Here is a Russian strategy that has proven so devastating to the Axis powers that it has forced my A&A buddies and I to a dopt a permanent “no Russian first attack” rule to compensate. Conventional wisdom has the Russians attacking eastern Europe on their first move. The theo ry is that this will cut the German supply lines to the Eastern front, making a German first round attack on Karelia unattractive. The downside of an East ern Europe attack, or any Russian attack involving tanks, is that those tanks will invariably be destroyed by a German counteroffensive. In the arm s race with Germany that seems common in the first few rounds of play, the Russians can ill afford to replace lost tanks. Russia will be without offen sive power and will pose no threat to the Germans who can then focus on Africa and the British navy.
A first round Russian attack is better directed at Finland-Norway. with the three Karelian infantry and the three Russian tan ks, this attack should destroy the German infantry, tank and fighter, leaving the Russians with two or three tanks. The Russian fighters should attack the G erman boats in the Baltic to avoid an amphibious assault on the exposed tanks in Finland-Norway. These tanks will survive to fight again, retaking whateve r is lost to the Germans on their turn. Protecting Russia’s original tanks in this way allows the Russian player to purchases only infantry the first few turns to defend Karelia. Karelia will probably never be captured but even if it is, the few surviving German tanks will easily be defeated by the surv iving Russian tanks and Caucasian and Moscow infantry and Karelia retaken.
This Russian first move, along with a “Germany First” policy by the Allies will make short work of the Germans who tend to ju st try and survive while Japan makes its uncontested push towards Moscow. By the time the first Japanese are approaching Russia’s Capitol, Germany has usually fallen, or is about to fall in which case the Russians can turn east and take out the Japanese march across Asia, allowing the US and UK to finish off Germany.
