best starting faction

[OscarIsaiah]

But isn't it worth seeing the Japanese flag fly over all of China?

Well it does look pretty impressive having the second biggest nation on Earth..

But it's horrible, I have to devote about 70 of my 200 IC to supplies.. Would that be due to China?

[sorry if I'm off-topicing a bit]

 

[unmerged(106255)]

I'd also recommend Russia. It has a huge amount of build capacity and can tech up at a decent rate. That means you can afford to experiment, and recover quickly if you make a mistake. Russia's strategy is a straightforward one. They don't have to deal with islands, so all the intricacies with transport logistics, shipping, marine invasions, aircraft ranges, etc don't need to be dealt with.

I started with Japan, and that was rather overwhelming.

 

[CarcassDK]

Germany 36! the possibililtys are endless, and your either gonna learn it the good way or the hard way

 

[ShadowWarrior]

I like to start all of my games in the '36 Scenario, gives you lots of choices of how to run the course of history.

I've played (with sucess and with failures) countries like Germany, France, England, USA, USSR, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria, Poland, Italy, Japan, Nat. China, Comm. China & Spain (can't remember if there are others that I left out, South Americas I think I've played Brazil & Argentina, though it could be HOI1 I'm thinking of)

Edit:
I missed the point somewhat, of all the countries I've played, I think Germany is still the best to start off with. You gain experience by managing your policies in politics, research, troop managing, etc.
By the time WW2 starts, you will have a good grasp of the mechanics of the game.
Win or loose, your next game will see you give the AI a good run for their money.