HoI IV round-table: #1 - Germany

[seattle]

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I'm trying to re-establish a series of round-table discussions previously known from the cancelled East vs. West game. Each topic focuses on one nation only! I hope that we can have fun and insightful discussions about different strategic approaches playing the nation in question. I picked Germany to start with because it's the most popular choice. Once a discussion has run its course, somebody starts the next round with a nation of his choice (please make sure to name it: HoI IV round-table: #2 - ...).

I'm aiming for the most clarity and structure in this thread. So please consider the following guidelines:
1. If you formulate a new strategy, call it: Strategy "..." (in bold letters)
2. If you comment on an existing one, refer to it as such: @Strategy "..."

If you open a new thread, quote these instructions and provide a link to previous installments.

Previous round-tables:
#1 - Germany
#2 - ...
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HoI IV round-table #1 - Germany
Strategy "Ruler of the Sky"

General strategy
Vanilla HoI IV will be more sandbox and less pre-determined. Hence war can break out much sooner or later than 1939. That's why we need a general time schedule to meet unit requirements when war breaks out.
This strategy calls for not escalating politics until spring 1940. I intend on sweeping through Poland and immediately after that France. Then aim for a historical Barbarossa and delay Sealion until Russia has fallen. An autumn 1939 start won't benefit me at all. That gives us 4 years of preparation. Should we meet resistance earlier, back down (like Treaty of Munich gone wrong).
If possible (no guarantee of independence) I'd grab Denmark in 1936 and build naval bases in Iceland and Greenland. That's what I usually do in Darkest Hour. Serves two purposes:
1. stranglehold on Britain (subs)
2. perfect base for future invasion of North America

Tech
Tech-rush interceptors, fighters tac bombers, medium tanks and subs until mid-1938. Afterwards focus on doctrines.

Production
Until mid-1938 only produce factories (mostly military, no naval, civilian still a question mark). Afterwards use the exisiting naval capacity to produce subs. Heavy focus on the tech-rushed planes and tanks plus solid infantry base.

The pivotal party of my strategy is:
Know when to strike and make a production plan years ahead. By mid-1938 we will have modern planes and tanks (maybe 1-2 years ahead of history). From now on we will use assembly lines to their full capacity. We will spend the rest of the war with Sherman-style tanks which will be inferior to what the Soviets throw at us in 1941, but who cares? Why have the strongest tanks when we dominate the skies?
The planes might get a tech update once in a while, but our ground forces won't. Due to our increased industrial base (up to mid-1938) and the assembly lines, numbers will be in our favour for quite some time.
War with the USA is to be avoided at all cost, at least until the Soviets have fallen (which should be no later than by the end of 1942). At that stage a full swing towards surface-navy is obvious.

Battle plans
I won't micromanage anything for immersion reasons. I like giving up control to the a.i., a real leader can't control everything either. Battle plans are the solution.
Barbarossa: Gain air superiority, disorganize defenders with bombers, rush tanks in several pincer movements north and south of the Pripyat marshes. Encircle and destroy. Leave the Caucasus alone for now and instead join with the Finnish forces, capture Leningrad and Moscow in the first year. Due to my numerous tanks and air superiority, I hope to end the war with Russia in the initial onslaught.

Intelligence
Historically one of the causes of Germany's demise. I won't repeat that mistake. Intelligence will be high priority. It's used to protect my battleplans, detect the enemies' plans and make use of whatever feature PI will announce in the future.

 

[SFSLovenought]

Hmm.
There are plenty of crazy German AAR's I could try to replicate, like the Militia Only one or the one where Germany never did anything threatening, and ended up being the hero standing up to the unprovoked aggression of Neville Chamberlain.

 

[misterbean]

@Strategy: "Ruler Of The Skies":

Why shouldn't it be possible to have both up-to-date tanks AND planes? We don't know enough about to exact workings of the production process yet, but, if HOI2 and HOI3 are a reference, for a Germany game, you need to choose 2 arms out of 3: Land, Sea and/or Air, to succeed. Given that most of Germany's potential enemies are on the continent, I feel like land should be the first priority.

It's a very nice idea, but this thread may be a couple of months early.

