edit
finish

---
title: Australia
---
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[Country guides](/wiki/Country_guides "Country guides")
:::
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::: {style="font-weight: bold; text-align:center;"}
[Major powers](/wiki/Major_power "Major power"){.mw-redirect}
:::

------------------------------------------------------------------------

::: {style="columns:105px 3; column-gap: 5px;-webkit-columns:105px 3; -webkit-column-gap: 5px;-moz-columns:105px 3; -moz-column-gap: 5px;"}
[France](/wiki/France "France")\
[Germany](/wiki/Germany "Germany")\
[Italy](/wiki/Italy "Italy")\
[Japan](/wiki/Japan "Japan")\
[Soviet Union](/wiki/Soviet_Union "Soviet Union")\
[United Kingdom](/wiki/United_Kingdom "United Kingdom")\
[USA](/wiki/USA "USA")
:::

::: {style="font-weight: bold; text-align:center;"}
Regional powers
:::

------------------------------------------------------------------------

::: {style="columns:105px 3; column-gap: 5px;-webkit-columns:105px 3; -webkit-column-gap: 5px;-moz-columns:105px 3; -moz-column-gap: 5px;"}
[Argentina](/wiki/Argentina "Argentina")\
[Australia]{.mw-selflink .selflink}\
[Belgium](/wiki/Belgium "Belgium")\
[Bulgaria](/wiki/Bulgaria "Bulgaria")\
[Brazil](/wiki/Brazil "Brazil")\
[Canada](/wiki/Canada "Canada")\
[Czechoslovakia](/wiki/Czechoslovakia "Czechoslovakia")\
[Guangxi Clique](/wiki/Guangxi_Clique "Guangxi Clique")\
[Hungary](/wiki/Hungary "Hungary")\
[Manchukuo](/wiki/Manchukuo "Manchukuo")\
[Nationalist China](/wiki/Nationalist_China "Nationalist China")\
[Nationalist Spain](/wiki/Nationalist_Spain "Nationalist Spain")\
[Netherlands](/wiki/Netherlands "Netherlands")\
[Poland](/wiki/Poland "Poland")\
[Republican Spain](/wiki/Republican_Spain "Republican Spain")\
[Romania](/wiki/Romania "Romania")\
[Sweden](/wiki/Sweden "Sweden")\
[Turkey](/wiki/Turkey "Turkey")\
[Yugoslavia](/wiki/Yugoslavia "Yugoslavia")
:::

::: {style="font-weight: bold; text-align:center;"}
[Minor powers](/wiki/Minor_power "Minor power"){.mw-redirect}
:::

------------------------------------------------------------------------

::: {style="columns:105px 3; column-gap: 5px;-webkit-columns:105px 3; -webkit-column-gap: 5px;-moz-columns:105px 3; -moz-column-gap: 5px;"}
[Austria](/wiki/Austria "Austria")\
[Chile](/wiki/index.php?title=Chile&action=edit&redlink=1 "Chile (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Colombia](/wiki/index.php?title=Colombia&action=edit&redlink=1 "Colombia (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Denmark](/wiki/Denmark "Denmark")\
[Finland](/wiki/Finland "Finland")\
[Greece](/wiki/Greece "Greece")\
[Ireland](/wiki/Ireland "Ireland")\
[Mexico](/wiki/Mexico "Mexico")\
[Norway](/wiki/index.php?title=Norway&action=edit&redlink=1 "Norway (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Peru](/wiki/Peru "Peru")\
[Portugal](/wiki/Portugal "Portugal")\
[Shanxi](/wiki/Shanxi "Shanxi")\
[South Africa](/wiki/South_Africa "South Africa")\
[Switzerland](/wiki/Switzerland "Switzerland")
:::

::: {style="font-weight: bold; text-align:center;"}
[Micro powers](/wiki/Micro_power "Micro power"){.mw-redirect}
:::

