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Late May, 1914.
"War, the whole of Europe sits on the brink, ready and eager, and all that is lacking is one little nudge." Pierre Paul Cambon, French Ambassador to London, important figure for the negotiations for Entente Cordiale, rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Every day, I look through the papers and guess as to which event will send us careening down the side of this mountain."
There was a moment of silence. Then, from across the veranda table, beginning with a quite rumble as like to a train working up steam, there came an answer.
"Indeed."
Monsieur Cambon glanced towards his companion peevishly, his frustration not because of his companions taciturn nature, but rather a byproduct as he gave full vent towards his own mental irritation.
"It almost came about in the Balkan wars, but we where not ready."
"Now, when my government has expressed to me their intent on assisting the Russians, especially in any way that would limit the power of the German Kaiser, when the French people are eager for war, when our armies are superior in number and our will to expunge the memory of our defeats is great.
When all this is in our favor...then we wait, with baited breath, and I feel the wait of the anticipation has aged me beyond my natural years."
He paused, his irritation voiced. Across the veranda table, his companion methodically puffed at his pipe. Both men looked across the wide stretch of lawn and into the valley beyond, filtered by a golden hue as the sun sank slowly behind the hills.
"My brother in Berlin writes that war is coming. He hears the murmurs and whispers of preparations for war, every unit has marching orders, every train has their route planned."
"It is the quite shuffle of leaves blown on the fringes of an advancing storm."
He lapsed into silence. Nothing was left to be said.
It was a companionable silence. Of the type that generally haunts the evening of a summers day.
Out here on the veranda, seated with a brandy at their elbows and a wisp of smoke coiling up from his cigar lying neglected on the table, as the remaining vestiges of the evening color began to leached from the sky.
Monsieur Cambon, ambassador to London, admitted that the color looked very much like blood.
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Greetings!
Haven't quite started any game just yet as we our waiting for our third player. We plan on giving it a day more.
If no one fancies joining us by then, I plan on taking the whole of the Entente.
So I'm trying a different AAR style. Not every chapter will have a little story like this, especially if I play both Entente sides. But I plan to interlace a short story every couple chapters if I have time. Also, just because I'm writing about a Western Entente character doesn't mean I'm happy to play just the Eastern Entente.
I want to also explore writing from different angles and different perspectives. For instance; I plan on creating a couple fellows in a couple random divisions as persons that I will occasionally write about, and wherever I happen to send that division so the story will be forced to follow.
So far, I think I shall perhaps choose a French Commander, a British Navy Sailor, a Canadian Infantryman or Cavalryman, Serb mountaineer, and so on. Every once in a while I shall have a little story on them. But I think generally I shall write about a bunch of people, and then the ones I like will be reoccurring.
I realize I am not a fantastic writer, but I figure if I keep writing then I will get better and it could take less time to write anything as well. Also, my history on the Western Front is by far a lot more rusty then my Eastern (As my family is Czech and all my grandparents fought for the Austria-Hungarians.), so if anyone finds historical inaccuracies and idiocies, please, I'd be more then happy to edit my post to conform to what is more plausible.
Also, on the same beseeching note, I confess I am not a fantastic player. I have only...a half dozen games under my belt, and most of those never progressed beyond Late 1915. So if anyone has some tactical advise they think I would benefit from. Please let me know! I am more then willing to learn. :-)
Also, this game, pretty much from here on out, is off bounds for my opponent.
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