Italian morale

[Treefrog]

A downside to Italy receiving 2 half strength corps per DE 708 is a morale loss if an Allied unit enters Albania.
The morale loss is not specified in the DE.
I fear it is just around the corner in my game.
Who remembers what the morale loss is?

[lwarmonger]

2000? I think?

[Helsingor]

I think Italy will suffer the morale penalty for Allied troops entering Albania regardless of whether the Axis player has said use to the Greek invasion DE.

[Treefrog]

Helsingor, that seems like bad news. Can you share the basis for that conclusion? thanx

[Helsingor]

Hello Treefrog,

I just ran a test game in which I landed a British amphib unit in Albania in 1939 and triggered the morale penalty. I'm pretty sure the Italians get hit with it the first time an Allied unit crosses the border or lands anywhere in Albania, regardless of the DE.

As a player, I personally would consider it too gamey to have the Western Allies launch a suicide landing just to trigger the penalty, but I don't think the designers can script the game engine to distinguish between bonafide invasion attempts and forlorn hopes, but they seem pretty sharp, so who knows?

Helsingor

[BillRunacre]

It would be hard, we can set it to only be triggered by X number of Allied units, but we can't really specify it with any more certainty than that.

But overall, if Mussolini's Empire is being invaded then it's not good for his prestige regardless of how it is happening.

[Helsingor]

Hi Bill,
Yes I figured it would be hard to script the game engine to make that kind of discrimination.
And I agree that in most circumstances the arrival of hostile troops in Albania would be seen as a serious problem for the Fascist regime in Italy.
I was mostly thinking of a situation where the Allies drop, say, a French colonial corps in the coast before the Germans get to Paris. An extension of the French kamikaze fleet gambit.
But of course, such an operation would have an opportunity cost, so maybe I’m worried over a one-in-a-thousand gambit.

[BillRunacre]

Hopefully, as unless you've just put an idea in people's heads, I guess we'd have heard of people doing this by now. [:)]

[Sugar]

ORIGINAL: BillRunacre

Hopefully, as unless you've just put an idea in people's heads, I guess we'd have heard of people doing this by now. [:)]

Hehe, guess what the better players do long time. You probably should play more PbEMs.[8D]

[chucknra]

Putting a French Corp in Albania before Paris taken or in Italy?

[Helsingor]

Hi,
Just to clarify, I was talking about a suicide landing in Albania ("suicide" in the sense that the unit has no chance to capture a port or other supply source and will almost certainly die from lack of supplies in a turn or two) by an expendable unit, solely for the purpose of dropping Italian national morale. I'd call that gamey.

But landing and capturing unprotected Italian cities (if your opponent is unwary enough to leave them open) in the early game seems a fair move to me. I've even done it myself in a few MP games, when the circumstances were right.

Helsingot