A few tips for Germany players.

[unmerged(16804)]

Mainly, my friends and I give 60% bonus of resource production to Axis players because of the game balance. ( obviouly, for rare materials. ) If you play MP with non-modified setting, you need to assign your IC to product the supplies for trade. ( yea... What a tragedy. ) I will skip the common knowledge about managing the corps / army... and etc.

1. Economics

During 36~37, build the factories as many as possible. I have seen some threads about the efficiency of building factories in SP. But, there are many reasons why you must build factories in MP. ( managing your belligerence, considering upgrade cost + supply consumption, considering your defence line, etc... ) and... You will need Goebbels guy since 1942 if you suffer terrible problem of manpower in Eastern front line. Without prince of terror, you will not get enough IC ,TC from conquest after 1942. So, building factories is a good choice in MP.

Germany has 3 major events that help her domestic policy, 'Hawk Lobby'. So, you will plan your production by the yardstick of that events. Before the Anschluss, don't upgrade your army. You can change your ministers to 'Decisive Battle Doctrine' + 'School of Fire Support' at a few days before the event, and the event will remove your dissents and your minister will lower your infantry upgrade + production cost. ( Remember!!! You don't need to upgrade 3 tank division in this time. )

Between the Anschluss - the Treaty of Munich, you can product many infantry corps with serial production. ( Always try to develop 1939 Infantry tech before the Anschluss event. It will help you very much. )

At September. 28. 1938, You need to change your minister one more time. Remove 'Decisive Battle Doctrine' and re-install 'Armoured Spearhead doctrine' guy again, and upgrade your 3 tank division. ( You have to develop the 'Blitzkrieg Doctrine' before this event. )

With the Munich event, your 1 dissent by change of minister will be gone again. Between the Munich event - the End of Czechoslovakia event, you can product anything you want. I strongly recommend you to build naval bombers, fighters, moterized divisions, engineer brigades in this term with serial production. ( You can annex Hungary if you want to annex Czechoslovakia. )

Soon after the End of Czech event, you must start to build the production of your armoured divisions with seriel production. ( This event will give you the full bonus of hawk lobby. ) You will get your first panzers at 2 weeks before the Danzig event, and then.... Let's roll on!!

2. Tactics

A) General tips

* Use 'Air superiority mission or other means' for the scout!!

You need to know the exact size of enemy units. It's a key point to the victory. But, many guys even forget this simple thing.

* Counter-attack!!!

If you were attacked, use counter-attack from the adjacent provinces as often as you could. It will help your defence battle.

* Conceal your second line composition, and prevent the enemy from scouting.

The enemy will know your first line composition by the techs / minister. But, he doesn't have to know your second line. It will help your defence with many aspects.

* Make the 'hole' in your own defence line, entice the enemy player with it.

Usually, the enemy will think it the weakest point in your defence line. Lure him, and counter-attack with your second line troops. If he retreat, don't give time to him for recovering the org of his army. Attack the enemy province where his army retreated to, you will take that province more easily.

* Use 'logicstic strike mission' if enemy doesn't have enough AAs in target area.

Hamper the counter-attack efficiency, movement.

* Build the fortresses if you should. Sometimes, it will reduce your manpower loss.

B) vs UK

* Don't make the Atlantic 'wall'. ( make 9 coastal fortresses or nothing )

It is useless to the skillful Uk player, and 2 - 3 garrisons in each beach will be useless too. Just keep 'blank' except a few important beach province.

If UK landed her troops to one of your occupied provinces.... 1> Bring your air force for logistic strike. 2> Use your mobile reserves to crush them with offensive supply if necessary.

After one or two crush, the enemy will feel more fear the 'blank' provinces in comparison with 2 - 3 garrisoned.

( Always conceal the size, position of your mobile reserves. Move them frequently )

* Air superiority!!!

It's really important with all aspects! even if you want to use your SS.

C) vs USSR

* Make the second front line in Leningrad / Gruziya / Azerbaidzhan.

Usually, the huge red army of USSR will make you really sick. You must disperse them if you want to win. I found that many USSR players only concentrate their efforts to build infantries + armours.

In consequence, red army has so weak navy. You can easily break them with your Kriegmarine or Luftwaffe.