------------------------------------------------------------------------

::: {style="columns:105px 3; column-gap: 5px;-webkit-columns:105px 3; -webkit-column-gap: 5px;-moz-columns:105px 3; -moz-column-gap: 5px;"}
[Afghanistan](/wiki/Afghanistan "Afghanistan")\
[Albania](/wiki/Albania "Albania")\
[Bhutan](/wiki/Bhutan "Bhutan")\
[Bolivia](/wiki/index.php?title=Bolivia&action=edit&redlink=1 "Bolivia (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Communist China](/wiki/Communist_China "Communist China")\
[Costa
Rica](/wiki/index.php?title=Costa_Rica&action=edit&redlink=1 "Costa Rica (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Cuba](/wiki/Cuba "Cuba")\
[Dominican Republic](/wiki/Dominican_Republic "Dominican Republic")\
[Ecuador](/wiki/index.php?title=Ecuador&action=edit&redlink=1 "Ecuador (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[El
Salvador](/wiki/index.php?title=El_Salvador&action=edit&redlink=1 "El Salvador (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Estonia](/wiki/Estonia "Estonia")\
[Ethiopia](/wiki/Ethiopia "Ethiopia")\
[Guatemala](/wiki/Guatemala "Guatemala")\
[Haiti](/wiki/index.php?title=Haiti&action=edit&redlink=1 "Haiti (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Honduras](/wiki/index.php?title=Honduras&action=edit&redlink=1 "Honduras (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Iraq](/wiki/Iraq "Iraq")\
[Latvia](/wiki/Latvia "Latvia")\
[Liberia](/wiki/Liberia "Liberia")\
[Lithuania](/wiki/Lithuania "Lithuania")\
[Luxemburg](/wiki/Luxemburg "Luxemburg")\
[Mongolia](/wiki/Mongolia "Mongolia")\
[New Zealand](/wiki/New_Zealand "New Zealand")\
[Nepal](/wiki/index.php?title=Nepal&action=edit&redlink=1 "Nepal (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Nicaragua](/wiki/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&redlink=1 "Nicaragua (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Oman](/wiki/index.php?title=Oman&action=edit&redlink=1 "Oman (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Panama](/wiki/index.php?title=Panama&action=edit&redlink=1 "Panama (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Paraguay](/wiki/index.php?title=Paraguay&action=edit&redlink=1 "Paraguay (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Persia](/wiki/Persia "Persia")\
[Philippines](/wiki/index.php?title=Philippines&action=edit&redlink=1 "Philippines (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Saudi
Arabia](/wiki/index.php?title=Saudi_Arabia&action=edit&redlink=1 "Saudi Arabia (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Siam](/wiki/Siam "Siam")\
[Sinkiang](/wiki/index.php?title=Sinkiang&action=edit&redlink=1 "Sinkiang (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Tannu Tuva](/wiki/Tannu_Tuva "Tannu Tuva")\
[Tibet](/wiki/index.php?title=Tibet&action=edit&redlink=1 "Tibet (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Venezuela](/wiki/index.php?title=Venezuela&action=edit&redlink=1 "Venezuela (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Uruguay](/wiki/index.php?title=Uruguay&action=edit&redlink=1 "Uruguay (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Xibei San Ma](/wiki/Xibei_San_Ma "Xibei San Ma")\
[Yemen](/wiki/index.php?title=Yemen&action=edit&redlink=1 "Yemen (page does not exist)"){.new}\
[Yunnan](/wiki/Yunnan "Yunnan")
:::
:::

::: {#toc .toc aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" role="navigation"}
::: {.toctitle dir="ltr" lang="en"}
## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

[ ]{.toctogglespan}
:::

-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Overview ]{.toctext}](#Overview)
    -   [[ 1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ General Tips ]{.toctext}](#General_Tips)
    -   [[ 1.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Manpower ]{.toctext}](#Manpower)
-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Research ]{.toctext}](#Research)
-   [[ 3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Diplomacy ]{.toctext}](#Diplomacy)
    -   [[ 3.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Alliances ]{.toctext}](#Alliances)
    -   [[ 3.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Sliders ]{.toctext}](#Sliders)
    -   [[ 3.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Ministers ]{.toctext}](#Ministers)
-   [[ 4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Intelligence ]{.toctext}](#Intelligence)
-   [[ 5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Economy ]{.toctext}](#Economy)
    -   [[ 5.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Trading ]{.toctext}](#Trading)
    -   [[ 5.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Industrial Production
        ]{.toctext}](#Industrial_Production)
-   [[ 6 ]{.tocnumber} [ Military ]{.toctext}](#Military)
    -   [[ 6.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Army ]{.toctext}](#Army)
    -   [[ 6.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Navy ]{.toctext}](#Navy)
    -   [[ 6.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Air Force ]{.toctext}](#Air_Force)
-   [[ 7 ]{.tocnumber} [ Events ]{.toctext}](#Events)
-   [[ 8 ]{.tocnumber} [ War ]{.toctext}](#War)
-   [[ 9 ]{.tocnumber} [ Alternative Route
    ]{.toctext}](#Alternative_Route)
    -   [[ 9.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ The time before the war against Japan
        ]{.toctext}](#The_time_before_the_war_against_Japan)
    -   [[ 9.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ The war against Japan
        ]{.toctext}](#The_war_against_Japan)
-   [[ 10 ]{.tocnumber} [ References ]{.toctext}](#References)
:::

