Properties and GeographyDenmark, as it can be guessed from its inclusion in this series of articles, is a supply center. Initially neutral, it rarely remains so after the first year of the game. With Norway and Sweden, Denmark is one of the neutral supply centers belonging to Scandinavia, which is the second largest set of neutrals (after the Balkans). Scandinavia is located between England, Germany and Russia (but could also be reached by a successful France), and the narrowness of land connections with the European mainland makes it difficult for southern countries to reach, as some amount of fleet control is needed to secure these centers. A typical 1901 split of Scandinavia gives Norway to England, Sweden to Russia, and Denmark, which is our main concern here, to Germany. Surrounding SpacesDenmark (DEN), being a Supply Center, is a land province. Starting from the north and going clockwise, it is surrounded by Skaggerak (SKA), Sweden (SWE), the Baltic Sea (BAL), Kiel (KIE), the Helgoland Bight (HEL), and the North Sea (NTH). This number of neighbors is not unusual in itself, but what is unusual is the fact that Denmark borders more seas (4) than land areas (2). This property is almost unique among supply centers, as Denmark shares it only with Tunisia. It means that paying attention to the type of unit used in Denmark is even more important than it may be for other areas of the board. Another interesting property is that Denmark, just like Kiel, Sweden and Constantinople, has no coasts, while it is bordered by sea provinces which are not in direct contact. A fleet cannot move from BAL to NTH or the other way round, but a fleet arriving in Denmark from either BAL or NTH will reach the same place. Stalemate LinesA couple of interesting facts can be deduced from the Danish geographical position. As it is completely surrounded by water except for its boundaries with Kiel and Sweden, Denmark is impossible to take with armies only, if the attacker does not control both sides of it. It is well-known that St. Petersburg cannot be taken from the south by a power with no northern fleets, as Livonia and Moscow are the only land spaces on its southern border. Even more obvious is the fact that Denmark, if it is occupied by a northern unit, cannot be taken by a lone army in Kiel, and bringing more armies on the southern side of the Baltic cannot change anything. Actually, three units in Scandinavia (for instance in DEN, NWY and STP) can hold the stalemate line around the four "Scandinavian" centers (DEN, SWE, NWY, STP) forever against a southern attack, provided that no fleet can slip behind and provide or cut a support. Opening ThoughtsMost German openings involve a Spring 1901 move from the fleet in Kiel into Denmark. Several reasons make this move preferable to KIE-HOL (or the more exotic options). First of all, this move secures Denmark, while trying to get it with an army in Fall is not as sure. Such a move could be bounced by an English fleet coming from North Sea; even worse, the army would remain in Kiel, which is the privileged building spot for German fleets, especially when England is hostile (and we can assume that most of such bounces are, indeed, hostile) Bounce in SwedenAnother important reason why Germany usually likes to occupy Denmark is that it gives the option to bounce Russia out of Sweden in the Fall (or at least to threaten to do so). This situation is unique on the board: Russia can do absolutely nothing to get Sweden in 1901 if Germany does not want him to get it (while England, for instance, can always secure Norway if he decides to commit enough units to do so, even if Russia moves to STP in Spring 1901), and the German position on the board is not damaged by this bounce (while an Italian fleet trying to bounce an Austrian unit in Greece would have to renounce to Tunis in 1901). No Bounce in SwedenHowever, like in most situations in Diplomacy, the fact you can do something nasty to another power (in that case, deprive him of a build) does not mean that you should actually do so. In most cases, Germany is likely to prefer a 6-center friendly Russia to a 5-center hostile one. Although it has been said that Germany and Russia are doomed to fight sooner or later, that may happen in the very last stages of the game, if it ever happens, and during the first few seasons of the game, both Germany and Russia usually have more pressing concerns than their common border. Russia, with a fleet in Sweden, and possibly a unit built in St. Petersburg in 1901 (either an army or a fleet on the north coast), can definitely help Germany against England (either offensively or defensively). If England and France seem to be allied against Germany, or even if Germany has a slight suspicion it may be so, bouncing Russia