Italy attacking Caucasus

[mikecool70]

I played a game where Germany  on G1 did not take out Karelia but took out Ukraine, East Poland and Baltic States and built mostly tanks.  He positioned a lot of tanks to put pressure on Caucasus. On R1, I decided not to try to take back Ukraine.  Instead, I built four units in Caucasus and sent two troops east to help China survive.  On I1, he decided to soften up the Caucasus by using two units on his transport and bombarding with his fleet (we didn’t realize he was limited to two bombardments so he used all three to bombard).  He took out four of my units and the Germans were able to take out the Caucasus on G2.  Although I took it back on R2, it put me on the defensive the rest of the game and I eventually lost.

Anyway, I have an idea to prevent something like this from happening again while not spreading my forces out too thin and while being more aggressive and I want to hear your thoughts on it.  What if I built six tanks on R1 and placed them all in Russia and then almost completely vacated the Caucasus (take out the anti-aircraft gun and leave one infantry behind).  That way, if Germany takes it out G2, those Russian tanks can probably take it back or those UK troops I moved from India along with their bomber can definitely take it back if the Russians fail to do so.  I think it would be unwise for the Italians to take it out on I1 because if they do so, I will simply not take it back, move UK and USA forces into the Med so they lose all their bonuses and they are stuck at 13 IPCs (once they lose Libya) instead of 20.  Also, the UK and USA bombers can bomb Caucasus each turn, forcing the Italians to spend 9 of those 13 IPCs just to have 4 IPCs left over. Yes, I know that Germany will get an extra 5 IPCs since the Axis own Caucasus but I think it is much better for the Italians to own it instead of Germany.

Anyway, my point is, that if Italy focuses so much on Caucasus then he is neglecting the Med, Africa and any turn he actually takes it, it hurts Germany much more than it hurts Russia.  What are your thoughts on this?

[Jennifer]

I usually try to take Ukraine back unless it’s too heavily guarded, then I actually do what you suggested.

I think Russia’s best option is USUALLY a full scale retreat on Russia 1 with nothing but armor/fighter builds.  You can push back later and if the Axis decide to take the opportunity to SBR you while the guns are away, you don’t HAVE to repair until you can afford it.

[kendric]

don’t forget if you leave causcaus almost empty, and italy takes it, germany can land planes there, in addition to its ground troops, before russia gets to move.