## [ Overview ]{#Overview .mw-headline}

Australia ( [AST](/wiki/Tag_List#A_.2813_tags.29 "Tag List") ) can be a
fun and challenging country to play. Historically, like Canada it has
held subordinate role, first to the United Kingdom and later to the USA,
but playing that way is rather dull. As with any scenario and country,
the goal is usually to conquer vast tracts of territory, and this guide
is written with that in mind, particularly for a 1936 scenario.

Advantages:

-   Geographical isolation (AI is almost never interested in you)
-   Lots of allies that give you blueprints and resources
-   Low infrastructure, large home provinces (advantageous because you
    can give ground in a defensive war, e.g. the famous Brisbane line)
-   OK tech teams (not as hot as Germany but certainly much better than
    Nationalist China)

Disadvantages:

-   Low
    [manpower](/wiki/index.php?title=Manpower&action=edit&redlink=1 "Manpower (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   Low [IC](/wiki/IC "IC"){.mw-redirect}
-   Low
    [infrastructure](/wiki/index.php?title=Infrastructure&action=edit&redlink=1 "Infrastructure (page does not exist)"){.new}
    (this renders mobile-reserves near-useless unless you upgrade your
    infrastructure)
-   Only two research slots in the beginning
-   Difficult conquests
-   Relatively mediocre [leaders](/wiki/Leaders "Leaders")

### [ General Tips ]{#General_Tips .mw-headline}

-   Disband the garrisons. You won\'t be policing territories and their
    manpower is useful.
-   Disband at least the old destroyer and light cruiser, even if you
    want to keep the two CAs and modern CLs.
-   Trade some supplies to the USA for money. You can then research,
    conduct intelligence, and diplomacy, while not using IC for
    overproducing goods.
-   Try to have at least 100 convoy transports. A beachhead in the
    Balkans requires around 70 transports to support several Corps.

### [ Manpower ]{#Manpower .mw-headline}

Australia\'s biggest problem is manpower. Resources and blueprints can
be traded for, IC captured, but manpower can only be slowly grown.
Annexed territory yields just 10% of the indicated manpower, and
non-contiguous territory yields no manpower at all during wartime. This
limits growth of every kind by capping military power and so slowing
conquest. To maximize manpower you *must* take every step possible to
increase growth. You will start with 25 manpower stockpiled with an
increase of 0.10 manpower per day. To increase your manpower growth
research the two agriculture technologies, install Sir Cyril
Bingham-White, and a Man of the People Security Minister. This greatly
benefits manpower growth.

If you\'re not interested in the reasoning, skip this section. I\'m not
sure precisely how manpower works as even when factoring in all known
modifiers I find a serious discrepancy between expected and calculated
values; 13 manpower assuming no modifiers would yield 0.04 manpower per
day, not 0.10. All the same, anyone can see the value of the manpower
modifiers when the maths is done. Australia begins with -8% growth due
to a [Dove Lobby](/wiki/Dove_Lobby "Dove Lobby"){.mw-redirect} , and
+10% due to two techs, thus 36.5 is 98% of your base growth. If the
player researches the next two Agricultural technologies, which are 5%
each, installs Sir Cyril and a Man of the People, we reach 55%
additional manpower growth. Once the [Hawk
Lobby](/wiki/Hawk_Lobby "Hawk Lobby"){.mw-redirect} is maximized (which
takes years, but is well worth it) we reach a whopping 65% additional
manpower. As far as I\'m aware this is the maximum until the later
Agricultural technologies. Now if we do the maths, our base manpower
growth is 37.3 per year. This leaps to an amazing 61.5 manpower per year
when all effects are active, or 0.16 manpower per day. Thus it is
obviously apparent we can build another pair of infantry Divisions per
year with extra left over for other projects. If we average this 1936-9
we see that another six Divisions is nothing to sniff at.

