Hi guys,
there's always this special thrill to a game's very first season. Who's going to hit the ground running and who shall face a first wake-up call? How ought one react to shifts in the balance of power and emerging alliances? In a good game of Diplomacy, every power shall at one point face setbacks. Will those players who do face such ones early on rise to the challenge? In any case, the game is never lost or won in the first season. It's only the starting-shot in a long Marathon.
Looking at the map, the first shots of the Spanish Civil War have proven indecisive. Neither Britain or France have chosen to directly intervene in the conflict. And the Portuguese have equally kept aloof of Spanish quarrels and chose to instead renew the centuries-old friendship with Great Britain at the expense of France. The Grand Nation itself might well be feeling the chill of diplomatic isolation insofar as Britain, Italy and Turkey all appear to have designs on French territory. Nor has fortune favoured the Président in his Helvetian schemes as German influence now reigns supreme in Bern.
Remarkably enough, among the minor powers only Switzerland and Bulgaria have been penetrated by great power influence. Similar Italian designs in Dalmatia or those of Poland in both Lithuania and Rumania have been thwarted. Over in the Low Countries, the Belgians have even made a point of standing in solidarity together with their Dutch neighbours.
Okay, I'll leave it at that. Fall 1936 prelims are due on Monday!
Happy dipping,
Charles
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PLAYERS:
BRITAIN: Jimmy Ghostine
FRANCE: Ken Miller
GERMANY: Dirk Knemeyer
ITALY & NAT. SPAIN: Andrew Tanner
POLAND: Daniel Dzikowicz
SOVIET UNION & REP. SPAIN: Kyle Overby-Lee
TURKEY: Joao Queiros
HEADLINES:
o ROYAL NAVY BLOCKADES BREST PORT
o PRÉSIDENT FACES A "CAUCHEMAR GÉOPOLITIQUE"
o GERMAN-SWISS CUSTOMS-UNION RATIFIED
o ITALIAN IRREDENTISIM CHECKED IN DALMATIA AS DUCE CHALLENGES FRANCE IN THE WEST
o POLISH HEGEMONIC AMBITIONS IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE DAMPENED
o TURKISH MINORITY IN BULGARIA WELCOMES ESTABLISHMENT OF TURKISH MILITARY BASES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
o PRAVDA EDITORIALS SPEAK OF NEW SOCIALIST SOVIET REPUBLICS BEING IN THE OFFING
o STREETFIGHTING IN SPANISH CAPITAL HAS NEITHER FACTION GAIN THE UPPER HAND
PRESS: None. :(
ORDERS:
Britain:
F Edinburgh - North Sea
F Gibraltar - South-Western Approaches
F London - English Channel
F Suez - Atlantic Ocean
France:
A Algiers Hold
A Beirut - Syria
F Brest - South-Western Approaches (*Fails*)
A Marseille - Switzerland (*Fails*)
A Paris - Picardy
Germany:
A Berlin - Hamburg
F Hamburg - Helgoland Bight
A Munich - Switzerland
Italy:
A Milan - Piedmont
F Naples - Southern Tyrrhenian Sea
A Rome - Croatia (*Fails*)
A Tripoli - Tunisia
Poland:
A Cracow - Rumania (*Fails*)
F Gdynia - Gulf of Danzig
A Warsaw - Lithuania (*Fails*)
Turkey:
A Ankara - Alexandretta
A Istanbul - Bulgaria
F Izmir - Eastern Mediterranean
USSR:
F Leningrad(sc) - Estonia
A Moscow - Byelorussia
A Stalingrad - Eastern Ukraine
Nationalist_Spain:
A Burgos - Madrid (*Bounce*)
Republican_Spain:
A Valencia - Madrid (*Bounce*)
Austria:
A Austria Supports A Munich - Switzerland
Belgium:
A Belgium Supports F Netherlands
Bulgaria:
A Bulgaria Hold (*Disbanded*)
Czechoslovakia:
A Czechia Hold
Denmark:
F Denmark Hold
Egypt:
A Egypt Hold
Finland:
A Finland Hold
Greece:
F Greece Hold
Hungary:
A Hungary Hold
Iran:
A Iran Hold
Iraq:
A Iraq Hold
Latvia:
A Latvia Hold
Lithuania:
A Lithuania Hold
Morocco:
A Morocco Hold
Netherlands:
F Netherlands Hold
Norway:
F Norway Hold
Portugal:
F Portugal Supports F Gibraltar - South-Western Approaches
Rumania:
A Rumania Hold
Sweden:
F Sweden Hold
Switzerland:
A Switzerland Hold (*Disbanded*)
Yugoslavia:
A Croatia Hold
A Serbia Supports A Istanbul - Bulgaria
SUPPLY CENTER OWNERSHIP:
Britain(4): Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Suez.
France(5): Algiers, Beirut, Brest, Marseille, Paris.
Germany(3): Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.
Italy(4): Milan, Naples, Rome, Tripoli.
Poland(3): Cracow, Gdynia, Warsaw.
Turkey(3): Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir.
USSR(3): Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad.
Nationalist Spain(1): Burgos
Republican Spain(1): Valencia
Minor Powers(23): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia (Yug.), Czechia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Rumania, Serbia (Yug.), Sweden, Switzerland.
DEADLINE SCHEDULE: (all orders are due NLT 6PM CET (GMT+1)...not local time)
o Fall 1936 Moves: (11) 13 October
o Winter 1936 Retreats/Adjustments: 15 October
o Spring 1937 Moves: (18) 20 October
o Summer 1937 Retreats: 22 October
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