German Blueprint: G1 Attack on Russia


  • I really like G1 Barbarossa. Even with average to less than average rolls, the key is that you get the initiative from the Russians and you never lose it. You can get counter-attacked but it will always be costly to Russians in terms of strategy. Most counter attacks put high value pieces right in front of a German stack. Russia always has tough choices, for example combine two medium-sized stacks or stay and fight for that territory. Either way, Germany wins - it captures a vacant territory with a blitzing tank or it takes an extra turn to consolidate armies to crush the single territory like Novgorod.

    I find that by turn 4-5 of a G1 Barbarossa, Germany ends up losing tanks to kill infantry but it’s all worth it given that it’s almost guaranteed that Moscow falls in 6 turns.

    All in all on G1 Barb you can: take France (I don’t take Normandy) and kill most of the UK fleet. Even if you take airplane losses you still finish on top.

    So consider this my full endorsement of Grasshopper’s strategy.

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    @atease

    That’s what I find most people who are opposed to this strategy have a problem with, losing up to 6 German tanks on the Russian counter attack. What they fail to realize is…. the idea of attacking those valuable tanks, is what forces Russia into making those counter attacks in the first place. Germany should want Russia to hit the abandoned tanks in order to take out even more valuable Russian Infantry during turn two, while keeping the battle of attrition close to the German factories. You are right that it translates into a very fun game… when I had my own strategy used against me… I can’t deny how much fun it was playing Russia, even if I was uncomfortable with the tough decisions I had to make.


  • Bang on Grasshopper. Literally, as a Russian facing a G1 Barb, you are never sure of any of your choices, as they always translate into either a military victory on one battle or a better strategic move (such as consolidating territories or strategic retreat), but never both.

    Couple that with SBing the closest russian factories and you’re guaranteed to be in Moscow at G6. In addition, you give free reins to Japan in Asia as the russian player will probably not be sending tanks-mechs there.

    You force Russia to concentrate their ressource all on the germans (or face faster defeat), thus giving more leeway to the italians and Japan.

    and as you say i really dont care to lose 4-5 tanks if that means that i kill 6-7 infantry plus a couple artillery. Chances are he has nothing to even threaten your forces that will kill his counter-attack. His reinforcements are more expensive to replace than yours.


  • I´ve an new idea:

    buy an x number of tt´s, place then in sz 112, (takes 2 turns, not adjacent ot any IC) load them with troops, and land not in britain, but at nenetsia, the territory just east of archangel. (or, you might just land at archangel itself, your choice)

    what do you say?

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    @Axistiger13:

    I�ve an new idea:

    buy an x number of tt�s, place then in sz 112, (takes 2 turns, not adjacent ot any IC) load them with troops, and land not in britain, but at nenetsia, the territory just east of archangel. (or, you might just land at archangel itself, your choice)

    what do you say?

    That landing is a viable option, however, only at the right time in the game. As Germany, you will need to make sure that your fleet doesn’t get trapped in the north sea leaving your side of the channel coast unprotected. I have done a landing like that in the past with good success, but IMO the game situation has to warrant it.


  • @Young:

    @Axistiger13:

    I�ve an new idea:

    buy an x number of tt�s, place then in sz 112, (takes 2 turns, not adjacent ot any IC) load them with troops, and land not in britain, but at nenetsia, the territory just east of archangel. (or, you might just land at archangel itself, your choice)

    what do you say?

    That landing is a viable option, however, only at the right time in the game. As Germany, you will need to make sure that your fleet doesn’t get trapped in the north sea leaving your side of the channel coast unprotected. I have done a landing like that in the past with good success, but IMO the game situation has to warrant it.

    agreed, unless you can defend the transports against 2-3 planes and possibly boats, it’s a risky endeavour. And depending on how many transports you can bring about, perhaps for little benefits.

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    @atease:

    Bang on Grasshopper. Literally, as a Russian facing a G1 Barb, you are never sure of any of your choices, as they always translate into either a military victory on one battle or a better strategic move (such as consolidating territories or strategic retreat), but never both.

    Couple that with SBing the closest russian factories and you’re guaranteed to be in Moscow at G6. In addition, you give free reins to Japan in Asia as the russian player will probably not be sending tanks-mechs there.

    You force Russia to concentrate their ressource all on the germans (or face faster defeat), thus giving more leeway to the italians and Japan.

    and as you say i really dont care to lose 4-5 tanks if that means that i kill 6-7 infantry plus a couple artillery. Chances are he has nothing to even threaten your forces that will kill his counter-attack. His reinforcements are more expensive to replace than yours.

    If going after Moscow is your thing, sure…. I guess you could be there in round 6. I like to gain the Russian minor ICs in the north and south by round 3 or 4, and out produce them from there. This allows you to conduct expensive operations in the Med and Atlantic without spreading your resources to thin.


