The attack on Western Russia is essential - if this one fails, you are doomed. The German Navy is not Russias concern, especially as one of the two fighters either dies in battle or must land in Karelia (which means certain elimination too). I would rather strafe Ukraine than taking it for the same reason. Use your attack power wisely and try to keep it as long as possible by protecting it with enough infantry.
Interstin'. In our '42 Second Edition we've added tac-bombers 'n mechs so I've found purchasin' tac-bombers INSTEAD of fighter 'n strategic bombers to work EXTREMELY well. The tac-bombers defend onna 3 insteada 1 'n they attack onna 4 when paired (which they should always be!) witha tank or fighter division, 'n they're cheaper than strategic bombers. Sure, they don't have range, but the Soviets need to focus ontha Eastern Front anyway. Let the limeys deal witha Kriegsmarine.
Does the tac bomber still get the bonus on land without an attacking tank as long as they have an attacking air ? I'm curious what your tac bombers cost and move, are their Air to air interceptions in this game? I'm trying to figure in half infantry and "white" horse's for transportation, combat 2 spaces. non combat 3 and can be captured.
I'm late to the party again. Christmas/Holiday/whatever season was pretty nuts in my neck of the woods. I have work in the morning so I'll check this video and pass some discussion your way later.
I would use the fighters to attack Germany on land. Use them to support everything else, and consider retreating them if things go wrong. They really bolster defense.
One caveat: Both American and Brit FTRs should be sent to defend RU and Caucasus. A US or U.K. Bomber should be based out of RU to keep snipping the perimeter of JP and GE forces to keep RU income intact.
I find this opening too aggressive for its own good. For what you're trying to do, I'd suggest moving all but one Inf from Karelia to the W Rus battle to ensure the win, and then hope that Russia loses a Fighter in the Baltic fight (a 50% chance). Then you can NCM the surviving Fighter to Russia. Couple that battle plan with a 2 Tank 4 Inf build and you'll have enough between the 2 Tanks + 1 Inf + The W Rus stack + the 2 Evenki Inf (that you NCM to Archangel during turn 1) to effectively counter into Karelia if Germany tries to dive on it. The most Germany can stack in Karelia turn 1, if the dive on the Baltic Fleet succeeds and they put absolutely everything into attacking it and barely bother with Ukraine is: The 3 Inf from Finland The 3 Inf from Belorussia The 1 Inf + 1 Tank from Baltic States The Tank from Poland The 2 Tanks from Germany That's a total of 7 Inf, 4 Tanks. Round 2 Russia, if the W Rus fight goes well, can bring the following to counter: The 2 Inf from Archangel The Fighter + 2 Tanks from Russia 6 Inf, 2 Art, 1 Tank from W Rus (Average number of surviving units is 8 if you brought the units I specified) That's a total of 8 Inf, 2 Art, 3 Tanks, 1 Fighter. Russia should be able to win the counterattack ~83% and keep 5 units alive (The tanks, the fighter and one artillery). Germany loses almost half of its Tanks and a good chunk of its Inf doing this, and while Russia won't be able to keep up the pressure against Karelia the Western Allies will probably be able to get into position to start flying in air support by Round 3 or so, so Russia will be able to retreat to West Russia/Caucasus and wait for help. If I get another chance to play my friends before they go back to college/uni/whatever you call it in your area, I'll give either you plan from this video or my plan from these comments a shot and see how it goes. Let me know what you think.
