This actually turned out a lot longer than I thought. So here is part 1 (mostly setup and backround), I actually didn’t even get to the Lurching part. :lol:
I’ll eventually post as one article and put in the Article section as well.
The German Lurch: Revised Edition
The Lurch is a mid-game stack based German strategy that is used to coincide with a strong push on Moscow by Japan. The goal of the Lurch is to gradually move your German stacks East eliminating trading territories for Russia as you continue to get stronger while Russia gets weaker. You are playing for control of Wrus and Cauc, which aren’t easy to get, but using a Lurch strategy you can attempt to claim them without a fight by manipulating your stacks such that any Russian advance can be easily countered, while your advances can’t be stopped because you are able to merge multiple stacks into a single targetted territory.
Unlike Classic where the Germans Lurched from EE to Ukr (to Cauc) and then to Kar, in Revised the Germans have 3 initial avenues to consider:
1 - EE to Kar
2 - EE to Belo
3 - EE to Ukr
Each one has its pros and cons, but all should result in the same conclusion, a German stack in Wrus or Cauc.
Before we get to Germany lets first talk about Japan briefly. If you are planning on using a successful Lurch you will need Japan, so they should be focused on Asia and getting to Moscow. You’ll likely need a few of Japan’s fighters in Europe so take Aus early (round 2 if possible) and make sure you always have ftrs in range of Ukr after J3. Your goal should be to have Chi, Sin, Bury, Sfe, Yak by the end of J3, one factory on the mainland, and 4 trns running your shuck from Japan. A 5th trn is a great bonus which you can use to pick up Aus/NZ/Hi. I think these are modest goals and definitely achievable in the vaste majority of games. The only issues that may arise would be an ultra aggressive UK 1 open and/or a possible KJF strategy, but then again if the Allies are going KJF you do not want to use a mid-game Lurch with Germany, you’d want to be much more aggressive.
As for German bids, you can use the Lurch with most land based bids, whether it is placed in Africa or Europe, but the Power Africa bid (2-3 units in Lib) tends to be a little better since it is vital that you are able to blitz Africa and gain its IPCs. You have to make sure you can take Egy and hold against any UK 1 counter.
Now to the Lurch. The theory of the Lurch is to leverage your initial IPC gains in the early rds (1-4) into a sizable attacking force that can be put into motion from round 4 on. You are ulitmately playing a position game rather than an IPC (or economic game). While there are periods where the Axis can out earn the Allies, it is very difficult to maintain this advantage against quality opponents. Time is typically on the Allies side, so the Lurch is designed to maximize this effect before the Allies can block the threat to Moscow and begin to close in on and cripple Germany. Your targetted time frame to take Wrus/Cauc should be between rds 6-9. Anything much later than this and it may be too late.
So, how do we go about employing the Lurch and leveraging these early gains to a positional advantage?
Lets start with the Purchases. Buy Infantry. Buy infantry early and often, an upgrade for an armor or 2 is also recommended, but with excessive Rt purchases you may be limiting your effectiveness. If you like to buy Rt, buy it early (rds 1-2) b/c you’ll need the mobility of armor later. 8 inf, 4 rt in rd 1 is a good foundation as is 12 inf, 1 rt, however you can’t go wrong with the Inf + Arm buys. Remember you aren’t really interested in attack you just want to project force to prevent an Allied stack and then you want to move your stack into the vacant territory, so you are more concerned with the cheap defense of Infantry and added defensive muscle of the Armor than the added attacking power of Rt. Armor is also vital to your initial defense of WE, so again don’t go Rt crazy with your buys.
Okay we know our buying strategy, what about the layout of Africa and Europe?
Africa is easy, use your bid in Lib and take Egy heavy. Surviving Armor should immediately blitz everything insight, while 2 more units can land in Trj in round 2. In round 3 you have a few options, positioning your fleet to help in Europe, getting out of dodge to take Mad and then perhaps a combination of Ind/Aus/NZ/HI, going around Afr to take Bra, reinforcing Perisa, or just safely remaining in the Indian Ocean and re-invading empty territories in Afr. While blitzing Africa you want to keep as many of these units alive as possible so you can ultimately get them to the Middle East as well. You’ll probably need to get them back Trj by round 4 otherwise they risk being trapped, which isn’t terrible since you can still cause some trouble in Afr, but it is always nice to have the extra threat to Cauc from Per.
