Problem 1
Problem 2
Problem 3
Turkey wants to advance against Russia by taking either Rumania or Sevastopol. Russia simply wants to maintain the status quo. It looks like a simple 50-50 chance, right?
There are two obvious Russian defenses, one surely defending Rumania and the other surely defending Sevastapol:
Russia: Army Ukraine SUPPORT Army Rumania.
Russia: Fleet Sevastapol SUPPORT Fleet Rumania.
Russia: Army Rumania SUPPORT Fleet Sevastapol.
Russia: Army Ukraine SUPPORT Fleet Sevastapol.
Russia: Fleet Sevastapol SUPPORT Army Rumania.
Russia: Army Rumania SUPPORT Fleet Sevastapol.
Against these defenses, there are two obvious Turkish attacks:
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea SUPPORT Army Bulgaria -> Rumania.
Turkey: Army Bulgaria -> Rumania.
Turkey: Army Armenia -> Sevastapol.
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea SUPPORT Army Armenia -> Sevastapol.
Turkey: Army Bulgaria -> Rumania.
Turkey: Army Armenia -> Sevastapol.
But is this all there is to it? Can you find a Russian defense which blocks both of these attacks?
Italy has built a defensive line of fleets running from Switzerland to Gibraltar.
Italy: Fleet Piedmont.
Italy: Fleet Gulf of Lyon.
Italy: Fleet Western Mediterranean.
Italy: Fleet North Africa.
Is there an Italian defense which France cannot break through? (You can assume for the moment that France cannot get around to Tyrolia to attack Piedmont from behind.)
This problem comes to us from our esteemed publisher, Manus Hand. It is his favorite Diplomacy question which he posts from time to time on rec.games.diplomacy. At long last, the tightly guarded answer will be revealed! (drum roll, please...)
The rules of Diplomacy state that you may not cut your own support (see the note after IX.6). That is, if one of your units is giving support and another of your units tries to move into that space, the support is not cut. The question is simply this: why would this ever be useful? What purpose could such an order ever serve?
To make the problem more concrete, let's call the unit that is giving support 'A' and the unit that is moving into it 'B':
Country1: Unit A SUPPORT <something>.
Country1: Unit B -> A.
Why in the world would anyone issue that order for unit B? Is there any sound tactical reason for doing so?
This question is harder than it may at first appear, so give it some thought before turning the page.
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