Chapter 25: “Time To Stab The Kaiser”
Season Covered: Spring 1908 (Part I of II)
After the builds processed, I went to bed feeling great. When I woke up the next morning, I feared I may have to confront the lies I spun to make this success. As Ronald Reagan said in 1964, this game was now “a time for choosing,” and the other players may not choose me.
In any event, I made my own choice. Someway, somehow, I was going to move on Germany. He gave me the opening with that fleet build; and he is my only growth option.
The first issue is Warsaw. Austria wants to keep it, and Germany wants it. I kind of want Austria to keep it, but if I can’t stab Germany effectively, then I’ll close my window by supporting Austria, so I decide to play it down the middle for a bit.
This is a total lie. I know Germany is moving to Warsaw based on press he sent to me the night before:
In hindsight, I believe it was a critical error not immediately telling Austria I would support Warsaw. It may have gotten me out of the problem I would face with Turkey because I knew he was moving to Ukraine. Although, as you will see, Turkey demanded I support him into Ukraine no matter what. Ultimately, however, at the time of this press, however, I did not know Germany’s move set and whether I could stab effectively, so I wanted to hedge my bets with Austria.
My buddy Germany and I speak throughout the morning (my time) and late afternoon (his time). He sends me his moves. I know when Germany typically goes to bed, so I feel safe that I know what he’s doing. Unfortunately, he and Austria have made an arrangement over Warsaw:
I do this because I intend to stab Germany. As you can see above, Germany has also given me his moves, and tells me for a fact Baltic is holding. I reach out to France to set up the stab. The problem is, can I trust Germany really not to move to Denmark? It would really seem strange if he didn’t move there.
France is wary, and we bicker at first about our moves. I’ve learned that this is just par for the course with France, and the goal is to just keep plugging away with the man until a solution can be reached. This time, it was in both of our interests to find a solution.
The plan France and I worked out moves me towards German centers, but I make no outright stab. I hope I can finesse it with Germany, and I begin to formulate a few excuses.
