Yeah, he did, but he can't defend against it if he doesn't catch it in 1901. By 1902, he just has to guess correctly, but that's easier said than done when Turkey is coming.
One perception that someone told me they'd get if they saw it was that I was opening for Munich, not Austria. That is something that will die out once the crusher is more commonplace.
In terms of defense, Austria has two options:
• Gunboat: Bounce in Bohemia in 1901. If Italy wants Trieste, he's going to get it, so guarantee yourself the build in Greece if possible along with Serbia and hope that Russia backs off long enough, and if he does in fact play the crusher, you have two builds, including one in Trieste, and you can overwhelm Tyrolia and push him back. I've started thinking twice about opening Vienna to Trieste since the crusher came around for that reason.
• Press: Let Turkey know what kind of danger he is in if Italy gets anywhere with the crusher. Get France involved and Italy will be containable, though Austria will likely not do well anyway.
My basic stance is that the only way to stop it is if France decides to go with two fleets against Italy in 1902, which isn't the typical reaction if Italy doesn't build a Rome fleet. It can happen though.
ah - they drew after I was gone ;(
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