 

[seattle]

@Strategy: "Ruler Of The Skies":

Why shouldn't it be possible to have both up-to-date tanks AND planes? We don't know enough about to exact workings of the production process yet, but, if HOI2 and HOI3 are a reference, for a Germany game, you need to choose 2 arms out of 3: Land, Sea and/or Air, to succeed. Given that most of Germany's potential enemies are on the continent, I feel like land should be the first priority.

It's a very nice idea, but this thread may be a couple of months early.

The idea might be premature, but the round-tables in East vs. West were highly popular and brought a ton of structure to the forums. Discussions were channelled into few, specialized threads. Plus, we already have a lot of information to work with.

#why not have enough up-to-date tanks and planes
When it comes to Germany's production capacity compared to the Allies, what can ever be enough? I feel that the best way to win is to pack a ham-fisted punch lest you ever get bogged down in one campaign. If you can't blitz the Soviets, the odds are going to get worse every month.
When it comes to planes, keeping the tech up-to-date might be viable. The Allies proved though that Sherman tanks were perfectly sufficient if they come in numbers and are assisted by air superiority. The only way for Germany to reach such numbers is a standard tank being produced throughout the course of the war (probably Panzer III or IV).

I won't base my strategy on the assumption that the a.i. will be a pushover. That assumption would render any discussion moot. Instead I will base it on the historical power of the Allies.

 

[alekseevic]

@Strategy "Ruler of the Sky": I always acted like this when I played as Germany in previous HoI games. Except for later DH versions in which I built factory only until 37 and then plenty of units thanks to the upgrade-with-reinforcements feature. Germany fights for the first half of the war against out of date armies with worst doctrines, so you don't really need the cutting edge technology on the battlefield. But it really depends on how IC is modelled and if you can upgrade troops with reinforcements in HOI4.

 

[seattle]

Germany fights for the first half of the war against out of date armies with worst doctrines, so you don't really need the cutting edge technology on the battlefield. But it really depends on how IC is modelled and if you can upgrade troops with reinforcements in HOI4.

Well, with the new production system, you're rewarded for mass producing the same model. If you rush core techs (like tanks) and then start mass producing that advanced model, it should be very cost efficient and it takes some years before it's outdated. Doctrines on the other hand will benefit you while already at war. That's why I'd postpone researching doctrines until my production of units starts rolling. At that stage, I can save a lot of research capacity (cause I'll keep for example the same tank model throughout the remainder of the war).

 

[Nekronion]

Something a bit more unorthodox.



HoI IV round-table #1 - Germany
Strategy: "Volkssturm-Volkselite"

General Strategy:

The core idea is to have a quickly built up Landwehr/Volksturm army, which overwhelms the enemy through temporary numerical superiority, while also constructing a small hyperspecialized core of elite units. The exact start of the war can be different,but the ideal starting point would be, when the remaining useable German manpower is below 50, as then the maximum of units has probably been reached for some time. The starting land units, will not be disbanded, but used as the garrison force in France and the Low Countries. No additional air units are going to be built except for Transport planes, but the existing ones will be used to harass England and garrison France. The starting Navy will limit itself to keeping the Baltic safe and defend the German Coast.

Production:

The Quantity part of the army consists of mostly militia with AA and some garrisons.
The Quality part of the army, is made of Par, Mar and Mountaineers.
No additional air units are going to be built and air defense is going to be conducted entirely by static AA, Radars, and AA heavy garrisons (1 Gar ,3 AA)

Right at the start 1*99 series of Mar,Gar and Mountaineers will be started, same with Par once avaiable. Support brigades will be AA in all cases, as there will be no airforce to protect them.The rest of the capacity will be used to build up IC with 90% army IC and 10% Civilian IC until the beginning of 1939 (assuming that peace holds until then). Once the IC is finished, as many divisions of 2Mil+1AA as possible are started and kept going until free German manpower is below 100. When this point is reached, already started units will be left to finish, but no new ones are going to be built for now. Production will then shift to one or two Transport series,upgrades and static AA and Radar.

The free Naval IC will focus on building subs, while also building, one series of destroyers,convoys,escorts and one series of transports for the marines.

