Opening Statement: If you decide Germany is going to be your starting country, you might want to weigh your options here. Germany is squished in-between two human players; France and Poland. This is not a big disadvantage (since some other countries also are in that condition), but considering that you are indeed Germany, you receive some sort of behavioral penalty (due to history) from other countries like France, the UK, Poland, and Russia. However, there is a benefit;
Step #1, Bully The AI Countries: You have six AI countries near you. Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. This is a big advantage. Conquer at least four of them, and you'll have 4 extra cities that can produce more units, get more resources, and you can get a grand total of 90 victory points early game. Of course you will suffer a heavy morale penalty and you WILL have lots of casualties, so it may be wiser to get some more troops before conquering more land. Luxembourg is by far the easiest AI country near Germany to go conquer early game, since it has a very small size.
Step #1.5, Allies: Note: (If you prefer to go solo, skip this part). As Germany, you would need to have some allies. Your allies should be the one that CAN help you, not burden you. As Germany, I would prefer to get either Poland or Italy on my side, the latter would accept more often. You also would want to be allies with someone who is does not big enough so that they could have a bigger military and economy than you, but they're also not small enough that they will be a burden. Your allies should be close to your home territory, since they can help you conquer more land.
Step #2, More Sweet, Sweet Territory: Ok, now you've conquered all those AI countries I mentioned before, lets get to conquering more and more land. Germany uses the Axis Doctrine, so its troops have higher damage and hitpoints, but they are also more expensive to produce. Now that you have extra resources (thanks to those AI cities you captured), you can start building a massive army. The best army composition (for me) as Germany, would be to bolster up an army that can attack at lightning speed, and can simultaneously deal significant damage to the enemy. My preffered tactic as Germany is.. you learnt it, you've (maybe) used it, BLITZKRIEG.
Step #3, Army Composition: A mix of Motorized Infantry, a LOT of Armored Cars and Light Tanks, a bit of Mechanized Infantry, and perhaps a few Medium Tanks and Tank Destroyers would make a perfect army. Now, Medium Tanks and Tank Destoyers are quite slow, so you might want to avoid coupling them up with several faster units. However when you use Motorized Infantry coupled with Light Tanks and Armored Cars, the effects are devastating to unarmored and light armored units. You also want to grab some Anti Tank ordnance or have one or two Tank Destroyers behind you, in case some Medium or Heavy Tanks come to get your army. You also would want to upgrade Light Tanks and Motorized Infantry quite often, as well as upgrading your Tank Plants and Barracks; they would only do so well in late game if they're stuck on Level 1.
TL;DR: Bully the AI countries near you, get an army with Motorized Infantry and Light Tanks (also with some Medium Tanks and Tank Destroyers), use Blitzkrieg, conquer that country, upgrade your army, and repeat.
Thank you for reading this awfully long thread. Thank you!
Step #1, Bully The AI Countries: You have six AI countries near you. Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. This is a big advantage. Conquer at least four of them, and you'll have 4 extra cities that can produce more units, get more resources, and you can get a grand total of 90 victory points early game. Of course you will suffer a heavy morale penalty and you WILL have lots of casualties, so it may be wiser to get some more troops before conquering more land. Luxembourg is by far the easiest AI country near Germany to go conquer early game, since it has a very small size.
Step #1.5, Allies: Note: (If you prefer to go solo, skip this part). As Germany, you would need to have some allies. Your allies should be the one that CAN help you, not burden you. As Germany, I would prefer to get either Poland or Italy on my side, the latter would accept more often. You also would want to be allies with someone who is does not big enough so that they could have a bigger military and economy than you, but they're also not small enough that they will be a burden. Your allies should be close to your home territory, since they can help you conquer more land.
Step #2, More Sweet, Sweet Territory: Ok, now you've conquered all those AI countries I mentioned before, lets get to conquering more and more land. Germany uses the Axis Doctrine, so its troops have higher damage and hitpoints, but they are also more expensive to produce. Now that you have extra resources (thanks to those AI cities you captured), you can start building a massive army. The best army composition (for me) as Germany, would be to bolster up an army that can attack at lightning speed, and can simultaneously deal significant damage to the enemy. My preffered tactic as Germany is.. you learnt it, you've (maybe) used it, BLITZKRIEG.
Step #3, Army Composition: A mix of Motorized Infantry, a LOT of Armored Cars and Light Tanks, a bit of Mechanized Infantry, and perhaps a few Medium Tanks and Tank Destroyers would make a perfect army. Now, Medium Tanks and Tank Destoyers are quite slow, so you might want to avoid coupling them up with several faster units. However when you use Motorized Infantry coupled with Light Tanks and Armored Cars, the effects are devastating to unarmored and light armored units. You also want to grab some Anti Tank ordnance or have one or two Tank Destroyers behind you, in case some Medium or Heavy Tanks come to get your army. You also would want to upgrade Light Tanks and Motorized Infantry quite often, as well as upgrading your Tank Plants and Barracks; they would only do so well in late game if they're stuck on Level 1.
TL;DR: Bully the AI countries near you, get an army with Motorized Infantry and Light Tanks (also with some Medium Tanks and Tank Destroyers), use Blitzkrieg, conquer that country, upgrade your army, and repeat.
Thank you for reading this awfully long thread. Thank you!
