Austrian Strategies

[Auztria]

I have come up with two useful strategies for the Austrian turn, which bear the imaginative titles of “Attack Italy” and “Don’t Attack Italy”.

ATTACK ITALY
All Trieste to Albania
1/2 Budapest to Serbia, 1/2 Budapest to Romania
1/2 Galicia to Romania, 1/2 Galicia hold
All Tyrolia hold
1/2 Vienna to Galicia, 1/2 Vienna to Trieste
1/2 Bohemia to Tyrolia, 1/2 Bohemia to Galicia

DON’T ATTACK ITALY
All Trieste to Serbia
All Budapest to Romania
All Galicia hold
All Tyrolia hold
1/2 Vienna to Trieste, 1/2 Vienna to Galicia
1/2 Bohemia to Tyrolia, 1/2 Bohemia to Galicia

So? What do you think? Worthwhile, or should they be scrapped?

[wove100]

Remember, Albania only gets Italian troops if it is attacked by a CP or occupied by Italy. So, you’re actually sparing Italy by not costing them any IPCs.

[Auztria]

Yes, but I’m basing my thinking off the idea that with Serbia, Albania, and Romania all gone, Austria has no “third front” to draw its units off the Italian and Russian fronts. Extra Austrians in northern Italy from Round 3 onwards represents a net gain for the Central Powers.

[wove100]

Hmm, hadn’t thought of that. Clever. Gives Italy time to reinforce Venice though, but I doubt even a first round attack could capture Venice, so it’s going to be contested anyway. It might also get the French and British to ignore the Italian front: “Austria-Hungary didn’t attack Italy, so we don’t need to worry about that.”

[oztea]

Don’t start into Romaina too quickly, let the russians activate it.
On the other hand, work toward the south. Take out Serbia and Albania, and work toward getting to Greece and cut off that whole peninsula.
Meanwhile stack Venice. Condense your defense line in the west down to just one territory.

So, in a grand sense.

• Condense down to only one territory to defend (Venice) instead of 2 (Trieste/Tyrolia) This contests an Italian territory and simplifies your western front.
• Don’t move against Russia, Build up in Galicia BIG TIME to threaten Ukraine and cutting off the route to Romania. (the Ottomans will activate Bulgaria and make Romania a bad place to be next turn)
• Pour south, Albania & Serbia, Crush them. With eyes on Greece next turn. Make the Balkans the realm of AH. The last issue is Romania. Which a joint offensive by Ottomans and Austrohungarians is your next objective

Leave Poland for Germany, and Don’t go too deep into Italy. Your goal is only to reduce your western front to one central territory at the choke point. Hold the Balkans for cash, then prod at Russia.

So
Budapest > Serbia
Trieste >Albania
Tyrolia > Venice
Bohemia >Galicia
And use the force in Vienna to reenforce the other fronts.

Important to flat out TAKE Serbia and Albania if you can

[Flashman]

Pretty much my thinking, but I’d be sorely tempted to use the Galician army against Romania, along with some of the Budapest force. Then you’ve dealt with the Romanian army on your own terms, rather than letting those Galician units just sit there. Generally it should always be beneficial to attack small armies if you have a good chance of wiping them out.

You might even be able to spare troops to move into Switzerland, saving the Germans casualties when they move in there (as they surely will).

On question: is it worth making part of the assault on Venice amphibious so you get the battleship bombardment roll?

[oztea]

Budapest can and will take Serbia.
Trieste is coming at 4 units with 20 pips. So 3 and 2/6 hits
Its a close call, but worth the risk I think for a 4 IPC cash boost on your first turn.

The more you are making the better, and the earlier you make it, even better!

[oztea]

Splitting off some of Budapest to help Galicia attack Romania….hmmm.

But you will be strained for reinforcements when Russia crams into Romania.
I think its better to let them activate it, so they have to sit still, taking nothing from you.
Then move at them on your 2nd turn (with some from captured Serbia if needed) and the Ottomans can reinforce you from Bulgaria for the double whammy.

