Go Fasta Go Fasta

Winning with Italy the Fast Way

Leif Bergman

Italy is the country that I like the most to play. Italy's role in Europe is hard to define in the game of Diplomacy, and this is the greatness of Italy. All the other countries have their normal openings and strategies, but Italy alone is a sort of wildcard.

In the eastern part of the board, we have Russia, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary. Together the three of them create a formidable balance of power. In a normal game of Diplomacy you can count on certain moves and ideas from these powers, influencing the east together and separately. They will often take care of the situation themselves.

The situation in the west is the same: France, England, and Germany all have to focus their attention on the western part of the map. We often see two of the three in the west and two of the three in the east gang up on the third.

Your task as Italy, then, in the early stages of the game, is to make up the alliances. If you want to win with Italy you must use this uniquely Italian quality to decide what is to happen all around the map. So, what is it that you want to happen?

Western Europe

In the west, you want to see a long alliance between France and Germany, one in which Germany always has the upper hand. The target, of course, is England. If England is played by a competent player, then he can defend himself for a very long time and France and Germany will have only slow progress in the north. You would like England to be down to two units or less by about 1904. The important thing is that Germany is strong both on land and on the sea.

Meanwhile in the East

If you want to win the fast way, you have to crush the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, and you have to do it fast. Remember, your goal is to have 18 centers by 1908. There are a few important things to remember in the eastern campain. Ally yourself with Turkey against Austria-Hungary. Of course, Russia can join in the crusade, but it is no real problem if he does not.

Turkey cannot build fleets; allow him a maximum of one new fleet -- preferably zero. He only needs armies to take Austrian centers for himself. If he builds fleets, he is up to no good, and you should cancel your eastern attack as quickly as you can. The idea to present to the Turk is that after the death of Austria, you will help him fight Russia with some of your armies and that the rest of your units will swing north towards Germany. In the same manner, tell him your fleet will swing west and go fishing in Marseilles. For his part, the Turk should swing against Russia, with Moscow as his object.

This will, of course, not happen; instead, use the armies you have in the east to take both the Turkish and the Russian centers. While you work towards your main goal in the Balkans -- to be bigger than the Turk and the Russian player together -- you have to talk, talk, and talk. You will help the Turk to Rumania "next year" -- no problem. And yes, you tell the Turk, "Greece will be yours next year, or perhaps you want to have Serbia so you can take Rumania by yourself."

The thing is that you, as Italy, always have the upper hand. Remind the Turk that if you take the center now, and give it to him later, Austria will die even faster and that is the main goal of the alliance. "After the elimination of Austria," you promise, "we can arrange the borders, but right now he has to die."

Around 1903 or 1904, Austria is dead and you have around seven to nine centers. Turkey has six or so and Russia is under hard pressure from you and Turkey. This is the time when your hammer falls. Your ally in the east becomes Russia, and in the west Germany. You have the force to help them both: Germany against France and Russia against Turkey.

You should help the Russian for about one move and then start the war against him. Take Bulgaria, Rumania, Galicia, and preferably the Aegean. Then keep the momentum and battle your way into Ukraine, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Silesia. Grab Warsaw and Constantinople, get units behind the line, and get Russia worried about your units in Livonia and Armenia so that you can establish a line that will take one or two centers a year until 1908 when you take Ankara and Moscow. The builds that you get produce new fleets for your quest for Iberia.

The war you wage with Germany against France will give you the last needed centers to get 18 and a solo win. When you have established a stronghold on the Balkans and the Mediterranean, and a beachhead in France it becomes a strategic exercise; there simply isn't much that the other players can do to stop you from grabbing at least 14 centers and making a stalemate line yourself. Use this fact and you shall see that on the next turn they won't worry about you extending beyond the stalemate line you point out to them, and that one turn is all you need.

The Tactics and Talking

I have taken three solo wins with Italy in tournament play and they have all been won using the same basic strategy. The first years moves are:

A Ven - Tyr A Rom - Apu

F Nap - Ion

The talking goes as follows.

To Turkey: I will open with a Lepanto, but if you don't move your fleet to Constantinople the first move , I will do something else (crush Austria with you). Point out your army in Tyrolia and he will think that you are a nice guy.
To Austria-Hungary: I will do a Lepanto so that we can take on the evil Turk and share his centers. My army in Tyrolia is to help you protect Vienna against Galicia and to help Germany against the possible French move to Burgundy. If tehe Austrian player is a good player, he will belive you, and will play along in the Lepanto. Another thing Austria-Hungary should do is move Budapest to Rumania. If it succeeds, it is good for the Lepanto momentum, and if it dosen't succeed Russia still has to take it by force in the Fall and that, you point out, leaves Galicia open for his Vienna army.
To Russia: Turkey is going to the Black Sea; lose it or protect it. I am going for a Lepanto and I hope that you join in. Later on we can together take the dual monarchy. But remember to protect the Black Sea.

If you are successful in your diplomacy, the board will look as follows in the Fall.

Russia: F Sev (bounced with the Turkish Ankara fleet in Black Sea), A Ukr and A War (bounced in Galicia with Austria'a Vienna army).
Turkey: F Ank (bounced with Russia in Black Sea), A Bul and A Arm.
Austria: A Vie (bounced with Russia in Galicia), A Rum and F Alb
Italy: A Tyr, A Apu and F Ion.

In the west, things have started to sort themselves out. England is heading for St. Petersburg, Germany for Edinburgh and Sweden, France for Belgium and Liverpool.

Fall 1901

In the Fall, you continue the same line of talk with Russia and Austria. The change comes in your talking to the Turk. Tell him that you will stop your Lepanto and convoy your army in Apulia to Grecce and that you want his support. Nine times out of ten he will give to you, because he will see a war between Italy and Austria as a good thing for Turkey. In return, you tell him, you will not build any fleets and you will either help him to Serbia next year or exchange Serbia for Grecce.

Your Fall moves are:

A Tyr - Tri (or to Vienna, depending on whether you think the Austrian player will bounce in Galicia or try to protect Trieste)
A Apu - Gre (with the support from Turkey)
F Ion C A Apu - Gre

At the end of the year, you build two armies -- one in Venice and the other in Naples. Then, in 1902, your goals are Serbia, Tyrolia, and Albania. The Spring moves look like this:

A Tri S A Gre - Ser (or A Gre S A Tri - Ser)
A Ven - Tyr
A Nap - Gre (or A Nap - Alb)
F Ion C A Nap - Apu (or into Greece)

In the Fall, you take Serbia or Vienna or maybe both. If you get one build you build an army in either Vence or Naples. It depends how you feel Turkey will react to a new army in Naples, but this is the better build site choice for you. If a second build is available, you build a fleet in Rome.

In 1903, you pick up Tunis and fight for Budapest, Vienna, and perhaps Bulgaria. Your next build is an army, which should keep both Turkey and France nice and unworried. You now have Greece, Serbia, Budapest, Trieste, Vienna, Tunis, and your home centers. And it's time to begin the war with Turkey as discussed above.

In my game at World DipCon VI in Columbus, Ohio, my supply center gains were as follows:

(Here the push for Iberia came)
1901	Trieste, Greece
1902	Serbia
1903	Vienna, Budapest
1904	Bulgaria, Rumania, Tunis
1905	Constantinople, Marseilles
1906	Smyrna, Sevastopol, Spain
1907	Munich, Warsaw, Moscow (losing Bulgaria to the Turk)

This is one of the ways you can give Italy the glory that it deserves in Europe.

Leif Bergman
(sverok@netg.se)

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