Diplomacy zine -- Triple alliances From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1989 01:44:26 +0000 Issue #92 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: Chapter One contains: D-DAY, NAVARONE, BLITZKRIEG, OPERATION OVERLORD, GETTYSBURG, and HMS HOOD And is published by Daybell@aludra.usc.edu/Donald Daybell Chapter Two contains: DRAGONSPLAYER, DOUGHBOY, BISMARK, COLD WAR, JACAL, and TRENCHFOOT And is published by Tedward@cs.cornell.edu/Ted Fischer (This chapter looks like it is doing well so I will start another chapter soon!) ------------- Chapter Three ------------- End game statements of the game MAELSTROM (BNC number 1989AA) Congratulations to Ray on his victory. i enjoyed playing in this game and feel fortunate that I held at least one of my home centers at the end! Thank you Eric for running it for us. hope to meet you all again, - kevin Autumn and Winter '01 of the game TANNENBURG (BNC number 1989HZ) (GM is Ebrosius@lucy.wellesley.edu/Eric Brosius) Shipyards Work Overtime! AUSTRIA (Ledoux) Build A Bud, A Vie. ENGLAND (Hosek) Build F Edi. FRANCE (Snyder) Build F Mar, F Bre, A Par. GERMANY (Krywolt) Build F Kie, F Ber. ITALY (Farebrother) Build F Nap. RUSSIA (Jordan) Build A War, A Mos. TURKEY (Shook) Build F Smy. Units Available for Spring, 1902 (please check this chart; it's here that I'm most likely to make mistakes). A (5) F Gre, A Ser, A Tri, A Bud, A Vie. E (4) A Nwy, F Nrg, F Hel, F Edi. F (6) A Bel, F Por, A Spa, F Mar, F Bre, A Par. G (5) A Den, F Hol, A Mun, F Kie, F Ber. I (4) A Pie, F Tun, A Ven, F Nap. R (6) A Swe, F Bot, A Rum, F Sev, A War, A Mos T (4) A Bul, A Con, F Bla, F Smy. GAME NOTES The deadline for Spring, 1902 moves is ***Sunday, September 3 at 10PM EDT*** As usual, please submit provisional orders right away. Rules change proposal: It is proposed to change the mid-week deadline (for retreats and builds) to Wednesday at midnight (right now it's Tuesday at midnight). Please vote by the next deadline. Perhaps no one noticed, but I incorrectly capitalized RUM last time in the order "F SEV S A ukr-RUM". Since this order was given to F Sev, only SEV should be capitalized. I make up the list of units available from the orders (one unit per order), so I noticed it this time. Each unit can be found in the province which is capitalized in the order written for it. I'm glad you all got moves in. If you plan to be away for any length of time, please let me know so I don't panic. You're welcome to call me to submit moves or find out what happened. PRESS GM-Board: No press this time either. Maybe I'll make some up and pretend it's from the players. Or would that be interfering? END OF PRESS Winter '00 of the gunboat game VERDUN (MNC number not known) (GM is Sccs6069@iruccibm.bitnet/Michael O'Regan) ++++++++++++++++++ VERDUN WINTER 1900 ++++++++++++++++++ In case anyone was wondering or gives a damn, Verdun is a town in France approximately 140 miles east of Paris, 30 miles south of the Belgian boarder. ( The north of the Burgundy space on the board ). At 7:15 am on the 21st of Feb. 1916 the Germans began their assualt on the French fortified positions there. They captured the town and on the 24th of Oct. the French started the second battle of Verdun and broke the German lines along a four mile front. On the 2nd of Nov. the Germans abandoned Verdun. The death toll of the entire action is estimated to have been 364,000 allies and some 338,000 Germans. Mike. ***************** GM -> ALL : Here`s the press. One thing to note is that it is semi-sorted with all the stuff `claiming` to originate from a country gathered together, alphabetically by country name. Oh, and obvious grey press at the bottom. Spring 1901 due Thursday. ***************** GM -> All : The following is a deadline summary, it appears that ye Americans have some sort of big weekend coming up, labour day without the u. So if I get 4 votes to put the Mon back to Wed. I will, so send in a vote with your moves everyone. SPRING 01 moves + press Thur Aug 31st FALL 01 moves + press Mon Sept 4th ?? WINTER 01 retreats/builds + press Wed Sept 6th ?? SPRING 02 moves + press Fri Sept 8th ?? ***************** London, January 24, 1901 The Queen of England has declared France a nation of outlaws after the last raid of England's shores. The navy is being ordered to put to sea and to "sink all ships in the Channel not bearing the Empire's colours." ***************** Paris, January 3, 1901 <Headline> Invasion of England Imminent An army has gathered on the Northern Shores of France preparing to invade England. They are led by the descendants of the