Mr. Bourdeau's World History Blog

Diplomacy 2012!

2011-12-22T09:25:00.150-05:00

FALL 1906 MOVEMENTS

HEADLINES

England continues to strengthen – I take back all the bad things I said about their leadership
France getting well positioned in the Mediterranean
It the Russia/Turkey alliance stalling?
Germany, Italy, and Austria still alive -- barely

ORDERS

Orders in parentheses fail. All other orders succeed. Please let me know if I did something wrong.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: no orders submitted – civil disorder
ENGLAND: A Bel-Den; F North Sea C Bel-Den; F Kiel S Bel-Den; F Hol S F Kiel; (F Norway-Swe); F Norwegian Sea-Barents Sea
FRANCE: F Mid-Atlantic-West Med; F Bre H; A Gas S Bre H; A Pie S ITALIAN A Ven H; A Tyr-Nap; (F Ion-Eas)
GERMANY: A Ber S Mun; A Mun S Ber
ITALY: no orders submitted – civil disorder
RUSSIA: (F Den-Norway); (F Swe S Den-Norway); (F St.P (sc) S Den-Norway); A Bud-Vie; A Gal S Bul-Vie; A War-Liv; F Bla H
TURKEY: A Tri-Ven; F Adr S Tri-Ven; A Ser-Tri; F Aeg-Ion; F Eas S Aeg-Ion; F Con-Aeg

COMMENTARY

Russia order Den-Norway is invalid. They aren’t adjacent to each other.
Note: The fleet in St. Petersburg can not support an action in Norway because it’s entered St. Petersburg from the south coast. It’s like the ships are on the south coast and there is no canal for them to travel to the north coast and the Barents Sea.
Russia wins in Vienna 2-1. Austria is in civil disorder, so the unit is disbanded.
England wins in Denmark 2-1. Russia retreats to the Skagerrak.
The action in Sweden is a 1-1 stalemate. The English fleet goes back.
Thanks to the support received from France, the poor abandoned Italian army in Venice holds off Turkey 2-2. The Turkish army goes back to Trieste, which means the army that came from Serbia goes back as well
Turkey wins in the Ionian Sea 2-1. France retreats to Tunis.

SUPPLY CENTER INVENTORY & ADJUSTMENTS

Here is a list of who controls what supply center after Fall 1906. Changes in supply center ownership since Fall 1905 are in CAPS.

Edinburgh: England
Liverpool: England
London: England
Brest: France
Marseilles: France
Paris: France
Berlin: Germany
Kiel: England
Munich: Germany
Budapest: Austria-Hungary (While Russia entered Budapest in the spring, it left. Supply center ownership is only determined in the fall. Since it is empty, it remains Austrian.)
Trieste: Turkey
Vienna: RUSSIA
Naples: FRANCE
Rome: Italy
Venice: Italy
Moscow: Russia
St. Petersburg: Russia
Sevastopol: Russia
Warsaw: Russia
Ankara: Turkey
Constantinople: Turkey
Smyrna: Turkey

Portugal: France
Spain: France
Belgium: England
Holland: England
Tunis: France
Norway: England
Sweden: Russia
Denmark: ENGLAND
Serbia: Turkey
Greece: Turkey
Rumania: Russia
Bulgaria: Turkey

Based on this, here is the number of supply centers each Great Power controls. The first one to 18 supply centers wins.

ENGLAND: 8 supply centers controlled -> 7 units on board (+1 build -- F Edi)
FRANCE: 7 supply centers controlled -> 6 units on board (+1 build -- F Mar)
GERMANY: 2 supply centers controlled -> 2 units on board (no change)
ITALY: 2 supply centers controlled -> 2 units on board (no change)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: 1 supply center controlled -> 0 unit on board (+1 build -- nothing submitted)
RUSSIA: 7 supply centers controlled -> 7 units on board (no change)
TURKEY: 7 supply centers controlled -> 7 units on board (no change)

Spring 1907 orders are due Wednesday February 1 at 8pm.

Background About Diplomacy

Diplomacy is a board game that is a little like Risk, but I think its better because there are no dice, no tables, no element of chance whatsoever. Whether you win or lose is up to you and your wits. Also, it is a lot of fun to play by email -- that's how my students (current and former) are doing it.

The object of the game is to conquer pre-World War I Europe (in this case control at least half of the supply centers on the continent). Five teams from my freshmen classes, plus two sets of Bourdeau "Alumni", has control of one of the seven great powers of Europe of the time -- either England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, or Turkey. Gameplay started during Christmas break and will continue into the new year. Once the game is finished, all of my current students can voluntarily write a reflection for extra credit about how similar the game was to what really happened in history and how it differed.

This blog is where I post moves and results. Players can add comments below as they wish. Remember, messages on the blog can be seen by anyone. I will have to approve messages before they are added to the blog. Also, I will not approve a comment that has any last names included.