  • Epic Fail!!!  I tried a variation of the G1 attack on Russia and made one crucial error so I thought I would share (for those interested of course) so no one else makes the mistake i did.

    Purchased 6 art 2 inf

    Bessarabia 1 Inf 1 armor 1 tac  (I took the other inf and put him in Yugo to strafe back to romania after round 1 of battle)
    Eastern Poland  2 Inf 1 armor 1 tac 1 fighter
    Belarus 3 inf 1 armor 1 tac

    Here is where I tried to add a little more to Grasshoppers plan

    sz 115 1 cruiser 2 fighters 1 tac 1 tt 1 inf 1 art to attack vyborg (3 inf) along with two bombers.

    2 inf from norway to finland to make 6 inf in finland
    6 inf 2 art + 1 inf from romania to yugoslavia.  Figured that no matter what happened I would roll 1 round and strafe.  Didn’t think I would win.
    sz 111  1 battleship 2 subs 2 fighters.
    sz 106 1 sub
    sz 91 2 subs
    France 4 inf 2 art 4 mech 6 armor
    Normandy 3 inf 1 art

    So I beat the cruiser in 91 with a first shot attack.
    Got the destroyer and transport in 106 and kept my sub.
    Pretty bad dice made me lose everything in 111 and he had a damaged battleship left.
    Got 4 hits (amazingly) in Yugo and strafed to Romania
    Lost 1 inf in bessarabia so I had an armor remain and lost nothing in eastern poland or belarus.

    Here is where it gets bad

    sz 115 He rolls a 1 for the first shot attack and takes out my cruiser which in turn means I can’t get his sub
            He then rolls a 2 for his cruiser and gets a fighter
    Allies -12
    Axis -22

    Now I have to retreat my tt back to 114 where he is surely dead on the next turn

    Allies -12
    Axis -36

    Meanwhile my two bombers that were going to assist my inf and art have to fight one round before they can retreat.  I get 1 hit, he gets 1 hit

    Allies -15
    Axis -48

    On the allies turn

    Russia attacks finland with 4 inf 2 fighter 1 tac  on my 6 inf    Wins while I took out 3 inf 1 fighter.  2 IPC 3 IPC bonus
    Norway gets taken by UK 3 IPC I lost 5 IPC bonus.

    IPC swing 45  since I have no transports to take those back until my next turn when I have to buy them

    Allies +23
    Axis -22

    He will actually be able to hold finland for three turns because of units he moved in to protect it.

    So all this is to say I got hosed on a 1 and 6 chance of losing my cruiser but if you choose to emulate the russia side of this attack (which I think could be a good one cause you get 10 of russias inf instead of just 7) make sure to purchase navy to drop in 114 to protect the tt that has to retreat or buy another tt in 113 to be able to take norway/finland back.  I will be trying this attack again and hope for better luck next time.

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    @elevenjerk:

    Epic Fail!!! I tried a variation of the G1 attack on Russia and made one crucial error so I thought I would share (for those interested of course) so no one else makes the mistake i did.

    Purchased 6 art 2 inf
    Artillery are unnecessary at this point in the game, because they won’t get to the front fast enough to support the infantry you move east to counter the Russian counter. Round 1 Germany needs air units and a destroyer, but if you wanted land units…. 6 Mech infantry would have been a more efficient purchase.

    Bessarabia 1 Inf 1 armor 1 tac (I took the other inf and put him in Yugo to strafe back to romania after round 1 of battle)
    Eastern Poland 2 Inf 1 armor 1 tac 1 fighter
    Belarus 3 inf 1 armor 1 tac
    I think you mean Baltic States here, because you can’t reach Belarus G1. That said, Germany didn’t move enough units into these attacks, and therefore left themselves weak to take the Russian territories needed to provoke Russia into countering.

    Here is where I tried to add a little more to Grasshoppers plan

    sz 115 1 cruiser 2 fighters 1 tac 1 tt 1 inf 1 art to attack vyborg (3 inf) along with two bombers.

    2 inf from norway to finland to make 6 inf in finland
    6 inf 2 art + 1 inf from romania to yugoslavia. Figured that no matter what happened I would roll 1 round and strafe. Didn’t think I would win.
    sz 111 1 battleship 2 subs 2 fighters. Not enough
    sz 106 1 sub
    sz 91 2 subs 110 is more important
    France 4 inf 2 art 4 mech 6 armor
    Normandy 3 inf 1 art Normandy not necessary until G2

    So I beat the cruiser in 91 with a first shot attack.
    Got the destroyer and transport in 106 and kept my sub.
    Pretty bad dice made me lose everything in 111 and he had a damaged battleship left.
    Got 4 hits (amazingly) in Yugo and strafed to Romania
    Lost 1 inf in bessarabia so I had an armor remain and lost nothing in eastern poland or belarus.

