Taking Leningrad from the North?

[Choles1]

Finnish unit take Leningrad? After an attack on a Soviet unit in front of the no-attack line (Soviet unit retreated), the Finnish units pursued the Soviet unit and attacked it on the no-attack line. The Soviet unit dissolved and the Finnish unit was able to then take Leningrad? Why was that possible?

[larryfulkerson]

Was this Axis AI vs Soviet AI, or Axis AI vs you, or PBEM or .....????

[Aussiematto]

The no-attack line is NOT a no-move line. Therefore, if you don't need to attack, you can move. It's why the Soviet player has to garrison the line (and I am sure this is the intent). The AI builds a row of fortified regions to keep the Finns at bay (since it has huge numbers of APs I believe it is a no brainer).

Personally, I think the whole no-move / no-attack line issue could be rethought. Nothing urgent, of course, but it leads to rather peculiar game play at times. Example -  my current (brilliantly successful) Russian opponent has butchered me in the blizzard. He basically put no troops at all anywhere on the Finn no-move line (i'd taken Cheropovets with them so was as far east as I could be). This also allowed him a hanging flank as he terrorised 16th Army all the way back to Novgorod. OTOH, if you tinker with it, Leningrad even more obviously the key target in the 1st year. Better to have penalties rather than magic lines (ditto on the frozen Rumanians who wont move when Constanza is taken!). I'd use the AP system -- if condition a, then x points allows Finns to be activated; if b, then y points  -- that kind of thing.

But, to be honest, it's still realistic at a strategic level, just not so much operationally.