Yeah, he just buys infantry because it offers the most bang for the buck in terms of defense. If he takes W Russia, then it’s just for one turn. The only units in W Russia at the end of R1 are the units that attacked from Moscow and Archangel that survived. He never reinforces them, so a counter attack on G1 easily takes back W Russia.
If he did a W Russia stack and buy a variety of units (such as a fighter or some artillery), then would he be able to dead zone Karelia on R3? I usually take Karelia on G2 instead of G1 to ensure that I can keep it when I take it. When I attack Karelia, I have 10 tanks and 11-14 infantry attacking, and he usually has 6 infantry, 1 artillery, and 2 fighters (one from UK) defending. I usually lose only about 6 infantry. Is this beefy enough to withstand a counter attack or even deadzone W Russia?
About Caucasus. I usually pool my units into Ukraine from Bulgaria Romania and I move all of my fighters there. On my second or third turn (it depends on how many infantry he’s put into Caucasus) I attack with that force. Is there any way for him to counterattack that?
The only territory that could be a chink in my armor if he stacks W. Russia is Belorussia, since I’d probably only reinforce it with an infantry or two and a fighter. If he attacks, I’m banking on moving my massive tank force forward straight to Moscow (from Karelia to Archangel G3 and from Archangel to Moscow in G4). By now, assuming there are no counterattacks, I have 17 tanks and about 6 infantry attacking Moscow (not including my other force from Caucasus which also attacks). He can’t fully exploit the Belorussian chink because by R4, he’s in turtle mode just to survive.
America and UK usually reinforce 1 fighter each per turn.
I’m sorry if my strategy is not clear to you. I will play another game this afternoon and I might be able to post pictures to show what I mean.