Germany
Germany seems to be everyone's favorite country to play. Some think it has the advantage with its 10 initial tanks and 5 planes. Some think it is the most challenging as the Allies will almost always follow a Germany-first strategy. Others just want to see the Wehrmacht kick butt! Germany does start with more offensive power than any other country, so it is imperative that you USE that advantage and quickly. Germany needs to strike hard and fast at the allies, taking as much territory as possible in order to increase it's IPC level. Think of every IPC as two IPC's, for with each point you gain, your enemy is losing one. The main arena for Germany's IPC war is going to be Africa, but a good player will likely keep you from dominating it and may even push you out completely. While you need to attack quickly, do not overreach yourself. Often it is tempting to go for the all-or-nothing battle, but this is a bad move for Germany because you cannot reinforce it quickly enough while the allies can. Of course, as the game proceeds you will have to judge this yourself; however, I've seen many a German player, in firm control of all but mayber Madagascar, South Africa, and perhaps Kenya/Rhodesia, lose everything because they tried prematurely to push the Allies out completely. Once you control most of Africa, you will have gained your true goal, swinging the IPC balance. Consider this, on the first turn the Axis has 57 IPC's while the Allies have a mighty 90 IPC's! By just taking Egypt, Syria/Iraq, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and the Belgian Congo, you will have gained 6 IPC's while the UK will have lost them. This shifts the equation to Axis 61 vs. Allies 88, assuming you lost Norway. Of course, you now gained those back. If you consider that the Japanese will almost assuredly be able to sweep through Asia, quickly and rather permanently, taking 4 IPC's from Russia, 4 from the US, and 4 from the UK, this shits the total to Axis 73 vs. Allies 76. You now have an even game, and in an even game, the advantage switches to the Axis. Now, as for attacking Russia, you need to be relentless in this. Build enough infantry in Germany to maintain a constant flow to the Eastern Front. You need these infantry as fodder for your tanks. With about 9 or 10 tanks attacking Karelia each turn, you will gradually pull ahead of Russia's ability to match losses. However, you MUST have infantry support. It's an easy mistake to not build enough. I also try to destroy the Allied fleets and keep them from rebuilding them. To this end, I almost constantly attack with every airplane available. Whenever I can, I'll build another bomber in lieu of a fighter, as it is more useful attacking enemy fleets. The luftwaffe will take more losses than you can keep up with, but so will the Allies. If you can keep reinforcements from reaching Africa, Russia, and/or Africa for 3or 4 turns, then it's usually worth it. Also, if you're able to knock out all the Allied transports, you don't need to defend against any amphibious attacks. This frees up infantry to fight Russia, at least for a while. You generally will only be able to do this for 3 or 4 turns, so don't be frustrated when your last planes are shot down or when the Allied fleets are just too big to attack. It'll happen eventually anyway, unless you're extremely lucky in which case you should put away the game and fly to Vegas. If things go against you quickly, whether by failing to knock out the Allied fleet or getting hammered by bad luck in Russia, you MUST go defensive. Create a sort of Fortress-Europe with tons of infantry. Use your tanks to counterattack and build tons of infantry. If this happens, your goal is to hold out until the Japanese can come to the rescue. Remember, if you're able to only hold onto Germany, Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Eastern Europe, you will still have 25 IPC's. By this time Japan should be up near 50 and knocking on Russia's door!
Germany's first turn:
In this example, I'll assume that Russia conquered Norway. Germany has a lot of options regarding what to build with its 32 IPC's. I will often buy 1 bomber, 4 infantry, and 1 armor. The bomber replaces losses in sinking the British fleet, and the infantry and armor will go against the Russians. Another option is to immediately build another transport and a submarine. This isn't too bad either, because if you don't beaf up your Mediterranean fleet it will quickly be destroyed by the allies, and there goes your ability to wage war in Africa, gain the IPC's, and tie up Allied men and materials. As for your attacks, well, this depends on what's left. In fact, as each turn is done, there are more and more variations possible so I will no longer give specific intructions for every unit. O.K., well, your primary goal ought to be the destruction of the British navy. I send all my planes against the fleet in the UK seazone. If your subs survived, use them against the UK as well. Try and take out the Gibraltar battleship too. In Africa, I always take French West Africa with the infantry in Algeria, and attack Egypt with the infantry and armor in Lybia, blitzing through French Equatorial Africa. I don't like to make an amphibious assault on Egypt with the Mediterranean fleet, as it is then in range of the UK bomber in UK as well as the fighter in India, and a wise UK player will sacrifice them to take out your fleet. Better to stay in the Central Med, bridge troops over to Algeria, and build another transport and sub to defend your fleet. Attack Karelia if it is not well-defended, although this is a long shot. You may also attack the Caucasus if that was left with only one or two infantry. The key is to not lose your armor. That is your biggest edge, and it is almost impossible to replace them AND build enough infantry to support them.