Welcome to my corner of the room!

It has been around a decade since I last played Moscow Campaign.  I know the Russians have a LOT of 1 factor infantry.  I am not certain what you mean by using a single infantry factor to attrition the Germans.  Are you referring to the high number of exchanges for the Germans, even at high odds?  If so, I vaguely recall that there were a few work around for the Germans such as surrounding units and attacking at lower odds and hoping not to be the one to retreat.  The nature of the campaign was centered around the unraveling of the over extended German effort and so a certain amount of attrition is to be expected.  Its a matter of how the Germans trade material for space in order to meet the victory conditions.  Of course a bit of luck helps either side. 

Like all these SPI essays they aren't always the greatest games when you play the historical OoB.  The what ifs often make better games.  Can't recall which ones.  Nowadays, victory conditions more often get adjusted to give some game balance and make things interesting.  Back in those heady days it seems the choice for a while was to change the OoB or the situation on the ground to balance out a game.  Both can work.  Considering the design goal that D and crew were working toward this seems appropriate.  You wouldn't expect a player to have this kind of patience today, but this is part of what gives these old clunkers their charm.