In Axis and Allies, Can Infantry Building Lead to a "Stalemate" in the Early Going?
Yes IPM can stalemate a game, but No, not in the beginning

Yes, the infantry push mechanic (IPM) can lead to stalemated games, but not in the early going. Rather, the game is dynamic and the board ever-changing en route to a stalemate after 5-7 turns. I've had this happen numerous times via two different playouts:


Traditional shuck-shuck


Both the Axis and Allies follow a basic IPM strategy. 
Germany's objectives are to take and hold Africa as long as possible, maintain a solid front in Eastern Europe while occasionally trading the Ukraine with Russia and fending off a large-scale invasion of France.
The US and UK set up the shuck-shuck and try and take back Africa, plow infantry into Russia via Finland, and set up for an invasion of France.
Russia builds a fortress on their western front and slows Japan's inevitable advance as much as possible.
Japan goes full-bore in Asia: advancing as quickly as possible to Moscow to take the pressure off Germany.


If both players execute their strategies well this game can reach a stalemate in terms of it taking a very long time to decide the game; however, this should not be confused with the game being static. Germany steadily loses territory and Japan steadily gains it so the map is fluid; it's simply that no side can gain a edge.

If Germany can hold Africa for a reasonable amount of time, and if Japan expands quickly enough, the Axis will have IPC parity with the Allies. If this happens, both sides can stack up their infantry equally fast, which makes it difficult for either side to launch a successful attack because A&amp;A combat is biased towards the defender.

Eventually the Allies will capture Germany, but a large enough stack of infantry and clever counter-attacking can make this very slow going for the allies. If timed right, Germany can give Japan enough time to capture Moscow just before Germany is eliminated. If this happens, Japan can sometimes expand so quickly into Europe that they alone are close to IPC parity with the US and UK. Japan is now effectively playing a Russian strategy in Karelia and German one in Africa and trying to keep it's IPC count high. If the US and UK can  get a solid enough foothold in Europe to start pumping out tanks from the German and Italian factories they will eventually win, but as long as Japan is able to counter and occasionally re-capture Italy (and/or harass the US in the Pacific) the game can keep plowing along with neither side gaining an advantage.

I've never seen Japan win if Germany falls, but I've seen it take 6 or 7 turns after Germany's fall before it was clear that they weren't going to pull it out, and I have seen the Axis win if Japan gets to Eastern Europe in time to reinforce the Fatherland.
Asia double factories. 


The US builds a factory in Sinkiang and the UK in India so they can pump out five armor a turn. 
Russian aids in the north with infantry
All three allies provide Asian air support


This three-pronged attack can effectively stop the Japanese advance in Asia. (I've even pushed Japan on the continent before using this strategy--although it didn't stick.) However, it obviously takes the pressure off Germany quite a bit and significantly delays both the start of and the magnitude of the shuck-shuck (two tanks per turn in Sinkiang is 3 less infantry in Europe; the UK has less income and one more tank to buy).

This game can stalemate with Japan unable to get a solid foothold in Asia and Germany able to keep and hold Africa (making up for Japan's failure) but unable to crack the Russian nut in Karelia (the US does reach 7 infantry a turn steady-state after all).




Both methods can reach stalemate if the IPCs are near parity because it is near impossible to attack large stacks of infantry without opening yourself up to a vicious counter-attack. Thus neither side attacks, the IPC balance doesn't swing, and the stacks of infantry get higher and higher. 

Typically stalemates end with a victory in a secondary theater (e.g. Africa, South Pacific), which results in a small IPC advantage that builds slowly in time. It can also end with a clumsy move by one of the players, some exceedingly good (or bad) dice rolls, or by mutual agreement to end the game in a draw if everyone is too tired to continue.