Tech:

The Priorities are as following:

1.Land Doctrines
2.Mar,Par, Mountain specific tech
3.Mil/Gar specific tech(If it still exists ,otherwise the equivalent)/AA brigade tech
4.Radar and static AA tech, Transports
5.Industry tech
6.Sub tech
7. Everything else

Diplomacy:

Needed as Allies:

-Finland
-Slovakia
-Hungary
-Romania

Make them Allies if possible:

-Greece (Them in the Axis can bait the Allies to waste time on taking all the small Greek islands or landing on the Greek mainland, where an offensive would be costly for them.)
-Bulgaria
-Turkey (Allows easy accsess to the Caucasus, where the terrain favours our Mountain troops)
-Norway ( A good distraction for the SU)
-Denmark( Saves the trouble of occupation)

Nice to have,but not needed:

-Italy (Good distraction, but can also backfire and drain troops)
-Yugoslavia

Avoid fighting if possible:

-Norway ( Not particularly difficult, but still an unnecessary drain)
-USA
-Yugoslavia ( Having the Balkans doesn't give much. If they join the Allies fight them, otherwise leave them alone)
-Turkey

General combat doctrine:

1.The Militias are the standard combat units, filling out the frontline and follow up on attacks by the elite spearheads.
2. Garrisons apart from providing defense against air attacks, secure the most important rear points.
3. In the opening stage Mar supported by Paratroopers establish bridgeheads to flank the enemy troops.
4. Mountain troops lead the initial attack preferably through terrain that suits them.
5. A bunch of Mar, Mtn and Par will be held in reserve, to support places, where the offensive is stopped.


In game terms this means, that Poland is invaded with the main thrust coming from Slovakia, France is flanked not through the Low Countries, but through Switzerland.

The SU will be attacked through a focus on the Baltics, using the mentioned landings to take the former Baltic States and Leningrad within the first month, while encircling most of the Soviet armies on that front. In the center and South, the goal will be to reach merely the Don, since the main focus is in the North.
After these first goals are reached, the next phase is supposed to support he Finns as much as possible, while marching for Archangelsk (which cuts off all the troops around Murmansk) and flanking Moscow from the North.
Optionally in the South one could take the Crimea and the Black Sea coast through landings, if the war goes particularly well.

 

[alekseevic]

Well, with the new production system, you're rewarded for mass producing the same model. If you rush core techs (like tanks) and then start mass producing that advanced model, it should be very cost efficient and it takes some years before it's outdated. Doctrines on the other hand will benefit you while already at war. That's why I'd postpone researching doctrines until my production of units starts rolling. At that stage, I can save a lot of research capacity (cause I'll keep for example the same tank model throughout the remainder of the war).

Indeed, I always researched doctrines the later I could to prioritize techs researches. When I played as Germany I always went for a massive army upgraded time by time relying on the better German land doctrines and air power for the first two years of war. Long old tank serials payed back also in older HOI.

@Strategy: "Volkssturm-Volkselite": nice, German cannon fodder...

 

[Panzer4life]

I like this Round-table discussions, so I am going to input my idea for a strategy;

Strategy Name: Pact of Steel

Goal: Seizure of Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Avoid war with the Soviet Union.

War Start: With a clear goal, the objective now becomes when to declare the war. A late 1939 invasion would be disastrous for me, as it will hinder my development of the German Wehrmacht. Thus the War shall begin in March of 1940, taking into account weather and the increase time for military production.

Pre-War politics: Germany will need strong allies for the war against the Allies in Western Europe, while it also needs to Harass the colonial holdings of France and the UK. Thus Germany will attempt to gain the support of Italy, Turkey, Nationalist Spain, and several South American nations (to be explained later). However, the need to keep the USSR out of the war is paramount, and thus Germany will not align with Japan, and rather encourage friendly relations with Stalin's Russia. If it becomes possible however, we will install a pro-Nazi government in the USSR. In addition: Germany will attempt friendly relations with the US to keep them from supplying the British with arms and ammunition.

In addition: Germany will seek to secure as much land as possible. the annexation of Austria and Czechslovokia will be paramount to the German war effort. We will make the world think that the French and British are begging for another war, and thus scare off potential Allied nations from joining the Allies.

