Austrian End of Game Statement
Nathan Barnes Played Austria
Before anything else: this game ended the way it did entirely because the German had pressing issues in the real word. The fact that no one has been in touch with him is a little disturbing, and I, for one, hope he's ok. That said, here's how the game went:
First and foremost, I went to Alan, whom I had attacked the 8 (count, um, 8) games I had played with him previously. I was determined to break new ground, and told him that I was not going to be attacking him. Early on Italy and I came to an understanding. Ben was busy, and more interested in testing the waters with that open Swi to the West. This worked great for me, obviously, so I turned to the East.
The Russia was my original target. Turkey seemed to be onboard, saying that he would open to the Black. I saw a lot of dots in the Balkans. So I headed that way, thinking I had secured Gal to be open. The wily Russian new better -- he let me into Rum, and took Gal.
That changed everything, so I joined forces with the Russian to take out the Turk. This worked reasonably well, helped sometimes by Rob's movements, which I must assume had some connection to his negotiations with the Russian
The German was growing rapidly, and the Russian was quickly growing concerned. So, I took advantage of Adam a little bit - I asked for more builds from the Turk to attack the German with. I stalled for a year while the Russian went to Sil, and I my unit on Tyr supported him into Mun after I warned Alan. At this point, I turned on Adam.
Well, this would have been a great plan. I took War, and things were going great. The Turk was down to two, and France was falling to the combined weight of BIG.
Then, either due to poor communication, or perhaps he just plain didn't care, the German left me high and dry in WAR! Adam kicked me out with ease, and not only did he not lose anything, but he was going to GAIN a dot, because I had taken Rum and left Ser open -- thinking that by gaining two, I could just pop Russia out.
I was screwed. Here I was fighting Russia by myself! So, in perhaps the only negotiation I was proud of, I got a hold of Adam, and we decided to both DISBAND our units. This put him back on the line against the German, and me back on the front, presumably to fight the German as well.
The Turk was still floating around down there, and being without fleets, I needed his help into Gre. And I was quite serious about having him be the fleet component of a RAT. Sadly, he was hesitant, and just couldn't get going -- at one point, he let the British know about our joint operation to get the ION, setting us back another year. I grew impatient and couldn't take the risks -- between Britain and I, we sank the last Turkish Fleet.
By this point, the French had somehow fought the Italians back, as the British and the Germans we're completely locked down and at each other's throats.
I had to make some decisions. I didn't want to attack the Russian, as he'd proven to be a stalwart ally, and I deeply valued my peace with Germany and my goal of not attacking him. I was left with little option except to take out the Italian. He was out of touch, and I knew that Ben had better things to be doing anyway -- he'd told me as much. So I did him a favor and attacked him.
Working with the French I was able to secure Swi, and then Mil. Russia was still pressing to attack the German, and I was running out of excuses. I started building Fleets so that I could get out and work against other foes, rather than attack either one of them.
An opportunity presented itself, when I made plans with Adam to defend against his German attacker. (I didn't want to attack them, but I was perfectly content with them fighting one another). Adam left Sev open, and I could take Con. I realized this would leave Russia totally crippled, and I would have been obligated to attack him just to keep Alan honest. I informed Alan.
That's when Alan disappeared. I took Con, but Adam ended up with StP! Again, Adam stayed static, and was annoyed with me. That was the last straw. I didn't know at the time, that Alan wouldn't be returning, but I made the decision to go with Adam once and for all, damn the torpedoes.
I actually kind of dreaded it, because it was going to be a hard slog against the Army heavy German. I knew we could get help from the British who had been pleading for help for years, but it still seemed to be an unattractive choice.
The rest is history. We went and attacked him, and because he wasn't there to defend I was able to make ridiculous movements and not have to worry about supporting my SC's. I was just in the right place at the right time, and gambled that if Alan missed on turn, he wasn't coming back. Whereas Britain was less sure, and in a much more precarious position, so he didn't start rolling against him fast enough.
Individually:
Brad: Sorry it didn't work out my friend. Had Alan continued playing, it would have been you, me, and Russia. It would have taken all of us to take out Alan. I might have been able to weasel out a solo, but the 3 way seems more likely. I enjoyed talking about it FtF as MSG and other events.
Doug: Again, you got hosed, but I would have kept you around and not taken Mar had Alan been around. You were in a great position to stage a comeback. We talked early about a great plan that sort of fell by the wayside. I blame the Italian.
Ben: Man. Too much school! Always a pleasure though.
Rob: Not sure what our problem was -- we came up with grand schemes, and we tried to work them out, but somehow they never turned out. Something we will have to work on, because the RAT would have been interesting. I was really into the idea. Ah well. The British with all their fleets was a bit unnerving.
Adam: I love ya. You were working your mojo constantly. TWICE I tried to kick you down and you came back. I really respect that. You saw that I couldn't do it by myself, and you were there saying "what? gonna do that by yourself? Check out the HUGE GERMAN." You sensed my relationship with the German despite my denials, and still worked hard to put me in awkward positions that worked to your advantage. I also have profound respect for your vision on the double disband move. I thought it was brilliant, and I'm glad that you either 1) saw the brilliance, or 2) knew the value of humoring my request.
Alan: My friend? Where have you gone? We did so well! We could have been all over this board, and done very, very well. Not sure how it would have ended, but I was very curious to see how it would have turned out. Hosing me in WAR soured things, but we could have made something work. I hope you are well.
Jerry: Commanding performance my friend. I very much respect the amount of work you put into this game. It would be my pleasure to be in another of your games. I also enjoyed your fake headlines. Something I'm trying to copy, but I've yet to develop your flair.
Again, thanks all. See you all soon. It's great to play with friends rather than strangers.
Nathan