ALB & GSB logo

Convoy

Introduction

If you can hear the sound of the waves, consider yourself on a ship.

I've been asked by a few players about certain aspects of the convoy so I thought it would make sense writing an article about it.

The convoy is an essential need for all countries & to sum it up, England would have a big problem if they couldn't.

Simply Convoy

Going back to England, this move is often used in Autumn '01:

As you'll see, the army's order just states its location & destination, Edinburgh to Norway. The use of C, after the fleet & its location, says they're going to convoy. The other part is a copy of the army's order.

Supporting the Army

In the above example, Russia wasn't able to bounce England so the English fleet went elsewhere however by looking at the next example, it's needed:

Needless to say, if England didn't support their army, they & Russia would bounce in Nwy.

If Germany was allied with Russia, the army's support can be broken by this move:

Given that, the English should do this:

Quite simply, the army is in Nwy & this will be mentioned later.

Breaking the Convoy

Other than said, there are other ways of upsetting the convoy.

In this example, Italy is trying to convoy an army to Greece (Gre) however the Turks want to stop it. This move wouldn't be good for the Turks:

In case you think the Turkish failed due to the F(Alb) supporting the army, you're wrong. The reason the convoy worked is as it takes more than one fleet to break the convoy. This move would work:

Obviously the army's move failed but F(ION) has to retreat.

Supporting the Convoy

The decision between Italy & Turkey would be a guess however this convoy would work as the Italians are supporting their own fleet:

Convoying Over Seas

In a game I was playing, Jeff Simard was Austria-Hungary & I was Russia. As our last move, the pair of us did this:

Pretty good, my army went from St Petersburg to Syria! Needless to say, the game ended as we got a two-way draw. Moving aside from that, i.e. the ego trip, the point is that armies can convoy over many seas & any country can be involved.

Not Over Coasts

Often asked it whether a fleet that is in a province can be used in a convoy. The answer is easy, no! If you're still not sure, this would be classed as a miss-order:

In case you think it might work, coastal places are provinces therefore they can't be used in a convoy.

Conclusion

As said, the convoy is needed & equally the way of breaking it is needed. By using convoys, you can move your armies to required provinces however be aware of the ways of it being broken.

Convoy away!

Diplomacy Links

Site Links

NB If you do e-mail, notice I've changed @ to AT to stop possible e-mail spammers so before you send, swap it back.