Italian alliances

[Alex Borhild]

I have a question regarding alliances among the Italian states in the 1836 scenario... I thought I remembered reading once on VickyWiki that alliances last 5 years, but I'm playing a game as Two Sicilies, it's 1847, and the alliance between France and Sardinia doesn't seem to have lapsed, even though I was under the impression it should have lapsed by now.
Is there some kind of exception for the Italian states, or am I just not paying enough attention to the dastardly AI seeking to thwart my schemes?

 

[Orm]

I have a question regarding alliances among the Italian states in the 1836 scenario... I thought I remembered reading once on VickyWiki that alliances last 5 years, but I'm playing a game as Two Sicilies, it's 1847, and the alliance between France and Sardinia doesn't seem to have lapsed, even though I was under the impression it should have lapsed by now.
Is there some kind of exception for the Italian states, or am I just not paying enough attention to the dastardly AI seeking to thwart my schemes?

Some of the alliances that are set up in the scenario files last longer.

 

[Alex Borhild]

I suppose I'll have to peruse the scenario files then...

Why would anyone be concerned about the Two Sicilies anyway?

 

[unmerged(210804)]

All Italian alliances expire in the late 1850s, juste in time for the Italian Unification in 1860/61

 

[Alex Borhild]

All Italian alliances expire in the late 1850s, juste in time for the Italian Unification in 1860/61

So much for my gamey plan, then.

 

[Orm]

So much for my gamey plan, then.

What was it you planned to do?

 

[Alex Borhild]

My plan had been, playing as Two Sicilies, to declare war on Sardinia once the Franco-Sardinian alliance expired in the 1840s and take the island of Sardinia, as well as several other provinces in Piedmont so I would have relatively easy access to Turin, with the goal of hopefully being chosen by the French AI to unify Italy. Then, once the unification event chain fired in the late 1850s, I would simply move troops into Turin, and then proceed to unify Italy.

I think this plan might depend on the AI too much, though - I had kind of been hoping that the French AI's choice of which Italian state to choose, between the historical choice of Sardinia or the ahistorical choices of the Papal States or Two Sicilies, was somehow based on which Italian state was highest ranked, whether overall or according to prestige and/or military power.

 

[Orm]

My plan had been, playing as Two Sicilies, to declare war on Sardinia once the Franco-Sardinian alliance expired in the 1840s and take the island of Sardinia, as well as several other provinces in Piedmont so I would have relatively easy access to Turin, with the goal of hopefully being chosen by the French AI to unify Italy. Then, once the unification event chain fired in the late 1850s, I would simply move troops into Turin, and then proceed to unify Italy.

I think this plan might depend on the AI too much, though - I had kind of been hoping that the French AI's choice of which Italian state to choose, between the historical choice of Sardinia or the ahistorical choices of the Papal States or Two Sicilies, was somehow based on which Italian state was highest ranked, whether overall or according to prestige and/or military power.

Relying on the AI acting sensibly is perhaps a bit too risky. I think the best and most reliable option as TS is the unification event that fires when you are in control of certain key provinces.

 

[unmerged(210804)]

A better choice is to declare war against Parma very soon : this will bring all the Italian states except Sardinia into war against you : you can easily defeat and annex Modena, Parma, Lucca, and then proceed to attack Papal States from two fronts. When they are beaten, make sure they own nothing more than Rome and annex them after the peace treaty expired. Then wait for the alliances to expire in the 1850s; Don't let France get into an alliance with SP, rush to Turin as soon as you can. Be careful though, France likes to garantee SP's independance, but Russia too might do so in order to bother Austria. If France gets drawn into the war, you'll start with a unified Italy in war against France, in which case you'll have to make sure you prevent them to cross the Alps.