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Support

Introduction

As written in the linked articles introduction, this is about supportive moves & I've often been asked questions about it so hopefully this will clarify any questions.

Supporting Standing Units

This example may well be known however when writing articles, you might as well start from the beginning, so here goes:

As you see, Germany is supporting their two standing armies, Italy their standing fleets & with Russia, their army is supporting the fleet. In case you're not sure, the Russian fleet can't support the army as Mos isn't beside a sea. Notice that I wrote sea rather than coast & there is a reason for it that you may well know however if not, there is an article about coasts.

Cutting Standing Support

A lot of ing in that title & perhaps not good English however this will explain how to mess up the countries support.

As an example you'll see France supporting their units however England are trying to break it. This set of moves will not work for the English:

Obviously that is two units defending against one & the following examples will also fail as it's two defending against two:

To beat the French, England needs another unit. It can be theirs if they have one within range but also if they have an ally in position, they can help. This example will work:

The French fleet will have to disband as it can't retreat.

Using other countries in another position, this move would work:

As you can see, Italy cut the support & Russia moved in.

The examples above show allies involved by Italy cutting the Austrian-Hungary support, which allows the Russian army to move. The same thing can happen by one country supporting the move & also cutting the defensive support:

Not only will the sums have to be done to work out if you've got enough units to beat the enemy but also is does become a guessing game. If you're not sure about the guessing game, it's whether one thinks their opponent is likely to do that, so I'll do this.

Alternative Defensive Supports

All examples shown above are for some units standing whilst the others have been moving. This example shows how both units are supporting a move to see if that stops the attack:

Again it's two against two & they all stay in the same place however this set of moves would work but it's up to you to decide who did better than the other:

Another form of defensive supports can do one of two things but that is the position of the units. This is the first, which is fairly straightforward to understand it:

This is a standoff but this move is good for Germany:

As Mun was a standoff, Germany is probably enjoying their beer as they don't have to retreat. If you're surprised that German attack towards the English doesn't help the Austria-Hungary, it does work like that. The German attack against the English failed as it was one against two therefore it stays as two Austrian armies against two English armies, which creates a bounce & a happy Germany.

To make the Germans give up on their booze, meaning they have to retreat, is if either A(Tyr) or A(Bur) are attacked. The important word between those armies is or meaning that if both were attacked, then it the Germans are still drinking in Mun. To show an example, which means Germany will have to retreat is this example but within it is a question often asked:

Regardless of whether A(Bur) is supported by A(Bel), the French cuts the English support into Mun therefore Austria-Hungary marches in. If you're wondering if Germany moves to Tyr will that stop their retreat, the answer is no.

Conclusion

If you've read this & feel you now know less than you did before, the answer is that isn't right however you're best to keep re-reading. Let's face it, support is an important aspect of the game & shouldn't turn you off the game. I, when first starting, had to re-read the rulebook & ask other players during the game.

Support this to there!

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