German Openers and countering them

[Galendae]

Observations on games where I lose:

1. I lost 106sz… Terrible for both Allies and Axis to lose this battle
2. Did not maintain Destroyer Superiority(Both Atlantic and Pacific)
3. No traction in the Atlantic…one side is allowed to dictate tempo.

German Openers that cripple the UK fleets are common.

1. Attacking SZs 110 and 111 is the most common. Along with a secondary attack on sz 106.

This is a powerful German opener as it often creates space for Germany to be able to fully concentrate on the Soviets. The threat in the Atlantic is set way back.
106sz battle is Uuge.

The best bids to counter this German 110/111 opener is a 24 bid for UK.
1 Destroyer 110sz
1 Sub 111sz
1 Ftr Scotland

You see that Allied bid, you are playing a pro.
Often just the deploying of this bid make the Axis player modify their opener.

Then we have what I call the “Straun” opener. Straun is a Triple A online player of dubious personality but high skill. He may not be the originator of this opener, but he deploys it almost without fail.

Straun Opener-Kill all the Destroyers

1. Hit sz 106 with 2 subs
2. Hit sz 109 with 2 subs and 3 ftr, 2 Tac, 1 Bmb
3. Hit sz 111 with 1 sub 2 ftr, 2 tac, 1 bmb and the Bismarck

This is a powerful opener, and imho the best German opener for a # of reasons:

1. All the UK Destroyers are dead, cant retaliate against the subs
2. All the UK Transports are also @ Davy Jones footlocker
3. Difficult for the Brits to reinforce the 110 surviving fleet. They usually have to run, because the surviving subs, Ger fleet and Air Force will likely wreck any attempted Brit build of fleet on Ger 2.

Play this bid every time your opponent does not bid Destroyers in the Atlantic.
The bid to counter the Straun Opener is not clear. Here is a suggested one.

1. Destroyer sz106
2. Destroyer sz 91
3. Spend rest elsewhere Sub Egypt etc…

Bidding Destroyers in the Atlantic is starting to be an imperative for me.
Without Destroyers you are likely to get the Straun Opener and that is devastating.
With Destroyers, you are likely able to retaliate against the surviving Ger Subs and surface fleet. You also have a real good chance of winning sz106. The most important battle of Ger 1.

With a dual Destroyer bid you probably won’t see the Straun Opener. It is also likely you will have a chance to build and reinforce Brit Fleet on UK 1…either in sz 109 or sz 106.

If the Brits come out of UK2 with a survivable (defended) Fleet with Destroyers and Trannies…going to make for a tougher game for the Germans. The threats to Norway, Europe and Gibraltar mean the Germans will have to defend those areas…and not spend every point on the Ost front pile driving Ivan. In short, the best help the Brits can give the Soviets is a true two front threat.

I been winning as Allies against real good Axis opponents, by winning the early Atlantic turns and keeping pressure on the Germans from that front. As allies, when I get smoked in the Atlantic the overall outcome is usually defeat.

[SuperbattleshipYamato]

@Galendae

2 thoughts:

1. I haven’t heard of that Straun Opener before, but it seems to have a lot of potential. I’ll try that sometime.
2. You’ve been able to win as the Allies? I assume that’s with bids? It would be extremely impressive if you could win out-of-box Global 1940 against good Axis players. I’m asking because if it’s the latter, I’ll beg you to spill your secrets.

[Cornwallis]

@Galendae wouldn´t gibastian be a good UK reaction to it? Converge there with the destroyer from egypt gives you a strong fleet with a destroyer to counter the subs.

[Galendae]

@SuperbattleshipYamato

Read closer, I mention bids, many times.

[SuperbattleshipYamato]

@Galendae

I noticed that, but I wasn’t completely sure whether you implied bids in that specific sentence.

[FranceNeedsMorePower]

I know this is really controversial is is widely not agreed upon. But I think the Allies can win againsent the Axis with no bid. With same skill levels I mean.

[SuperbattleshipYamato]

@FranceNeedsMorePower

Have you accomplished that?

[FranceNeedsMorePower]

@SuperbattleshipYamato Personally yes I have. But the question is, is how much have I played against other people online which is low. I guess it is just something very hard for me to believe.

[SuperbattleshipYamato]

@FranceNeedsMorePower

Show/tell me the game. I really want to know how you won.

[FranceNeedsMorePower]

@SuperbattleshipYamato I have won plenty of games against the tripla A.I. and usually win against my family members. Maybe I have not played a variety enough of people, that could be the issue. The way I win, is usually a kind of a ME strategy. I also go for a KIF. I love securing Greece if possible and then build a MIC and pump out units. I sometimes do that not a lot though.

[SuperbattleshipYamato]

@FranceNeedsMorePower

Based on my experience with you I’m pretty sure you’re more experienced than the AI (even “hard”).

How did your game with mike64, a player supposedly on the same level as you, go?

[FranceNeedsMorePower]

@SuperbattleshipYamato Yeah true, you are right. We are still playing currently.