Europe is a bit different and requires some patience. You aren’t planning on blitzing to Moscow so you need to set up your initial defenses and get into position to trade Kar/Belo/Ukr with your infantry and airforce. You also want the bare minimum of defense in WE b/c you want to maximize what you are sending East. This is where tanks come in handy, you usually don’t need all of them to deter a Russian move so you can spare a few for WE and their 3 on defense is enough to make any UK landings highly unlikely. How many units should you have in WE? You want just enough inf to survive the first wave of a UK attack and enough arm/ftrs to wipe out the entire land based attacking force. So if UK can attack with 3 inf, 3 arm, 2 ftrs, 1 bom, you’d want 4-5 inf with 8-9 arm/ftrs.
Not finished yet, but here is Part 2.
–----------------------
Now that we’ve got a basic plan for our early WE defense, lets get busy Lurching. First your EE stack, move everything that isn’t needed elsewhere to EE. SE can go to Blk if they aren’t needed in WE. This is the foundation of your offense, you will be using your infantry and ftrs to trade Kar/Belo/Ukr. Standard trading logic applys (2 inf + planes vs. 1 inf), however in trading Belo and Kar you can feel free to match inf for inf, so if you have to attack 2 inf, only bring in 2 and overload planes. You do not want to bleed off too many inf and you do not want infantry out of place depending on where you plan to lurch first. For example, a few too many infantry in Kar may hurt the potential to Lurch to Ukr and vice versa. You aren’t likely to be able to Lurch anywhere for the first 3 rds, infact I’ll work under the assumption that G4 is your first potential chance to move out. Side note: If at any time in the first 3 rounds you can safely move to Kar/Belo/Ukr please do so, it may require an extra “build-up” turn later but you’ve denied Russia a trading zone.
Okay, so we’ve got our stack of Infanty in EE, a few Inf/Arm/Ftrs in WE, and our arm are done blitzing Afr and heading back to Egy/Trj while Russia has a stack in Wrus trying to prevent further German aggression. How do we proceed? First, find the path of least resistance. I’ll go through each possible Lurch but you ultimately want to pick the easiest one or one that fits in with your Japanese strategy as well, and I’ll touch on that within each Lurch. These are listed in no particular order and I’ll give pros and cons for each so you can decide.
EE to Kar
Here you are lurching from EE to Kar. You are confident the Wrus stack cannot kill your stack, while you will still be able to tade Ukr with either Blk inf or EE reinforcements, while Belo can be handled from EE or your new Kar stack.
Pros:
You can cut off the other Allies from reinfocing Moscow.
You are now able to trade Arch and possibly Nor assuming that wouldn’t drain too many inf.
You maintain a threat on Wrus.
Cons:
You are vulnerable to both UK and US attacks as well as a Russian follow-up.
You only threaten a move to Wrus, so Cauc can potentially be lightly defended.
Russia could counter with a Ukr stack, so depending on your total forces in Kar (what you estimate could make it to Mos if you went to Arch) you may be forced to back track a bit.
Japan:
Works well with a northern Japanese push via Bury to Eve or Novo or with Japan placing a major threat on Cauc via Per in an effort to split the Russian defense
EE to Belo
Here you are going to Belo first, and from there you can then expand to Kar, Ukr, or Wrus. You also maintain the ability to trade both Kar and Ukr.
Pros:
It is typically the easiest lurch to make since it is only threatened from Wrus. (UK/US can’t attack via amphibious)
You are still in position to Lurch to either Kar or Ukr.
You can maintain Kar as a deadzone, which can cut off Allied reinforcements to Mos or at the very least force them to land directly in Arch
Cons:
Time. It is usually the easiest Lurch to make, particularly early on, but will usually require a turn or two of build up once you hold Belo.
you won’t be able to trade Arch and Nor is a lost cause.
Japan:
Works with any Japanese approach considering you haven’t committed yet as Germany.
EE to Ukr
Here you are going straight for the throat. No time to waste up north and you aren’t worried about the UK/US quite yet. You want Cauc or Wrus and you want them now!
Pros:
If done right, you’ll get Cauc or Wrus.
You can use your Afr forces to help squeeze Cauc.
