Italy/Austria - A Friend in Need is a Friend in Deed (For Now), Part 1

The key to a good opening in Diplomacy is being able to read the players. Every game starts exactly the same way, with the exact same pieces in the exact same squares, so the only variable you have to work with is the players themselves. In some cases, there isn't much to it - Turkey is going to Bulgaria. But in other cases you have quite a bit of room to manipulate Spring '01 to your advantage.

For this post, we'll look at Italy. Italy is a godsend to the savvy Austrian or Russian or Turk because while the minds of other powers might go in many different directions, almost every single Italian looks at the board and asks the same question.

"Where am I going to get my fifth dot?"

Ok, now what?

For Italy, this can be a challenge. But for the three eastern powers in particular, it can give you the safest (not safe, necessarily, but safest) choice of an ally at least in the early game. Because you can pretty much be certain that as long as you can address that one overriding concern, Italy will be willing to side with you.

I'm going to lay out three of my default approaches to Italy, for each of the three powers. In this article, we will look at Austria. I don't do these every time, and I don't follow through with them every time, depending on how the game progresses and how I read the players as the game progresses. But the following proposals (and honoring them) are my 'standard' approaches in the east.

Step 1 is ALWAYS get your press out there early. No matter if Italy or not, the first person who can lay out a detailed proposal to an ally is most likely going to be picked, all else in the same ballpark. This holds true in face-to-face as well; the chap you talk to right before time runs out doesn't see himself as the patsy, he sees himself as the mark. And he's probably right. So write early and write often. Now onto the proposals.

Austria: Remind Italy that war between you two often ends badly for both of you and you want to avoid that. Then I offer him this:

1. He agrees to stay out of Trieste and Tyrolia so that I, Austria, can safely take Serbia and Greece. Italy take Tunis, preferably with a convoy so that fleet remains in Ionian, one step closer to Turkey, but I usually err towards clarifying that using his navy isn't a deal breaker. So end of 1901 Austria has 5 dots, Italy has 4.
2. In 1902, Italy will move to flank Turkey. Austria will make good use of this fifth unit to take either Rumania or Bulgaria (and I explicitly say probably Bulgaria, because I'm simultaneously trying to keep good relations with Russia and I want to mitigate bad Italy could relay to Russia). Regardless of what happens, I will vacate Greece and allow Italy to take it from me. End of 1902 Austria has 5 dots (+ Bul/Rum, - Gre)
   
   
   
3. In 1903, assuming Bulgaria was taken, Austria and Italy both will work together to take a dot from Turkey, acknowledging that this will probably require giving Russia a dot in the process. Austria and Italy both at 6.

This plan provides Italy with a three year pathway to three dots, destruction of a rival, a potential long term partner, and is both clear in what it provides Italy but also what it provides Italy. It does not paint a 'too good to be true' image. Even acknowledging that Turkey could require an extra year is still an acceptable time frame. In short it is a solid plan.

There are deal breakers. Obviously if Italy sends units against you or puts his efforts against France, there's no deal and the onus for rejecting it is on Italy. If Italy follows the wording of my request but rejects the spirit (moving Naples to TYS and taking Tunis via convoy, thus maximizing space between himself and Turk while still technically following the proposal), I will usually at this stage deny Greece to Italy without telling him and see what I can do solely with Russia or make a deal with the Turk. Sometimes it pays to make your proposal more explicit, sometimes it pays to give the Italian a loophole and see his true colors. It's flexible. Sometimes you'll just have to screw the Italian through no fault of his own. Sometimes you'll have to take risks - if you're working with Italy and Russia you're in the middle of the sandwich which isn't always great, and the position in the picture above could result in either the destruction of Turkey or your single fleet being popped by Italy or Italy/Turkey.

But it generally works for me, maybe it will work for you too.