Austria

Galatia is in Turkey - conquered by the Gauls in the 3rd century BC.

I’ve found a three-direction attack for Austria is best: attack Italy via Venice (with a possible amphib attack Tuscany), Serbia & Albania and finally Poland…I find a Russian attack on an unprotected Galicia commits them to spreading Russian forces more thinly, plus having a stronger AH-German Force in Poland means Russia will not get Poland back without fantastic rolls :)

Buy two battleships and also buy a battleship with Ottoman. If Germany attacks the UK fleet in S2 with two subs France will need to use one BS and one cruiser to destroy the German fleet to avoid the sub from submerging and attacking the two France transports taking units to aid in Africa. France can only add one BS then to defend S17. Control of S17 is essential in winning the game.

The BS for Ottoman is required to take out those two Russian cruiser and/or finish the remaining S17 allied fleet.

Next turn buy 1-2 more battleships and a transport. Battleships are your ’ sea ’ tanks. If you have sufficient you cannot be killed.

@Snackbar:

Buy two battleships and also buy a battleship with Ottoman. If Germany attacks the UK fleet in S2 with two subs France will need to use one BS and one cruiser to destroy the German fleet to avoid the sub from submerging and attacking the two France transports taking units to aid in Africa. France can only add one BS then to defend S17. Control of S17 is essential in winning the game.

The BS for Ottoman is required to take out those two Russian cruiser and/or finish the remaining S17 allied fleet.

Next turn buy 1-2 more battleships and a transport. Battleships are your ’ sea ’ tanks. If you have sufficient you cannot be killed.

Building ships is one thing. But how about the battle on land, building BB leaves you with less land units. building BB is good of you go all in for Italy with AH. Do you go all in with germany against Russia or france?

Take Romania on your first turn. If Russia stacks Ukraine on her turn wait (out of striking distance) for Germany to move half of his army to Galicia and move your Austrian Russian contingent there as well (possible from Budapest after a retreat). Your supply line from Vienna is very short.

Meanwhile take the northern territories with your German army, attack Sevastopol with Ottoman and conquer the Balkan.

Perhaps you will not be able to defeat the Russian army this way, but at least with the Balkan IPC gained (10 IPC) and Poland, Livonia, Karelia, Finland, Sevastopol, Belarus, Tartarstan conquered or contested you will have to worry about the Russians less per each turn passing. Russia will be down to 9-12 IPC. Your conquered territories in Russia will give you the IPC to keep this status quo since you only have to defend.

I do an all-out Balkan attack aimed mainly for Romania and Albania with a comparatively token force in Serbia. Stack in Tyrolia and Trieste for an A2 attack on Venice; Italy won’t attack you and if he does it’s suicide. Buy a sub A1 to strengthen the Adriatic fleet, and a fighter and 2I/2A in Vienna. The Romania attack is the most important. Try to, if not outright capturing it, neutralize the Romanian army so any Russian counter-attack can be crushed by your forces in Galicia. Albania is taken to prevent an Anglo-Italian expeditionary force operating on your southern border and drawing valuable troops off the Russian or Italian fronts. Serbia is not particularly important; you just have to send enough troops that the territory is contested. I’ve played 2 games as the CP so far, using this opening both times. The first time I didn’t send enough soldiers to Italy and overextended myself in Russia, so I was doomed when the Russians smashed my army in Ukraine R3 and the Italians fought me to a standstill in Venice. In the second game I sent more Germans to the East freeing up more Austrians for Italy, and managed to capture Moscow and push to the gates of Rome before the Americans overwhelmed me.