Axis Strategy

The Axis is one of the two factions in the game. It begins with West German Command, East German Command and the Kingdom of Italy on its side. It is at war with France and the United Kingdom at the beginning of the game. At 12 minutes into the game, the Axis will begin Operation Barabossa and declare war on the Soviet Union. Axis will win the game when they have captured and held both **London** and **Moscow** at the same time.

## Axis Strategy

Axis main concern overall is to defeat the Soviet Union. To do so they should knock out France early in the war and focus on economy, all the while grabbing as much land as they can. In the late game, Axis will be coordinating all at once to overwhelm and defeat the Soviets before they get their unstoppable war machine going. This leaves behind only straggler Allied countries and the United Kingdom open to a naval invasion to finish the game.

## Early Game

Convincing Finland to side with Axis at the beginning of the game is a huge boon to Axis and can serve to curtail the Soviet war machine if Finland is annoying enough. In the meantime the West German Command player should activate its ability "Blitzkrieg!" and literally blitzkrieg west into France with their army, focusing only on killing the French army around Paris and bunkering up with machinegun bunkers around there. Use the airforce provided to you at the start of the game to target any bunkers that might want to go up. East German Command can follow up by taking and securing Denmark as well as Belgium/Netherlands and France should fall relatively quickly. UK can throw a spanner in the works and land an army on Northern France. The main strength for Germany here is quickness and speed. Any weakness in Allied defence should be exploited to its fullest before defences can go up, or you'll be facing a united UK and French frontline with a long artillery war.

Italy on the other hand should build up its economy and take the fight to Africa. Taking Cairo early from the UK is huge and will prevent the UK from seriously threatening Africa again. Egypt is also a good choke point against Allied incursions from the East and West. Take the French colonies in Africa as soon as you are able. If Germany is still having trouble with France, build up additional forces in Europe, especially 105mm artillery and break out of Southern France to put additional pressure on the Allies.

## Middle Game

Once France has been taken care of, West German Command would be given most of the cities and resources in France. Immediately switch into Economy mode and build up your income so as to keep on par with the Soviets. Also remember to defend Northern France from incessant air attacks that are sure to come. Build, Build, Build! Economy is what wins games, teching up to Advanced Medium tanks and getting Panther V tanks will allow you to fight toe-to-toe with Soviet T-34-85 tanks. Build defences on the border with Soviets and attack as soon as you are able and your army is strong enough. Focus on finding the unit production facilities and destroying it. You may need to push up into Siberia to find most of the economy there.

Make sure to keep Denmark defended from any sea-borne invasion. Nordic countries love to use Denmark as a landing zone, bunker it up and attack Germany from behind. One neat trick that can be used by any Axis country is to send a few submarines to the west of the UK. You can effectively blockade the UK from any shipments, destroying the convoys and cutting off an additional source of income. The UK player might not even notice that he hasn't been receiving convoys in a long time!

## Late Game

Once you have overwhelmed the Soviets, defeating the other Allied straggler countries should be a much easier task. If the Nordic countries of Sweden/Finland had join the Allies be wary as they can harass you by air and due to their position on the map, it will make a tank assault costly going all the way around from Germany. Build up an airforce or AA to escort the tanks or risk losing all your tanks in a direct assault. Then you can take your time in weakening the UK defences. Bombing the defences to submission, weakening it with sea bombardments and leaving the UK open to an invasion. Be wary of D-day at the 32 minute mark. However it should be easy to deal with provided you have built up your army enough. Once you have taken London and Moscow and successfully hold it at the same time the whole of Europe is subjucated under the Axis!