Can ships move 1 space then attack or do they have to start their turn adjacent?

@Panther

Thanks for the reply.

Thanks again to @Krieghund too. :)

@Imperious-Leader Indeed, that is an official boardgame rule. Page 13:
“A tank can “blitz” by moving through an unoccupied hostile territory as the first part of a move that can end in a friendly
or hostile territory. The complete move must occur during the Combat Move phase. The tank establishes control of the first territory before it moves to the next. Place your control marker on the first territory and adjust the national production levels asyou blitz. A tank that encounters enemy units, including antiaircraft artillery units or an industrial complex, in the first territory it enters must stop there.”

If I remember correctly, it’s typical for Germany to take Karelia the first round since Russia is not going to have enough force to keep it. The main duty for Russia is to make sure Germany cannot use Karelia’s factory to produce new units next couple rounds, meaning Russia needs to take it back if Germany conquer it. If not Allies will be in difficult position.

@Faramir @Private-Panic

Indeed it has always been part of the official FAQ-sheet:
http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/ah/AA_1942_2nd_Edition_FAQ.pdf

What you say correspond s to my experience

In most cases, you just want to lose in order from the least valuable unit to the most valuable.

Exception;

If you are the defender and you have 1 destroyer and 1 cruiser

The attacker has 2 subs and hits you 1 time

If you lose the destroyer, you are vulnerable to a surprise shot during the next round, and you would not get a reply, so losing the cruiser before the destroyer might be the smartest move.

Another example;

You have 3 bombers and 2 infantry.  Enemy attacks you with 2 fighters and 1 bomber and hits you 2 times.  You may want to lose one or more expensive bombers (defend;1) before infantry, in the hopes of keeping the better defenders alive now to drive off the enemy as the combat rounds go on.  Once all the bombers are dead, however, the enemy will probably just leave.

Another example;

AAA guns cost 5 but they can’t fight after they do their special shot, so lose them first no matter what.

…

Carriers are weak attackers, and expensive, but in some editions they do have 2 soak hits.  However, if you lose or damage a carrier first, they cannot collect planes after the battle, reducing your defensive posture and possibly giving your planes no where to land. While Battleships should always soak a hit first, carriers probably should not.  Note that losing carriers first keeps your combat power high (attack 1 or 0 lost vs losing a cruiser or fighter at 3).  It can be tempting to dump the carrier first, but you may regret this after combat is fully resolved…

I agree the problem is a very weak middle for the Allies. Have to play with the Bosporus Strait closed. Generally I like a bid of around 12-17, although I have sometimes beat my friends at 9.

A Russian fighter for the bid helps a lot, you can attack Baltic States and West Russia, and then land them in Egypt, Transjordan (with a tank) and Evenki. You get a pretty big opening, hold the Suez canal, put yourself in position to counter Japan for a single crucial turn, and lay a trap in the Caucasus while stacking W. Russia to receive British fighters. This is nice because it lets you help the British in the beginning but you end up with a Russian fighter, which is the unit which gets the most action in any game, making or breaking a lot of trades and adding a lot of defensive power. Also if you convince Germany to buy navy round 1 then you at least spare Russia through round 5.

Once you get over 15 with the bid you can start doing stupid stuff that totally changes the game… which can be very fun.

No. Only in the territory being attacked. Meant to say, sorry.