Let’s get into this! I’ll try my best and hopefully other players can improve on me. So starting off, we’re gonna have to see if we shall join a coalition or solo? Well since you haven’t played France before your best bet is to go for a coalition this game. Since many people can go inactive and things can turn out for the worst, I’ll give you a run down of potential allies. By far the best is the UK, they have a strong fleet and good position to work with you; there is a reason the two countries allied in real life. Germany being stronger than you (I’ve found it easy to storm france as Germany before, even with Maginot). The US, Italy, Soviets, and other Powers near Europe (except Spain) are also great choices.

Now as France you’re gonna have to use that allied buff to research many things. Your Air Force starts off weak which is awful as an allied doctrine nation. Make sure to put good effort into improving it. On top of that France has decent ordinance, so it’s a good idea to make sure to have AA, Anti tanks, etc. on top of thanks to starting off with tank destroyers them and Light tanks will probably be your best bet for armored. Maybe Armored cars if they are your thing. For sea it’s best to keep a strong and balanced surface fleet as you are a large country with many colonies. Ignore subs, as you either can’t catch up to Germany or they will have them for you. Just ships (especially destroyers), maybe carriers if you want to though they are a risk. This is another reason why the UK is a great ally, since their large fleet can help support you. RailRoad guns are a decent option, since you can hide them behind the Maginot and blow up Germany and Italy if they invade you. For Infantry, regular infantry, along with Mech/Mot are what you should level up. Make sure to have level 1/2 militia, so you can pump them out fast in your colonies if needed. Late game nukes are a good idea since you are allied, but only if you understand how to use them well.

Economy wise, it would be wise (get it?) to make sure to have a decent industry in Metropolitan France. You have infinite manpower and good resources, but will need to more to protect your vast empire. On top of that if you don’t manage to ally Germany or Italy it’s wise to build up the Maginot on your border with them and Belgium/ Luxembourg (in those two if you take them) you also must make sure to produce units in your colonies too, enough to at least protect them well. But overall, your main focus is best placed in Europe and Africa economically, and as I am about to get into militarily as well.

Now for who to invade, well it somewhat depends. The first counties you should always invade though are the low counties. They are weak and easy to take, but remember to keep Germany in check depending on the actions they take against you. Switzerland is a good idea, but if Germany/or Italy hate you then it’s best left so you don’t have too large of a front. The first player you need to go for is Spain, this is because they are bordering you and don’t have anywhere else to expand but Portugal. This makes them a decent ally, but only if they are a skilled player and other majors are off the table. If they are not in your coalition it’s best to invade them relatively soon, so they can’t build up. After that your main focus should be dealing with your neighbors. Now this depends on who you ally, but hopefully you have the UK as even with say Germany and the US the colonial war will be hard. But if you can manage to ally them you’ll be in a much better position. If they go inactive you are still fine, but make sure to get ready to kill their AI. After the UK though you you must focus on Europe and their colonies mainly. Defeating Germany is very hard, you’ll have to use a strong Maginot, a lot of artillery and RRGs, planes and AA, anti tanks and tank destroyers, destroyers and other ships, along with mot/mech and regular infantry. All to hold them back, counter their units, damage them and slowly move in, using your strong defenses and better economy to crush them. If they go inactive it becomes easier as you can use that artillery to wipe out most and units and efficiently move in. With Italy it’s far easier, as the same things counter what they’ll usually have. Coastal bombardment is especially good, especially if they are inactive. Usually Libya is weaker than what France will have in Africa and you can take it with ease.

After that your only true competition will probably be the Soviets, where you and your Allies should be meeting them and their Allie’s somewhere in Eastern Europe. At this point it’s harder to know what the USSR will have, but by using spies (put 6 spies on military sabotage in an empty rural province, move them each day) you can almost always see their units, and counter accordingly. If Soviets went inactive then Artillery and RRGs will be your best friend against their AI, and if they didn’t you’ll have to make a strong and balanced force and work with your Allie’s to defeat them.

From there it should be somewhat easy to work with whoever are your Allies and with control over Europe, you need make sure to invade those minors in Africa and the Middle East. I should add that if your colonies are threatened like say Indochina by Japan or China, French Guiana by Brazil, Syria by Turkey etc… then it’s best to make a deal and sell them most of the time. This is unless you have Allies and a decent force there (such as say the UK to help with Turkey), where you can ward them off hopefully. But make sure not to take to big of a risk, you’ll eventually be able to come back and take it once you’ve locked down other regions.