+Jonathan Meyer As for why I find the opening in this vid *too* aggressive (although being aggressive with Russia against Germany to a point is never a bad thing, as it's the only way to stop their economy from snowballing out of control): If you attack all of those territories and lose even 1 battle, Russia will die almost immediately. Even if the W Rus battle succeeds, the stack on the territory will be too weak to seriously deter an aggressive Germany from pouncing on Karelia. And while yes Inf are basically the best unit (cost efficiency wise) in the game on Defense, a force of 4 Inf and a hypothetical Fighter in Karelia will be seen as Germany as an easy way to pick off a Fighter that Russia has 0 ability to replace, seriously harming their (the USSR's) long-term defensive prospects. With 7 Inf on the attack, the most Germany is going to lose in exchange for the Fighter is some easily replaced cannon fodder. The Ukraine Attack has a similar problem because of how unsupportable it is. Germany can easily attack Karelia and Ukraine simultaneously on G1 with some pretty sizable ground forces because of how overpowered its setup is. Russia, on the other hand, cannot simultaneously counter a German stack in these two territories on R2. One of them sure, but not both. This predicament is how my games against Germany usually end up falling apart (Germany getting medium-sized forces in both Ukraine AND Karelia early in the game): Scenario: Germany is mildly stacking Karelia and Ukraine; Russia has a stack in W Rus and reinforcements in Caucasus and Russia. My options, as Russia, are: A: Attack Karelia with the whole stack, be passive with Caucasus and stack it. Germany uses Ukraine to either kill Caucasus anyway, and/or takes W. Rus, cutting off the Russian Army in Leningrad so that it can't make it to Stalingrad before the advancing Germans. Also, Germany can probably counter Karelia anyway. Germany wins. B: Attack Ukr with the whole stack, including Caucasus. Germany uses Karelia to take Belo/W Rus/Archangel, blocking off any Russian route to Leningrad and allowing a stack to gather quickly on Moscow's doorstep. The Russian Ukr army has to turn back to defend the capital but it out of position. Germany wins. C: Attack neither. Stack and wait for the Western Allies. Germany stacks Karelia faster than Russia can stack W. Rus because of the superior German economy. Germany can just turtle at this point (as the Allies can't all attack at the same time and all the air power in the world can't penetrate a large land stack) and wait for Japan to win the game for them. Germany wins. D: Reckless attack on both stacks. A gambling strategy which loses instantly if either attack goes badly. Even in the off-chance that both succeed Russia is wearing its army down at an unsustainable rate. Even if Germany gets crippled, Japan can probably seriously damage or outright kill Russia in the mid/late game due to the Russians throwing away a good chunk of their offensive capability.
interesting points he said. 5 years later. I'm not remembering this version as much. it sounds like the German Baltic transport shouldn't be a priority for the Russian player because sunk or afloat, it makes little difference to the outcome in Karelia/ Leningrad, is that correct ? I see no Russian Navy either, Russian Navy would have no bearing on the fate of Leningrad either except as I read possibly a mistaken move for Russia to be found landing surviving aircraft in a doomed territory.
@@CaptainVasiliArkhipov It's less about the Baltic Transport and more about the Cruiser, actually. If you can deny the Germans their Cruiser than it makes their attacks against the British Navy during their first turn a lot less effective. Specifically, in order to kill the Battleship reliably they'd either need to accept losing 1-2 Fighters (a horrible idea for the Axis's long-term prospects), commit additional Subs to the attack (and forfeit other attacks in the process) or use the Bomber from Germany (which is usually used for Egypt, as it is needed to have good odds on the fight there). Basically, you're trading 1 Soviet FTR (at most) in exchange for a stronger position for UK on B1. Having UK stay strong is ultimately far more important overall, as a stronger first turn for UK means they can build up a Germany-proof fleet faster, which greatly accelerates Allied efforts in threatening France, denying Scandinavia to Germany, and ultimately threatening landings in Karelia/Baltic States, all of which relieve pressure from the USSR and may ultimately make/break Moscow's survival.
@@CaptainVasiliArkhipov One last thing, Leningrad is not doomed G1. If you position your pieces correctly as USSR you can most likely hold it for a single turn as a German all-in to take it would require them to send literally everything (meaning almost all UK boats survive) and even then the attack is only like 60% odds. No reason for them to do that when normal openings get all of their tanks positioned in Eastern Europe/Baltic States at the end of turn 1, which on its own exerts so much pressure that USSR is forced to withdraw everything to West Russia on R2 or lose everything in a ~90% odds smackdown.
I like the challenge of building Russian air force, but you can't be too careful skipping that much infantry, it helps if a couple land battles go my way first, bombers are the best, more range than anything and not as much need to "spend" the tanks. Tanks are nicer when dice go bad, as a last one on one, I always retreat the bomber. are these tanks defending on a 3 ?
What Scherm says below is what I've seen work best. Russia should always buy 3 AR or 2 TNK in lieu of more FTRs.....and be ready to pounce on GE when thy make a mistake in Rnds 3,4 and 5 when they are being rushed for results.
