Wittman is right about the importance of taking Paris with Germany. A couple weeks ago, my group had an interesting development– Germany failed to take Paris due to horrific rolls. Usually, that would end the game, but the Italian Player ended up taking it, and he went wild with the extra income-- he controlled all the Med and knocked the Allies out of North Africa and was well on the way to South Africa by I5 or I6. Despite Italy’s success, Germany was never able to get that subtle edge over the Soviets.
Without the income boost, Germany cannot mount a very viable SeaLion, AND the build-up to Barbarossa is too anemic to make the push on Moscow really strong. It is amazing how vital that 17 IPC boost is for maintaining a good head of steam.