From here it’s best to focus most of your land force to take Asia and your Naval forces to the Americas. You should be able to land in day South America after bombarding the hell out of Brazil or Venezuelas coast with your Allies, and push through with a relatively small land force. And I’m Asia you’ll mostly need land forces to ouch through the USSR, Central Asia, South Asia etc. Only usage of your fleet would be to bombard south and south east Asia and to combat Japan.

After taking the rest of South America and most of Asia (Up to Korea and Indonesia should be enough) you’ll have enough VPs to win. Congratulations, my friend! You have successfully won as France! Using what you have learned you can try again or for a solo. If you lost; don’t worry, try again with what you’ve learned and you will succeed. Good luck, my Baguette loving friend!

Of course!

An active Germany demolishes France in a historical scenario. Every time. Unless you're very, very good, I advise you to make friends with Germany first and worry about the rest later. The UK cannot protect you. Their navy will keep invaders away from THEIR shores, but this doesn't help you.

The other thing I'd like to point out is to focus your research. Don't try to do everything, because then you will be strong at nothing.

If you're going the air force route, go all in. If not, don't bother investing anything. Use ground-based AA. Whatever you build should be of the highest quality and in good numbers. For example, level 5 fighters in stacks of 10, or level 4 AA mixed 50/50 with your artillery like 10 artillery + 10 AA. Don't build a few mid-level planes and sprinkle a few AA here and there. That's not going to stop anyone. Pick a strategy and go all in.

On land, most Allied armor units are terrible, slow and behind in research. Exceptions are tank destroyers and armored cars. Armored cars are excellent in all doctrines, especially at higher levels. They can see stealth units, they move fast, and they have excellent defense against air attack. A stack of 10 AC in the open is tough to deal with. Other units require dedicated AA escorts, which makes the stack slow, which negates the whole purpose of fast armored units.

Be prepared to lose some of your colonies. That's OK, you can get them back. Protect your core. That's why Germany is so important. Doesn't do you any good to share Africa with the UK if France is under the German flag. Priorities!

Basically everything I said agrees with this except the Germany thing, so make sure to follow zoom zooms advice too Noveaux. And while I do agree, since as Germany I once defeated Poland, and then soloed France and Italy alone at the same time. But, it’s not impossible to stop Germany if you use and expand the maginot, build and correctly implement the units me and Zoom zoom talked about, and get help from the UK. Their land units combined with yours are enough to defeat Germany, as long as you can counter everything they throw at you. It’s very hard though, so your best bet is a coalition with you, the UK, and Germany. If you are all active you have an easy game ahead of you.

How to not play France

Well Scheiße!

No, I suppose. The game's going good except asia

I meant in old Deutschland’s case

oh

Of course, it's possible for France to beat Germany, but it's not easy.
1. The player who has France needs to be really comfortable with CoW and know how to fight an opponent who has superior units. You need to get at least a 2:1 kill ratio just to stay afloat. Someone who can do that would not be asking for help on this forum.
2. The player who has the UK needs to help France. But often, this is not how these maps go. It's common to see OP coalitions like UK+Germany+USSR form on day 1.

The danger of *not* making friends with Germany is that everyone else looks at the German military tech and army size, and they want to be friends with Germany. If you hold out, you'll find yourself on the outside looking in, and then UK+Germany eat you alive on day 2.

Well,
Wrong! I'm a 1.98.


They come online on day 1. Then 90% of the time, the 'OP' coalitions become inactive.


The Germany and UK coalitions are mostly inexperienced players, they find a better game and quit, or clump all units together.

This is the case 80% of the time^. Sure Germany can crush France but it’s not guaranteed. I’d still recommend a Germany-UK-France coalition though.

What's the point of a Germany-UK-France coalition?

If you pick a major power, you should win solo. The major powers are OP already, combining them is OP^N.

I was talking in his case Zoom Zoom. Since it’s his first time playing solo is not always the best option. Plus there can always be big wars between multiple major coalitions.