relatives of Joan of Arc. They say she was burned at the stake because of lies propogated by the English. A woman, calling herself Marie of Orleans, has the group ready to cross the English Channel. She is demanding reparations of the English Government, blaming them for the loss of her relative, and killing one of God's chosen people. The Government has given implicit approval of the group. Recently the numbers led by Marie have grown quickly, most of the new arrivals resembling known members of the military. ***************** France -> England Hello, tyrant of the Northern Oceans. Hope you're not going to go to the English Channel, because then I'd have to go there as well, and we'd both just have wasted a move - but that's life in the big city. ***************** France -> Italy You know how useless it is to head for France early on, so just don't bother. You're much better off creaming Austria - you know it, I know it, Austria knows it, Germany knows it, we all know it - THEY may not admit it, but they all know it. (THEY being the people who'll try to persuade you to head for Marseilles.) ***************** France -> Germany Alliance versus England - whaddya say? I say let's get the sucker. ***************** France -> Russia Alliance versus England with Germany - let's go for it. We all hate England - come on, admit it, we do - so let's just rid ourselves of all those pesky boats early on in the game. ***************** France -> Russia and Germany You KNOW it makes sense! ***************** The Berlin Daily Times, December 11,1900 Command: In an unbelievable sequence of events, the leadership of the newly formed German nation has been thrown into a turmoil. Early yesterday morning, Kaiser Wilhelm I, slipped as he was getting into the bath. Before astonished servants could help him, he cracked his head on the back of the tub and died instantly. His only son, Wilhelm, was rushed away to be prepared to take over the nation, in this era of unrest. As he was told of the trouble spots that Germany was involved in, he lost control and threw himself out of the opened window to his death. He was never a very stable man in any event. The Lutheran Democratic Party of Germany called these situations commandments from the Lord. Their leader, Klaus von Bherner, is quoted as saying "The Lord wished that the German nation be a democracy, led by the people. In order to provide the pathway, he has taken an ineffectual leader and his unstable son away from us. We must do as the Lord wishes or we shall surely perish". von Bherner and others are leading a movement towards a democratic government that is gathering much momentum with the people. There is much unrest in Berlin already, and the Royal Family is in a quandry. The leaders of the Church have called a meeting to discuss the situation. No other heirs to the throne remain except for Kaiser Wilhelm I's daughter, who is only 16 years old. Unlike other countries in this world, the German people would not allow themselves to be ruled by a woman. Thus the situation of unrest that exists in England under their Queen is avoided. ***************** The Munich Free Press : December 15,1900 In a surprising development to the acsencion problem, the Royal Family has announced the engagement of Kaiser Wilhelm I's only daughter,Eva, to an Englishman, James Q. Brond. Mr. Brond will become the new leader of Germany, with the title Kaiser James I. Reports are that the new Kaiser-to-be is interested in a German-English truce, and co-operation against aggressors in the world. The new Kaiser-to-be is also interested in making peaceful negotiations with "our Royal cousins to the south". The Lutheran Democratic Party, led by Klaus von Bherner, is aghast at the idea. According to von Bherner, the English are infidels, as are the French, the Russians and the followers of that Pope, the Italians. Herr von Bherner was arrested and sentanced to a lifetime imprisonment in a maximum security prison. With von Bherner's arrest, the protestations of the masses seems to have died down, or it may have been the announcement of a new Kaiser. Since the two happened within hours of each other, experts are not sure. James Brond is well known and liked by the German Chief of General Staff. The Generals have hinted that the army would crackdown on any protestations against the new Kaiser. The wedding is set to take place on December 20, and the Coronation of Kaiser JAmes I on December 24. The head of the Church has maintained that the Lord will show his approval of the new Kaiser by bringing a miracle that day. It is rumoured that the Queen of