Pre-War Heer military production and doctrine: The German army will need to be bolstered if it is to stand up to the French and the British forces. Also, the doctrine will be focused on amassing firepower along a narrow front to overwhelm any enemy defenses and break through the lines. Thus the German military will be a heavily mechanized army.
German infantry will get improved equipment, but only to keep pace with the Allies. The main focus is making the entire German army mechanized. All artillery, anti-tank, and anti-air brigades will become SPG, TD, and SPAAG respectively, and all infantry formations will become Mechanized divisions with a focus on armor and firepower. The German Panzer divisions will focus on getting adequate numbers of Panzer IV and vehicles based off its chassis. The goal is to have every division have two medium tank brigades followed by two mechanized infantry and one support brigade.

Pre-War Luftwaffe Production and Doctrine: The Luftwaffe will provide two major operational supports; to attack enemy formations and to protect the Fatherland from strategic bombing campaigns. Thus research and production will focus on Close Air support planes for supporting the German army and interceptors to keep the skies above the fatherland clear of bombers. In addition, RADAR installations will be placed around major strategic sites (the capital, naval/air bases, production centers, and the border regions), and rocket research will commence to provide the Luftwaffe with additional strategic capabilities to harass the British and the French.

Pre-War Kriegsmarine Production and Doctrine: Instead of being split between indesicion of whether to use U-boats, aircraft carriers, or battleships, the Kriegsmarine shall focus on capital ship theory. The Goal will be to over power the British and French Navies in regional battles, utilizing battleships, battle cruisers, escort ships, and naval bombers to eliminate the French fleets in overwhelming numbers. As a result, these pre-war productions hall look like this;
3 fleets composed of;
2x Bismarck Class battleships
4x Scharnhorst-class battle-cruisers
8x light cruisers
8x destroyers.

First Shot: Invasion of France: Forgoing a invasion of Poland (which while easy, would give the French time to reinforce their positions), the German army will invade France head on, using the numerical superiority of mechanized forces to overwhelm the French garrisons. the Luftwaffe will strike enemy formations and prevent the French Air force from reacting to the threat. The First goal will be to break through the Maginot lines and head North to Paris. In the event Belgium and the Netherlands declares war on Germany, a German army group will invade them and after they fall will proceed along the North french coast to encircle the enemy forces.

The Kriegsmarine will ensure that the french fleets are annihilated, with either two or all of the fleets engaged in a battle. If any of the capital ships are injured, the fleets will return to their ports to recover. Naval bombers will launch port strikes against English ports to netrualize any capitals ships or to prevent the British from being able to repair their fleets.

Once Paris has been captured, the German Army will split into two. Army Group Alpha will proceed to the West French Coasts and cut off the North, eliminating the chance of a British support coming in the North. Army Group Bravo will head south, spreading out and encircling retreating French Forces. Italy and Spain should've joined the war at this time, and thus be providing assistance by bogging the French down along multiple fronts.

Once France has fallen, the German army will recover and dig in along the channel provinces. The expected time from start to finish is March 1940 to November 1941.

Second plan: Operation Sealion; the invasion of the British Isles: With the fall of France and with hopefully a couple of captured French War vessels, the German armed forces will begin preparations for the naval invasion of England. The Army will upgrade their forces with new weapons, and hopefully production of the Panzer factories will shift to the newer models of Panzer, most notable the Tiger tanks. The Luftwaffe will expand the air fleets, while the Kriegsmarines begins research into the H-class battleships and O-class battle-cruisers and expand their fleet numbers to 5.

Once the armed forces has recovered, the plan will be focused on divide and conquer; Army group Alpha, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fleets, will land in Southern England, under heavy air support and battleship bombardment. Army group Bravo meanwhile, with the support of the 4th and 5th fleets, will land in the Scottish Highlands. The goal is for Alpha to keep the bulk of the British forces distracted while Bravo crashed down South, taking several airfield, naval bases, and major cities.

When each army group has secure its landing zone, the Kriegsmarine, with its naval aviation and the support of the Luftwaffe, will destroy the British ships still in port. Losses are expected to be these operations, codenamed Sea island, and the loss of a couple of capital ships is inevitable. At this time however, the British navy will be crippled and a forgotten memory.

At this point, Army Group Alpha and Bravo should hold most of the Isles, with Ireland, Wales, and the area around London probably still free. Wit this in mind, and depending on the efforts of the Kriegsmarine, a third army group, Charlie, will land in Ireland and crush any resistance on the Island before proceeding to Wales and preventing any counterattacks from taking place. Finally Alpha and Bravo will march on London and take out the rest of the British armed forces. With this victory, the German armed forces will recover, and the expected date of completion in November of 1943.