out of Sweden may deprive him of a valuable northern ally. Even if the diplomatic link may not be hurt too much by such a move (actually, lots of Russian players expect that bounce, and do not really believe they can get Sweden easily), the positions of the German/Russian alliance are not as good with one missing unit and a fleet stuck in the Gulf of Bothnia, which cannot do anything, for instance, against Norway. Even if Germany does not really need help against England, having a relatively strong Russia can be to Germany’s advantage. Giving Russia a second build is the best way to make sure he will get at least one southern unit. If Turkey is hostile to Russia, Sweden may very well be the only build Russia gets, and the extra army may slow Turkey’s progress for several seasons. Since Germany as very little control about what Turkey can do, it may be interesting to make sure someone has some. It is quite easy for Germany to take Sweden for himself in 1902 anyway. In most cases, a supported move to BAL can be followed by a supported attack on SWE in the Fall (the fleet in Denmark provides the support in the Spring, and may be used as either the attacking or supporting unit in the Fall). Assuming that England is at least neutral to this plan, Sweden falls under German control. Except for the fact that Germany usually doesn't want to antagonise Russia in 1901, another reason why Germany may not bounce Russia out of Sweden is that the fleet might very well be moving somewhere else during the Fall moves. Other MovesAt first thought, it may seem strange for a power to voluntarily leave a supply center it doesn't own during Fall moves, but Germany can make use of another unit (usually the army starting in BER, which moves to KIE in most games) to capture Denmark. England usually has more important things to do with his fleet in NTH than try and bounce a possible move to Denmark, especially as in most cases, the German fleet stays where it is. Let's examine the other possible moves for this fleet. DEN-SKABy sending two units north, Germany establishes a claim on a larger share of the Scandinavian centers; this move could prepare a supported attack on Sweden as early as Spring 1902, as well as a possible action on Norway (in that case, it is likely that Sweden is on Germany's list of targets in a near future anyway). The Skagerrak also borders the North Sea, which may be a possible target as well; however, the fleet in SKA and the fleets that Germany can build in Winter 1901 will not be able to act together in Spring 1902 - except on Denmark, which is likely to be under German influence anyway. DEN-BALThis move may seem strange at first, as the fleet in KIE could have reached BAL in Spring 1901 anyway, but it only reveals the German intention of taking Sweden in the fall, which makes the capture of Denmark by the German army more likely to succeed. As the previous move to Skagerrak, it allows Germany to launch a supported attack on Sweden in Spring 1902, but does not give any opportunity on either North Sea or Norway (which is a strong alliance signal to England). DEN-NTHIn most cases, the English fleet which has entered North Sea in Spring 1901 is not very likely to leave it in Fall, being busy, in most cases, by a convoy to Norway or Belgium, or maybe a support to Norway. The attack of North Sea by a single fleet is thus quite unlikely to succeed. However, if you assume that the French fleet has opened into the English Channel, and support this German move into the North Sea, it is a wholly different story. This set of moves, known among other names as the Sealion Opening, is probably one of the strongest opening attack that two countries (France and Germany) can make against an unlucky victim (England). If England is caught unaware, enemy fleets occupy both ENG and NTH at the end of 1901, which gives them a chance to try two convoys into the English island, with the certainty that one of the convoying fleets, at least, will not be dislodged. Other articles have described this opening in details already - I will just mention the fact that one of its strong points, for Germany, is that it does not require any special moves to be made in Spring 1901. The French moves can seem suspicious to England, but Germany keeps his hands clean until he decides to go for the North Sea. DEN-HEL, DEN-KIEAlthough these moves may have some interests (either diplomatically, strategically or tactically), I must confess I have not found them yet. I will let you know when I have found something. No bounce in Sweden?Another interesting reason why Germany could want to refrain from bouncing Russia out of Sweden is that he may know, or feel, that the Russian fleet will actually not move from the Gulf of Bothnia to Sweden, but will go for the Baltic Sea instead. I certainly wouldn't advise trying to bounce Russia in the Baltic Sea, with the cost of losing Denmark (or rather, not getting it) and letting him have Sweden if he actually decides to go for the most likely move. However, moving from Denmark to Sweden (without getting bounced there) means that Germany takes Sweden instead of Denmark, and that Denmark remains empty... unless England decides to send a unit there. If only one thing is to be remembered about StP, it is it's pronounced asymmetry:
Germany gets two builds (from HOL and SWE), England two as well (from DEN and NWY), and Russia one in the south (from RUM). The center count may not be looking too bad, but the lone fleet in Sweden is surrounded by three enemy units, Berlin and Kiel are both threatened by supported attacks, and the Russian army could even try and slip into Munich. Some may feel that such an alliance between England and Russia is unlikely, and that the gains in the first year are too unbalanced. A possible variation gives Norway to Russia, while England only gets Denmark. Of course, we can also imagine England has moved his fleet from London to the English Channel, and that he manages to convince France to support this annoying fleet into Belgium. It requires lots of trust between both allies, of course, but who has not seen anything stranger happen in a Diplomacy game? Armies and FleetsAs it was said before, Denmark is bordered by several sea provinces which are not in direct contact. As a consequence, it is a great province to convoy from or to, as an army which has been convoyed here (for example from the North Sea) can be convoyed again as early as the next season (for example by a fleet in the Baltic Sea). Considering only single convoys (i.e. convoys using only one fleet), an army in Denmark can reach eleven other provinces (four of these provinces can even be reached by several convoys, for instance DEN – NTH – HOL and DEN – HEL – HOL). This number is quite exceptional (compare to an army in Spain, which can reach 8 provinces, or an army in Greece, which can reach only 7). If England wants to send a lot of armies into Russia or the eastern German provinces, for instance to take or keep Warsaw, two fleets in North Sea and Baltic Sea allow him to convoy an army from his homeland to Livonia in only two seasons (which is shorter, as well as safer, than a convoy to Norway, a move to St.Petersburg, and another move to Livonia). Russia, however, is less likely to use this kind of convoy routes, as armies cannot be built in Livonia. Germany can use both the western convoy (through the North Sea) and the eastern one (through the Baltic Sea) efficiently, but is likely to do so at different times in the game. A convoy to Livonia could be part of a attack of Russia with English help, and could reasonably happen as early as Fall 1902, while a convoy through the North Sea to an English territory could be used a few years later, after the stab. However, armies in Denmark are useful mainly once the nearby sea provinces are under control, and seizing this control often requires fleets to occupy Denmark and attack (or provide support) on the target sea. This is a reason why Germany will usually have a fleet in Denmark (it can support another fleet into either the North Sea or the Baltic Sea), and England will usually try to take Denmark from Germany with a fleet, as it will give him a chance to enter the Baltic Sea, which is the key to Berlin and Kiel. Another reason to choose fleets over armies is the number of available retreat spaces from Denmark : six for fleets, but only two for armies. An army dislodged from Denmark, in most cases, will find no available retreat space, while a fleet is more likely to be able to retreat somewhere. As every space bordering Denmark either is a supply centers, or borders at least three supply centers, having a retreat opportunity, especially in Spring, can make an important difference in the Fall. Once Scandinavia and the surrounding seas are completely under control, both main reasons to put a fleet in Denmark instead of an army become obsolete, and the power controlling Denmark usually needs the mobility and flexibility of the convoy to go farther. At this stage, any unit entering Denmark is likely to be an army. . . . . . . . .As you probably know by now, this article has been written to honor and thank Manus Hand for his accomplishments and devotion to the Diplomacy hobby. As a player (I have been lucky enough to play with him once, and am eagerly waiting for our next game together), as the organizer of WDC 2003, and as the man who brought the Diplomatic Pouch to its level of quality, he deserves my thanks and admiration. Thank you, Manus!
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