German army to Silesia

Date sent: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 00:29:40 -0600
Subject: Dip Article

Hello Murky

I don't subscribe to afp dip. I have never read DiscWorld but I do like your site. I find it very informative. Hence I would like to submit a trial article for your stategy page. If you can find time to quickly read it I would like your opinion. It is short and based on my very limited experience.

Thanks
Greg Brown

I liked it, nice to have some food for thought, so here it is:

Germany: Army -> Sil

German Army to Silesia. What are you nuts? You upset the Russians and miss out on the lowlands. You can't defend yourself against a French English onslaught. Anyone dumb enough to do that deserves to get trounced. Yes this is possibly true. But Germany is usually destroyed by English convoys or Russian armies. This happens generally when its back is turned. These are the great worries for a German Kaiser in 1901.

Lets look at when you should not move to Silesia in Spring 1901.

1. Friendly Russia

   Nope move there. He is lying through his teeth. There is no such thing. If he grows at all he will be in Berlin quicker than you can say Ivan the Ter... See told you.

2. Austrian-Turkish Alliance

   Nope move there again. Try to get your piece. Warsaw, Sweden and maybe something else. An Austrian army in Warsaw is worse than a Russian one if he's got no where else to go.

3. Russian-Turkish Alliance

   Run there. A German army in Silesia coupled with 2 Austrian builds can hold out a long time against a Juggernaught. The bounce in Sweden will help lots too.

4. Austria-Russia

   Move there. This one has its ups and downs. But anything that makes for a big Russia is bad news. A Turkey-Italy-German Pact is not bad and hopefully will offset the Austrians-Russians enough to make some gains. You were supposed to be buddies with the Austrian anyway, what happened.

5. French-English Alliance

   Doesn't matter, quit. Everything you read tells you to get one of them to be your ally. Some, but not many, tell you that they both are trying to do the same thing. However, if you can convince France that you are not going to be anywhere near Burgundy and that he can have Belgium, that is pretty good. He may take your side. Offer England Belgium and St. Petersburg and no Russian Fleets in the north. Not bad. English German alliances I am told favor the English. I assume that is with equal centers. The idea then is to get way more centers. These would be Russian one and then see who is favoring whom.

The idea is to do it to Russia before he does it to you. A small investment of an army in Silesia and a bounce in Sweden makes life difficult for any Tsar in any situation. You get your 2 builds and are less of a threat to the powers in the west. This is good. The English alliance can last but the Russian one is a lie from the beginning. Don't do it. Russia will attack Germany in the middle game if he is a viable power. Therefore, make that move to Silesia and watch the nasty mail roll in.

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