How England Can Ally France in Gunboat Diplomacy—And Win!17 min read

In my article about English Gunboat openings I made clear my opinion that England should open to English Channel. A major part of my analysis is my presumption that an England/France alliance is difficult to arrange in Gunboat Diplomacy. And although my anti-French attitude is quite firm (especially from the English perspective), I do not rule out the possibility of a successful England/France alliance. Every match of Diplomacy is unique, and every combination of alliances is possible. Indeed, I have succeeded in Gunboat Diplomacy before by first allying France.

In terms of short-term offense, the England/France alliance is one of the stronger alliances in Gunboat; the two allies can grow quickly, especially England. In the long run, the alliance is not that great at facilitating solo wins for England. It can be difficult to backstab France and capture the many French centers needed to reach 18. In particular, Portugal, Spain and Marseilles are easy to stalemate from the south, which makes them difficult to conquer during endgame.

Nevertheless, there will come matches where allying France is England’s best option. And, despite the challenge in later getting a solo, that is challenge to be overcome—not a complete barrier to victory!

When to Ally France

Here are a combination of factors to consider in deciding whether the time is right to ally France. Any of these might increase England’s desire to ally with France:

1. France did not build a fleet in Brest in Autumn 1901. (This may not be voluntary; France might have covered Brest with an army, or England might have conquered Brest.)
2. Germany built more than 1 additional fleets (for a total greater than 2). A Germany with three fleets is not friendly to England, so England needs to find an ally somewhere else.
3. Germany is clearly trying to ally Russia against you. (This may or may not overlap with #2; Germany can use fleets to fight Russia.)
4. Italy menaced or attacked France so hard in the first couple of years that France has committed a significant portion of units (most importantly, some or all of the French fleets) to fighting Italy.

These are not listed in any particular order, and no individual factor is determinative. This is just a list of things to keep in mind. If all of these were true, I would probably try to ally France, though!

The French player might want to see you not open to English Channel as a prerequisite for alliance, but the French wants to see that even more if they’re planning to attack you. As I wrote in my post about English Gunboat openings, I do not avoid opening to English Channel just for the hope of allying France quickly.

Let’s discuss the coloring I added to the map below. What I am suggesting here is that, as allies, you and France should help each other take these centers (or at least allow one another to do so).

• To France, these 10 centers:
  • Brest, Paris, Marseilles (French home centers)
  • Spain, Portugal (French natural neutrals)
  • Munich (obvious French capture from Germany)
  • Tunis, Rome, Naples, Venice (Italy’s home centers and natural neutral)
• To England, these 10 centers:
  • Liverpool, London, Edinburgh (English home centers)
  • Norway, Sweden (Norway is England’s natural neutral, Sweden an obvious expansion point)
  • Holland, Denmark (obvious English captures from Germany, whose natural neutrals these are)
  • St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Moscow (Russian home centers)
• Uncertain:
  • Belgium (neutral, but not naturally belonging to any power)
  • Kiel, Berlin (remaining German home centers)

Belgium, Kiel, and Berlin could reasonably wind up in the hands of either power. As England, you should prefer that most or all of these become yours, but don’t overreact if France takes those.

However, if France takes and keeps any centers allotted to you on this map (most likely, Holland), you are probably getting a raw deal from the alliance and giving France the upper hand in later backstabbing you. Unless your center count is much higher than France’s (I’m talking about a difference of two or more), insist on taking those centers for yourself. Otherwise, France is getting more out of the alliance than you are.

The gray centers (Trieste, Vienna, Sevastopol) are, practically speaking, the furthest extent your alliance can progress in a game of Gunboat Diplomacy. Usually, the dominant player in the South would control these centers (almost certainly Turkey), or you and France would have backstabbed each other before reaching this point, but if your alliance holds strong and you play it out to a 3-way draw, you might take Sevastopol and France might end up with Vienna and/or Trieste.

The English Plan?

When playing this alliance, you and France will almost certainly both attack Germany. The destruction of Germany is a key strategic goal of this alliance. You should also use the opportunity to attack Russia and shut down St. Petersburg as a port, because minimizing the number of northern fleets is always one of England’s strategic goals. You may or may not see France also attack Italy at the same time that the two of you fight Germany. You want France to be fighting Italy. If France doesn’t eventually get involved in fighting Italy, that may be a warning sign that your alliance won’t last too long.

Build Two More Fleets, then Switch to Armies

As you fight Germany and Russia, you want to build a third and probably a fourth fleet, and then afterward switch to army builds.

