Taking Karelia 1st turn

That idea of landing Jappanese fighters on Karelia was pretty good. I had never thought of that.

Yeah, and if your opponent hasn’t see it either, it could be just the thing you need to get a real advantage.

I remember the first time I heard it and was like “I got to try that!”, but rarely is their an opportunity to take Kar on rd 1 with sufficient forces to even consider bring over 2 Japanese ftrs. I think only 2 can reach.

It also works on later assualts on Kar, where you can get even more J ftrs to Kar, but just be careful and don’t waste them trying to hold it if you know you can’t.

I love me some offensive killing with Germany, but taking the big K on G1 just usually puts you in a bad spot. Mind you it depends upon who you are playing, but the Russian/Allied counter can really hurt ya.

If you’re playing against an inexperienced player you can sometimes invade Karelia on the first turn without even using your planes if they leave too many units in Cacausus or Russia. This usually happens to newbies, and they learn to stack Karelia.

If you’re playing an inexperienced player, you can do just about anything and still pull off a victory. The only reason to take Karelia from them, is to teach them a lesson

I’ll never forget that first time I got owned in 3 turns…you understand playing Russia is all about some waiting…and more waiting…and troop buying…

I believe a strafe on KAR or UKR(depending on opponent’s set up is best.)
Include a noncombat movement to strengthen EEU.
Include a build of mostly INF for the first two turns to have fodder for the coming battle.

The GER air and sea power must clear the sea zones of UK forces on the first turn. This precludes a take KAR first turn move.

I would say never strafe Karelia. In a RR game the Russians should have 18-19inf 3arm and 1-2 ftrs which should make any strafe uneffective as it would require the Germans to largely ignore the Uk fleet while enduring AA gun shots which depending on how effective/ineffective they are would decide if the strafe is even remotely effective. If you have such limited experience in playing the game that you need to play Yahtzee on G1 then I’d say you are better of getting waxed because you will most certainly learn many lessons in the process.

As for non RR games with a +21 bid…if the bid is mostly in Europe then a counterattack on Karelia may not be such a bad idea depending on how well placed your bid is. However, most of the times it is not, and again by the time you learn when it is you won’t need to so there it is.

Yeah exactly until the Allies have landed in Spain/WEuro the Germans shouldn’t have to worry about Russia threatening Berlin unless you are doing something wrong. Even in RR w/o a bid it should take the Russians several turns before they can afford to take and hold EEuro.

I don’t usually play players that you can attack or strafe KAR on G1 though. Some players like to do the strafe move(this can include ground troops in A&A and still be called a strafe) and pull the ARM out of FIN/NOR so they don’t get chewed up by USSR.

My friends and I have always played with the house rule that as soon as you purchase units you can place them on the board immediately and can use them the same turn. You guys probably think that’s stupid, but we all like it, gives the Axis a better chance I think. Germany can buy 6 tanks G1 and then go right after Karelia. However, don’t think the Russians are out of it cause the Allies can still provide the support that Russia needs. I’ve recently discovered an American strategy that by building an industrial complex in Sinkiang the Americans can pump tanks into Moscow every turn. This is devastating to the German player and eventually the Americans and Russians can storm into Berlin, with Britain trailing not to far behind :D.

I realise this is way off topic, but how could an American IC last more past J3 at the longest, against overwhelming airpower. And if it did, the sacrifice of resources to hold it would cancel out any advantage or tank pressure on Germany

Exactly, but then again how would it ever be beneficial for Germany to strafe Karelia on G1. Obviously, those who consider this to be their best option have not played many games, or many games that lasted longer than turn 5.

@Desert:

I realise this is way off topic, but how could an American IC last more past J3 at the longest, against overwhelming airpower. And if it did, the sacrifice of resources to hold it would cancel out any advantage or tank pressure on Germany

Simple.
On US1, US buys 1 IC(15 IPCs), 1 FTR(12 IPCs) and 3 INF(9 IPCs) for a total expendenture of 36 IPCs. All Units are placed on SIN. Thereafter all units of US build and placement are placed on SSI.
Of course, the JPN player could SBR you, or worse, plan ahead and buy another BMR and roll HBs(Heavy BMRs) on tech and wipe your sas off the board. In that case, I recommend including a AA gun in your US1 future games.

or, if you limit it to 2 units per build on the territory(SSI IPC value of 2 IPCs)…

You cannot succeed as it quickly gives the Axis Powers an IC to capture and use in production. An additional IC in IND by UK just adds to the problem.