    Here is where it gets bad

    sz 115 He rolls a 1 for the first shot attack and takes out my cruiser which in turn means I can’t get his sub Your cruiser means nothing in this scenario, you need a destroyer to engage his sub, this makes your G1 attack on the Russian boats unessasary this early in the game because you don’t have a destroyer.
    He then rolls a 2 for his cruiser and gets a fighter
    Allies -12
    Axis -22

    Now I have to retreat my tt back to 114 where he is surely dead on the next turn

    Allies -12
    Axis -36

    Meanwhile my two bombers that were going to assist my inf and art have to fight one round before they can retreat. I get 1 hit, he gets 1 hit Bombers are best used when hitting sea zones G1 or using them in Strategic Bombing Raids.
    Allies -15
    Axis -48

    On the allies turn

    Russia attacks finland with 4 inf 2 fighter 1 tac on my 6 inf Wins while I took out 3 inf 1 fighter. 2 IPC 3 IPC bonus
    Norway gets taken by UK 3 IPC I lost 5 IPC bonus. When the UK are left with the ships in 110, they can land in Europe and do a lot of damage.

    IPC swing 45 since I have no transports to take those back until my next turn when I have to buy them

    Allies +23
    Axis -22

    He will actually be able to hold finland for three turns because of units he moved in to protect it. I wouldn’t continue this game because the misunderstanding of the sub vs cruiser battle really hurt your chances to win.

    So all this is to say I got hosed on a 1 and 6 chance of losing my cruiser but if you choose to emulate the russia side of this attack (which I think could be a good one cause you get 10 of russias inf instead of just 7) make sure to purchase navy to drop in 114 to protect the tt that has to retreat or buy another tt in 113 to be able to take norway/finland back. I will be trying this attack again and hope for better luck next time. The cruiser should not have been used that way, or lost that way… after you read the rules about subs, you won’t make that attack again.

    Try a closer version of my plan next time, your luck might change.


  • “The cruiser should not have been used that way, or lost that way… after you read the rules about subs, you won’t make that attack again.”

    Thats not true. If the sub chooses to keep on fighting, the cruser can and probably will sink the sub. If the sub submerges, you can still land your forces into Vyborg.
    The only thing you did wrong in this fight was, that the USSR could as well scramble one plane from Leningrad, and therefore, would most likely sink your crusier and destroy your fighter and you won’t be able to land into Vyborg.

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    You’re right, and I stand corrected. However, if you argue that the sub can submerge, and the fighter can scramble, the attack is still ill fated. It’s better to buy a destroyer G1, and attack the Russian fleet G2 when there are more planes available.


  • Well like I said it was an epic fail and in my opinion all boiled down to an error in my purchase to not prepare for the first shot hit.

    The cruiser should not have been used that way, or lost that way… after you read the rules about subs, you won’t make that attack again.

    I did read the rules about this which is why I brought 2 fighters which allowed me to roll 3 3’s. I hit 2 of them when i ended up rolling so if he had not rolled the 1 for his sub then the battle is over.  I did however overlook the scramble but so did my playing partner which neither of us will do next time.

    Your cruiser means nothing in this scenario, you need a destroyer to engage his sub, this makes your G1 attack on the Russian boats unessasary this early in the game because you don’t have a destroyer.

    Actually my cruiser means I can get the sub if he chooses to stay and fight and the rule states that you roll all dice of the same attack value at the same time and the defender must take the max amount of hits.  This means if I get two hits with my 3’s he cannot say that my cruiser hit his cruiser and my airplane hit nothing since they can’t hit subs.

    I did mean baltic states.

    The sz 111 battle I rolled with my son about ten times before my buddy came over to play and not once did the UK remain with a unit. With that being said I will try to get another plane there.

    Bombers are best used when hitting sea zones G1 or using them in Strategic Bombing Raids.

    Again, this is another repercussion of him rolling the 1.  IF he didn’t roll that 1 I have 2 2’s and 2 4’s on three 2’s.  More than likely I will take them out and keep both bombers.  A risk I was willing to take in order to take out 3 more guys.  That in turn would eliminate the counter attack on finland.

    Germany didn’t move enough units into these attacks, and therefore left themselves weak to take the Russian territories needed to provoke Russia into countering.

    He did counterattack and I was able to take them all out very easily with my second wave and all I lost was some inf and 3 armor.  All I had was three more tanks available and I figured they would get lost in the counter attack.  Of course not the case in finland but that was discussed.

    I wouldn’t continue this game because the misunderstanding of the sub vs cruiser battle really hurt your chances to win.