Use the triphibious operation to the empty provinces near Leningrad / Sevastopol / Batum. ( Don't forget to annex the Bulgaria ) Send your troops to there... and run with offensive supply. USSR player will be surprised. ( In my MP game, I could capture the Moscow with this way even before red army returned. He just said.... "What the fuck!! " )

If USSR players pursuit your 'special' forces with his red army, just run for more proper defence position, or retreat to your transports. Force the enemy to stay many divisions at his backyards.

* Borrow some guys from your Italy friend.

As I recall, Italy has 5 men with winter speicialist + commando traits. They will fight very well in USSR territories, especially in winter.

 

[The Albatross]

Use the triphibious operation to the empty provinces near Leningrad / Sevastopol / Batum. ( Don't forget to annex the Bulgaria ) Send your troops to there... and run with offensive supply. USSR player will be surprised. ( In my MP game, I could capture the Moscow with this way even before red army returned. He just said.... "What the fuck!! " )

Hahahaha - great quote from the USSR commander :rofl: :rofl:
- but -
how did you get your troops across the Black Sea -- did you use your own transports ?? or have Turkey as an ally, puppet or annexed - normally the Bosphorus is closed to all but TUR allies??

I like the Batum strategy as it plonks units right next to the Baku oilfields - T34s don't look that scary when they are rusting on the roads.
Cheers

 

[unmerged(43241)]

i like your german strategy.

i like your giude for playing germany.thxs.

 

[Brasidas]

A)

* Counter-attack!!!

If you were attacked, use counter-attack from the adjacent provinces as often as you could. It will help your defence battle.

That's not quite what it does, but you're close. For as long as an enemy stack is engaged in two battles, his attack and defense efficiencies are halved. So use flankings, as Yaulian says here. In MP, the other guy might not notice for a couple hours why his 16 divs aren't beating down your 10 in open terrain.

Here's a hypothetical for you:
A russian stack of 24 divs in Province A is coming straight at your 16 divs in province B. You've got a corps a piece in Prov's C and D. That 24 div stack is effectively 12 divs if provinces C and D attack A. They will be facing the stacks in B, C, and, D at full combat efficiency unless C or D is attacked by another enemy stack.

That still doesn't mean you want to get into attrition battles with a Russian, but if you're slippery you can survive that much longer.

B) You're making the same mistake your friend made at Leningrad

For one thing, I strongly disagree with leaving beaches unguarded. The enemy can only use 4 divisions effectively (3 without penalties) in an amphib assault. If he can establish a beachhead, only the number of transports he has limit the size of the force he can land.

You do have a limited window of opportunity to reoccupy the province before his transports arrive, but unless you've got paras ready to go or armour one province away you're looking at 48 divs suddenly opening up a new hole in your backside front.

The AI may not make that kind of an exploitation on an amphib assault, but I sure as hell would. Beware of SP strats in MP. But you apparently already play MP.

C)

You must disperse them if you want to win.

Au Contraire, mon frere!

You want the enemy to bunch up. You want them to be as far west as possible. And you do not, under any circumstances want them to disperse. The ideal is for them to be simply stunned into immobility and for you to roll over and encircle them (in the reverse of that order).

Start with a line up and down the partition (new poland) border of INF-ART. Armoured spearhead groups on either end. Hit the extreme ends with attacks by your INF-ART. When the enemy's broken, use the armour to exploit through the gap and don't stop til you link up at the far side of the encirclement. Follow the spearhead by moving up MOT or INF-ENG into the provinces captured by the spearheads.

Meanwhile, if you have numerical parity on the main front, open up an assault with every division in the line. Push the entire front, tying up every soviet division so they're unable to SR to safety.

Surprise assaults are excellent. Your triphib assault on Leningrad is great, provided you have intel that says its doable. You'll want to do a flyover to watch for a 24 div stack in striking distance though.

I can see trying to dominate the black sea by way of a port in Varna, though I prefer to ally with the Bulgars myself. I remember some pet strats in Third Reich with my basing the KM out of Constanta, and trying to plow through Turkey into the ME...

*Borrow from Italy

Hell Yes! And every other ally. Slovaks are good garrison troops.

D) Code techs are the bomb!
If you think that your enemies are taking it easy in the encryption/decryption/computers department, TAKE THEM DOWN!

Trickster+the first 4 code techs+army intel guy= surprise every single goddam battle
->Take down France, opposed by UK+US in MP, with a disparity in forces, against. It means you can build factories and leave a build up to the last minute. This in turn means that they will underestimate your capabilities and thus compound their surprise and confused response when you defeat them.