Although nearly all the territories in the north can be taken with fleets,^[2]Only Paris and Munich are landlocked! in the long run you will need armies if you are to take advantage of your alliance with France. Munich, Warsaw and Moscow—key stalemate-line centers you likely need to conquer to solo win—cannot possibly be invaded by fleets. Certainly, you will never invade Russia without armies. Not only do you need armies to conquer these centers, but you will likely need several more to support-hold them from the north if you are to solo win.

Sometimes, you may continue building fleets if you need even more naval power to overcome fleets that Germany and/or Russia have built, or if you are nervous about France backstabbing you.

Destroy Germany and Russia

If everything goes according to plan, you should have enough fleets in the nearby sea zones (North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, Heligoland Bight, Skagerrak) that you can convoy armies from London and Edinburgh onto the land. You need fleets in these positions because not only do you have to convoy, but you probably need to support those convoys in order to dislodge defending hostile units. Getting a convoy onto the continent can be difficult at first, but once you have armies in good positions (such as Finland or Kiel), those well-positioned armies can support additional convoys and your tactical plan will play out nicely.

If you get an army into St. Petersburg that then breaks down into Livonia or Moscow, you can convoy additional armies into Norway and bring those reinforcements in through St. Petersburg. However, if possible, I think it is stronger to convoy armies into Denmark or Holland. That will keep France from getting too powerful and give you a bigger share of the German supply centers.

Ally Turkey if You Can

If the England/France alliance plays out for many years, Russia will end up smashed and Italy and France will go to war. Without Russia and Italy as threats, Turkey will likely become quite strong. Turkey can then dogpile onto Russia, Italy, or both.

You and Turkey can help each other in the mid-game because, as England, you should be bringing armies against Russia. For example, Turkey might help you take Moscow, or you might help Turkey into Moscow, in order to finish off Russia.

You probably want Turkey—not France!—to get the Italian home centers. If France gets all the Italian home centers, France only needs to betray you for the solo win…which will be easy because you sent all your units far to the east. Therefore, keeping Turkey strong and helping Turkey will benefit you in the long run, because Turkey can keep France honest.

Watch out for a French backstab

Early on as you initiate attacks on Germany and/or Russia, France might yet menace you with fleets. If so, France is a disloyal ally and is probably about to betray you. Similarly, if you keep your fleets in range of attacking France, France will likely perceive you as fixing to betray the alliance. This is a Cold War that can easily heat up. Pay attention.

Be VERY afraid if France conquers all of Italy. If France has control of Venice and Ionian sea, it will be difficult or even impossible for any other player to roll France back out of those centers from the east. It is tactically easy to defend Venice against any invasion from the North—almost trivially so. And France needs only to support-hold Ionian from the west with several fleets to lock down that defensive position. Because France will gain several builds from taking over Italy, those builds will themselves provide the units needed to fortify France’s conquests.

For example, if there are only 2 fleets in the Mediterranean east of Ionian Sea (perhaps Turkish fleets), France need only have 1 fleet west of Ionian to support-hold that choke point indefinitely. This allows France to guard an entire Italian front with as little as 4 units (2 armies on the Piedmont-Venice line, 2 fleets to guard Ionian).

When this situation exists, France has a very strong incentive to backstab England for the solo win. Why?

1. France can easily backstab you and attempt a solo win without facing any negative consequences, because even if an alliance forms in the east to stop France, what can that alliance do? France’s position in Italy is fortified beyond hope of rolling it back!
2. With Tunis and the 3 Italian home centers, France no longer needs any of the landlocked German or Russian home centers in order to reach 18 centers and solo win. This means that if France can establish naval supremacy in the North, France will inevitably solo win. Even if a defensive line is set up to hold Munich and Berlin from the east, that is not enough to offset the 4 French gains on the Southern side of the stalemate line.
3. France can likely easily achieve this Northern naval supremacy because you (England) built a lot of armies while allied to France. And because a skeleton force can defend Italy, France will have numerous units freed up to attack you.
4. Likely you have no allies left who can help you, because you have destroyed Germany and Russia.

If France is poised to conquer all of Italy, consider preemptively striking France while you still have the chance.

Backstab France for the Win

If your attacks on Germany and Russia are successful, and France’s attacks on Germany and Italy don’t go so well, there will come a turn when you might be able make a devastating attack on France. If it is in the cards, backstab France for the solo win.

What does it mean for a solo win to be “in the cards” for you as England?