    That doesn’t seem to fair for my playing partner “My first turn didn’t go like I wanted so lets start over”

    I really enjoy reading your posts grasshopper but I don’t take anybody’s first moves and do exactly what they do.  If like the idea, I try to figure out the best way that I can think to do it.  I will try this opener again with a few tweaks here and there and hopefully my next post will be how good it worked:)

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    OK, I totaly understand that you gotta do things your way, I’m just glad that you’re willing to try this G1 strategy again, because it’s really fun IMO.

  • '12

    @elevenjerk:

    Again, this is another repercussion of him rolling the 1.  IF he didn’t roll that 1 I have 2 2’s and 2 4’s on three 2’s.  More than likely I will take them out and keep both bombers.  A risk I was willing to take in order to take out 3 more guys.  That in turn would eliminate the counter attack on Finland.

    If that if has such repercussions for you, it still sounds like you made that too risky.  A 1-in-6 chance isn’t poor enough odds if you are going to bank a lot on your opponent missing the roll.


  • If that if has such repercussions for you, it still sounds like you made that too risky.  A 1-in-6 chance isn’t poor enough odds if you are going to bank a lot on your opponent missing the roll.

    Yea the repercussions were not fully realized till after the fact which in turn would have and will change my purchase next time I try this.  In hind sight the purchase seems to be pretty pointless…I’m dumb:(

    OK, I totaly understand that you gotta do things your way, I’m just glad that you’re willing to try this G1 strategy again, because it’s really fun IMO.

    Im wasn’t trying to sound like an ass I just really liked the idea of your G1 but if I do all your moves it feels like I didn’t do it.  That is why I took your idea without the exact moves and tried to formulate my own plan.  Clearly it backfired but I learned a lot and that seems to be the best way for me not to do something again.  Tell me a hundred times not to do something and I will end up doing it, but after I do it and it blows up in my face then it seems to stick a little more.  Makes me sound like a kid huh:)

    Even with the awful start I am not in horrible shape.  I don’t think I can win but I am just trying to see what I can make of the game with that huge IPC swing.  If I can make it last then it will get me real excited to try again and do it the right way.

  • Sponsor

    Not at all, I admire you for trying new things and experimenting.

    Cheers.


  • Made any changes to your G1 after a few games YG?

    Still think it’s ideal?

    –Jeff


  • One idea I had would be to use the romanian tank to slingshot the S. German inf into Romania

    And why buy a fig? Scramble defense replacement? Maybe a tank and mech in Germ for counters on G2 would be better?

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    @Jeff28:

    Made any changes to your G1 after a few games YG?

    Still think it’s ideal?

    –Jeff

    Yes, I still like my initial G1 attack on Russia, and I will continue to support this strategy until it becomes broken. I myself don’t feel any reason to change my blueprint at this point, and even though all the battles I instigate are on the risky side, they’re balanced just enough to get consistent results. It is flattering to see members in our group use it and get successful outcomes as well. Someone I know who was first against the idea of attacking Russia G1, was open minded enough to use it last weekend, and he sacked both Moscow and London in 7 rounds.

    The way my plan is set up now, I see the idea of strafing Yugoslavia as being slightly greedy IMO. I understand the need to get troops to Romania quickly, but it’s to risky to take significant losses in a neutral territory when Germany is already stretched thin. To me, it is important to get the right odds in the right battles rather than a neutral like Yugoslavia. If you’re patient enough, those Southern Germany troops will be right where you need them, when you need them.

    The only variant I see so far in my blueprint is the use of the Tactical Bomber in Germany. You can take it to sea zone #111 (at which point you will need to purchase an Aircraft Carrier), or you can take it to bessarbia (which will give you the freedom to buy what you like). As for my choice of purchases, I want to attack Russian Submarines G2 so I will need to buy a Destroyer G1. I prefer to put my Tac Bomber from Germany into the Russian front, so that will increase my odds of losing air units in sea zone #111. Therefore, I buy a Bomber, and a fighter to help with scramble protection if needed, and to operate attacks on UK ships in the Med on G2.

  • '22 '16

    Grasshopper,  i am totally on board with a G1 russian attack.  It has worked great in our games!  We have some pretty crafty Russian players and the G1 attack has really given them pause when its R1’s turn.  I have experimented with leaving sz 110 or 111 alone both have pros and cons.  I like to build a minor in Romania G1. my buddy likes to buy a major G1.  My question for you is what/where do you build in the remaining turns to keep a steady and healthy flow of ground units to attack russia?  I would like to try the G1 attack without the factory build turn 1.  (i did notice some interesting things you do G1 that i am definitely gonna try.  Southern France and Normandy.  German Navy in the med sounds fun!!)  Keep up the good work!  I too only play by table top, nothing like the sound of dice hitting the box!

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