Helpful Resourses
Below are links to some videos that explain the game and the basics on how its played. The guy talks pretty fast, but don't worry. Since most will be new to this, I will help people with the rules as necessary to make sure the game is fair and fun. I've also added a link to the rulebook if you want to review it. If you really want to dive into what this is all about, just Google "Diplomacy game" and you will have a plethora of links to chose from.

The Game of Diplomacy pt 1 - Introduction
The Game of Diplomacy pt 2 -- Moves
The Game of Diplomacy pt 3 -- Adjudication
The Game of Diplomacy pt 4 -- Special Places
The Rulebook

You can get the handout I gave out in class introducing the game from the World History Handouts page on my website. You can also get a copy of the basic rules and the conference map from there.

Diplomacy!

2010-12-18T12:56:00.271-05:00

After 10 years, the European war is over! England gained control of 20 supply centers and is the winner. Below is the final status of the game -- after the Fall 1910 orders. If you double click on the map, a bigger version should open up in a separate window.

Last Set of Orders/Results: FALL 1910

HEADLINES

• ENGLAND GAINS CONTROL OF THE MAJORITY OF EUROPE – GAME OVER

ORDERS

Orders in parentheses fail. All others succeed. See commentary below for explanation.

ENGLAND: A Paris H; A Brest-Gas; A Wal-Por; F Eng C A Wal-Por; F Mid Atlantic C Wal- Por; A Spain S Wal-Por; A Hol-Ruhr; F Bel H; A Mun H; A Prussia- Silesia; A Galicia-Vie; A Moscow- Sevastopol; A Ukraine S Moscow- Sevastopol; F Baltic-Berlin; F North Sea do an Irish Jig (Hold)
FRANCE: A Bur H: A Mar H; (F Por H); F Gulf of Lyon H
TURKEY: F Tyr-West Med; F Tun S Tyr-West Med; F Ion-Tyr; A Rom-Ven; (F Tus-Gulf of Lyon); A Tyr-Munich; A Vie-Boh; A Ank-Arm; F Aeg-Ion; (A Pie-Mar); F Bla-Con; F Rum-Bla; A Bul-Rum; A Bud S Bul-Rum (A Sev H)

COMMENTARY

• The English attack on Portugal succeeds 2-1.The French fleet has nowhere to retreat and is disbanded.
• The English attack on Sevastopol succeeds 2-1.The Turkish army has nowhere to retreat and is disbanded.
• The Turkish attack on Munich is a 1-1 draw. The Turkish army must go back.
• The Turkish attack on the Gulf of Lyon is a 1-1 draw. The Turkish fleet must go back.
• The Turkish attack on Marseilles is a 1-1 draw. The Turkish army must go back.

FINAL SUPPLY CENTER CONTROL

Here is a list of who controls what supply center after Fall 1910. Changes in supply center ownership since 1909 in CAPS.

Edinburgh: England
Liverpool: England
London: England
Brest: England
Marseilles: France
Paris: ENGLAND
Berlin: England
Kiel: England
Munich: England
Budapest: Turkey
Trieste: Turkey
Vienna: ENGLAND
Naples: Turkey
Rome: Turkey
Venice: Turkey
Moscow: England
St. Petersburg: England
Sevastopol: ENGLAND
Warsaw: England
Ankara: Turkey
Constantinople: Turkey
Smyrna: Turkey

Portugal: ENGLAND
Spain: ENGLAND
Belgium: England
Holland: England
Tunis: Turkey
Norway: England
Sweden: England
Denmark: England
Serbia: Turkey
Greece: Turkey
Rumania: Turkey
Bulgaria: Turkey

Based on this, here are the number of supply centers each Great Power controls. The first one to 18 supply centers wins.

ENGLAND: 20 supply centers controlled -> WINNER
TURKEY: 13 supply centers controlled -> 2nd Place
FRANCE: 1 supply centers controlled -> 3rd Place
RUSSIA: 4th Place
ITALY: 5th Place
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: 6th Place
GERMANY: 7th Place

Congratulations to Period 4 for a well-earned victory. It was clear from the start that you were a force to be reckoned with, but the rest of the players could not figure out how to slow you down. History gives us one answer, but I will see if that comes out in our class discussion about this when we get back on Monday.

Thank you to everyone who played. Without your sustained interest and involvement the game would not have turned out as well as it did.

The reflection assignment instructions are posted on my website, as are all of the maps from the beginning of the game until the end. The tentative due date is Friday March 4.

Background About Diplomacy

Diplomacy is a board game that is a little like Risk, but I think its better because there are no dice, no tables, no element of chance whatsoever. Whether you win or lose is up to you and your wits. Also, it is a lot of fun to play by email -- that's how my students (current and former) are doing it.

The object of the game is to conquer pre-World War I Europe (in this case control at least half of the supply centers on the continent). Each of my classes (plus two sets of Bourdeau "Alumni") has control of one of the seven great powers of Europe of the time -- either England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, or Turkey. Gameplay started during Christmas break and has continued into the new year. The freshman class that does the best (has the most control centers at the end of the game) wins a pizza party from me. Once the game is finished, all of my current students can voluntarily write a reflection for extra credit about how similar the game was to what really happened in history and how it differed.

