By General John McCausland
From
Diplomacy World #51
Italy is the least understood of all the Great Powers in Diplomacy. There are
several reasons for this. The greatest
is that Italy is neither in the eastern nor the western part of the map, but
some place in between. It looks like she should be a sea power since its land
mass extends out into the Mediterranean, but Italy still starts with only one
fleet and two armies. Historically, Italy has always been a weak sister in
Europe, and people tend to forget that this is not history.
While there are many reasons for Italy being ranked only sixth in the Dragons
Tooth Rating System (only above lowly Austria), there are several players that
manage to do well with Italy every time that they play it. The most well known
of these is Kathy Byrne Caruso, who has such a good reputation as Italy that a
variant called “The Five Italies" is subtitled ''Kathy’s Variant." While Kathy
gets most of the hype, there are other players who have a lot of success with
Italy. The major reason for their success is that they tend to be "go-getters,”
rather than “wait-and-see" players. They have also realized that Italy has more
options available to than than any other country on the board.
The major psychological factor that holds back most people when they play Italy
is the historical record. However, it must be realized that history is not
repeated in this game. Italy has full control of the Mediterranean the beginning
of the game. All the British fleets are
gone (and will not appear for a long time, if ever), the French are only in the
Atlantic, and Austria, Russia, and Turkey are locked in backwater areas. Italy
has free reign to move her sea power wherever she wishes.
The location of Italy bothers many players. Should they be concerned with what
happens in the east or the west? Who should they attack?
While this does present a perplexing problem, it is also a blessing.
Italy is the only country on the board that can attack every other power.
How is this possible? Let me show
you.
An Italian attack on Austria is the most obvious first opponent. However, this
is usually the worst thing that Italy could do. Austria serves as a wonderful
buffer between Russia and usually draws most of Turkey’s attention as well. If
Russia and Turkey are concentrating on Austria, they have usually forgotten
about Italy. This allows more freedom of movement, plus Austria is usually
willing to give support when faced with a Russian/Turkish alliance. The only
hope to prevent this is to arrange with Russia for a combined attack on Turkey
once Austria has been eliminated.
France is a good target in the early part of the game. She can be attacked by
both land and sea. There are two good potential allies in England and Germany,
neither of which can threaten you very much. The major problem is that France
should pick up at least two new centers in the first year, and so she may be
difficult to defeat, and impossible if none of the proposed alliance
materialize. An advantage to this
scenario is that it gives Italy an entrance into the Atlantic.
Turkey is probably the best target for the Italians in the first year. There are
many reasons for this. First, they are your major threat to supremacy in the
Mediterranean. Only Turkey can build two Mediterranean fleets in one season.
Secondly, you can attack their vulnerable southern areas by sea; while
the Russians and Austrians take the more difficult land and Black Sea
approaches. Thirdly, you can bottle up the Russian fleets In the Black Sea and
start to surround Austria for a mid-game stab. An attack on Turkey also means
that once you finish that campaign, your new builds are close to the new front;
whether that is in Austria or France; while the units in Turkey can finish
mopping up or hit Austria from the other side.
England is not an obvious opponent, but it has been done with great success.
The goal here is not so much to defeat England, but rather to treat this as a
side show to pick up a few extra centers while your main campaign occurs in the
eastern area as was described above.
This can only be performed with French help, but if they agree, Italy usually
gets more than the put into it. It
also has the added advantage that when the time is right (about the time the
eastern campaign is finishing up), you are now positioned on two sides of
France.
Germany is a popular enemy for novices when they play Italy. It does not look
like an obvious enemy, but yet Munich is only two moves away and can therefore
be captured in the first year.
Novices tend to think that a move to Tyrolia looks like an attack on Austria and
that the Germans will ignore that unit. Usually they do, Italy moves more units
north to help retain and expand their holdings, leaving very little at home.
Austria and France then close in, and an army in Berlin may be the last Italian
center. A second, though less popular scenario, is a 1901 capture of Munich and
then a three pronged attack on France (from the sea, and from the land via
Piedmont and Munich). These attacks must be carried out with care, else too many
units end up too far away from home to help out in case of a stab.
Russia is the most difficult country for the Italian player to attack. It can
only be attempted with a very trustworthy and reliable Austrian ally. Since it
takes such a long time for Italian armies to reach Russian soil, and fleets are
useless, there must be a second opponent. This is usually Turkey, since Austria
may be convinced to join in. An attack on France would be suicidal since your
armies are heading north and not in position to thwart French land attacks. If
the campaign is successful, Russia and Turkey should be eliminated while you are
now positioned on three sides of Austria.
As you can see, there are many options for an adventurous Italian player. All of
the campaigns I have described are viable and will give gains that can be
protected and used to great advantage in the mid-game. The major point the
Italian must remember is that to win they must be aggressive. There is only one
free center for than to collect, everything else must be earned. With good solid
play, and effective diplomacy, a victory or at least a draw is always possible.
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