1900 Analysis

[natnat]

France is horrendously weak in this version. There is just so much friction with Britain early on it makes it nigh on impossible to have a good relationship. This also coupled with Italy's ability to launch West straight from 1901 with taking Switzerland and moving into Piedmont doubling on Marseilles in the spring and the Tyhren Sea adjacent to Algeria. Germany often allows and even encourages Italy to do this as all it does for Germany is give her a free rein East and and North early one eating neutral SC's early on and then turning south to crush a fleet based Italy later on.

[ExiledAtHome]

The key in 1900 as either England or France is an early partnership with the other that is mutually beneficial. The two are almost mandated allies, lest they gut one another early and leave the spoils to Germany, Italy, Russia, and even Turkey.

Without good relations, France cetainly finds the English presence in Gibraltar to be a constant threat, and England finds the prospect of an isolated Egyptian garrison to be a huge setback.

The two must agree, right away, on shared division of the southwestern SCs, with France holding priority on the MAO, as it's too much trust, too early, to allow England to hold this. The Channel must be a DMZ. The French fleet in MAO can allow English fleets to pass through to Egypt, or the English can sail east through Gibraltar to aid their Egyption unit. It's logical, therefore, that England secure Portugal, and France take Morocco and Spain.

Ths arrangement allows for both to secure early SCs, without blocking one another, but the two must work as one, and this requires a tremendous amount of trust. If this can be attained, then France/England can be a lethal force that dominates both the northern waterways around Germany and Russia, and the entire Mediterranean against Italy and Turkey.