End Game (under best of circumstances): With the fall of France and England, the German Reich will march on their colonial holdings, liberating the colonies and giving them puppet state status. The Kriegsmarine will continue to expand, and the army will be equipped with the best equipment possible, with a couple dedicated super-heavy tank divisions being formed to hold the capitals of the fallen nations. The Luftwaffe at this time should have completed its rocket program and the mass production of the V1 and V2 will begin in earnest.

I will finish this post later, as I need to head out, so this isn't complete. But i will be back; please give some suggestions!

 

[Histenchist]

@Strategy: "Ruler Of The Skies":

Why shouldn't it be possible to have both up-to-date tanks AND planes? We don't know enough about to exact workings of the production process yet, but, if HOI2 and HOI3 are a reference, for a Germany game, you need to choose 2 arms out of 3: Land, Sea and/or Air, to succeed. Given that most of Germany's potential enemies are on the continent, I feel like land should be the first priority.

It's a very nice idea, but this thread may be a couple of months early.

With the new "streamlined" HOI4 I would very surprised if you as a major (maybe even a regional power) wouldn't be able to pretty much have everything up to date.

 

[seattle]

@Strategy: "Volkssturm-Volkselite"
#production: There's no 1x99 serial builds anymore in HoI IV. I assume that you mean assigning militia equipment to all factories and keep rolling out those buggers for the mass assembly effect.
Never tried militia-only, but it sounds fun. As I always thought the air force to be a hassle in HoI games, this "lazy" approach would suit me well.
You'll have to get a ton of manpower through ministers, techs and events. I imagine one runs out of manpower fairly soon and having no use for IC. Paratroopers could help, but without an air force how are the transport planes surviving? The real challenge will be encirlements during Barbarossa. From the amphibious landings near Leningrad, reaching targets deep within Russia without a mobile force and cutting off large troop concentrations with militia...
This all sounds like the most fun disaster I can possibly imagine. If you can pull that off, you'll get mad respect!


@Strategy: "Pact of Steel"
Woah, so many problems with that plan!
1. The pre-war build-up looks unrealistic in scope. Where do you get the necessary IC from?
2. Mechanized army: If HoI IV is anything like its predecessors, mechs are a 1941 tech. Even with tech rush, you won't be able to produce them in sufficient numbers to be your main force in 1940.
3. Your planing the invasion of France to last 1 1/2 years? Why?
4. In all previous HoI titles, the Soviets are hard-coded to dow Germany no later than spring of 1942. At that time your plan calls for Operation Sealion. I doubt that you will be able to keep both the USA and Soviet Union out of the war that long.
I would at least prepare a plan B should either of those giants awake.


@Histenchist
That's not the topic. Premature HoI IV bashing belongs in the dev diaries.

 

[Bluestreak2k5]

Strategy name: "3 wars"

The axis is not a involved in a single war, it is involved in 3 separate wars leading to a pseudo-alliance. This strategy is meant to take advantage of this situation, as Germany being the strongest needs to have as much attention focused on it as possible.

Working with some assumptions:
1. Can share technology with allies in some fashion, either blueprints, or sending Tech teams to other countries as I suggested.
2. Will not be attempting to game the system in any way, such as trying to get USA on Axis side, and because of this I assume USA will join the allies at historical point Late 1941 to Beg 1942.

1936-1939
Assuming Naval research is broken into years that Tanks were from Dev diary #2, I will focus on three areas of research: Industry, Tanks, and Submarines.
Pure industrial production for 1936 to build up industries.

Goal is have 1939 submarine tech by early 1938, and start mass producing 1939 subs, with at least 300-400 built by Sept 1939 and a goal of 1500 by US entry into war. The US does not scare me, and is no threat to me if their units cannot be supplied.
Panzer III will be mass produced from the earliest time possible.
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Japan will be brought into the Axis as soon as possible through diplomacy. All industrial research will be shared with Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary from the earliest point possible. This will provide much needed resources, manpower, and IC needed for the war. No Tech will be shared with Japan due to the assumption Tech is stealable traveling around the world.
The airforce will be the weakest both in Tech and in total units by the beginning of the war.