You can use your Med Navy to help boost your move bring your SE units into play.
SE armor can immediately reach Ukr.
Japanese ftrs can boost defense from Fic (or the India Sz).
Cons:
Subject to a massive counter from Inf in both Wrus and Cauc.
Armor from Kaz/Per are also in range.
Nor and Arch are lost causes for trading and Kar may become a problem area since it would be extremely difficult to deadzone with only your EE reinforcements.
Japan:
Any approach will work but South and Central are extremely effective. Some ftrs should always be stationed in the Fic/Ind region for added European defense. You also have the ability for a nice 1-2 attack on Cauc with Germany doing the heavy lifting while Japan can swoop in and claim the IC.
Final part. I may add some things here and there, but for the most part this is it.
–----------------------------
Now that we’ve decided on the path of least resistance, you have to execute the Lurch. You should have been buying mostly inf your first few turns along with a few armor, while blitzing Africa and waiting for Japan to get going and now its come time to make your move and start your expansion. There’s a good chance you may have to trade WE at some point since the UK and US have the potential to each shuck 8 units to Europe. You want to keep those units out of Russia so you can get Moscow to fall. You will eventually need your armor in WE to move to EE as you lurch beyond Kar/Belo/Ukr and this makes WE expendable. It is just too hard to try and defend all of Europe and threaten Moscow so you use your armor’s mobility and superior airforce to shift East and now Deadzone WE. A typical Lurch movement may look like this:
Setup:
EE: 15 inf, 2 rt, 2 arm
Ger: 10 inf, 2 arm, 1 bom
WE: 8 inf, 8 arm, 4 ftrs, aa
SE: 2 inf
Ger buys 10 inf, 2 arm
After Lurch:
Belo: 15 inf, 2 rt, 4 arm
EE: 10 inf, 8 arm, aa
Ger: 15 inf, 2 arm, 4 ftrs, 1 bom
SE: 2 inf
WE: 1 inf
Blk: 2 inf
Now if you can hold WE with just the 8-10 inf + ftrs you can do so, but you have to get as much Inf and Armor East as possible. But you also want to make sure the Allies aren’t going to be landing in Kar, so a little bait (like 1 inf) in WE can help the over all cause. Assuming you do deadzone WE, the Allies shouldn’t be able to land a massive force considering the threat you can provide: 17 inf, 10 arm, 4 ftrs and at this point (round 5 or 6) the UK and US should not be able to throw a total of 16 units at you so you can trade WE with your SE inf and planes while still sending the rest of your infantry East. The Allies may have the overall IPC lead or even army lead, but Russia’s army will not be more than Germany’s and once you add in Japan’s army it becomes problematic for the Allies.
Your next move should be coordinated with Japan. As Germany sends its massive stack to Ukr (combine the EE and Belo stacks) and Africa corps to Per, Japan should move its stack to Kaz (Per + Chi) or Novo (Chi + Yak) while landing supporting aircraft in Europe if needed. As much German armor as possible should remain in EE to maintain the threat on WE. You shouldn’t move your armor out of range of WE until you can take and hold Wrus or Cauc. Russia now has a huge decision to make which will likely cause them to vacate Wrus or Cauc since they should now be facing a German stack in Ukr as well as the prospects of a possible merger of a massive Japanese stack off the boarders of Mos/Cauc. If Russia leaves Wrus, then Germany can stack that (with J ftr support) and once again deadzone Kar, meaning no Allied reinforcements and if the leave Cauc you gain an IC which gives you more freedom to defend WE or Kar with your Ger and EE units since you can place new units directly into Cauc.
At this point, with Germany holding Wrus or Cauc, your only concern is holding Berlin and making sure no Allied land units get to Mos, while you wait to make sure Japan has enough to finish off Moscow if Ger starts the attack. If you’re looking for a Magic number to take out Russia’s stack you need Germany to have a 4:3 advatage in TUV and if you are planning a 1-2 attack you need Ger + Jap to have a 5:3 advantage.
Good Luck, and Happy Lurching!
