This is all very standard stuff. I do very much the same most games if I am going for the throat. Outside of extremely bad dice luck, or UK putting nearly 100% of its economy into fighters sitting on Moscow (and even then…), a G6 Moscow is quite possible. An I6/G7 Moscow is basically guaranteed.
Germany:
Why take Greece as Germany? Is it merely to help Italy? Judging by your comments about them, probably not.
The tanks you could potentially afford to send down there because they can make it back into Russia in time to be useful, but sending the Bulgarians means those guys are never making it to Moscow until G8 (one round after the potential 12 far est ruskies show up). Is the gain of 2 IPCs/turn for Germany/Italy worth the loss of 5 infantry for your Moscow crash (or the threat of a crash while you duck south and grab Volgo/Caucasus)? Is the main reason just to make sure you don’t give the allies a juicy landing point later in the game?
Note: Sometimes, depending on what Russia does and where you want your Finns to go/stay, you can choose to not declare war on Russia on G3 and just move into Italian-controlled Eastern Poland. You lose Baltic States/Karelia money, but so what, you’re still 3 IPCs ahead. (The obvious things about still having a German sub in 125, and not failing take a free Novgorod if Russia is silly enough to let you walk in, are all assumed.)
Italy:
Standard. Tanks/mechs I1/I2, then turtle up hard. Even buying planes to support the can opener is possible I3/I4 if the allies are nowhere to be found in Europe. I try to let Italy grab as much land in Russia as it can (exempting the mICs and victory cities).
Japan:
Why not do most of this J1?
Differences between what you’d do and what I do:
I just let the Allies have western europe if I must. I usually keep some of my finns and dudes from norway up in scandinavia so I can push a landing back out with the help of some air. The only way I’m trying to defend normandy/S France, however, is if they land an anemic force. If it’s strong, screw it, I’m still going 100% for Moscow. The more tanks, and if you’re very damn lucky, mechs, that survive the moscow altercation, the more I’ve got to drive straight on south through the middle east and on to Cairo. I can retake Western Europe when Moscow falls. No problem. Mosow’s the goal. Let the allies play around in the West if they show up. They could never take Berlin before G8, and Japan is likely just absolutely wrecking the Pacific.
I don’t screw with Greece as Germany. Italy very often still ends up taking this because it still has one transport and some planes to play with. I want my Bulgarians in Moscow G6, which means sending those nazi-supporting bastards east as soon as they hit the ground.
J1.
@aequitas:
What are you going to about russia invades Finnland instead of retreating to moscow with the whole stack?
You have 7 scandinavian infantry as Germany. Let the Russians take Finland for one round, then hit them with those 7 dudes + 2 more whatevers from a transport and your air. Some people even take their Danes up early as well, meaning 11 land units for a Finland counter. The Russians can’t do anything about that unless they want to leave Moscow as a super easy treat for Germany. Russians in Scandinavia on a straight push like this are a blessing, not a threat. It would take a heavily coordinated effort between Russia on one side and UK/US on the other to make it matter, and at that point the situation is too complex to discuss much in the scope of this post’s original intent.