Getting Russia to Turn 5

I’m having an Entente problem. To specify, in @The_Good_Captain’s balanced version. His tweaks to the game have been phenomenal, and I highly recommend playing with his balance version. That being said, I have had many games now with few exceptions where Russian methodically falls on round 4, due either to an inevitable revolution or being captured. I’m hoping for feedback on how to give Russia a little more oomph, and here is how it usually plays out (I’ll even assume Russia has slightly better dice):

Round 1: AH purchases 6 inf. and a fighter, then takes Romania and has 32 inf. and 8 art. bordering Russia. Russia buys 6 inf. and a fighter, and stacks in Ukraine (a generally accepted “best practice” as I understand things) with 30 in. and 7 art. (the most you can have if you put every single inf. and all the art. in range, having taken out 6 for the balance version). Germany buys 9 inf. and a fighter, then frolics into Poland with its 12 inf., 6 art., and fighter from Berlin.

Round 2: AH attacks Ukraine, and while this is slightly uphill, it leaves both armies with comparable stacks: about 13 inf. and 7/8 art., plus the fighter for AH. AH also moves several units to border Ukraine, 4 inf. from Vienna into Galicia and 1 inf. and 1 art. from Serbia to Romania (even though it likely didn’t fall turn 1. On Russia’s turn, there are 2 options: either force a counter-attack in Ukraine that may even take a few AH artillery, or pull back and stack Moscow with ~40 units. Either way, Germany ends its second round with their Polish units either in Ukraine or Livonia, depending on what the Russians did.

That’s enough play-by-play. If Russia counters, Germany and Austria will attack the remaining force in Ukraine, and if Russia is fortunate enough to have any units left by their third turn, it is a token force at best, and Germany has 19 inf., at least 3 artillery, and potentially a second fighter in Poland; Livonia is inevitably theirs turn 3, which means you HAVE to stack on Moscow with your at most 20ish units. There is no way that I can see to avoid either AH or Germany having Ukraine and Livonia by the end of round 3, whether because the Russians spent their army in a productive counter-attack or because they pulled back. But the Austrians sometimes squeak by with enough units in Ukraine to contest Moscow at the beginning of turn 4, meaning the game is over for Russia unless Germany can capture easily and ignores the armistice. That, however, is assuming the Russians lasted in Ukraine at all into their third round.

The other option is to turtle in Moscow on turn 2 with your 40ish units. This appears nice at first, but quickly deteriorates. Germany in round 2 or AH in round 3 takes Ukraine with ease, and Germany moves into Livonia with all or nearly all of their Polish units. Moscow cannot afford to meaningfully counter either of these armies, since, if they do, they will be open to the CP making Moscow a contested zone in round 3. Germany could even attack Moscow in round 3, likely losing all units but allowing AH to have a slightly easier time contesting in round 4, paving the way for the armistice.

Any thoughts? Am I misrepresenting anything or figuring wrong? I am hoping for minds more creative than my own to help me make Russia even just a little less mechanical.

@SuperbattleshipYamato Eh, I try. :p Though I really can’t take credit. This really doesn’t deviate much from TGC’s strategy video. The 1/2 punch of AH and Germany is just too powerful.

@The_Good_Captain Appreciate the thought. Usually I send 18 inf. to Romania so I have a few more. This enables Italy to consider being mean, and on occasion I pay for it, but I like sometimes to gamble that for the sake of a little extra manpower in Ukraine. I’ll give your suggestion a try!