Attacking with the 2 Fighters at the Baltic fleet is a solid move indeed, all can agree. But all other strategies are dull. Basically the Soviets will lose almost all available units in a single turn and eventually the Germans will take control over West Russian, Ukraine, very likely Caucasus (with Amphibious assault + air support), and Leningrad. If the Soviet attack on West Russia fails as it likely does when less than 7 units are committed it will basically be Good Game for the Soviet Player. The casualties for the Russian combat on turn 1 be like: - 3-4 infantry in West Russia - 3 infantry + 1 Art + 1 tank in Ukraine - 0-1 Fighters in the Baltic sea That's fair amount of casualties with fine rewards some might say. However everything will collapse as soon as the Russian player end his turn. Germany will attack Ukraine with 4 inf + 1 tank, Caucasus with 1 inf + 1 art + Battleship + 2-3 Fighters, depending on how many units the Soviets deploy there, 3 infantry + 2 tanks +1 Fighter + 1 Bomber at West Russia and 4 infantry + 2 tanks + 1 Fighter at Leningrad (with maybe the Bomber if the Russians didn't fortify Caucasus heavily, remember Leningrad cannot receive AAA gun on turn 1). With that said Germany would have high chance of at least 55-60% of winning all those 4 battles, and even if they don't, they will still likely inflict tremendous casualties to the overstretched Russians. The casualties for the Russians on the German combat on turn 1 be like: - 2-3 infantry, 2 artillery, 1 AAA ( and probably the tank) in West Russia - remaining 2 tanks in Ukraine - remaining 1 or 2 Fighters in Leningrad, 5 infantry - attack on the Caucasus is debatable as it consist risks for the German Fighters and might fail badly for them, but still is winnable. If the Germans commit to it, it is free to say would cause 1 AAA and 2-5 infantry depending on if it is successful or not. In total the Russians may end up losing a total of: - 16-19 infantry - 3 artillery - 3-4 tanks - 2 Fighters - 2 AAA guns This is a total loss of at least 108 IPC and territorial losses, with potentially go as bad as 123 IPC. And those are casualties the Soviets cannot think of losing just on 1 turn. Total losses for the Germans would have been also quite a lot (at least 14 infantry, 3 artillery, 4 tanks, 1-2 Fighters, Cruiser and Transport) - close to 120 IPC, but they have more reinforcements and will keep their Air fleet strong for turn 2. Also in this Game setting the Germans have 4 subs so they can still pretty easily destroy both British fleet in zones 7 and 10 with 1 Fighter support. Basically the Soviet Union will be left only with some 5-6 infantry in Moscow and Caucasus (8 if the German player is conservative and the Russian moved both units from the Chinese border west, which is a MUST since he has gone all out for Germany). All and all an almost dead Soviet player without any potential of continue harassing and counterattacking loss territories any more. A consolation still might be that the Germans will be left with close to no infantry on the frontier except 3-4 in Ukraine, so their further advances on turn 2 would be somewhat less cost efficient, and also Egypt will be safe, since no reinforcements will be brought to the Afrika Korps. Also the British Destroyer and Cruiser in the Mediterranean sea would both survive. This are all nice comforts for the British player, as he will have time to reinforce Africa and clear the submarines in the Atlantic sooner, but I think nothing will be able to save Russia at this point. The Allies will have to continue the game from turn 2 onwards without the Soviet Union, while having slightly stronger British Empire, I don't see this as a solid situation. All and all I like very much the idea of attacking Baltic sea with 2 Fighters - it achieves 2 things - 1st less infantry reinforcements on the Eastern Front and secondly diminishes the odds of a German invasion in the British Isles on turn 2. But then I prefer to concentrate all frontline units into West Russia and leave Caucasus and Leningrad undefended (with 1 infantry only). Also purchasing 1 Fighter + 2 Infantry + 2 Artillery on turn 1 is a very solid move in this situation, since you'll certainly lose 1 plane (either from the Cruiser defense or during the German attack on Leningrad, as the plane will not have fuel to land further away). The Germans will have the option to take both Caucasus and Leningrad easily of course and then decide where they prefer to concentrate - north or south. But with 18 units in West Russia and 4 in Moscow the Soviets will have easy time retaking both Caucasus and Leningrad if they want, or just one of them and fortify West Russia. This way yes, the Germans won't have suffer many casualties on turn 1, but the Soviet player would have suffer almost none (2-3 infantry in total), and will have the advantage of being in a striking distance of Leningrad, Belorussia, Ukraine and Caucasus at the same time, effectively choosing which battle would serve him best and destroy the most German units as possible. Hitting Ukraine and Caucasus the same time would probably be most cost-efficient, but it very much depends on the enemy move.
