandinavia, or he would hand his remaining SCs to Italy. I certainly
don't blame him for this approach - desperate times, etc. I might
conceivably have been able to acceded to Matthias' demands and still
manage a solo or draw, but it seemed unlikely at best, and I thought I
might be able to hold Gerry and Matthias off long enough to grab
either enough SCs for a solo or a defensible stalemate line. As it
happens, I was VERY wrong, and the two of them quickly managed to get
Gerry to 18 for the win.
Overall, I was pleased with my performance in the game - I made some
good tactical guesses until the endgame, and most of the game went the
way I hoped it would. I have no regrets about losing to Gerry - he's a
gentleman and a skilled tactician, and played a very smart and
effective game. Thanks to all those who participated, especially those
who made it through without any NMRs. And many, many thanks to Jerome
for a clean, friendly, and personable game!
Here's hoping I see each of you across the virtual board again soon!
Best,
Brian/France