Turkey-Basic Strategy



How to Play Turkey

Ruler in 1901: Sultan Abd-al-Hamid II.
Capital: Constantinople.
Opinion by Brian Newman
Position

Turkey is known as the "Wicked Witch of the East" and is often compared
to England, the other Wicked Witch. She occupies a corner of the board,
between two powers and near a third, much like England. She sits on a
virtual island, connected only at the ends, and adjacent to only one other power.
She can be a very tough nut to crack, a thorny opponent, or a powerful
ally. In 1901, Turkey is guaranteed one neutral center (Bulgaria), is in
range of three others (Rumania, Serbia, Greece) and can threaten only
one center of another power (Sevastopol).

Turkey is in the path of expansion of all her neighbors; that makes it
imperative that she form a strong alliance with one of them. If Turkey
can do that, she can usually roll quickly to 10 centers by mid-game. If
her ally is Russia, she can easily roll through the Balkans (but watch
out for an Austria-Italy naval retaliation). If her ally is Austria,
Russia is the easy target (and Russia-Italy is usually too disjointed to
counterattack effectively). If her ally is Italy, Austria is usually
easy meat, especially after promising Rumania to Russia in the name of
peace.

Turkey doesn't need more than one ally, but she won't survive without
one.
Openings

A Con - Bul
Turkey would be completely foolish to pass up Bulgaria. is is a free
supply center and a first line of defense along the land bridge onto the
peninsula. Thus, A Con - Bul is the only meaningful opening move for
this unit. It cannot be prevented by any other power. Standard Opening
F Ank - Bla
A Smy - Con

This is the standard opening. It doesn't signify a direct threat to
anyone, though it may worry Russia. The fleet may be bounced by the
Russian F Sev. In the Fall, the scond army moves up to take Bulgaria
after the first one moves on, either to Rumania, Serbia, or Greece.

Good points: doesn't antagonize anyone.
Bad points: doesn't concentrate units against anyone.

Bear Hunting
F Ank - Bla
A Smy - Arm

This is an obvious attack on Russia. It brings all Turkish units to bear
on the Russian front. Either the fleet or the army may be bounced,
depending on the Russian F Sev move. Unless Russia brings all her spare
units to defend Sevastopol, it will fall sooner or later to this Turkish
attack.

Good points: Sevastopol and sole ownership of the Black Sea is all but
guaranteed.
Bad points: Pisses off one neighbor really fast; if Russia does well in
the North, look out for white hordes next year.

Bear Hug
F Ank - Con
A Smy Hold

A deal has been struck with Russia and Turkey is looking to move into
the Mediterranaen quickly. The bad news for Turkey is that
everyone else
(Austria, Italy) will already be in position by the time she makes her
naval power known. If one of those countries is Turkey's ally, she will
do well.

Good points: peace with Russia means the back door is secure; makes
Turkey a player in the center board quickly.
Bad points: rather wimpy due to the fleet having to travel so far and
get in the way of the other units; threatens no S.C.s except Bulgaria.

Temporary Insanity
Any other option, such as F Ank - Arm, A Smy - Syr is pointless except
for sheer comedic value or unless you're trying to convince everyone
else that you have no idea how to play Diplomacy. As an attack on Russia,
F Ank - Arm is too weak; F Ank - Bla, A Smy - Arm makes much
more sense.

The Mid-Game

There are so many possible variations of position in the mid-game that
it is difficult to be concise. Having said that...
Without a successful alliance, Turkey is easily contained to her opening
turf. However, breaking Turkey is no trivial task. It requires the
focussed attacks of two of you neighbors and a lack of help from your
third neighbor before Turkey will start to crack (and even then it
should take time).

If Turkey finds herself trapped in this way, the main strategy is to
make your enemies work as hard as possible for every gain, hoping that
the longer it takes the more likely it is that a threat to you enemies
will emerge somewhere else. At the very least it will frustrate you
enemies.

If Turkey has opened successfully, the mid-game is very
promising. A
safe back means that all your forces can be deployed where they are
needed most, on the the front line.

If allied with Austria or Italy, you will be well positioned to stab
successfully (often with the help of another power looking for centers).
A Turkey that occupies most of Russia and has even a small naval presence in the South,
is set to steamroll what's left of you neighbors
on the way to a possible solo win.

If allied with Russia (and assuming Russia has also been successful)
your options are a bit more limited for a stab. Depending on which power
in the West (if any) emerges as the major power, Turkey is set to punch
through the South trying to out race Russia for the magic 18 centers.


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