I think it's best to whittle down the German forces and conserve your tanks at the same time by attacking and then retreating, especially in the Ukraine. West Russia and the Caucasus are holdable on turn 1, but karelia is no bueno, so i like to throw everything i have from russia (except for the tanks) and karelia into west russia, attack ukraine with all the tanks i can and with everything in the caucases, but retreat after one attack role so none of my units get stuck in the ukraine bc everything will die there....what i'm thinking about after watching this video though is that it could be nice to attack into finland and then into norway the next turn with the karelia units and the tank from archangel in conjunction with the fighter(s) used to take out the german cruiser and transport...it could be a nice distraction that could buy russia a turn or two from a full on tank/luftwaffe onslaught, take out some german infantry, and would be funny... But I'm not sure if it'd be worth it given that the infantry units could serve a better purpose in west russia as buffer units and the fighters as defensive units wherever you'd like them. If you devote the fighters to attack in the baltic sea the one from russia doesn't really have anywhere safe to land and could easliy be lost on Germany's turn which really is awful as russia bc you can't afford to replace aircraft
Agreed. After taking more time to think through this approach, I've decided I prefer the more traditional strategy. Attacking Finland also means facing infantry head on with no prospect of destroying German offense.
It's often seen as timidly, retreating can be what wins the long run. of the 2 official a&a tournaments I played in. the time I won was precisely because of early excessive German opening retreats against Russia, I'd never seen the Europe A,&A until that game. Russia had mountains of infantry waiting to be gathered and Germany had way too few infantry for that trading, I would have had to place way to much armor and artillery out there as the Russian counter attacked against them trading infantry. my opening turn I retreated 2/3's of my opening battles turn one against Russia. Several turns later. as my infantry builds became abundant, I still had the majority of my set up tanks and artillery, the power shift became obvious, I marched with impunity East.
You do not use the extra bomber for the Soviet setup in Moscow/Russia? Even with that Soviet is under preasure... If you use it the bomber and Karelia/Leningrad fighter is enough to attack that fleet :-) No need to land in Karelia then. Much more options (keep Kareila or abandon it, go for Ukraine or not etc). Me, with bomber, the bomber and Kareila fighter can hit the fleet. The rest ALL hit Western Russia. No holding back. I'd build 4 infantry in Caucasus +1 from Kazakh SSR + starting AAA gun. 1 fighter and 2 arillery in Moscow +1 infantry from Novosibirsk. + 1 Bomber & 1 fighter landing after battle (or 2 fighters if lucky) The rest in West Russia, all tanks and infantry (Karelia open) including one AAA gun. This leaves Kareila free to take but Caucasus can not be taken and held by the Germans (counterattack from Moscow/Western Russia). I think Germany can not take Western Russia AND the British navy turn 1, I realize the risk with only one army in a single space but we are Russians here. No fear!
Hi Peter. I've used the standard book setup, so no bomber for Russia :( Personally, I'd rather start with an extra four infantry in Caucus when it all comes down to it.
@@JonathanMeyer84 We have played with an extra Soviet AA in Karelia and on the Soviet-Japan border and an infantry (or2) in Urals. No offense S1 but sustainability.
I think its totally stupid. Germans would wipe off the British battleship no matter how. Simply 2 subs from Baltic and 2 fighters from Norway and Denmark would be abundantly enough to wipe off British surface ships. Germans dont have to send their crusier out the atlantic for real. The sinking of the cruiser is not critical, for its dying anyway no matter how. On the other hand, Leningrad is of certain death, theres no point to put the Yak fighter as some kind of Kamakazi that you simply used them once and all then died in Karelia. In 2 turns, if that happens, Caucasus shall fall since Russia has no more air shield. Fighters are ultra important for Russia's survival for both defensing and offensing purpose. And not to say with such a minor victory gained in West Russia and Ukraine, Russia would have had nothing left back home when Germans reinforcement reached West Russia again. Tanks and fighters, to me, is something that Russia should not lose AT ALL COST. If a territory shall fall, and if its predictable, The Russians should then retreat their fighters and armors to safer place (say Moscow)
The attack on Western Russia is essential - if this one fails, you are doomed. The German Navy is not Russias concern, especially as one of the two fighters either dies in battle or must land in Karelia (which means certain elimination too). I would rather strafe Ukraine than taking it for the same reason. Use your attack power wisely and try to keep it as long as possible by protecting it with enough infantry.
