Hi everyone!
So we now say farewell to Mark, Brian and Jerome. Three players eliminated in the same turn. I wouldn't have thought early on that Brian's Germany and Jerome's Turkey would end up on the chopping-block. Their positions initially compared favourably with their dc538 counterparts. Yet it was not to be. As for Mark's Britain, it never really got off the ground, but Mark put together a defence that kept frustrating his foes for quite some time.
Guys, I hope you'll submit an EOG report in the next few days. I'd appreciate it if you were to also answer a catalogue of questions I'll be sending you seperately.
It's worth noting that this series of eliminations has repercussions for the dc538 folks. Christian, Lynn and Patrick have now obtained their ticket to the finals.
One might also note that our very last minor power has succumbed to greater forces in the world. We're now left with four pretty robust powers. Italy and the Soviet Union arguably being the top-dogs. But France isn't doing too badly either.
Make sure to read the press section. Some real gems in there.
Cheers,
Charles
PLAYERS:
BRITAIN: Mark Utterback
FRANCE: George K. Atkins
GERMANY: Brian Diffell
ITALY & NAT. SPAIN: Mike Norton
POLAND: Sean O'Donnell
SOVIET UNION & REP. SPAIN: David Gould
TURKEY: Jerome Payne
ANONYMOUS PRESS:
"O solo mio!"
Oh solo no!
The Polish Government has nothing to say.
The Russian Government disavows everything.
The French Government is on Holiday.
The Italian Government (we use the term as a courtesy) is on strike.
The German Government is moving to Wisconsin.
FRENCH PRESS:
How about some French Press? (Har! Har! That's a joke, son...I say, am I going to fast for you? )
Dateline Paris.
Some have said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Unfortunately, it may be because it is also not rising over the British Empire any more. Yes, historically, the Brits have had a very long run. They ruled the waves for several hundred years. They carried out royal wars and intrigues that were as much fun as any Hapsburg family get-together. They created Sherlock Holmes. They defeated our French forefathers once or twice. Of course, there was the so-called Norman Invasion, which gave the British their initial taste of civilization and culture. Which they quickly threw away. Yet, in a way, the British are really our French Cousins, just many times removed.
And they have been removed. Yet we feel the tug of historical familiarity; the cultural pull of shared ancestry; and the need to get revenge for Trafalgar. Sure, the Brits don't eat snails, but we'll try to make allowances. France feels it necessary to take over the reins of power in Britain, reinvigorate its once proud character, and mostly teach those bloody proles how to cook, once and for all. Learning proper French may be beyond them, but we think their hardy British stock will make fine laborers, entertainers, and servants for their French Betters.
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Putting our feet up on the Ottoman.
Not being averse to kicking a man when he's down, the French President, Mssr. Paul Igon, observed with some satisfaction the imminent demise of the Ottoman Empire. "They should have remained the bon ami of France. Sacre! Le Turkish Taffy has been slapped down, broken up, and being now eaten by former allies. Que c'est delicieux ! Turkey is, how you say in English, the joke of everyone's butts?"
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And as always: "Bien sur , tout cela est dans le bon amusement!"
ITALIAN PRESS:
Il Duce lifts his hat to his colleagues and a cheering crowd as he leaves the lovely Hotel Oreanda in Yalta, "The Black Sea is lovely this year but I yearn to return to the beautiful Adriatic". As the leader of the freedom loving Fascist world leaves, he hands a gift wrapped silk brown shirt to Mr Stalin. " You really should try it on Josef, it would suit you so much better than red." He waves to the crowd outside the hotel and wishes them all a peaceful year and hopes that the new year beckons a peaceful period under the benevolent rule of the four powers. As his limo engine powers up, Il Duce leans out the window, waves again with a broad smile shouting "Viva la pace di quattro!"
SOVIET PRESS:
From the desk of Stalin:
The Baltic States are a natural part of our sphere of influence. The treaties made by their undemocratic and despotic rulers with Western powers have not prevented the people of Lativa, Lithuania and Estonia from coming to the realisation that a true soviet of the people by the people and for the people is the only path to freedom. The failing and flailing Polish government has finally demonstrated some wisdom in not opposing the will of the Hanseatic peoples in this regard.