1. There must be no Southern power (Italy, Austria, Turkey) significantly stronger than you (think: 2-3 more centers than you + solid tactical positions). It’s OK to risk another player soloing in order to get your own chance to solo, but don’t go for a solo win when another player is far more likely to be the winner than you are.
2. You need solid control of Moscow and/or Warsaw. This gives you at least 1, maybe 2 supply centers on the Southern side of the stalemate line. If you have these, you don’t need Tunis to win anymore. Your attack on France could actually result in winning before anybody can form a stalemate line against you.
3. It would be nice to see France extending far out against Italy without having made gains. If France sends more and more units against Italy without making a capture, France becomes increasingly vulnerable because France has no builds as a replacement defense. Your backstab could work because it will be hard for France to retreat and defend, and France will get no more builds due to your attack.
4. The ideal tactical moment for a backstab is at a moment when you will get several builds while France gets none. This opportunity might exist because your attacks on Germany and Russia are working, but France’s attacks are not. Another way to create this situation is by attacking German centers France captured with armies you convoyed into Germany. You can then use your 2-3 new builds to launch an all-out attack on France while France is left scrambling to assemble a defense.

France might not want to be your ally. Even if you see a future for an England/France alliance, you might have to first give France a swift kick in the rear. The politics of Gunboat Diplomacy are rough-and-tumble. Demonstrating strength may cause your rivals to choose other targets (and choose you as an ally!).

France is, much more than half the time, your worst enemy. France’s best chance of solo winning is to start off by invading all your home centers, then betraying (or often, simply attacking) Germany and/or Russia to take over the entire North. If France pulls this off, France only needs Tunis in the South to win. This strategy is strong, reliable, and easy to execute—which is why French players will invade Great Britain as soon as practicable.

Gaining France’s alliance often means deterring France from giving in to this temptation.^[3]In case you are wondering why I put this section at the end of this article even though deterring France from attacking you comes chronologically at the start of the match: I thought it was thematically inappropriate to begin an article about allying France by first reviewing all the ways England … Continue reading

Guard Your Rear

Specifically, you must guard against France moving a fleet at Mid-Atlantic Ocean into Irish Sea or North Atlantic Ocean—and then sniping Liverpool from you. If that happens, the other players will probably write you off as a dead-man-walking and cease to help you. Under no circumstances can you permit France to convoy an army onto your island. That’s the kiss of death to England.

When France sees that you can block this attack, France may not bother to do it.

Build Fleets

So long as France is menacing you, keep building fleets unless you can’t justify building more (6 or 7 fleets is probably the saturation level for England). If you have enough fleets, France may look elsewhere for captures.

Wait for Italian Aid

There’s little you can do if Italy decides to fight Austria in 1901 or to go for a Lepanto against Turkey. However, if the Italian player is smart and waits a few years to decide who to attack, Italy may be induced to attacking France if you appear willing to join in the attack. For example, if you successfully take English channel on the first move, you might induce Italy come after France first.

Wait for Italy to commit multiple units to attacking France. If you (England) are not attacking, most French players will prioritize defending against a hostile Italy. In general most players prioritize defending against a clear foe over a possible foe, and in particular France is a lot more vulnerable—tactically speaking—to an early Italian attack than to an early English attack.

Once France and Italy have locked horns, you might be safe to treat France as your ally and begin your attacks on Germany and Russia.

If Necessary, Show Willingness to Work with Germany

One way to show willingness to work with Germany is by helping a German army into Belgium. A German army in Belgium can only attack France (as long as you have control of North Sea). Germany might try to invade France with the Belgian army to further an (apparent) anti-French alliance with you. Helping Germany take Belgium is the clearest way to demonstrate your willingness to work with Germany, and gives Germany some tangible benefit.

If Germany starts invading France proper, France may give up hope of invading Great Britain and focus on defending against Germany. At that point, you might have an opportunity to safely strike Germany.

Think of this as a last resort. Although this Germany ploy is easier to induce than the Italy one (in Gunboat, England can influence Germany much more than England can influence Italy), the outcome is less certain. Many French players will invade Great Britain even if they are at war with Germany!

Tell Me What You Think!

This is my first effort at publishing an advanced guide at how to play a specific alliance in Gunboat Diplomacy. I decided to write this guide from the perspective of a specific partner in that alliance.

What do you think? Is this guide helpful? Would you like to see more of these? What alliance should I write about next, and from which partner’s perspective? If I write another one, what should I do differently?

For this article, I decided against including any specific examples from matches I played. This article is over 2,500 words, and I thought that the amount of extra text required to contextualize a specific game example would take away from the pithiness.

I’d love to get your feedback! Contact me any way you see fit: the comments section below, the Contact page, Patreon, Twitter, Discord^[4]If you are my Patron, you should have been automatically granted access to my Discord server., email^[5]brotherbored@gmail.com—whatever works for you! I am eager to hear from my fans.