Interstin'. In our '42 Second Edition we've added tac-bombers 'n mechs so I've found purchasin' tac-bombers INSTEAD of fighter 'n strategic bombers to work EXTREMELY well. The tac-bombers defend onna 3 insteada 1 'n they attack onna 4 when paired (which they should always be!) witha tank or fighter division, 'n they're cheaper than strategic bombers. Sure, they don't have range, but the Soviets need to focus ontha Eastern Front anyway. Let the limeys deal witha Kriegsmarine.
Does the tac bomber still get the bonus on land without an attacking tank as long as they have an attacking air ? I'm curious what your tac bombers cost and move, are their Air to air interceptions in this game? I'm trying to figure in half infantry and "white" horse's for transportation, combat 2 spaces. non combat 3 and can be captured.
I'm late to the party again. Christmas/Holiday/whatever season was pretty nuts in my neck of the woods.
I have work in the morning so I'll check this video and pass some discussion your way later.
I would use the fighters to attack Germany on land. Use them to support everything else, and consider retreating them if things go wrong. They really bolster defense.
One caveat: Both American and Brit FTRs should be sent to defend RU and Caucasus. A US or U.K. Bomber should be based out of RU to keep snipping the perimeter of JP and GE forces to keep RU income intact.
I find this opening too aggressive for its own good.
For what you're trying to do, I'd suggest moving all but one Inf from Karelia to the W Rus battle to ensure the win, and then hope that Russia loses a Fighter in the Baltic fight (a 50% chance).
Then you can NCM the surviving Fighter to Russia.
Couple that battle plan with a 2 Tank 4 Inf build and you'll have enough between the 2 Tanks + 1 Inf + The W Rus stack + the 2 Evenki Inf (that you NCM to Archangel during turn 1) to effectively counter into Karelia if Germany tries to dive on it.
The most Germany can stack in Karelia turn 1, if the dive on the Baltic Fleet succeeds and they put absolutely everything into attacking it and barely bother with Ukraine is:
The 3 Inf from Finland
The 3 Inf from Belorussia
The 1 Inf + 1 Tank from Baltic States
The Tank from Poland
The 2 Tanks from Germany
That's a total of 7 Inf, 4 Tanks.
Round 2 Russia, if the W Rus fight goes well, can bring the following to counter:
The 2 Inf from Archangel
The Fighter + 2 Tanks from Russia
6 Inf, 2 Art, 1 Tank from W Rus (Average number of surviving units is 8 if you brought the units I specified)
That's a total of 8 Inf, 2 Art, 3 Tanks, 1 Fighter.
Russia should be able to win the counterattack ~83% and keep 5 units alive (The tanks, the fighter and one artillery).
Germany loses almost half of its Tanks and a good chunk of its Inf doing this, and while Russia won't be able to keep up the pressure against Karelia the Western Allies will probably be able to get into position to start flying in air support by Round 3 or so, so Russia will be able to retreat to West Russia/Caucasus and wait for help.
If I get another chance to play my friends before they go back to college/uni/whatever you call it in your area, I'll give either you plan from this video or my plan from these comments a shot and see how it goes.
Let me know what you think.
+Jonathan Meyer
As for why I find the opening in this vid *too* aggressive (although being aggressive with Russia against Germany to a point is never a bad thing, as it's the only way to stop their economy from snowballing out of control):
If you attack all of those territories and lose even 1 battle, Russia will die almost immediately.
Even if the W Rus battle succeeds, the stack on the territory will be too weak to seriously deter an aggressive Germany from pouncing on Karelia.
And while yes Inf are basically the best unit (cost efficiency wise) in the game on Defense, a force of 4 Inf and a hypothetical Fighter in Karelia will be seen as Germany as an easy way to pick off a Fighter that Russia has 0 ability to replace, seriously harming their (the USSR's) long-term defensive prospects. With 7 Inf on the attack, the most Germany is going to lose in exchange for the Fighter is some easily replaced cannon fodder.
The Ukraine Attack has a similar problem because of how unsupportable it is. Germany can easily attack Karelia and Ukraine simultaneously on G1 with some pretty sizable ground forces because of how overpowered its setup is. Russia, on the other hand, cannot simultaneously counter a German stack in these two territories on R2. One of them sure, but not both.