1939-1940:
Will begin upgrading Infrastructure to prepare for buildup for USSR. Hopefully Infrastructure means something in this game.
Poland will begin historically.
If Scandinavia is a releasable puppet, After Poland; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland will fall while I hold the line on the western front. This gives me a strong alliance member, as well as denying USSR valuable land. If Scandinavia is not releasable, Denmark will be the only country I conquer, and Finalnd will not become an ally.
By this point, my troops should be very well experienced, even my weak air force, and research/upgrades should be plentiful. Goal is 1941 CAS and TAC airplanes by early 1940, and begin mass production for USSR.
France, Belgium, Netherlands fall next, and depending on situations in game, I may puppet Spain, or ally them.
Doctrine research begins for Airforce and Land.

After the fall of France, whatever air force I can spare is sent to Africa to help Italy capture Suez, and all the Subs I have built begin to unleash their fury from the western bases. AA guns will be built around Industrial centers to inflict as much damage as possible on aircraft.

Yugoslavia, Greece attempt to bring into Axis, if fails, conquer before Italy does. Focus on bringing Turkey into Axis, possibly provide them Iraq and Syria?. Give Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian Cores of Greece and Yugo to them in war.

As Soon as Panzer IV is unlocked, Tank research stops forever. Depending on what the combined units bonuses are, All Panzer III's will be converted to Stugs and added as Tank destroyers to infantry units, or will be given to Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

1941:
War with USSR is inevitable, Panzer IV's will have 100% priority in production, with the goal of having 15,000 fully upgraded Panzer IV's to roll into USSR. Hopefully the weather will be kind to me. War can be put off until Early 1942 if needed, as this benefits me more then it benefits USSR.
By now, with over a 1000 subs sinking vessels, Italy should have no issues taking Malta, Gibraltar, Suez fighting against poorly equipped, poorly supplied UK troops. Hopefully will be moving in Iraq, Kuwait soon if not already done. Will assist with a few units of tanks if necessary.
Will attempt to trade units with Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and update their ancient Artillery, infantry and tanks for the war.

1942: War with USSR begins in April 1st, if it hasn't started already. By now, I should have all the latest Air, Land, and sub doctrines available, and 1943 doctrines will be a top priority. The air force will be 90% or more entirely 1941 aircraft, supporting mostly Panzer IV's. If Scandanavia is an ally, only planes are sent to support, all land units will be used to capture Leningrad and Moscow. Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria are tasked with conquering Crimea and as far into the Caucus as possible.

Once the war with USSR is done, the preparation of invading Great Britain can begin, Most of my army moves south to conquer Iran, India, and anything else not conquered by Italy. If Turkey didn't join the axis, they will be get conquered, and possibly puppeted.

1943 subs unlocked early 1942, and mass production of 1943 subs begun. Will not research anymore, and will begin other naval research for US combat.

After this, I dunno, A lot is unknown at this point after 6 years of estimates of what Italy and Japan have been able to accomplish.

Overall the goal of the strategy is to force US and UK to focus almost completely on the German Threat, leaving Italy and Japan as much room as possible. If I can force US to be building 30% of production towards escorts and convoys, and UK 80%, this is considered a win, and will force UK and USA to spend about 80-90% of their entire Production trying to stop me. This means Japanese Navy stay superior even until 1944, assuming the US hasn't been able to build as many AC's and combat ships as it did historically. With them so focused on convoys and escorts, their airpower should not be a threat, as even a 50% blockaded UK doesn't have enough resources to build at 100%.

 

[SonGoku]

Strategy: The Bold Mustache
Goal:

1) Utterly defeat the western powers, especially France.
2) Securing Lebensraum in the east. Obviously, Poland and the USSR have to be annihilated to accomplish this plan.
3) Technological superiority to secure peace. Nuclear and rocket science will play key roles.
4) Support Japan to distract the USA as long as possible. I want to avoid war with them until I have a working ICBM and nuclear weapons.

Government:

I will keep Schacht and von Neurath as long as possible. Both were relativly moderate and reasonable. Schacht was against the war but supported the military build with everything he could afford and some of his methods are products of a genius. Göring will be replaced by Kammhuber if he is availble. If not, Ritter von Greim is my choice until Kammhuber shows up. Schacht will be replaced by Fritz Todt in 1940 and he - for obvious reasons - is succeded by Albert Speer (I'm quite anxious about he'll be represented in the game). I will avoid Ribbentrop, not that he's a bad choice - I will use Goebbels or Haushofer. For the security/intelligence I will use Heydrich and later Canaris.

