@Clyde85:
Leningrad has always been one of the biggest keys to the Eastern front, even all the way back to the orignal! If Germany wanted to win they had to find some way of breaking that horde of infanrty there that got bigger every turn cause it was the only place the Soviet player would place his pieces.
In A&A Europe (the first one :-D ) Leningrad was THE key in winning on the eastern front. I can remember battles being fought all across Soviet territory, while a huge stack sat in the new Leningrad city zone. The whole game seem to boil down to the fight for that city, and whoever came out the victor would take the game.
Now much the same is true as Novgorod is a major key in to winning on the eastfront, but it dosnt spell the same doom with its capture by the axis that it used to. Granted, losing it is still very detrimental to the Soviets, but if a players didnt invest too heavily in its defense, or moved the bulk of his forces out when the fall of the territory seemed imminent, then there is a good chance that the Soviets will endure. I’ve heard abandoning Novgorod as a possible stratgey for the Russians from the get go, focusing on the defense of Moscow and the much more valuable southern front areas.
What do you think of my idea to lure in Russians into invading scandinavia?
Say you don’t attack G2, there is a good chance the russians will move some units in Karelia if Norway is not reinforced.
Those units that are in Karelia can come back to Leningrad, does not look to be a big deal. However, if Italians take baltic states and if German reinforce it, means that the counter on Baltic States would not be strong enough to disuade Germany to walk in (planes can help)
Once Germany is comfortable in Baltic, the Russian will need to consolidate in Leningrad or lose it (backing the troops in Karelia). If SU concentrates the forces there and if the Italians open up Belarus, then any army in Smolensk would be exposed to the fury of German mechanized units and planes. If the mechanized force is sufficient, Moscow could be taken and the troops from Leningrad would be a turn behind. Depends what there is on the board, but interesting idea!