How to Declare War, Grant Right of Way and Make Peace in Frontkrieg

In Frontkrieg, every pair of players sits in one of three diplomatic states: peace, war, or alliance. By default everyone is at peace with everyone else. To attack, you must declare war — and it is instant and mutual: the moment you declare war, both sides are at war at once. The core combat rule is simple: you can only move an army into another player's province when you are at war with its owner. Peace and alliance work differently — they are not instant; they only take effect when the other side accepts your proposal. Separately, there is right of passage (what Supremacy 1914 players call "right of way"): permission to march an army across someone's land without fighting. This guide breaks down every one of these mechanics step by step and shows when each state pays off.

This article is for beginner and intermediate Frontkrieg players who have taken their first steps but are still unsure who they can attack, how to make peace, and why right of passage matters. Frontkrieg is free and has no pay-to-win, so none of these diplomatic tools are locked behind a paywall.

The three diplomatic states: peace, war, alliance

All of Frontkrieg's diplomacy rests on three states between any two players:

• Peace — the default state. When a match begins, you are at peace with everyone. At peace, nobody can move troops into your provinces, and you cannot enter theirs. It is the "neutral" position.
• War — the only state in which combat is allowed. Only while at war can you attack an opponent's provinces, and they yours.
• Alliance — the closest peaceful bond. An ally's provinces can never be attacked, even by accident: the game will not let your army enter their land as hostile.

The key nuance: peace is a "default" state that the system does not even store separately until it changes. So at the start of a match — out of up to 500 players — you are automatically at peace with every one of them until you or someone else changes that.

How to declare war

Declaring war in Frontkrieg is a single action that fires instantly. You open diplomacy, pick a player, and press "declare war." There is no waiting and no confirmation from your opponent: the moment the button is pressed, you are both at war. It is deliberately mutual — you cannot wage a one-sided war "quietly."

What matters about declaring war:

• War cancels right of passage. If you previously granted this player permission to cross your territory, declaring war revokes it automatically on both sides.
• You cannot declare war on a member of your own coalition. Players in the same coalition are protected: the game blocks any attempt to attack a coalition ally.
• Everyone learns of the war from the newspaper. Every war declaration is recorded in the in-game newspaper as its own headline, so neighbors will see who went after whom.

Because war is instant and mutual, the "surprise attack" works like this: you declare war and move your armies on the same turn. Your opponent finds out about the war exactly when your troops are already on the way.

The core combat rule: you can only attack someone you are at war with

This is the single most important sentence in the whole guide: you can only move an army into another player's province while at war. The game checks the status on every move. Try to enter the province of a player you are at peace with, and the move is simply denied.

The practical consequences:

• Want to capture a neighboring province? Declare war first, or the army will not move at all.
• Afraid of a surprise strike from someone you are at peace with? While the status is "peace," they physically cannot move troops into you. The danger appears exactly at the moment war is declared.
• An ally is untouchable: even if you really want to, the game will not send your troops into an ally's land as an attack.

That is why status is not a formality but a literal "permission to fire." Before you plan an offensive to break the front, make sure you are actually at war with whoever you intend to hit.

Right of passage: how to let an army through without war

Right of passage (Supremacy 1914 players say "right of way") is a separate permission to march another player's army across your territory without declaring war. You stay at peace, but you grant a specific player the right to transit through your provinces.

A few important details:

• Right of passage is one-way and directional. The fact that you let someone in does not mean they let you in. These are two independent grants — one from each side.
• War instantly cancels right of passage in both directions. You cannot simultaneously wave an army through and fight it.
• Right of passage is handy for coalition maneuvers: a coalition can shuttle troops across each other's lands to reach a common enemy faster instead of taking the long way around.

Alongside right of passage, diplomacy also has an embargo flag — a marker that you do not want to trade with a specific player. It is an economic lever rather than a military one, but it is managed through the same diplomacy panel.

How to make peace or form an alliance

Unlike war, peace and alliance do not switch on instantly. They are proposals that require mutual agreement:

1. You send a peace (or alliance) proposal to a specific player. You can add a short message.
2. The player gets a notification in their inbox. The status does not change yet — everything sits as a "pending proposal."
3. If they accept, the status changes (war becomes peace, peace becomes alliance). A newspaper headline records it too.
4. If they reject or ignore it, nothing changes.

A few rules worth remembering:

• A proposal lives for 1,440 minutes — exactly 24 hours. If it is not accepted within a day, it expires automatically and you must send a new one.
• You cannot accept your own proposal. The other side has to agree — you do not "confirm" peace on your own behalf.
• You cannot propose a status you are already in (for example, peace when you are already at peace).

Because of this, getting out of a war is always slower than getting into one: starting a fight is one click, but stopping it means negotiation and waiting for agreement. Plan ahead, especially if you are running several fronts at once. The finer points of negotiation and betrayal are covered in the dedicated guide to diplomacy and alliances.

When to declare war and when to make peace

Diplomatic states are a tool for controlling the pace of the match. To win, a player usually needs to control 60% of all land provinces on the map (or be the last nation left holding provinces). That is a lot, so fighting everyone forever is a losing move — you will spread your army too thin.

A few guidelines:

• Do not declare war on everyone at once. One or two fronts is the limit for most positions. Peace with your other neighbors covers your back.
• Use right of passage for fast coalition strikes instead of marching halfway around the map.
• Ask for peace early, while the proposal still has its 24 hours to "live" before a decisive phase. Reconnaissance is priceless here — read your neighbor's plans through the fog of war and spying before you decide who to make peace with and who to fight.

Against the 70 AI nations the logic is the same: bots also live by these states, and you can only attack them by declaring war first.

A historical parallel: how war was declared in 1914

The instant, mutual war in Frontkrieg echoes the reality of July 1914, when a single declaration of war dragged the next ones behind it through a web of alliances. Those alliances acted as a trigger: a conflict between two powers pulled all of Europe in within days. You can read more about that mechanism of alliances and declarations in the World War I article on Wikipedia. In the game you live the same dilemma in miniature: when your ally declares war, you too risk being pulled in.

Frequently asked questions

How do you declare war in Frontkrieg?

Open the diplomacy panel, pick a player, and press "declare war." The action is instant and mutual: you are both at war immediately. Only after that can your armies enter their provinces.

What is right of way (right of passage)?

Right of passage is permission to march an army through another player's territory without declaring war. It is one-way (each side grants it separately) and is canceled instantly the moment the two players go to war.

Can you attack a player you are at peace with?

No. The game only lets you move troops into another player's province while at war. As long as the status is "peace" or "alliance," your armies physically cannot enter their land as an attack — you must declare war first.

How long does a peace offer last?

A peace or alliance proposal is valid for 1,440 minutes, that is 24 hours. If the other side does not accept it within a day, the proposal expires and you must send a new one.

Conclusion

Diplomacy in Frontkrieg comes down to three states: peace by default, war as the only permission to fight, and alliance as untouchability. War switches on instantly and mutually, while peace and alliance need the other player's consent and live for 24 hours. Right of passage enables maneuvers without combat, and a coalition protects its own from attack. Remember the core rule — you can only attack someone you are at war with — and plan your peace ahead of time.

Ready to put this into practice? Pick a match in the lobby and test your diplomacy against live players and bots. For more tactics and guides, visit our blog.