CA's 101 and R1-R2

[alamein]

aside from all the craziness of that post I think CA and a couple other more serious respondents are quite right about a few things. and it goes back to a dicussion I think yanni had last year.
firstly russia rules

secondly, CA is right about your typical AA novice playing russia. what do you do in T2? his answer is very simular to yanni’s Idea of robbing your enemy of their invasion casualties. meaning that when they do attack it will cost them in tanks and planes, not infantry, also meaning that if you can handle that counter attack you stand a great chance of surviving.
now I know many of you like to attack with russia on T1, and I’m not for that at all either. I prefer calculated mass counter attacks where the enemy is weakest or most vulnerable. this occasionally means that I give up a country here or there (like western europe when I’m Germany) but who cares if you take it, and only have one man to defend it .
when I have to attack a layered defense (lets say ukraine from karelia), I won’t use my tanks (or at least not many of them) in the frist wave. I hold them back unless I’m sure that the break through will be so total that my armor will not be in any danger from the counter strike. remember russia only starts with three tanks in position.
conversly I choose to defend, I pull back my tanks and planes into the safety of russia, leaving a large enough force in karelia to chew up all the german infantry. and I buy 6 inf and one tank. if the germans attack en mass- my counter attack force takes germany in t4-5. if not, the germans have lost the initiative and russia constricts them en mass. one country at a time. I don’t worry about japan- since I’m my own ally I send the US after them.

[StrongBad1988]

yeah, i think russia is the most important country. if it holds, the axis will almost certainly lose. if it falls, the axis will come pretty close to winning, either being rich enough then to take out england, or just being able to get the IPC victory

[Tinker]

I too enjoy playing Russia because they are so critical to an axis victory. And when/if the tide turns in favor of the Allies, Russia is in a good postion to start eating up territories. Remember, the allies winning is only half the victory, whom ever has the biggest piece of the pie afterwards is the true winner….

[Commissar Adam]

well put alamien 8)

[Guest]

Russia is criticle to the game. However sending the US against Japan is risky. Japan’s navy can put up a good defense while Japan’s ground forces make inroads in Asia depleting Russian income. Life becomes easier for Germany if the US focus is on Japan. I feel sending the US to Europe or Africa is more efficient, making Germany fight on two fronts, keeping them away from Russia.