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I’ll add a reply as well. This is a good idea. David, thank you again for all that you do for the community!

Hey BE - would love to try to help but am on holiday in Italy all month - currently by Lake Maggiore - so unable to put much time into this until May - will see whether there is still anything for me to contribute then.

Cheers
PP

Awesome!

OK, I’ll continue KJF articles series after more than a year …

This article is linked with the former ones of USA and UK, and is meant to work for a KJF without India and Sinkiang ICs

Since you are not going to have other reinforcements in Asia than soviet units, you need plenty of units. Movement of units and managing the trades is also critical, but also you need create many deadzones making good use of Red Airforce and those nasty T-34 tanks

1) How purchase

That’s more tricky than seems. There is not an easy rule: if you buy only infantery, you will find that you cannot counter the german stacks because lack of offensive punch. If you buy too many tanks, you will find that you have not enough manpower to hold against the japaneses. As any other power, in fact the best approach is having a bit of all. Suggested buy for USSR 1:

5 inf
1 art
1 tank

This means you have many units (7) and a decent offensive punch. Also you have one valuable artillery, and you are going to need it soon or later. The downside is that you lack the movement that a 3 inf+3 tanks buy can offer to you … in fact 3 inf+3 tanks is also nice if germans did something bad and you can exploit it to take and hold Ukranie, but you cannot count with it

Later the mechanic is: buy always one tank, 2 if you can, and buy art if you think you are going to lose the last one you have. Also, buy a 3rd fig if you have enough income and germans are not pressing too hard: you will not regret that 3rd fighter. With the rest, buy inf

Don’t buy bombers, they are a waste for soviets: a fighter is better at defense, is cheaper and anyway you are not going to SBR anyone … even a undefended axis IC will be better bombed by the USA’s bomber. Oh, and don’t go naval … this is not AA42 after all  :wink:

The infs will give you the manpower you need, the tanks will create the deadzones you need to halt the axis advance until UK stops the germans and Pacific fleet starts taking valuable island. Art and fig will trade territories

Deploy tanks and figs at Moscow, the rest at cau first. Pretty obvious

2) First round attack

I don’t like a full Ukranie attack for a KJF, even without : you are risking valuable tanks and art at Ukranie and without doubt you will lose more dudes at Wrus. Any case, you probably will lose almost the same units as germans after the counter, and you need ensure that you lose always less units than germans, that’s vital!

A strafe on Ukranie can be good but is risky … I’d only risk if I want change a bit: if good can be devastating, if bad bad, you are toasted

So the best here is Bel+Wrus or simply Wrus, and as much Wrus+ strafe Ukr. Have in mind that you want save as many soviets as you can, not making a 1-2-3 punch on Germany

3) Round 1 NCMs

Ensure you have enough to hold Caucasus (landing figs for defense there is a good trick). Evacuate SFE and bury, you will need save as many dudes as you can. Send siberians to west but the 2 dudes at Novo should go to kaz, not to Moscow. You want keep the chance of doing a India+Sin IC strat, and those 2 inf at kaz can reach to cau, per and sin

Remember leave one tank at cau, you never know when you’ll need retake India for UK

Also, move the sub to protect the UK fleet and continue doing this until end of game or the sub is killed in defense … as obvious, if allied fleet is attacked, kill the soviet sub first since its only role is cannon fodder

4) Picotear (trading)

“Picotear” is the spanish word for trading in A&A context  :-D You need more income for soviets, but saving the ocasional UK can opener to let soviets take Norway, you need trade. Also you want keep cau and rus safe from attackers

The chances are you will need trade at least 2 or more probably 3 territories each round, and will be 4 or more if Japan is near. I’ll not say much about trading mechanics since that is well covered in many other articles, but soviet case is special: they can afford as much buy one more fig in the whole game, and the moment of buying it is round 2. You cannot do it before and you will not have much chances later. So soviets need a cheap substitute for that 3rd fig. You have 2 available:

So the idea is easy: have always at least one art or better two art on the board. If not, you risk having to sacrifice one tank. Also, don’t trade sink because USA will not colect the money

5) The deadzones

Much has been said and many said in KGF strats is valid as well for KFJ. Buying 1-2 tanks each round ensures you can react to many points. The territories that must be dead zoned are the same: Novo, Per, Bel, Ukr, Kar …

6) Small resume

In fact, soviet tactics remains the same to KGF (trades and deadzones). The thing that changes is the strategic approach. Instead of killing germans as crazy, your goal is survive and preserve as many soviet units and territory as you can until UK from west and USA from east can come to the rescue and use allied economic advantage to win the game

My plan when I do a (so-called) KJF is not trade Moscow for Tokyo. I always try hold the germans enough to make Japan irrelevant and then, without losing Moscow, turn the tide and kill the germans

If Egypt is uncounterable, Germany could send 3 tanks to Ken on G2 and land some planes in Egypt, putting the SAf IC in a big bind. For a SAf IC, I like EM’s setup more (it’s floating around somewhere in the Revised section).

If you can counter Egypt, I think a SAf IC is not worth it I think. Landing in Alg, putting your planes in WRu and eliminating the German Med fleet on UK 2 is a better way of securing Africa if that’s what you really want.

Where I play it is KGF so the KJF is not really expected.  The big deal with the carrier + fig is you drop 6 units.  On round 2 if the Jpan navy is not united in sz 60 I love to push wake.  On the turn that I do push it I just buy all figs (to counter as already suggested).  The reason I push wake is to force Japan to defend Japan from there you can move to a bunch of cool places =D

You can;t forget Siberia.  Leaving Russia with full IPC production plus West Russia is a BAD IDEA as the Axis…