Dixie Diplomacy

by Jim Cheaney

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Alternate Historical Background

July 3, 1863 --  Gen. Robert E. Lee (instead of ordering Pickett's ill-fated charge up Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg) listened to his chief adviser, Gen. James Longstreet, and ordered a second day of assaults on the Union's undermanned flank on Little Round Top, south of Cemetery Ridge.  The 20th Maine Infantry, led by Col. Joshua Chamberlain, had been decimated by the previous day's carnage, and were out of ammunition.  No match for the Confederate advance, the 20th Maine was routed.  The Union Army of the Potomac was crushed between the Confederate pincers, ending the war in the East.  President Hannibal Hamlin evacuated the government out of Washington to New York.  Vicksburg was relieved, Kentucky and Missouri officially joined the Confederacy, and the CSA was recognized by U.S. President George McClellan, who defeated Hamlin in 1864, and by Great Britain and other world powers.

1870 - 1895 --  With increasing costs of housing and food, and increasing mechanization on the farm, slave ownership becomes economically prohibitive.  One by one, Southern states begin freeing their slaves, beginning with Missouri and Maryland in 1870, and ending with Mississippi, Kentucky, and South Carolina in 1895.

1901 --  The Confederate Constitution, based on the Articles of Confederation (the failed U.S. constitution used between 1776 and 1787), proves to be as impractical and unwieldy for the CSA as it was for the USA 120 years earlier.  The CSA dissolves, leaving 6 major powers to jockey for power.

Can you lead your state to dominance at the dawn of a new century amid the ashes of Dixie?

Game Overview

Victory Conditions:    19 Supply Centers during a Winter build phase.

Game Rules:    All rules are identical to those in Standard Diplomacy.  Only the map is different.  The game begins in the Spring of 1901.

Land Bridges (marked in red on the map):  

Delmarva - Norfolk -- Both armies and fleets may move freely between Delmarva and Norfolk.

Kansas Nebraska - Iowa -- Not really necessary, but included to make it clear that KNe and Iow are adjacent (hidden behind the legend on the map).

River Systems navigable by fleets, but do not impede armies (marked in blue on the map):

Mississippi River -- Allows fleets to exist in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Bootheel, Land Between the Lakes, Reelfoot (west coast), Arkansas, Delta, Louisiana, Jackson, Pontchartrain, and Acadiana, and drains out into Mississippi Sound.

Ohio River -- Allows fleets to exist in Pennsylvania New Jersey (west coast), West Virginia, Ohio, Lexington, Louisville, Indiana, Owensboro, Land Between the Lakes, and Illinois, and drains out into the Mississippi River.

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway -- Allows fleets to exist in Land Between the Lakes, Reelfoot (east coast), Tennessee, Starkville, Tombigbee, and Mobile Bay, and drains out into Mississippi Sound.  (this waterway is about 80 years anachronistic, but hey, it's just a game)

For example, a fleet in Missouri can move to Iowa, Illinois, or Bootheel, but cannot move to Kansas Nebraska or to Ozarks.  An army in Missouri can move to any of those 5 spaces.

A fleet or army in Land Between the Lakes can move to Illinois, Indiana, Owensboro, Tennessee, Reelfoot (east or west coasts), or Bootheel.

The Powers, and Opening Positions:

Non-Standard Abbreviations:

All spaces follow the standard rule for Diplomacy abbreviations, except for those listed below.  Standard abbreviations are the first 3 letters of a 1-word name, 1 letter of the first word and 2 letters of the second word in a 2-word name, or 1 letter of each word in a 3-word name.

A full list of all spaces and all abbreviations can be found by clicking here.

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