This predicament is how my games against Germany usually end up falling apart (Germany getting medium-sized forces in both Ukraine AND Karelia early in the game):
Scenario: Germany is mildly stacking Karelia and Ukraine; Russia has a stack in W Rus and reinforcements in Caucasus and Russia.
My options, as Russia, are:
A: Attack Karelia with the whole stack, be passive with Caucasus and stack it.
Germany uses Ukraine to either kill Caucasus anyway, and/or takes W. Rus, cutting off the Russian Army in Leningrad so that it can't make it to Stalingrad before the advancing Germans. Also, Germany can probably counter Karelia anyway. Germany wins.
B: Attack Ukr with the whole stack, including Caucasus.
Germany uses Karelia to take Belo/W Rus/Archangel, blocking off any Russian route to Leningrad and allowing a stack to gather quickly on Moscow's doorstep. The Russian Ukr army has to turn back to defend the capital but it out of position. Germany wins.
C: Attack neither. Stack and wait for the Western Allies.
Germany stacks Karelia faster than Russia can stack W. Rus because of the superior German economy. Germany can just turtle at this point (as the Allies can't all attack at the same time and all the air power in the world can't penetrate a large land stack) and wait for Japan to win the game for them. Germany wins.
D: Reckless attack on both stacks.
A gambling strategy which loses instantly if either attack goes badly. Even in the off-chance that both succeed Russia is wearing its army down at an unsustainable rate. Even if Germany gets crippled, Japan can probably seriously damage or outright kill Russia in the mid/late game due to the Russians throwing away a good chunk of their offensive capability.
interesting points he said. 5 years later. I'm not remembering this version as much. it sounds like the German Baltic transport shouldn't be a priority for the Russian player because sunk or afloat, it makes little difference to the outcome in Karelia/ Leningrad, is that correct ? I see no Russian Navy either, Russian Navy would have no bearing on the fate of Leningrad either except as I read possibly a mistaken move for Russia to be found landing surviving aircraft in a doomed territory.
@@CaptainVasiliArkhipov It's less about the Baltic Transport and more about the Cruiser, actually. If you can deny the Germans their Cruiser than it makes their attacks against the British Navy during their first turn a lot less effective. Specifically, in order to kill the Battleship reliably they'd either need to accept losing 1-2 Fighters (a horrible idea for the Axis's long-term prospects), commit additional Subs to the attack (and forfeit other attacks in the process) or use the Bomber from Germany (which is usually used for Egypt, as it is needed to have good odds on the fight there). Basically, you're trading 1 Soviet FTR (at most) in exchange for a stronger position for UK on B1.
Having UK stay strong is ultimately far more important overall, as a stronger first turn for UK means they can build up a Germany-proof fleet faster, which greatly accelerates Allied efforts in threatening France, denying Scandinavia to Germany, and ultimately threatening landings in Karelia/Baltic States, all of which relieve pressure from the USSR and may ultimately make/break Moscow's survival.
@@CaptainVasiliArkhipov One last thing, Leningrad is not doomed G1. If you position your pieces correctly as USSR you can most likely hold it for a single turn as a German all-in to take it would require them to send literally everything (meaning almost all UK boats survive) and even then the attack is only like 60% odds. No reason for them to do that when normal openings get all of their tanks positioned in Eastern Europe/Baltic States at the end of turn 1, which on its own exerts so much pressure that USSR is forced to withdraw everything to West Russia on R2 or lose everything in a ~90% odds smackdown.
I understood how to defend aggainst hermano but what happened on soviet-japanese front? What do i have to do?
I like the challenge of building Russian air force, but you can't be too careful skipping that much infantry, it helps if a couple land battles go my way first, bombers are the best, more range than anything and not as much need to "spend" the tanks. Tanks are nicer when dice go bad, as a last one on one, I always retreat the bomber. are these tanks defending on a 3 ?
Yeah, the tanks defend at 3 in this version.
The game is so stacked against the Axis if you dont win as the allies youre either really bad or playing against an expert axis player
What Scherm says below is what I've seen work best. Russia should always buy 3 AR or 2 TNK in lieu of more FTRs.....and be ready to pounce on GE when thy make a mistake in Rnds 3,4 and 5 when they are being rushed for results.