An exhortation from Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov unto the military forces of the People of the Soviet Union:
Comrades, the hour of desperation is upon us. We face a pitiless foe whose exploitation of his own peoples has given him the wealth to build weapons the likes of which have never before been seen upon this earth. And these weapons are aimed at the last bastion of freedom. Is the air in Mother Russia sweet? Yes. Are the faces of its mothers and father, daughters and sons, beautiful? Yes. Are these hours in living the only time that we will enjoy the good things of the world? Yes. And yet, and yet ... while the fascist and reactionary despoilers remain, the air is rank; beauty is corrupted; the good things are turned to evil. And so the request must be made of us all, for the sake of future generations: if needs must, we shall throw ourselves into the very muzzles of the cannon of our tormentors; we shall fill the barricades with our bleeding, dying bodies; we shall jam his tank tracks with our skulls; we shall tear off our own fingers and jam them down his throat. The survival of the dream is at stake, and if that means a brief time of nightmares now then so be it.
Historical note: Molotov was a willing signatory to thousands of death warrants in the Great Purge; indeed, he was enthusiastic and unrepentant about the mass murder committed by his government. While it is unclear precisely what role he played in the Katyn Massacre, he most certainly was aware of it and took steps to help try to place the blame for it upon the Nazis.
Pravda classifieds:
The Red Orchestra is now playing glissando. Which pitch will it settle on?
GAME-END PROPOSALS:
A four-way draw involving France, Italy, Poland and the Soviet Union.
ORDERS:
Britain:
F Ireland Hold
France:
A Austria - Czechia
A Belgium - Rhineland
F Liverpool Hold
A Lorraine Supports A Munich
A Munich Supports A Belgium - Rhineland
F Netherlands - Hamburg (*Bounce*)
A Switzerland - Marseille
F English Channel - London
Germany:
A Berlin - Hamburg (*Dislodged*)
A Franconia - Central Germany
Italy:
A Croatia Supports A Transylvania - Hungary
F Greece Hold
F Izmir Supports F Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea
F Suez - Atlantic Ocean
F Gulf of Lion - Western Mediterranean
F Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea
F Levantine Sea Supports A Syria - Beirut
Poland:
A Central Germany - Berlin
A Czechia - Cracow
F Denmark - Sweden
A Pomerania Supports A Central Germany - Berlin
A Serbia Supports A Transylvania - Hungary
A Transylvania - Hungary
F Baltic Sea Supports F Denmark - Sweden
Soviet_Union:
A Ankara Supports A Istanbul
A Bulgaria - Rumania
A Eastern Anatolia Supports A Ankara
A Eastern Ukraine - Western Ukraine
A Hamburg - Denmark
A Iran - Iraq
A Istanbul Supports A Ankara
A Latvia - Lithuania
A Leningrad - Latvia
F Sweden - Gulf of Danzig
A Syria - Beirut
A Western Ukraine - Volhynia
F Black Sea Supports A Bulgaria - Rumania
F Northern North Sea - Skaggerak
F Norwegian Sea - Norway
Turkey:
F Alexandretta - Beirut (*Fails*)
A Beirut - Izmir (*Dislodged*)
Nationalist_Spain:
F Edinburgh Hold
A Madrid - Portugal
A Valencia Hold
F Atlantic Ocean - North-Western Approaches
F Irish Sea Supports F Edinburgh
Hungary:
A Hungary - Serbia (*Disbanded*)
RETREATS:
Turkish A Beirut can retreat to Palestine.
German A Berlin can retreat to Silesia.
ADJUSTMENTS:
Britain:
Remove
France:
Build
Build
Germany:
Remove
Remove (if A Berlin hasn't yet disbanded)
Italy:
Build
Build
Soviet_Union:
Build
Turkey:
Remove
Remove (if A Beirut hasn't yet disbanded)
Nationalist_Spain:
Build
SC OWNERSHIP (Winter 1940):
Britain (1): London.
France (9): Austria, Belgium, Brest, Liverpool, Marseille, Milan, Netherlands, Paris, Switzerland.
Germany (2): Berlin, Munich.
Italy (7): Algiers, Egypt, Greece, Naples, Rome, Suez, Tripoli.
Poland (7): Cracow, Czechia, Gdynia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Warsaw.
Soviet_Union (15): Ankara, Bulgaria, Denmark, Edinburgh, Finland, Hamburg, Iran, Iraq, Istanbul, Leningrad, Moscow, Norway, Rumania, Stalingrad, Sweden.
Turkey (2): Beirut, Izmir.
Nationalist_Spain (5): Burgos, Madrid, Morocco, Portugal, Valencia.
Hungary: Hungary.
Yugoslavia: Croatia.
SCHEDULE (3 PM GMT):
Winter 1941 Retreats/Adjustments: 18 December
Spring 1942 Moves: 23 December
Summer 1942 Retreats: 27 December
Fall 1942 Moves: 30 December
Winter 1942 Retreats/Adjustments: 1 January |