[Cyprian]

@Flashman:

On question: is it worth making part of the assault on Venice amphibious so you get the battleship bombardment roll?

Don’t you then risk losing those amphibious units to an artillery first strike?  Better to just have them invade by land if they can.

[Auztria]

@oztea:

Don’t start into Romaina too quickly, let the russians activate it.
On the other hand, work toward the south. Take out Serbia and Albania, and work toward getting to Greece and cut off that whole peninsula.
Meanwhile stack Venice. Condense your defense line in the west down to just one territory.

So, in a grand sense.

• Condense down to only one territory to defend (Venice) instead of 2 (Trieste/Tyrolia) This contests an Italian territory and simplifies your western front.
• Don’t move against Russia, Build up in Galicia BIG TIME to threaten Ukraine and cutting off the route to Romania. (the Ottomans will activate Bulgaria and make Romania a bad place to be next turn)
• Pour south, Albania & Serbia, Crush them. With eyes on Greece next turn. Make the Balkans the realm of AH. The last issue is Romania. Which a joint offensive by Ottomans and Austrohungarians is your next objective

Leave Poland for Germany, and Don’t go too deep into Italy. Your goal is only to reduce your western front to one central territory at the choke point. Hold the Balkans for cash, then prod at Russia.

So
Budapest > Serbia
Trieste >Albania
Tyrolia > Venice
Bohemia >Galicia
And use the force in Vienna to reenforce the other fronts.

Important to flat out TAKE Serbia and Albania if you can

I don’t want a 14 inf 5 art Russian force in Romania first turn, which is what’ll happen if you leave Romania for the Russians to activate. And I think Greece should be the Ottoman’s responsibility.
Any sensical Italian player won’t attack Tyrolia or Trieste first turn, so I think not attacking Venice is a fine play. And if the first-turn Balkan blitz succeeds, Austria-Hungary is free to turn its entire non-Italian force against the Russkies. Also, if Greece does fall to Austrians instead of Ottomans, the Austrian High Command takes a good look at the map and realizes its forces are split into three, the southernmost force is 3 turns from the closest front, and its conquests can’t be easily maintained from Vienna. Much better to let the Ottomans take Greece, since Constantinople is right on Greece’s doorstep.
I agree that Poland and northern Russia should be German responsibility, but the Balkans, at least the southernmost Balkans, should be Turkish. They’ll need the cash more than Austria-Hungary, and it’ll be easier for them to fight off any Allied landings in Greece. And Italy, Rome in particular, should be the main Austrian target. Make small, piecemeal attacks into Sevastopol and the Ukraine to draw Russian forces off the main German assault further north.

[Bigtiti]

leave greece alone…
budapest advances full force versus Serbia, you must take the country in 1 try.
amasse forces in galicia from austria, bohemia and of course galicia itself.
assault venice: you can take a lot of units down if you assault first. use forces from tyrolia and triest.

round 2: you can use serbian forces to assault albania should it be necesary, but i advice a strong push into romania coming from both galicia and serbia.
nex austrian forces can be moved into triest to takje out albania, or leave it to the ottomans.

[oztea]

Yea but you can build a fighter on your first turn and really lay into the Russians in Romania with everything in a beefed up Galicia and what remained in serbia.
That will be 6 artillery attacking with air superiority, and 12 troops from Galicia and however many survived from Serbia (12 went in, might lose one or two, might send one or two to greece)

So thats an attack of 20 Infantry, 6 Artillery, 1 fighter attacking a force of 14 inf and 5 art, and the Ottomans from Bulgaria will be ready to strike. (with a fighter of their own if you are smart)

The AH attack into Romania on AH2 is 28+18+24+2 (if you buy a fighter turn 1)
12 hits
Russian response should be 9 3/6 hits
Then they reinforce. But the ottomans can flush them out.

It would be smart for Russia to buy a fighter R1 so it can reach air parity in Romania.