England, cousin to Eva, will be invited. It is hoped that she will attend. Also invited are the Tsar of Russia and the King of the Austrian Empire. ***************** Ankara Times (March 3, 1900) The wise and ancient Great Saniti Czech has recently professed that we are about to have hostile times in Europe. The wise old man said he initially became aware of these hostile activities when he was doing his daily meditation in the Black Sea when out of no where a large shell exploded near him and punctured his air mattress. Being quite put off by this rude awakening, he meditated on the issue and was told by "higher beings" that he should be patient as he hasn't seen anything compared to what is about to come. ***************** New York Times: December 25,1900 (headline) MIRACLE OCCURS AT CORONATION As predicted by the Lutheran Church in Germany, a miracle occurred during the coronation of the new Kaiser, James I. Three bright stars appeared overhead forming a ring around the crown as it was raised to his head. The Church say that this is a sign of the Lord's acceptance of James as the new Kaiser. He is reportedly very interested in maintaining a peaceful stature with the rest of Europe. The United States of America congratulates the new Kaiser of Germany, and hopes that he can bring peace to a very suspicious Europe, that appears to be on the brink of war. ***************** New York Times February 22, 1901 Berlin, (AP) The new Kaiser of Germany, Englishman James Brond, issued his strongest statement yet on the conditions of unrest in Europe. He stated that he wished to keep peace in Europe, and that Germany wished to have peaceful negotiations. However, he also stated that any militarization of the Austrian state of Tyrolia by any power, including Austria, would be treated as an Act of War by Germany. Germany would ruthlessly destroy any nation that entered Tyrolia. He then further stressed that he wished to keep peace in Europe. The Italian government recognized the severity of the current world situation early on. Signs of strife appear all around this beautiful land. To assist with communication with neighboring countries, Italy's president today appointedFrancesco Roberti as Director of Foreign Relations. Mr. Roberti has extensive diplomatic experience, and his appointment was considered a positive step. From a strategic planning meeting held today near the Austrian border comes the following statement given to the press by Mr. Roberti as his first official act: "The government wishes to express its firm commitment to the freedom of its citizens from foreign oppression. Nor will our positive interactions with neighbors on both coasts be forgotten. The sovereignty of our great land will not be compromised. It is perfectly clear who the agressors are, and these tyrants will be combated with the full forces available to Italy and her allies." ***************** GM comments: One of our subscribers has decided to help me out before my wrist falls off! Our first scribe is sccs6016@iruccibm.bitnet/Gearoid Casey. Three cheers for Gearoid: CHEER! CHEER! CHEER! CHEER! (I got a little carried away.) I definitely could use some more scribes, let me know how many pages you would like to type in and I'll send them to you. I could also use additional archivers for this zine. An archiver keeps copies of all issues published. An archiver may decide to specialize in certain chapters. (Just let me know which ones.) I am now ready to place our first display ad in a magazine. (PAPER MAYHEM). If anyone would like to donate money for this ad, send dough to Eric Klien, 1 Sinai Circle B10, Chelmsford, MA 01824. The more players we can get in our games the better! (Note that this and my other zine are non profit -- all money donated will only go towards ads not towards the expensive of running the zines.) Someone mentioned that it may be possible to run the same classified ad in all University papers at once, does anyone know anything about this? Taken from Masters of Deceit, available for $1.50 from Steve Arnawoodian: TRIPLE ALLIANCES By Bob Olsen Since all countries start out roughly equal in strength, and since even after they have taken their normal complement of neutrals they are still roughly equal, in order to get anywhere you must ally with another player against somebody else. Normally the fight becomes two-against-one, but it doesn't have to be that way. If two countries together are much more powerful than one, then presumably three countries acting together would be even better...well, theoretically. A triple alliance can accomplish a lot of good things