My EOG
This was a very nervous game, but
strangely enjoyable, with plenty of cut and thrust. I’m very impressed with the list of players who were
involved. With hindsight, I’m
enjoying seeing what happened with the change of personnel. I didn’t pay great attention to people’s
playing style until the final few years, so it’s only now that I’m spotting
things.
Germany was a case in
point. I assumed it was always the
same player, since the Kaiser’s obsession with Burgundy continued
throughout. Very early England and
Russia ganged up on Germany, but I was its only target right from the
start. David fruitlessly took
Burgundy in 1903, then Kit did the same in 1907 and 1909 before a final
abortive trip to Piedmont. I had
assumed it was a particularly single-minded opponent, but I now assume that
it must be part of Germany’s psyche – he can ignore what’s going on in
Scandinavia, but French armies in Burgundy and Belgium cannot be disregarded.
Unfortunately for David and
Kit, it’s very easy to defend France against Germany when you have English favour. This was easily won thanks to England’s
early grab for Holland, a move which succeeded thanks to my encouraging
supports. Being so hard to come by in
gunboat, an alliance is rarely broken up by anything other than extreme
self-interest. David’s early efforts
to prompt an English stab were futile without sufficient circumstance.
Unfortunately, my happily
arranged alliance didn’t get me very far, as Shane was making no progress in
Scandinavia. Given how distracted he
was at the time, it’s hardly surprising.
The change in fortunes once Randall took over is marked. I expect if I hadn’t casually occupied the
English Channel so early, making a stab virtually impossible, he would have
moved on me earlier.
Russia’s ruler changed
twice. I’m surprised it was Deepak
who disappeared, but Yoav did a wonderful job of restabilising the country
before he too vanished. It seems to
have been Joe who risked Libby’s wrath through turning south and showing
remarkable aggression in the Balkans.
I particularly liked his willingness to attack and risk a centre
exchange instead of sitting back and defending.
The constant players were
perhaps the hardest to work out.
After a peculiar opening (either a very bold Key Lepanto or a slightly
half-hearted attack on Austria), Tony built an army. This was the right build against Austria,
but laid him completely open to me.
Italy can’t defend itself against France with only one fleet, and I
stripped my home garrison to the bare minimum to attack him. Nevertheless, Tony’s defence anticipated
my attacks more than once and I had barely broken through by the time Austria
joined the attack.
I’ve seen plenty of Don in
action through the games I’m running, so retrospectively I do recognise him
in Turkey’s play. While he does occasionally
make mistakes, he does have a certain swashbuckling flair. Things may have been very different if he
hadn’t misorded in Fall 1901, missing out on Bulgaria. Don’s unexpected appearance in Munich
certainly helped me against Germany, although it was Randall who finally
broke Germany by taking Denmark, forcing him to disband A Trl.
Meanwhile, Libby ruthlessly
dominated the Balkans as Austria. I’d
agree Russia’s stab on Austria helped me to win the game, but I expect it
came because Libby was looking so threatening at the time. There was a mass of red units on Russia’s
borders while my progress was painfully slow, making Austria public enemy
number one. I do wish I hadn’t had to
gain my solo through a merciless policy of taking Austrian centres, given
that Libby was attacking one of my main threats. I simply knew that no one could predict Libby’s moves, so
Austrian centres would not get any outside support. It’s a shame that Austria didn’t grab Moscow in the last season
to stay in the game as I expected.
Some may wonder whether things
would have been different if Austria had joined Russia in the stop-the-leader
alliance. The opportunity was there
in Winter 1913 if Libby had disbanded A War and A Sil. However, my attack had been timed to catch
Austria and Russia at the peak of their antagonism. Even if Libby had tried to co-ordinate with Russia, I suspect
that their tangled position would have stopped them putting up an effective
defence.
As it was, I used the confusion
to seize Galicia, which allowed me to set up a ‘fork’, to borrow a chess
term. Russia could protect his
position in Austria or the Balkans/Turkey, but not both. In the centre of the board, Randall’s
missed opportunity to convoy to Denmark in Fall 1914 allowed me to set up a
similar fork over Kiel and Berlin.
Overall, I’m very glad to have
won the game, seeing as how I had thought myself condemned to a draw by my
slow start (first year notwithstanding!).
I’m also pleased to have beaten an ‘all-star cast’, so thanks everyone
for playing and thanks Ian for a very efficient job of GM’ing.
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