• As the axis i often have trouble countering a conservative russia.  ON R1 russia takes WR with 8-9IF, 2RT, 2FIG.  Then stacks all IF in Cauc,WR, leaving 1IF in Karelia and 6IF in YAK.  It buys 6IF and 1ARM and places 4 IF in Cauc.  ON G1 there is no way to assualt the eastern front without losing an unhealthy amount of FIG and ARM.  And even if there is a counterattack on G1 it is easily recapped on R2, putting Germany in a even worse state against Russia.  It seems like Germany is placed on the defensive immediately.  Worse yet on R2 he almost always attacks UKR with both WR and Cauc stacks.  giving him about 15ish IF 2RT  3ARM.  Assuming on G1 i buy all land and air, i will have a large enough force to win this battle.  However, on avg i will only have 5-6 fig and 5-6arm left on the whole front.  Russia on the other had is still racking in 20+ IPCs and stacking 6IF and 1ARM per turn in WR.  that combined with the 2 fig in cauc and arm in moscow, those 5-6 arm i have left are toast, and i basically end up just trading units with russia until I am the US/UK lands troops in Kar.  Now Russia can slow japan and UK and US can put the squeeze on me.  I would be greatly interested in strategies that but russia on its heels early or at least leave germany in a better position on the easternfront for G2.


  • That’s the beauty of playing it safe with the allies.  The Axis has to bide it’s time, bulk up and advance slowly.

    There is no 30-minute infomercial on how to crack the Russia strong hold in three rounds.  This will be a drag out affair.  Germany’s hopes are not all dashed, however.  You have the 6th ftr since ukraine has not been taken and there\fore can threaten the atlantic navy quite strongly.  Might I suggest another plane purchase to really give your airforce some kick.

    A bomber on G1 would smash any allied move into sz12 round 1.  Concentrate on taking africa as quickly as possible, load up with all inf and push stacks at Russia.  Make THEM attack.  Your air force allows you to trade most effectively.  Utilize that fact with guys, guys & more guys.

    If someone has a quicker answer, they would king of the hill around here.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    You can always get Functionetta to roll your dice for you.  If you do that, you can attack the combined armies of the entire world with a straw and a few spit balls and win with minimal losses!


  • If the Russian is too defensive, it’s easier for both Japan and Germany to push close to them. More infantry first for a safe mutual siege (maybe some tanks produced later to reach simultaneously the front, the Cumulative Charge effect). Then use the extra income to add offensive forces. Japanese arty made in Novosibirsk are better than tanks from way back.


  • @Cmdr:

    You can always get Functionetta to roll your dice for you.  If you do that, you can attack the combined armies of the entire world with a straw and a few spit balls and win with minimal losses!

    It’s “Funcioneta”. Keep it simple  :-D

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    Can I just call you Func-adillic?  I always forget if you have one or two "t"s in your name.


  • Details of how to play G1 would depend on more details of the R1 you’re trying to counter.  It sounds like he’s only attacking WR on R1?  (i.e. not Bel or Ukr)

    If Russia is playing a solid defensive game, and if the Allies are going KGF which I assume they are, then you’re not going to crack Russia with a German onslaught unless you get great dice.  You have to play the long-term game.  Most often what ends up happening for the first few rounds (in my games anyway) is you have a stack in Eeu, he has a stack in WR, and you trade Kar and Bel and Ukr each turn (or maybe only two of those, depending on how aggressive the Russian player is).  You want to buy mostly inf in order to trade territories (your fighters supply all the offensive punch you need) and stack Weu as well.

    In these stack-vs-stack situations you always have to run the battle calculator and see what happens if he advances his stack, and what happens if you advance yours.  (In a face-to-face game, of course, substitute a quick expected-outcome calculation for the battle simulator.)  The big thing you want to avoid as Germany is a Russian stack advance to Ukraine.  If he can push his stack to Ukr and not get murdered, he takes away $3 of your income each turn (you’re no longer trading Ukr) and adds $3 to his (he can start trading Blk).  If in addition he forces your stack to retreat from Eeu, then you’re REALLY screwed because now you can’t trade Kar and Bel anymore and Russia’s income will be only a few IPC short of yours, which is basically game over.  You should be able to prevent a Ukraine push for a couple turns at least–you start with 7 planes, plus 7 tanks left in Europe (assuming you transport one to Egypt), plus you should be able to get at least 8-10 inf to Eeu on your first turn (again, assuming he’s only attacked Wru).  If you buy a couple tanks (say 10 inf 2 tanks on G1) then even a 20 unit push to Ukr on R2 should get beaten up pretty badly by your counterattack–remember, you can also throw in a BB support plus an inf/art from Seu if your navy isn’t urgently needed in Africa.

    The other thing you always have to have in the back of your mind is whether to push to Karelia or not…in addition to boosting your income (keep Kar, plus trade Nor) this can be an effective way of cutting off British aid to Russia, at least for a few rounds, which may buy Japan enough time.  Sometimes it’s possible you can do this while still maintaining enough counterattack threat to keep the Russians out of Ukraine…basically, an infantry stack in Eeu plus a tank stack in Kar threaten to join up in Ukr.  You can resupply Karelian inf from the Eeu stack and Eeu inf from new inf purchases in Germ.  Generally you have to be doing pretty well to get to this situation (sustainably), though, and you may have to abandon Weu and turn it into a trading zone…in which case, you may have to pull some of your tanks back to Eeu in order to have a sufficient counterattack to prevent a full-scale Allied foothold in Weu.

    Just a few thoughts–again, further details of the R1 move would be needed for a more detailed G1 counter.  Basically though, in this situation your goal with Germany should pretty much be to hold steady on the Eastern front, get a few turns’ worth of income out of Africa, and (if possible) try to keep US/UK from reinforcing Russia so the Japanese can take it down.