This is reason enough in itself to crash research computers and go for an historical Barbarossa. With all 6 coding techs, an army intelligence minister, and a trickster at all your battles, you should be able to roll up the cossacks.

 

[Brasidas]

He's annexed Bulgaria, giving him a port in the Black Sea. His fleets are divided from sea to sea, completely independant of one another.

ow did you get your troops across the Black Sea -- did you use your own transports ?? or have Turkey as an ally, puppet or annexed - normally the Bosphorus is closed to all but TUR allies??

This gives him a clear shot directly at the Caucauses and the Baku oilfields.

 

[unmerged(43241)]

dont make factories for two years...

tou will use up all your ic power and you will overload your upgrades. crashing your industry.

 

[Brasidas]

tou will use up all your ic power and you will overload your upgrades. crashing your industry.

I don't understand what you're saying here Oleg.

 

[The Albatross]

He's annexed Bulgaria, giving him a port in the Black Sea. His fleets are divided from sea to sea, completely independant of one another.



This gives him a clear shot directly at the Caucauses and the Baku oilfields.

So, does this allow the GER player then build transports and load them into the BUL Black Sea port??
Cheers

 

[Brasidas]

It does indeed. If you have a solid land connection (no enemies, neutrals, allies, nor puppets) in between your capital and port province X, you're supplying it without convoys. That's the test as to whether you can deploy fleets there.

You can host ships in the med without this, but you can't get fleets past Constantinople any other way except by this method or taking Istanbul.

 

[unmerged(42032)]

i like your giude for playing germany.thxs.

Me 2 you rule man keep it coming

 

[unmerged(16804)]

A)

B) You're making the same mistake your friend made at Leningrad

For one thing, I strongly disagree with leaving beaches unguarded. The enemy can only use 4 divisions effectively (3 without penalties) in an amphib assault. If he can establish a beachhead, only the number of transports he has limit the size of the force he can land.

You do have a limited window of opportunity to reoccupy the province before his transports arrive, but unless you've got paras ready to go or armour one province away you're looking at 48 divs suddenly opening up a new hole in your backside front.

The AI may not make that kind of an exploitation on an amphib assault, but I sure as hell would. Beware of SP strats in MP. But you apparently already play MP.

You got the point. Brasidas... Thank you for nice reply.

Once upon a time, I had considered the Atlantic defence by the exact same way with you. But, after and after many MP games( including HOI 1 ) ... I conclude that the Atlantic defence is useless... ( actually, cost-ineffective )

Think about this...

If your UK 'friend' had 48 transports, and if he could use that transports for triphibious assault to Atlantic defence, it will be near impossible to defend France.

In HOI 2, there are too many beach provinces from South France to Denmark. You will need at least 4 Garrisons + 3-4 Coastal Fortress at each province versus Triphibious assault + ShoreBombardment.

It's the huge loss of manpower. ( Static defence = temporary loss of manpower ) You could defend UK with this way.. but, you couldn't win the game because of the 'huge' Red Army. Yea.... you could use the troops of your minor allies ( like Hungary ) for the garrisons. But, in my game... I even need them in Eastern front because my USSR 'friend' was too strong .

So... I think... the Key point of defending the Atlantic borders.... ( I don't think my way is the best... It just comes from my experiences... )

1) Stop the invasion force in the 'Sea'.

Under near perfect Air Superiority, I used some 1 sized - CAS Force for patrolling / covering / detecting every sea zones near the beach. Yea... one CAS is weak, but, she could find the fleets of enemy. After that, I brought all my Naval Bombers ( 8 ~ more. ) to there... and attack them. ( Bomb Convoy is great in MP games too. and they didn't use any resource during convoy mission, if they didn't need to move )

If my UK 'friend' don't have Air Superiority, he will really suffer from my NAVs.

So.. usually, the fight between me ( GER ) and my friend ( UK ) is the 'Air battle'. Yea... we have reproduced the BOB with other aspects. :rofl:

2) If the enemy succeed the landing, slow them with logistics strike -> gain time to bring the mobile reserves.

As you can see, my main concern will be the Step 1>... ( Step 2 will used for the emergency. but, it works well in my Mp games. ) NAV is expensive unit... but, you could reduce her cost with early serial production. If JPN had been human-controlled, you could borrow some NAVs from him. ( Japan could produce NAVs more cheaply. )