[Flashman]

Yes, you’re right.

Albania is essential to stop the Allies building an army there, and I agree that Romania should be targeted A1. You should have enough to take it, and you won’t get such good odd again in a hurry. Also, my east front strategy is to hold a defensive line along Poland-Galicia-Romania; the sooner the Romanians are disposed of the better.

As I’ve mentioned before, people will be cursing Larry for making the Serbian attack mandatory; if you take Romania then you could just ignore the Serbs, as Russia can’t reach them.

@Cyprian:

@Flashman:

On question: is it worth making part of the assault on Venice amphibious so you get the battleship bombardment roll?

Don’t you then risk losing those amphibious units to an artillery first strike? �Better to just have them invade by land if they can.

[oztea]

I thought I read somewhere that Italy can’t attack on its first turn unless AH has attacked it.
Sort of like how the US has delayed entry.

That would make sense from a historical perspective.

[Auztria]

Romania seems to be the crux of the Eastern Front. And that’s precisely why you need to strike first to win the South.
If the Austrians attack turn 1, they can bring up reinforcements in Galicia and Serbia for turn 2, while the Russians have to react to the Austrian attack.
If the Russians occupy Romania turn 1, they can let the massive Austro-Turkic attack exhaust itself against the powerful Russian defence, and crush it with the reinforcements the next turn. Now Russia controls Romania and levels a powerful threat against a depleted Bulgaria, Serbia, and Budapest.
Victory in Romania depends entirely on who seizes the initiative. If Austria lets it slip away, the entire South-East Front will be lost.

[Flashman]

Yes, that’s how I’d have done it.

But this is Larry’s game - he’s made it a simple “all powers bar America are fully at war from the start.”

Otherwise, Austria would be better off leaving Italy alone for a turn.

@oztea:

I thought I read somewhere that Italy can’t attack on its first turn unless AH has attacked it.
Sort of like how the US has delayed entry.

That would make sense from a historical perspective.

[oztea]

I disagree. A 2nd turn attack on Romania will be STRONG and have guaranteed air supremacy.

Russia might notice this and not go in too deep into Romania.

I say this because waiting till AH2 eliminates being exposed to a counter attack on R1, allows for a stronger attack on AH2 with air superiority, and allows for the Ottoman force from Bulgaria to follow you up.

Attack AH 2, Russia responds with reinforcements, Throw in the Ottomans from Bulgaria, then AH goes again and can flush out the remaining Russians. By then Poland will have been firmly in German hands and the influence of a large German army in Poland threatens too broad a front for the Russians and they will be forced to pull back.

[Auztria]

I’d probably attack Albania straight off anyway, just to prevent an immediate Italian army on my southern flank.

I’m assuming that invading Albania would automatically draw Italy into war, just like an attack on Italy proper.

[Flashman]

I think the Swiss move is well worth considering. Really, the CPs can’t have enough material in Switzerland. This tt is the best staging post for reaching Paris, and it threatens to outflank the Italians and bypass Venice altogether.

[oztea]

A turn one attack into Romania exposes your force to Russian counter attack from the start.
If you wait, Russia won’t roll any dice on its first turn. (what can it realistically attack?)
All Russia can do is cram Romania, and an attack on the 2nd turn doesn’t risk you losing any artillery.

A first turn attack on Romania can only bring Galicia and some Infantry from budapest (you still need to take serbia!)
So after attacking into 18 pips (only 3 hits)
Your force of maybe 10 infantry and 2 artilley will be exposed to a russian counter attack of 8 infantry and 4 artillery.
Then you reinforce (but the ottomans aren’t ready yet) and maybe flush out the russians, but now the REAL russian counter attack comes. Because they stacked Ukraine in anticipation.

The key to waiting one turn is the other Central Powers catch up
The ottomans will be able to cover for you into Romania from Bulgaria and the Germans in Poland will be breathing down the neck of Russia in the north.