Defending against a '40 crush Russia attack

[sajbalk]

hello all,

I was thinking that I was starting to get good as the Allies, having read and re-read Harrybanana's allied strategies -- then I got hit by a 2-pronged attack against Russia in fall 1940. Russia is being crushed, and the W.Allies, despite taking Italy out of the war, are not distracting enough Germans out of the East.

Does anyone have any advice for the Allies when facing an early attack like this -- I fear AV before the US even gets in the war, despite holding the ME as the Allies.

Thanks,

[JanSorensen]

I havent seen that attack done well personally - but it sounds interesting.

If you avoid the AV my guess is that you are winning though even if Russia has collapsed.

[toddtreadway]

That's my guess also. Taking out Russia, while a pain for the Western Allies, is not the end. Just like taking out Britain isn't.

[Forwarn45]

I think you are on the right path to winning. The double squeeze also doubles the US economy early (instead of having to wait until 1942). This gives the WA the tools to really mess with Germany. You took out Italy so that sounds like you are keeping the pressure on. The Brits need to build a decent ground army early on. If possible, try to keep a beachhead in Europe and, if neccessary, invade into an old Russian territory or two to stay connected with the Soviets. Bomb the German infrastructure if possible. Even if the Axis take the cities they need for an AV, you should be able to inflict enough economic damage to keep them from winning......

BTW - if it's not too late, I found that retreating a factory into the Caucuses may help keep the soviets alive a bit longer. [8D]

[Harrybanana]

Sajbalk, this strategy was used against me once as well and almost did me in too. I assume the Axis player hit you with tons of infantry rather than building tanks. I probably would have lost the game but for a technicality. My opponent and I were playing with a house rule that I couldn't "bomb" the Japanese units in Russia to activate the US (this was before the rule changes) but we didn't say anything about my land attacking them. I was able to attack a Japanese unit in Russia with an infantry in Afghanistan to bring the US into the war, which my friend thought was a breach of the spirit of our rule. He had a point so we decided to call our game a draw.

It was after this game that I decided that artillery was the way to go rather than tanks. I didn't say much about this strategy of the F40 attack (which I think is an excellent Axis plan) in my Guide because I felt the fewer people who knew about it the better. I can't add anything about how to defeat this strategy beyond what the others have already said. Even if the Axis conquer Moscow or Leningrad and Stalingrad (or all 3) there is still hope. Retreat to Central Siberia if necessary, hold on and hope that the Axis can't repair enough resources to win. If you've conquered Italy it will be difficult for him to win the AV.

[Daykeras]

If you can hold russia long enough to get production well and good in the WAllies, you can start to slip into Germany. Japan will still play havok with Russia, but Germany will be out of the game.

If Russia falls, you can still hold it together. Just make sure to be efficient with your production as WAllies. Time is your enemy, but it's also your friend if Russia can hold. Not much else to say.

[WanderingHead]

Now that I am facing the same, I'd really like to know how this turned out.

[sajbalk]

I was the Allies in this game. I surrendered in late 1943. He landed in Scotland while many of my troops were in Italy, so I don't have an exact answer how this strategy turned out. The loss of England saved Russia, but Russia was reduced to Moscow/Leningrad and surrounding environs. Japan was at 25 PP before general war.

A better Allied strat would have been to go right for the throat in France. If it comes up again, I will do that, but there is no counter against Japan -- China cannot attack teched up Jap. troops and China can really get hurt from strat. bombing.