So what happened in Turkey then?

There were an interesting set of orders in Turkey in Fall 02, so I've put together a quick explanation of what went wrong.

F Aeg S A Bul
A Bul - Ser ... bounce!
A Con S A Bul
F Eas S F Aeg

On the surface, it looks like the support for a unit should have succeeded, as although the move failed, the unit stayed in the same position so why did the supports for it to hold in that position fail?

The main principle here is that all moves are carried out simultaneously, so an order can only be to do one thing and can't be conditional on the sucess or failure results of any other orders.

This means that a unit ordered to move can only be supported by a support order that matches the move the unit is trying to make (p7 of the rules). A unit which is ordered to hold, support something, or convoy an army can be supported in position by another unit.

In this instance, as the unit was ordered to move to Serbia and the supports were to hold, from units that did not border on Serbia, they failed.

So in what circumstances can a sucessful support order be given, I hear you cry?

Example 1: 2 v 2 in Africa: stalemate

So, we've got a 2 v 2 situation in North Africa with the two Turkish armies supporting each other and the English fleets supporting a joint attack in Tunisia.



The attack fails as both support orders are sucessful.



The rules allowing units to support a stationary unit means that mutual support can be given and adds a balance to 2 v 2 situations - as the defenders can both support each other to prevent a break through, rather than a successful defence being based on successfully guessing which way the attack might go.

Example 2: 3 v 2 in Africa: supports can be broken

Thow another unit into the fray and the balance works in favour of the largest army. Here an Austrian fleet joints in, helping the English fleets.



The Austrian attack breaks the support and the English attack is left as 2 v 1, which succeeds.



Example 3: North Sea Convoy

As well as supporting units that are supporting someone else, you can support units that are staying put to do a convoy. Take this example in the North Sea, with an Italian convoy over to London, and a fleet in Heligoland Bight supporting the unit providing the convoy



Well, the convoy is sucessful, as the support is also sucessful.



So, um to recap, if you're supporting a unit that's moving the support has to be for the move. Supports can be sucessfully given to a unit that's staying put and doing anything else. If a unit issuing a support is attacked the support is broken.

Have a play about on jDip if you're not sure.