  • @Shiftone85:

    As the axis i often have trouble countering a conservative russia.  ON R1 russia takes WR with 8-9IF, 2RT, 2FIG.  Then stacks all IF in Cauc,WR, leaving 1IF in Karelia and 6IF in YAK.  It buys 6IF and 1ARM and places 4 IF in Cauc.  ON G1 there is no way to assualt the eastern front without losing an unhealthy amount of FIG and ARM.  And even if there is a counterattack on G1 it is easily recapped on R2, putting Germany in a even worse state against Russia.  It seems like Germany is placed on the defensive immediately.   Worse yet on R2 he almost always attacks UKR with both WR and Cauc stacks.  giving him about 15ish IF 2RT  3ARM.  Assuming on G1 i buy all land and air, i will have a large enough force to win this battle.  However, on avg i will only have 5-6 fig and 5-6arm left on the whole front.  Russia on the other had is still racking in 20+ IPCs and stacking 6IF and 1ARM per turn in WR.  that combined with the 2 fig in cauc and arm in moscow, those 5-6 arm i have left are toast, and i basically end up just trading units with russia until I am the US/UK lands troops in Kar.  Now Russia can slow japan and UK and US can put the squeeze on me.   I would be greatly interested in strategies that but russia on its heels early or at least leave germany in a better position on the easternfront for G2.

    Russia starts with many land units, and there land units are mostly focused upon Eastern European theatre

    it can make you(Ger) withdraw a bit, in the beginning, but the Russia will soon find itself thin with its onslaught upon Germany,  since it will simply be torn apart on many sides, and will fall like a tower of cards

    Russia faces battles with Ger in Kar, Belo, Ukraine/Balkans
    then Persia
    Yakut( Evenki, Novo)
    Sinkiang, Kazakh

    as what i am trying to say,

    Russian onslaught can in the begining look a bit frightening, when put the UK and USA forces which also prepare for the landfall on Germany, but its more an  impression then the real gameboard situation inf favor for the communists

    as i see it, USSR is simply not an attacking nation, especially in the beginning

    so when you see next time USSR starts with an early onslaught, dont turtle( for too long, or dont turtle at all, simply withdraw when you see its better in the mid/long run) just think how to counter it, however frightening this Russia looks like, in fact its (defending) position isnt even close good as it seems to be

    hope i helped at least with something
    but its just my opinion

    all the best


  • IF Russia is stacking in WRuss and the Caucuses maybe you should try  going med. If you build a transport or two in Italy then it threatens africa and the allies might be discouraged to even land without a large force. But then you can bombard the Caucuses and land with more units. This will place a lot of pressure on the caucuses if you can stack in the Ukraine as well.    Then you can use your fleet to secure the med and Africa after it helps with Europe. Also if you can strafe the russian units because you have like an extra 4 aircraft.


  • :|
    I have not played a super conservative Russian as you have described so I can’t give any experienced advice, but I might try to counter his/her strategy of uber-defence with a G1 buy of as many panzers as I can. this sends the message that if you push that stack forward, I’m gonna give it a good thumping on G2. They will most likely not risk an early showdown in the Ukraine and hold up in West Russia to counter a German push into Karilia.
    Then on G2 through G4 buy mostly Infantry and an artillery or two per round.
    Once your Infantry and Artillery is on a par with the Russians, you can consider the push through Belorussia or the Ukraine.
    This, combined with a strong push by the Japanese should force the Russians back into the Motherland. that will be one tough nut to crack, especially if the UK and USA has been pushing in the lend-lease for a turn or two.
    IMHO, This Russian strat leads to a long boring game, but usually a winner for the Allies, ( cause I go to sleep and make stupid moves). :-P


  • @Cmdr:

    You can always get Functionetta to roll your dice for you.  If you do that, you can attack the combined armies of the entire world with a straw and a few spit balls and win with minimal losses!

    MEAOWWWW  :-P LOL


  • :-o
    71Boomer,
      Was that a cat call?
    Did you just cat call Jennifer?
    Careful my friend, there are some big dogs on here that might start barking at you for that.
    Not that Jennifer can’t handle you all by herself, but some guys love to jump in to fight for the ladies anyway. :wink:
    I smite you for the “Cat Call”!  :wink:
    It was funny though  :-)


  • @Crazy:

    :-o
    71Boomer,
      Was that a cat call?
    Did you just cat call Jennifer?
    Careful my friend, there are some big dogs on here that might start barking at you for that.
    Not that Jennifer can’t handle you all by herself, but some guys love to jump in to fight for the ladies anyway. :wink:
    I smite you for the “Cat Call”!  :wink:
    It was funny though  :-)

    I’m sure, seeing that she hasn’t replied, that Jennifer is taking my comment as the light hearted sarcasm it was intended as.

    However, I’ll take your smite on my chin mate.  :wink:


  • :-o
      I’m just funin ya, ya know. Blimy whats a bloke got to do to get some laughs aroound here anyway?
    Well excuse me, I’m off to the pub to toss a few darts.  :wink:


  • @Crazy:

    :-o
    71Boomer,
      Was that a cat call?
    Did you just cat call Jennifer?
    Careful my friend, there are some big dogs on here that might start barking at you for that.
    Not that Jennifer can’t handle you all by herself, but some guys love to jump in to fight for the ladies anyway. :wink:
    I smite you for the “Cat Call”!  :wink:
    It was funny though  :-)

    . . . smites Crazy Ivan for chauvinism and for that whole vague “big dog” reference.

    Feel the wrath of Bunny P!

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