Thanks for a great article, Darth! I’ve been doing something similar to this as my “standard” German strategy, but haven’t ever laid it out quite this systematically. I used to always aim toward a Ukr “Lurch” coordinated with a Japanese push to Persia, hoping for a 1-2 on Caucasus; I’d try to do this early (say round 5-6) before much UK/US help could get there. Worked well much of the time, but often ended up depending on the dice in one major battle. Later I came to prefer a Kar Lurch that was more focused on isolating Russia from the other Allies, and let Japan do most or all of the actual attack on Cau+Mos. I’m still trying out new things, though.
It seems that if you ever do get to the point where you can safely stack Wru (and, on the other side, if Japan can safely stack Kaz) then the Russians will probably have to abandon Cau to save Mos. When things get to that point you’re usually very close to victory, unless the Allies are pouring tons of units through Arch or something.
Lots here to digest and ponder. I hope people see this; it could seriously raise the general level of Revised play on the site!
Thanks.
I first heard the term “Lurch” in a series of 2nd Ed games I had with AgentSmith (former member here), but I forget who he said used to use it a lot. I think it is sort of an intuitive strat, by that I mean I think as players get better at stack management they sort of gravitate to something similar naturally. I think the biggest jump is recognizing when to leave WE. Obviously if you can keep it, then great, but sometime players defend there too long thus slightly slowing the pressure on Mos and giving the UK/US just the time they need to get reinforcements to Mos or completely cut off the Ger threat. But ultimately it is a good trade to trade WE if it means you get Cauc or Wrus with a strong Japan on the other side. It is really powerful anytime you can get Ger-Jap working together. Timing is usually the key, as you point out if you can make the simultaneous move to Wrus with Ger and Kaz with Japan, it is typically game over.
Neat summary.
I guess it makes sense to not buy artillery in conjunction with the lurch since for the most part you are adopting a defensive posture and are looking to capture Cauc without a fight–at that point you can buy art at Cauc. Still, I’d buy a few artillery early on–if for no other reason than to up your attacking punch and get some more value out of your inf . I don’t understand why 10 inf 2 arm is so popular even though Germany usually only has 1 art in Europe after G1—yet there are plenty players who are much better than me who use it so perhaps I’m overestimating the utility of rt.
I notice from skimming some of the PBEM games that there are different approaches to artillery–10 inf 2 arm seems to be a popular buy as does 8 inf 4 art.
Darth: I absolutely agree. Everyone wants to push their stack east, but not everyone is willing to sacrifice WE to do it. The “stack WE until they pry it from your cold dead fingers” approach that many follow (and that I myself used for a while) only gets you so far…there just aren’t enough inf to have your cake and eat it too. Timing the abandonment of WE is, I think, a lot of the finesse of playing Germany well. Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of expert players empty it on turn 3 or 4, and one world-class player I’m in a game with emptied it on G1!
Zhukov: At the risk of going off topic into a full discussion of G1 purchases (hey, the Revised boards are slow enough we should probably take any activity we can get, right?): I think one reason art are less popular on G1, besides that most people undervalue art anyway, is that you don’t need them for a while. During the trading phase where you swap border territories with Russia, you have enough air power to just use inf and planes for the trading. Art really only come into play when you want to push your stack up, or prevent them from pushing theirs, so you can probably afford to buy it turn 2 or 3. Tank purchases on G1 immediately project power into the hot zones of Karelia and Ukraine. For example, you can deter a Russian stack advance to Ukraine if that was a danger. Or, if you stacked Karelia on G1, your tanks can help hold the line on G2 until your G1 inf purchase arrives on G3. In the longer term, it’s good to have a decent number of tanks around, either to help defend WE as Darth recommends, or (after you abandon WE) to keep in EE where they can pressure Russia while simultaneously keeping WE deadzoned. I do like to have some art in my German stack as well, but often get them G2 instead of G1. Sometimes I go with 12 inf 1 art on G1 if I feel like playing a slower game.
Hey, I know this is Revised, but does evacuating France in AA50 also make sense, or is that a bad idea since UK/US get NOs for it? Because if you don’t have enough men to keep sending there AND east, you gotta make a hard decision. Sorry to hijack the thread. :-P
In AA50 + NOs, I prefer to keep France as long as possible, instead of trading. In a KGIF Germany can only hold France for so long, and then axis have to make a judgment, a lesser evil will probably be to trade France instead of losing France in a battle.
It’s hard to say when to start trading France in AA50, but it will be necessary sooner or later. And if axis don’t accomplish their goals in the first 3 rnds, then allies will prevail.
