How do you keep Italy strong?

scare the UK with germany.

What I’ve found that helps is:
1. At least threaten a Sea Lion attack with Germany. Force GB to build units in England turn 1.
2. Take out the cruiser in 91 on round 1 with Germany, along with wiping out at the fleets in 110 and 111 and the fleet off of Canada
3. If Great Britain leaves a fleet in the Med, destroy it turn 2 with Germany’s air force.
4. With Italy, try to take Greece turn 1 along with destroying the French fleet.
5. Turn 2, take Gibraltar with either Germany or Italy.
You probably won’t hold Gibraltar long term, but that combined with Southern France and Greece gives you a bonus, and using the German air force to clear the Med gives you a second.
After securing Gibraltar, Southern France and Greece, I see if I can take Egypt. If I can, I go for it. If not, I like to send everything I can at Syria and try to take Iraq and the rest of the middle east.
For buys with Italy, I typically like to get a fighter turn 1 and, if I can protect it, a transport turn 2, but after turn 1 it really depends on what GB and USA are doing.
The drawback to this plan is that it obviously can cause plenty of losses to the German air force and slow down the attack on the USSR.

1.  Good idea
2.  Hard to do all 4.  You might not be able to kill the canadians and the 91 cruiser.
3.  Agreed if UK does 97, but if UK stacks 92 properly, you wont be able to touch him.
4.  Really depends on what UK does, greece turn 1 is not always best.
5.  UK will likely block the germans in some form or another or even not care at all.
  Taking syria is only effective if you can prevent UK from sending counter-attacking it right away.

To respond to #2, it can be hard to do all 4, but it is possible to take all 4 with good odds, you just have to accept the possible loss of more aircraft. Sending two subs at 91 and two at Canada gives you very good odds of winning both of those fights. Split the remaining sub and the battleship between the two other fights. If UK doesn’t scramble, you usually only lose 1 plane in the fight where you sent the sub. If they do scramble, you lose more planes, but I’ve found that killing off the UK air force has other long term benefits.
If you don’t like to lose your airplanes, I always recommend to at least take out the channel fleet with overwhelming force.

Your other points are absolutely correct. I would be very curious to hear strategies against the stacking of 92 (and also what you consider to be stacking it properly).

I would also like to hear other strategies for what to do with Italy and Germany with the long term goal of making Italy stronger, based upon various scenarios of what the UK does.

111 or 110, where ever u send the sub, u will likely have a 50% odds if UK scrambles, if UK does not, you are still likely to lose planes which gives the UK a lot more flexibility which makes up for the sending the 2 subs on the 91 cruiser.  Do you guys play with an allied bid or no?

I’ve been thinking about this too. I can see how I can take 109/110/111 but without risking a lot of aircraft, I can’t see how I can take out the 91/106 units as well.
MY strategy was to take UK so Italy could slowly build and take Egypt and to help push more troops into USSR as a follow up to the Germans. I1 to take out the French fleet and if possible, anything left of UK Fleet. I2, to take Gibralter. IF I can take Egypt and UK has fallen, Italy can feast on Africa and Middle East.

How to keep Italy strong?  Have it take France.  :evil:

@SunTzu7:

I’ve been thinking about this too. I can see how I can take 109/110/111 but without risking a lot of aircraft, I can’t see how I can take out the 91/106 units as well.
MY strategy was to take UK so Italy could slowly build and take Egypt and to help push more troops into USSR as a follow up to the Germans. I1 to take out the French fleet and if possible, anything left of UK Fleet. I2, to take Gibralter. IF I can take Egypt and UK has fallen, Italy can feast on Africa and Middle East.

Taking UK helps a lot, just it is hard if UK buys defensive.

@suprise:

I try not to sacrifice my expensive units and give them some territories like Yugoslavia and Greece……thinking Albania too

Something else I’ve seen done on rare occasion is to make sure Germany takes Yugoslavia so that they can build an Air Base there to provide additional scramblers for SZ 97.

@Eggman:

Something else I’ve seen done on rare occasion is to make sure Germany takes Yugoslavia so that they can build an Air Base there to provide additional scramblers for SZ 97.

Geh…  better to spend that on a MIC and support Italy with more ships in the Med. rather than waste money like that.  Not that I have that problem, I always take Southern France.  No reason to ever buy a AB in Yugo.

Last time germany built a mic in yugo to help stack 97, the UK had a giant navy in the red sea and 92 along with 10+ planes ready to pounce on like round 6.

@rjpeters70:

Make sure it eats its spinach and pasta before it goes to bed every night?

LMAO!!

@ghr2:

Last time germany built a mic in yugo to help stack 97, the UK had a giant navy in the red sea and 92 along with 10+ planes ready to pounce on like round 6.

Giant Navy in the Red Sea is pretty ineffective if you can’t own both sides of the Canal, which has happened to me before.

@atease:

@ghr2:

Last time germany built a mic in yugo to help stack 97, the UK had a giant navy in the red sea and 92 along with 10+ planes ready to pounce on like round 6.

Giant Navy in the Red Sea is pretty ineffective if you can’t own both sides of the Canal, which has happened to me before.

ya but the UK easily held control of both sides.

Play the game without a bid.  :-o
Threaten a sea lion (in some way) with your round 1 German build.
Sink the UK Cruiser in sz91 (to reduce the number of units that the UK can send after Italy)
Sink the ships in sz110 (to keep them from relocating into the med to be used against Italy)
Sink the ships in sz111 (to make a viable sea lion threat)
there are several other things to possibly do to help but (imo) those are the big key things.

But most importantly, as I said at the top of the list, play the game with out a bid.
lots of players on tripleA insist that the allies need a bid.  And maybe the allies do need a bid, but I really wouldn’t be the one to figure that out since I have yet to win on tripleA.  It doesn’t matter if I play as the axis or the allies, with or without a bid, 1v1 or multi.  I’ve come close a few times, but no win yet.

BUT…ANYWAY, I just know that in the games that the allies do not get a bid the Italians (pending dice and player choices of course) have a chance, a small chance, but none the less a chance, to get on their feet. And in the games that the allies get a bid, the Italians NEVER ever even come close to getting on their feet because the bid is invariably giving to the UK to use against the Italians in the med and Africa. (as if Italy is too powerful at the start of the game for the UK to handle without a bid).

As long as axis does not get screwed on dice, its not very hard for them to win if the allies get no bid.

@ghr2:

As long as axis does not get screwed on dice, its not very hard for them to win if the allies get no bid.

Again, I wouldn’t be the one to know since I have yet to win (as you very well know, since you’ve beaten me a few times.  soundly).