100%. I've tried USA twice and am convinced that it can solo the map 90% of the time. It's basically impossible to lose, and the only thing that can stop you from soloing would be a European coalition that wins before you can.

I wouldn't recommend teaming with anyone, certainly not joining any coalitions. Message Germany to try to stave off a day-one invasion and watch them go inactive on Day 4 or 5.

Agreed. You can also join a coalition with Germany, and if they do go inactive, you can always leave the coalition and win solo. The important thing is to avoid war with Germany on day 1.

It all comes down to alliances (as it is the case for most of the European countries) and player activity (as it is the case for most of the games).

In the first scenario, I assume average activity on everyone's side.

For France, the best thing to do is to ally with Germany; the alliance with the UK is nice, but not crucial. If France and Germany are allies, they are going to dominate Europe. If France, Germany and the UK are allies (the dream team), they are going to dominate Europe plus Africa and the Middle East. The Soviet Union does not stand a chance alone, even when it is allied with someone. Spain and Italy might put up a fight, but eventually they'll lose. Having consolidated their cores, it is just a question of time before the dream team attacks the rest of the world.

If Germany is not willing to ally, then abandon everything else and build up forces to defend the cores. It is either France or Germany from that moment onwards. Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and Sweden are all too weak to support France. The Soviets and the Italians might be of some help though, but it is not enough, never enough. The key is to utilize fortresses, and to utilize the terrain on the border. For this you need to have Barracks and Ordnance Foundries at full production. Hills give bonus to the artillery and AA guns, forests give bonus to the infantry and the AT guns. The best thing is to deploy all of them in great numbers on the border. In the background, try to build up stacks of 10 interceptors and 10 bombers, and attack the undefended German stacks. The first thing to do is to check the ground advance, and the second is to gain air superiority. In the meanwhile, send the fleet to bombard the German shore cities. Without a fleet, the Germans can not use Hamburg and Königsberg (+Amsterdam, Gdynia and Danzig, if they took those as well), plus you can land some units there to cause confusion and to force the Germans to station units in their backyard. This will draw their forces from the main front.

When you stabilized, you have to attack with overwhelming artillery support. The Germans will always have more resources and troops, thus you have to inflict disproportionate damage. If you took the Colongne-Frankfurt-Stuttgart(-Zürich) line, and neutralized the German port cities, the German resistance will begin to crumble. Then, if you took the Hamburg-Hannover-Erfurt-Munich line, the German resistance will collapse.

In the second scenario, I assume low activity.

In this case, it might make sense to attack Spain or Italy to gain more resources for the war. Spain is easier and more defended from German attacks, but Italy is better to threaten Germany from the south. It might also make sense to take Scandinavia to threaten Germany's northern flank.

The battle against Germany is different, because you have to capitalize on the German player's absence from the computer. Scout a lot, and destroy undefended units from the air.

In the third scenario, I assume high activity.

In this case, you must play a very defensive game. Air defense and artillery is the key, thus you must have Ordnance foundries and spam as many units as you can.

I agree with the general strategy: be friends with Germany, or if you can't, don't worry about the colonies and focus on all-out war to save the core of France.

My recommendation is to not "spam" a lot of low-level units, crowding forts and waiting for Germany to smash into them. It's difficult to win that kind of war against an active Germany, who has better Axis units and starts with higher research levels across the board.

The way to gain the upper hand is to identify 2-3 types of units that can win the war, and prioritize research into those units. As an Allied player, that usually means air force: interceptors and bombers. Allied level 4 interceptors in stacks of 10 can stop any air force, except maybe Pan Asians. But this requires a lot of activity on your part. If you're not comfortable with that, then go in the opposite direction and build a lot of AA guns and normal+rocket artillery. Rocket artillery is essential for killing enemy infantry, motorized infantry, artillery, and light armor. Place these (leveled up!) barrage+AA stacks behind your front line units so they don't get into direct contact with the enemy. When the enemy is sleeping, move forward, and bombard as long as you can, then pull back behind your line. Try to win this way, by destroying the German army from bombardment range, avoiding direct combat with their superior ground forces. Forts and defensive units like infantry and AT guns are still useful to hold the Germans in place, giving your bombardment stacks more time to do their dirty work. And the AA guns protect your bombardment units, which are very vulnerable to air attack.