For AA50, I’m probably not the person to ask, I’ve been getting hammered lately. I think NO’s make it much different consider one trade (if you need to wait for Ger to recapture) gives both UK AND US a boost.
But you also have Italy there to defend in between UK/US attacks so that changes things as well.
Darth: I absolutely agree. Everyone wants to push their stack east, but not everyone is willing to sacrifice WE to do it. The “stack WE until they pry it from your cold dead fingers” approach that many follow (and that I myself used for a while) only gets you so far…there just aren’t enough inf to have your cake and eat it too. Timing the abandonment of WE is, I think, a lot of the finesse of playing Germany well. Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of expert players empty it on turn 3 or 4, and one world-class player I’m in a game with emptied it on G1!
I’ve occassionaly pulled out on G1 if I need the units for a Kar stack. I’ll use the tran to move 2 inf from WE to Kar and that way you have all Ger inf in EE for G2. Figure with the G1 buy UK can’t do much damage in WE, plus you can channel dash with the subs and/or dd amd it keeps UK units out of Afr or Nor.
I’ve usually found that against a good Allied shuck, G4 seems to be the make/break time for Ger to decide on WE since the US can probably start to realistically help out in WE.
Zhukov: At the risk of going off topic into a full discussion of G1 purchases (hey, the Revised boards are slow enough we should probably take any activity we can get, right?): I think one reason art are less popular on G1, besides that most people undervalue art anyway, is that you don’t need them for a while. During the trading phase where you swap border territories with Russia, you have enough air power to just use inf and planes for the trading. Art really only come into play when you want to push your stack up, or prevent them from pushing theirs, so you can probably afford to buy it turn 2 or 3. Tank purchases on G1 immediately project power into the hot zones of Karelia and Ukraine. For example, you can deter a Russian stack advance to Ukraine if that was a danger. Or, if you stacked Karelia on G1, your tanks can help hold the line on G2 until your G1 inf purchase arrives on G3. In the longer term, it’s good to have a decent number of tanks around, either to help defend WE as Darth recommends, or (after you abandon WE) to keep in EE where they can pressure Russia while simultaneously keeping WE deadzoned. I do like to have some art in my German stack as well, but often get them G2 instead of G1. Sometimes I go with 12 inf 1 art on G1 if I feel like playing a slower game.
Hmm good explanation. Tis true, I do get 12 inf 1 art fairly often and when I do I’m always thinking about another inf/art/arm purchase on G2 that will even out my ratios….so in the same vein 10 inf 2 arm is certainly reasonable if I get some Rt G2. I can agree that in most cases against expert oppos Germany is well served by concentrating on inf the first 2 rounds…BUT there are exceptional cases, like say Russia gets diced, or Allies go full-bore KJF, where it could be a good idea to be more agressive, and in those cases I would want some rt on G1. I guess where I’m coming from is the perception that Germany starts with plenty of inf already for trading purposes…but if it comes to an early fight, I would like to have some Rt in the mix. So in that vein…if you need the 2 armor right away why not get 6 inf 3 rt 2 arm and then even it out with a big inf purchase on G2?
Good read, I liked the article.
This is a good article, and I’d like to try and revive some of the discussion, I’m surprised this hasn’t stirred up more replies. I’m doing something to this effect in a friendly PBEM game where Russia attacked WR+Ukr, rolled up, sent a lot East on R1, and bought 6 inf, 1 tank. In it, I managed a G1 Ukraine stack and bought 5inf, 5 tanks(a risky play, needed the med fleet and a Japanese fighter from FIC) and with help from Japan’s fighters held Caucuses G3! In order to get this much done, Germany abandoned WE on G2. I pulled out of Caucuses on G5 because I needed tanks on EE to deadzone WE. Germany’s tanks and Japan’s fighters are proving invaluable in this game.