Allies:
Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Finland are the obvious choices. Italy after the defeat of the USSR. Same goes for Japan.

Production and Tech:

I assume that tech rushing will be difficult I have to use what is possible. However, having Panzer IVs in mid '38 is possible. If so I'll go for them, using the now obsolete Panzer IIIs for Stugs which will be mass produced. Artillery will also be a key element and I will emphazise researching it as I believe that artillery tech and tank tech will be linked somehow (heavy artillery pieces for TDs or heavy tanks are NICE).
3000 Panzer IVs, 2000 Stugs/TDs by late 1939 is optimistic but not unrealistic.

I will not waste my time with naval research and construction. I consider the Battle for the Atlantic lost even before it has begun. I will not use submarines on such a large scale as they were used historically. Instead I will research RADAR for the Luftwaffe and better static AA guns for defense purposes. A strategic bomber force will surely be beneficial in the war against the UK.

As I stated I want to have the technological edge in rocket and nuclear science. I hope to use the first rockets in early '41 against UK instead of bombers. The nuclear reactor will be put up at the same time.

War:

A two front war was always the ultimate fear of the Generalstab. I don't understand that because it hinders unconventional thinking. By August 1939 I should have a formidable Panzer force and the equipment to field at least 120-140 divisions. I will attack Poland and France via the low countries at the same time. This plan is bold and dangerous but I'm confident that it will work (it has in DH and HoI III even on hard). With the help of Stalin, Poland will fall within 6 weeks, France will be smashed in shorter 3-5 weeks.

I hope to conquered Wasaw and Paris by late November, early December 1939. After this enormous challenge I need at least six months to recover my forces. I have to mass produce Panzer IVs and tank destroyers based on the Panzer IV chassis will slowly outphase the Stug (giving it to my allies or attach it to the militia/garrison force in France).

The USSR will be a hard nut to crack so I have to come up with far superior numbers than IRL. 10-12000 Panzers/TDs and 160 divisions on the eastern front will surely drain my manpower but I don't give a damn about it. I will take military control over Hungary and Romania to supply me the needed cannon fodder for the initial onslaught. They will be supplied with equipment I consider obsolete (I guess Stugs and the few Panzer IIIs I have will still be effective against any soviet armor of that time) to beef them up. In May '40 the war for Lebensraum will begin. The Red Army is still weakened by the Great Purges and I will have the advantage on the strategic level for a long time. Conquering Moscow in Nov '40 before General Winter strikes is surely possible.

I know that the soviets will have the feared T-34 in 1941 in greater numbers so I have to force Bitter Peace asap. Factories are focussed on the later Panzer IV models and I hope that the first Tigers will roll out of the factory in late 1940. The Tiger Panzers will form elite Panzer units (if heavy tank divisions are possible) to counter the KV-1/2s the russians field.

The air war will be lead quite differently. Without Göring in charge the Luftwaffe will largely be consists of long range fighters, a huge number of short range interceptors and a medium sized heavy bomber force. CAS and TACs are non-existent. A side product of the rocket researches that are going on will be rocket fighters/interceptors. I will make use of them on a large scale knowing that the enemy cannot intercept them. They will be replaced later by jet fighters (and heck - I never will consider the Me 262 as a bomber as Hitler did!). Oh, and when we're on it: rockets. A lot of rockets. I never will need CAS. Rockets are cheaper, I do not need pilots and still can interupt enemy production, their logistics and spread fear amongst them!

It is early 1941 now and I hope I can bring the USSR on the peace table. If not, well, they will be tought a lesson they'll never forget. Bitter Peace should trigger any minute now. Moscow and Leningrad will have fallen by that time. Now I can focus on supporting Japan with techs and blueprints. Sending them resources will be impossible as I lack the navy to protect convois. Well, as I stated: I don't care about a navy. The few ships I started with in 1936 will suffice to land in Norway in Dec 1939 and thats the only operation the Kriegsmarine will see for a long time.

Sure, the naval strategy will lead to a early US-victory in the pacific but that will make the game interessting for me in the long run. After I have completed my Lebensraum in the east I will have to defend it, so why not?