Moving this here from league discussion page on Simon’s suggestion.
I had a couple of strategy questions for the UK first round in BM. I hope I’m not putting this in the wrong thread but I wasn’t sure if I should be putting BM questions in the global thread. But the absence of the bid (which I often used at least partially in the UK) changes the situation a bit and I’ve had trouble deciding on what to do now that I have shifted to mostly playing BM.
Q1 Assuming the typical attack on the UK fleet (all air in range and all but 1 or 2 subs hits the navy around UK and 1 or 2 subs hits the destroyer off of Canada and optimally divided between the two sea zones) what are the game conditions that would motivate the allies to scramble 110 or both. I’ve read on this site that its worth it to get the trade of UK air for German air. I see the logic of that but it still seems a risky move that reduces the options for the UK after. I would be interested in hearing from people who might sometimes do that why they do so and the game effects of that choice. This question is relevant to both BM and regular but in regular games the bid (for me at least) often means an additional fighter in Scotland which often makes scrambling (in either sea zone) a safer option.
Q2 I’ve noticed that the most common UK options in BM in the first turn are to hit the main Italian fleet off of Taranto, set up off Egypt or set up off Gibraltar. When I first started playing last year I read in some of the discussion threads on global that Taranto was considered to often be the optimal UK move. In BM mode, it seems to me that the UK is a bit more vulnerable to sealion if you go for it since the allies lack the bid placement. This means Taranto is more risky, at least if there is no J1 DOW since it pulls away the air. Anyway, I’m just interested in what informs the choice that people make here and what conditions at the beginning of UK1 make one choice more optimal than another.
Simon replied:
“If UK keeps one plane in the UK/Scotland, it can still do Taranto. Even if every air unit leaves London so long as the UK mobilises 6inf 1ftr, Sea Lion still would be sub optimal. So the risk is not that high IMO.”
I should qualify my point in that moving the air for the Taranto raid makes sea lion success more likely for Germany but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is always going to work or the optimal move for Germany. Its just that in bm games, all things being equal, UK is often more vulnerable to sea lion than in regular games with an allied bid (where often some of that bid is placed in the UK)
I had a game recently where I did taranto (with 2 fighters from London) and built the 6 inf one air in UK and then proceeded to lose the UK to sea lion. The Germans had built navy, and had a better than average result with the dice in the first round and Taranto was a disaster (I brought everything I could and every UK unit missed). They were able to do sea lion quite easily, but I’m not sure it was the best move in the end given the opening that gave the Soviets. They ended up winning the game in the Pacific just before I was able to take Berlin with the Soviets.
The relative German success on their first turn along with their naval bid might have been a reason for me to rethink Taranto. But I’m interested in what influences other people’s choices here. I’m trying to improve how I read the board in BM and how the outcomes of the German turn (and also Japan’s) influence one’s options as UK.