Attacking with the 2 Fighters at the Baltic fleet is a solid move indeed, all can agree. But all other strategies are dull. Basically the Soviets will lose almost all available units in a single turn and eventually the Germans will take control over West Russian, Ukraine, very likely Caucasus (with Amphibious assault + air support), and Leningrad. If the Soviet attack on West Russia fails as it likely does when less than 7 units are committed it will basically be Good Game for the Soviet Player.
The casualties for the Russian combat on turn 1 be like:
- 3-4 infantry in West Russia
- 3 infantry + 1 Art + 1 tank in Ukraine
- 0-1 Fighters in the Baltic sea
That's fair amount of casualties with fine rewards some might say. However everything will collapse as soon as the Russian player end his turn. Germany will attack Ukraine with 4 inf + 1 tank, Caucasus with 1 inf + 1 art + Battleship + 2-3 Fighters, depending on how many units the Soviets deploy there, 3 infantry + 2 tanks +1 Fighter + 1 Bomber at West Russia and 4 infantry + 2 tanks + 1 Fighter at Leningrad (with maybe the Bomber if the Russians didn't fortify Caucasus heavily, remember Leningrad cannot receive AAA gun on turn 1).
With that said Germany would have high chance of at least 55-60% of winning all those 4 battles, and even if they don't, they will still likely inflict tremendous casualties to the overstretched Russians.
The casualties for the Russians on the German combat on turn 1 be like:
- 2-3 infantry, 2 artillery, 1 AAA ( and probably the tank) in West Russia
- remaining 2 tanks in Ukraine
- remaining 1 or 2 Fighters in Leningrad, 5 infantry
- attack on the Caucasus is debatable as it consist risks for the German Fighters and might fail badly for them, but still is winnable. If the Germans commit to it, it is free to say would cause 1 AAA and 2-5 infantry depending on if it is successful or not.
In total the Russians may end up losing a total of:
- 16-19 infantry
- 3 artillery
- 3-4 tanks
- 2 Fighters
- 2 AAA guns
This is a total loss of at least 108 IPC and territorial losses, with potentially go as bad as 123 IPC. And those are casualties the Soviets cannot think of losing just on 1 turn.
Total losses for the Germans would have been also quite a lot (at least 14 infantry, 3 artillery, 4 tanks, 1-2 Fighters, Cruiser and Transport) - close to 120 IPC, but they have more reinforcements and will keep their Air fleet strong for turn 2. Also in this Game setting the Germans have 4 subs so they can still pretty easily destroy both British fleet in zones 7 and 10 with 1 Fighter support.
Basically the Soviet Union will be left only with some 5-6 infantry in Moscow and Caucasus (8 if the German player is conservative and the Russian moved both units from the Chinese border west, which is a MUST since he has gone all out for Germany). All and all an almost dead Soviet player without any potential of continue harassing and counterattacking loss territories any more. A consolation still might be that the Germans will be left with close to no infantry on the frontier except 3-4 in Ukraine, so their further advances on turn 2 would be somewhat less cost efficient, and also Egypt will be safe, since no reinforcements will be brought to the Afrika Korps. Also the British Destroyer and Cruiser in the Mediterranean sea would both survive. This are all nice comforts for the British player, as he will have time to reinforce Africa and clear the submarines in the Atlantic sooner, but I think nothing will be able to save Russia at this point. The Allies will have to continue the game from turn 2 onwards without the Soviet Union, while having slightly stronger British Empire, I don't see this as a solid situation.
All and all I like very much the idea of attacking Baltic sea with 2 Fighters - it achieves 2 things - 1st less infantry reinforcements on the Eastern Front and secondly diminishes the odds of a German invasion in the British Isles on turn 2. But then I prefer to concentrate all frontline units into West Russia and leave Caucasus and Leningrad undefended (with 1 infantry only). Also purchasing 1 Fighter + 2 Infantry + 2 Artillery on turn 1 is a very solid move in this situation, since you'll certainly lose 1 plane (either from the Cruiser defense or during the German attack on Leningrad, as the plane will not have fuel to land further away). The Germans will have the option to take both Caucasus and Leningrad easily of course and then decide where they prefer to concentrate - north or south. But with 18 units in West Russia and 4 in Moscow the Soviets will have easy time retaking both Caucasus and Leningrad if they want, or just one of them and fortify West Russia. This way yes, the Germans won't have suffer many casualties on turn 1, but the Soviet player would have suffer almost none (2-3 infantry in total), and will have the advantage of being in a striking distance of Leningrad, Belorussia, Ukraine and Caucasus at the same time, effectively choosing which battle would serve him best and destroy the most German units as possible. Hitting Ukraine and Caucasus the same time would probably be most cost-efficient, but it very much depends on the enemy move.