What I’m trying to get at is whether West Russia is a superior stacking territory to Caucuses. It’s an interesting debate. I’m reiterating some of the points in the article, but they definitely have their pros and cons and sometimes the better one depends on the game. Caucuses has a factory that Germany can build with. But I think that there’s often more value in keeping the Allies out of Karelia(assuming KGF) by stacking West Russia instead of Caucuses. What I’m thinking is that Germany will keep tanks on EE to maintain deadzones on Karelia and Western Europe all the while sending infantry and artillery to West Russia by route of Belorussia to keep max pressure on Karelia. When it is clear that Germany and Japan have enough to give Moscow a 1-2 punch, then tanks can be sent forward from EE to help kill Russians. Germany must be careful on timing the advance of their tank stack. It lets the Allies hold WE which is a big setback for the Axis unless Russia is falling fast.
I’m starting to get partial to stacking West Russia as Germany with the goal of keeping Karelia gray for as long as possible but I’d like more opinions and other people’s insights. For example, if the US and UK can safely stack Karelia, Germany cannot protect their supply line EE to Belo to WR and can’t handle a 1-2-3 on the West Russia stack. Instead, could it be best for Germany to strafe Karelia even if it isn’t quite profitable, with the intent of retreating to Eastern Europe and leaving Russia up to Japan?
As for early purchases, I usually like 10 inf, 2 tanks G1 and 10 inf, 3 art G2. While Germany has only 1-2 artillery in Europe right away and should get more soon, the early tanks can help open the door for a early stacking opportunity or prevent an Russian stack in Ukraine which can be invaluable. Not buying tanks could potentially cost Germany early momentum.
Fleetwood,
I think the question of where to stack depends on situational factors (yours and enemy strength and disposition). I’d say the initial goal should be stacking/controlling Cauc, a territory that is strategically invaluable. The reason is Cauc is a place where Japanese tanks and fighters can arrive in force. I figure by the time the Germans arrive at Cauc (whether via Ukraine or WR) then they are usually in need of some reinforcement, unless they are ready to attack Moscow immediately.
I had a game once where a strong UK shuck through Kar/Arch became such a problem that Germany moved its stack to WR–and this tactic did succeed in blocking UK reinforcements. But in this case, by that time the Japs had a big tank stack at Cauc so the Russians weren’t strong enough to strafe either the German stack at WR or the Jap stack at Cauc.
If the game plan is to destroy Moscow with the Japanese and use the Germans to block reinforcements, then moving the German stack to WR makes a lot of sense. It also allows Germany to contest Karelia and Archangel which should gradually wear down Russia and hopefully block the UK.
LIke this Darth, thanks. One point I dont follow. What are you suggesting Germany does with any pieces left in Ukraine or Belorussia after the Russian Move. Retreat to EE? Keep a bare min of infantry in each zone to prevent a blitz?
Or make Russia pay for these territories if they want em. Basically, maintain status quo on the front and only reinforce EE from the West (new purchases or movement)
Yes, you can retreat them to EE. I usually leave 1 inf behind just so Russia can’t walk-in. Also if Russia attacks Ukr on Rd 1, you can counter it, but you try and bring as little as possible. With the number of planes Germany starts with you can usually afford to trade Kar/Bel/Ukr in the first few rds.
Now if Russia failed in Ukr or moved some units out of range, I’d seriously consider stacking Ukr on G1 (if you can land G planes there). You might need to buy some armor on G1 to make sure you can hold from G2 on. I’d also consider stacking Belo, again if Russia didn’t overload Wrus. The overall German opening depends on the number of units Russia can bring to Belo, Kar, Ukr on R2. But in all honesty most turns on Russia 1 don’t allow an early German forward stack so your safe doing some trading and keeping most of your units in EE.
Another important factor early for Germany is Africa. You need to take Egy with enough force so UK can’t counter. From here you blitz and take as much of Afr as you can without sending too many troops from Europe. Ideally you’ll send 2 additional units to Egy on G1 and 2 more to Trj on G2. After that pretty much everything else can stay in Europe and you can decide how best to use your Med fleet (ie go to Mad or Ind, or stay in Med to reinforce Ukr directly). I like to get my fleet out of the Med before the Allies can sink it, which means usually on G3 or 4.
Great stuff. Sure makes the game a heck of a lot more interesting! I am in the midst of trying this, and interestingly, Russia broke it’s back on my stack trying to be the first one to strike. Should have been a fairly even fight, but they got diced a bit and their front lines are smashed but left me with 8 tanks and a few guys in EE.
Still though, Allies have 6 transports in immediate play in europe and you have to keep a heck of a lot back to protect WE, Germany, an EE.
