ar@duke.UUCP (Andrew L. Reibman) (07/11/85)
Line eaters beware!
The best first move saga continues....
Two fine articles have explored the best first move for Germany.
Now we move south to the sunny Mediterranean - Italy.
Italy and Austria share the dubious distinction of having
the only adjacent home centers on the map. Although the
close Austrian centers seem enticing, they are usually
poisoned fruit. It is a rare game that an early Italian invasion
can make headway against the Dual Monarchy without strong allies.
More likely, both Italy and Austria`s initial growth will be stunted,
leaving them to be snapped up by the emerging powers around them.
If Italy lines up with a Russo-Turkish alliance, Austria may
fall quickly but Italy will likely be the next victim.
For the fall primary Italian Options follow:
(1) A Ven - Tyr, A Rom-Ven, F Nap-Ion
(2) A Ven - Tri, A Rom-Ven, F Nap-Ion
If you must - these are the two spring attacks on Austria. Hopefully
Austria is caught unawares and is going for three builds or Russia
(anything less will bog down in a long war). If a center is gained in the
spring (2), Greece can be attacked in the fall without Turkish
help. This is risky, as the second fleet is really needed, even
if the Turks are active allies.
(3) A Ven H, A Rom-Apu, F Nap-Ion
Probably the most common single opening for Italy. It allows the
capture of Tunis by convoy, or if a northern invasion threatens,
with the fleet. Stronger, pro-austrian moves involve simultaneous
demilitaization of Venice and Trieste (probably to Tuscany). This
opening allows the classic Lepanto or an attack on France in 1902.
(4) A Ven-Pie, A Rom-Ven, F Nap-Tyr
(5) A Ven-Pie, A Rom-Tus, F Nap-Tyr
These moves are openly hostile to France. The second shows greater
trust in Austria (what are you doing attacking France if the
Austrians are streaming across the border?). The key question
is "when to attack France?" It may seem that participating in
a three way attack on France would be profitable - but -
in all likelihood this is probably the worst time. Given that
France falls quickly (3:1 - should take 3 seasons) where do you
think those English fleets will go? Its a long way from the
Mid-Atlantic to the Barents. France should only be attacked
if it is on the 2 side of a 2:1 northern split. In this case,
a gambit is to sacrifice Tunis in order to push the Fleet to Wes in
1901. This will allow you to force the Atlantic in 1902.
This should probably only be attempted if Marseilles' capture
seems likely (e.g. the German's in Burgundy).
Postscript:
Italy more than any other player must concentrate on "balance of power".
If a single dominant power emerges in either the East or West it is probable
that Italy will be its next victim. Therefore, more than any
other player and Italian's best 1901 is strategy is to wait and see.
A final aside:
I have an opening in an e-mail diplomacy game due to start this weekend.
Players should preferably be withing two (or at most three) hops of my
site. Send vitals plus a preference list.
Andrew Reibman
...!{ihnp4,allegra}!duke!arknight@rlgvax.UUCP (Steve Knight) (07/23/85)
Two interesting and offbeat Italian openings not covered by Andrew Reibman
are the Three Fleets opening and the Key Lepanto. Both require a strong
Austro-Italian alliance, and both are rife with possibilities for either
party to stab the other.
The Italian Three Fleets opening was invented by postal player Edi
Birsan in the early 1970's as a means of dealing with the sticky
problem of Italy's often-useless second army. The Key Lepanto,
invented by Jeff Key in the late 1960's, tries to get an additional
army into the Balkans for greater effectiveness against Turkey.
Both start out like a half-hearted attack on Austria:
A Ven-Tri
A Rom-Apu
F Nap-Ion
The tip off for the other powers is the failure to back up A Ven-Tri
with A Rom-Ven (and in any event, A Ven-Tyo generally makes for a more
effective assault on Trieste). When playing Three Fleets, the Austrian
player "responds" in the fall with a supported attack on the Italian
army in Trieste; Italy retreats it off the board (i.e., voluntarily
disbands it), and, having gained Tunis, builds two fleets for greater
flexibility in the Mediterranean. Of course, A Rom and F Nap do
not have to follow the normal Lepanto opening here.
In the fall of the Key Lepanto opening, Austria lets the Italian
A Tri-Ser succeed, having either left Serbia open in the spring (risky)
or ordering A Ser-Gre, F Alb S A Ser-Gre in the fall. Italy has thus
gained two builds with which to attack Turkey (or defend against an
adventurous France). The I/A alliance has two units poised against
Bulgaria while Austria still has two armies defending against Russia.
The Key Lepanto can thus be a great defense if the pre-S'01 diplomacy
indicates a definite R/T in the making.
Neither is an opening you're likely to see often, but both can be
very effective, at least partly due to their unexpectedness. Both
also require a good bit of trust on both Italy's and Austria's parts.
--
Steve Knight
{seismo,allegra,ihnp4,some other sites}!rlgvax!knightcjn@calmasd.UUCP (Cheryl Nemeth) (08/06/85)
Has the Spring 01 move for the Myers game been sent out?