I think it's best to whittle down the German forces and conserve your tanks at the same time by attacking and then retreating, especially in the Ukraine. West Russia and the Caucasus are holdable on turn 1, but karelia is no bueno, so i like to throw everything i have from russia (except for the tanks) and karelia into west russia, attack ukraine with all the tanks i can and with everything in the caucases, but retreat after one attack role so none of my units get stuck in the ukraine bc everything will die there....what i'm thinking about after watching this video though is that it could be nice to attack into finland and then into norway the next turn with the karelia units and the tank from archangel in conjunction with the fighter(s) used to take out the german cruiser and transport...it could be a nice distraction that could buy russia a turn or two from a full on tank/luftwaffe onslaught, take out some german infantry, and would be funny...
But I'm not sure if it'd be worth it given that the infantry units could serve a better purpose in west russia as buffer units and the fighters as defensive units wherever you'd like them. If you devote the fighters to attack in the baltic sea the one from russia doesn't really have anywhere safe to land and could easliy be lost on Germany's turn which really is awful as russia bc you can't afford to replace aircraft
Agreed. After taking more time to think through this approach, I've decided I prefer the more traditional strategy. Attacking Finland also means facing infantry head on with no prospect of destroying German offense.
It's often seen as timidly, retreating can be what wins the long run. of the 2 official a&a tournaments I played in. the time I won was precisely because of early excessive German opening retreats against Russia, I'd never seen the Europe A,&A until that game. Russia had mountains of infantry waiting to be gathered and Germany had way too few infantry for that trading, I would have had to place way to much armor and artillery out there as the Russian counter attacked against them trading infantry. my opening turn I retreated 2/3's of my opening battles turn one against Russia. Several turns later. as my infantry builds became abundant, I still had the majority of my set up tanks and artillery, the power shift became obvious, I marched with impunity East.
Why not a Caucus shunt?
You do not use the extra bomber for the Soviet setup in Moscow/Russia?
Even with that Soviet is under preasure... If you use it the bomber and Karelia/Leningrad fighter is enough to attack that fleet :-)
No need to land in Karelia then. Much more options (keep Kareila or abandon it, go for Ukraine or not etc).
Me, with bomber, the bomber and Kareila fighter can hit the fleet.
The rest ALL hit Western Russia. No holding back.
I'd build 4 infantry in Caucasus +1 from Kazakh SSR + starting AAA gun.
1 fighter and 2 arillery in Moscow +1 infantry from Novosibirsk. + 1 Bomber & 1 fighter landing after battle (or 2 fighters if lucky)
The rest in West Russia, all tanks and infantry (Karelia open) including one AAA gun.
This leaves Kareila free to take but Caucasus can not be taken and held by the Germans (counterattack from Moscow/Western Russia).
I think Germany can not take Western Russia AND the British navy turn 1, I realize the risk with only one army in a single space but we are Russians here. No fear!
Hi Peter. I've used the standard book setup, so no bomber for Russia :( Personally, I'd rather start with an extra four infantry in Caucus when it all comes down to it.
@@JonathanMeyer84 We have played with an extra Soviet AA in Karelia and on the Soviet-Japan border and an infantry (or2) in Urals. No offense S1 but sustainability.
I think its totally stupid.
Germans would wipe off the British battleship no matter how. Simply 2 subs from Baltic and 2 fighters from Norway and Denmark would be abundantly enough to wipe off British surface ships. Germans dont have to send their crusier out the atlantic for real. The sinking of the cruiser is not critical, for its dying anyway no matter how.
On the other hand, Leningrad is of certain death, theres no point to put the Yak fighter as some kind of Kamakazi that you simply used them once and all then died in Karelia. In 2 turns, if that happens, Caucasus shall fall since Russia has no more air shield. Fighters are ultra important for Russia's survival for both defensing and offensing purpose.
And not to say with such a minor victory gained in West Russia and Ukraine, Russia would have had nothing left back home when Germans reinforcement reached West Russia again. Tanks and fighters, to me, is something that Russia should not lose AT ALL COST. If a territory shall fall, and if its predictable, The Russians should then retreat their fighters and armors to safer place (say Moscow)