in short order. In the most common alliance of this type, the "Western Triple" of France, England and Germany, England and Germany can gang up on Russia while France pretty much has his own way with Italy, who generally starts out oriented toward the east. Fairly quickly, France will grow from 5 (her home centers and Spain/Portugal) to 7 or 8, with Tunis an an Italian home dot or two. Meanwhile Germany (home centers plus Holland and Denmark) and England (home plus Norway and -- generally ceded by F/G as an incentive -- Belgium) each grow likewise to 7 or 8 each, picking up Sweden, St. Petersburg, Warsaw and maybe even Moscow. Then what? When Italy and Russia are crushed, the crisis of the alliance occurs. France looks to go against dot-rich Austria and defensive giant Turkey; Germany will be scrounging around the remaining scraps of Russia and worrying about Austria. And England has nothing whatever to do. Nothing to do, that is, but stab an ally. There's nothing wrong with a triple alliance in the early game (it certainly beats the odd man out of a two-against-one) but success almost always destablizes the arrangement, and nobody should pretend to themselves going in that a triple is a permanent deal. It's up to you to make sure that when the stab comes, you aren't the one who gets it in the back. The Western Triple is the most common one. The eastern analogue (R/A/T) is much rarer because it is even more unstable; Turkey is in England's position of having no new worlds to conquer almost from day one, so unless he will faithfully build fleets and nothing but fleets -- with the few builds he will garner -- there's little for him to do. Further, the arrangement requires Austria to do most of the fighting while assuming most of the risks; most Austrian players will pass on such an opportunity. If he's being pressured to accept the RAT, Austria is probably better off allying with Italy and hoping for the best. Other combinations of countries can be picked more or less out of a hat; later on in the game, triples of down-and-out countries or desperation stop-the-leader alliances are possible, but they hardly count. One other triple is worth mentioning, though: the Austrian-French- Russian alliance. Instead of advancing in a solid wave from one side of the board twoard the other (and stumbling over each other like the Three Stooges), these three countries most likely to be first to reach 5 or 6 centers work together. Unless the remaining players coordinate well and move fast, and A/F/R can quickly sweep the board: Austria and Russia combine to besiege Turkey; Austria and France menance Italy; Russia and France put the squeeze on Germany and England. About the only thing that can stop this is a strong and well-played E/G alliance, and even if one forms, they face in France and Russia attacks coming from opposite sides, making defense extremely difficult. Further, later on in the game, the members of the alliance are more widely seperated, and a stab is a little less likely. It never hurts to discuss the possibilities of a triple alliance with your neighbors, but nobody should have any illusions. If your partners weren't sneaky, greedy fiends, they wouldn't be playing Dip in the first place. If you can't trust them, don't bet the rent money on them. If you think your prospective allies can be trusted, though, saddle up and charge, and be ready for the chance to out- sneak and out-greed them all. Taken from Tell it to the King by Larry King: Crosby also told me about an account who worked at Paramount and who was the world's most meticulous man. Everything about his work had to be just so. His clothes had to be perfectly fit as well, and his hat was custom-made with his initials monogrammed on the inside band. Crosby, Hope, and a couple of other guys who knew the accountant pretty well went out and got a hat two sizes bigger -- the same make and style, with the same initials monogrammed inside -- and switched hats. The accountant came out of his office, put on the hat, and it slid down to his ears. He was chagrined beyond belief, but when he looked inside the hat he saw his own initials. He started feeling his head as if maybe it had strunk. He put paper inside the brim for the time being, so it would fit all right until he could get it sized. The next day he came in and hung up his hat with the paper in it, and while he was working in his office, then took his old hat, put paper in it, and hung it up. He came out, got his hat, and now it's a beanie. The guy went berserk. I am enjoying moderating this zine, keep that mail coming! Eric Klien Up