This blog is where I post moves and results. Players can add comments below as they wish. Remember, messages on the blog can be seen by anyone. I will have to approve messages before they are added to the blog. Also, I will not approve a comment that has any last names included.

Helpful Resourses
Below are links to some videos that explain the game and the basics on how its played. The guy talks pretty fast, but don't worry. Since most will be new to this, I will help people with the rules as necessary to make sure the game is fair and fun. I've also added a link to the rulebook if you want to review it. If you really want to dive into what this is all about, just Google "Diplomacy game" and you will have a plethora of links to chose from.

The Game of Diplomacy pt 1 - Introduction
The Game of Diplomacy pt 2 -- Moves
The Game of Diplomacy pt 3 -- Adjudication
The Game of Diplomacy pt 4 -- Special Places
The Rulebook

You can get the handout I gave out in class introducing the game from the World History Handouts page on my website. You can also get a copy of the basic rules and the conference map from there.

Gavrilo's Princip's Deli Sandwich / I Started World War I

2010-12-14T22:19:00.003-05:00

For the rest of the year, I will use this blog to post articles/websites/podcasts etc. that give my history students a chance to learn about some of the things we discussed in class in more depth. I'm hoping to do at least one per unit, but we shall see. Each will be rolled out after we cover them in class.

Responding to these posts will be voluntary. Every student that makes at least one comment that adds to the post's discussion and meets the criteria detailed below will earn +2 points extra credit (kind of like an extra credit on a test or "tiz."). I will accept comments up until 11:59pm on Tuesday December 21.

This first post is about the start of World War I. As we have discussed, the spark that started World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. On my website, in the Unit 5 World War I folder toward the bottom of the World History Handouts page, are two articles:

"Gavrilo's Princip's Deli Sandwich" from History's Worst Decisions by Stephen Weir
"I Started World War I" from Weird History 101 by John Richard Stephens

Read BOTH articles, reflect on what they say, and then post a comment. Your comment should be 100 words or more and follow the flow of the discussion thread. It also has to address one or more of the following:

Do you think World War I was inevitable? You must include evidence from both articles to support your thinking, but you can additionally provide evidence from your head/anywhere else if you want. Give any outside source credit by citing him/her.
Compare and/or contrast the two articles. Include details from both readings.
Discuss the most interesting thing you read/saw. Say why it was so interesting. Include specific details from both readings.
Build upon something said in a previous comment (Although "Yeah, what he/she said" comments don't count -- add some original thought). You must include specific details from both readings, but you can also provide evidence from your head/anywhere else if you want. Give any outside source credit by citing him/her.
Disagree with any previous comment and explain why. Keep it civil. You must include evidence from both articles to support your thinking, but you can additionally provide evidence from your head/anywhere else if you want. Give any outside source credit by citing him/her.

How To Post A Comment
In order to comment, you must first click where it says how many comments have been made at the bottom of the post. The comment field then should be at the end of all the existing comments. Do not use your full name or the full name of any other student that has posted a comment. Your post will be rejected if it includes a full name. First name, last initial works well. If you have a Google Mail account you can obviously use that profile. Just make sure you put your first name and last initial at the end of your post if you have some kind of funky user name. You can also comment as "Anonymous", but again provide your first name and last initial at the end of your post. I can't give you credit if I don't know who you are!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

2010-09-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

Hi! I hope the beginning of your high school career has started well. For your first blog assignment, I would like you to consider the following:

Do you already know what you want to be when you grow up? If you do, what things do you think you would have to do to achieve your goal? If you aren't sure yet about what you what to do (which probably will be most of you :) ) what possible careers would you consider, based on your interests and what you do well? What do you think you would have to do as a teenager and young adult in order to do these jobs?

I would like you to post one, and only one, comment, addressing these questions. Your comment must be between 100 and 125 words. The best way to know if you are in the ballpark is to copy and paste your submission into Microsoft Word and perform a "word count" under the "Review" tab. You must post your comment by Friday 9/10 at 4pm sharp. Your response will be evaluated based on the homework rubric, but will only be worth a maximum of 5 points.

Be sure to read the other comments of before you post. You may want to elaborate, contradict, agree or disagree with a point made. Note I will be moderating comments and will reject them if I feel that they are inappropriate or don't meet the length criteria. If that happens I will let you know, but then it is up to you to submit a new post. For blog assignment I suspend the late policy -- if you do not submit an approved post by the deadline you will earn a zero.

How To Post A Comment

In order to comment, you must first click where it says how many comments have been made at the bottom of the post. The comment field then should appear at the end of all the existing comments. Please do not use your full name or the full name of any other student that has posted a comment. Your post will be rejected if it includes a full name. First name, last initial works well. If you have a Google Mail account you can obviously use that profile -- just make sure you put your first name and last initial at the end of your post if you have some kind of funky user name. You can also comment as "Anonymous", but again provide your first name and last initial at the end of your post. Also include what period you have me. I can't give you credit if I don't know who you are!

If you have any problems with the process let me know.