## [ [Research](/wiki/Research "Research") ]{#Research .mw-headline}

Australia has some excellent [Tech
teams](/wiki/Tech_Team_(Australia) "Tech Team (Australia)") , but with
only two slots to begin with you\'re limited to whatever you get via
blueprints. You can, however, research independently for various
reasons. I highly recommend the
[Agricultural](/wiki/Industry_Tech_Tree#Agriculture "Industry Tech Tree")
researches as they\'re easily accomplished, boost your manpower, and you
can trade them to France for resources. Any blueprints you complete can
be traded around the Allies for some extra change. It\'s worth the money
cost.

Also consider changing your Land Doctrine. Have you noticed that Dudley
Lavarck shares four crucial specialties with Heinz Guderian and is level
6 skilled? Blitzkrieg Doctrine is a viable option. Don\'t be afraid to
abandon all those old techs: you\'re getting better ones. You may want
to hold off on this, however, until you\'ve got 9-18 infantry Divisions,
thereby utilizing the slight discounts already available from your
current doctrines.

## [ Diplomacy ]{#Diplomacy .mw-headline}

### [ Alliances ]{#Alliances .mw-headline}

Australia as Commonwealth nation starts as member of the Allies. You may
want to join Japan and leave the petty Commonwealth. Simply influence
and attack all! :D

### [ Sliders ]{#Sliders .mw-headline}

Australia\'s initial domestic policy is not suited to conquest, and
you\'ll be wanting to maximize the interventionism, hawk lobby, and
probably standing army. All three are pretty far to the right, and it
would take you several decades to bring them left manually. Maximizing
interventionism is simple however: guarantee the independence of a
country you expect to be attacked, such as Nationalist China and
Albania. This will kick your interventionism up a lot, which helps
equalize the fact that Germany, UK, France, USSR, and even USA have
gearing up for war events that Australia doesn\'t get.

Moving the [hawk
lobby](/wiki/Domestic_Policy_FAQ#Hawk_Lobby_-_Dove_Lobby "Domestic Policy FAQ"){.mw-redirect}
and standing army isn\'t as easy, but given that you don\'t have to fix
your interventionism it\'s a lot quicker. When both your interventionism
and hawk lobby reach 5, as a Social Conservative government you have a
chance of Defense Policy Initiatives or Attacks. Because your
interventionism is boosted by guarantees, you\'re sure to get the
events, and a lot quicker than manually dragging the sliders once per
year. Whichever you get, you\'re given the option of increasing some
sliders at the cost of others and a penalty in dissent. If you get the
chance to exchange interventionism for hawk lobby or standing army then
do it: interventionism is fairly easily gained by guaranteeing countries
in the line of fire, but the others can\'t be moved except by policy
challenges and once-per-year shifts. Dissent is easily burned away by
brief overproduction of consumer goods.

You may wish to move towards authoritarianism to allow easier DoW on
your targets, but as a member of the Allies you should have enough
potential targets without needing that. Unfortunately, as a
social-conservative government you can\'t maximize Free Market, which is
superior to Controlled Economy, and much easier to attain as Australia,
but you may consider going Social-Liberal to make the change to Market
Liberal.

### [ Ministers ]{#Ministers .mw-headline}

Your starting pool of ministers is pretty good, choose those who suit
you and stick with them. Unfortunately your conservative HoG will die in
\'40 or \'41 and be replaced by a -5% one. If you choose elect left the
next election you get a +5% one, but have to replace nearly your
complete cabinet and loose the +10% manpower minister you had before. So
consider carefully.

## [ Intelligence ]{#Intelligence .mw-headline}

As you get most blueprints you need from your allies there is only one
target that may be worth the effort: Japan. They start with a few more
naval doctrines and research some very early due to blueprints they
have. Maybe that\'s a reason good enough for you to steal blueprints
from them.

## [ Economy ]{#Economy .mw-headline}

### [ Trading ]{#Trading .mw-headline}

Most of the needed resources are delivered for free from your allies,
especially after the USA joined. But you will need some extra money to
keep your research running, trade that with USA or any South American
country you want. Choose democratic ones so relations get up to +200,
then you can renegotiate the deal to much better conditions.

### [ Industrial Production ]{#Industrial_Production .mw-headline}

Of course, what strategy you use is up to you, but this is Australia and
not Germany or the USA - you can\'t afford profligacy in this austere
land. And after all, you\'re reading this guide for tips on the best
management of Australia.

It is my sincere recommendation that anyone playing as Australia avoids
spending manpower on additional IC, AA, Radar Stations, rocket test
sites, or nuclear reactors. Don\'t scoff: when you\'ve got 250 IC to
your name through conquest you\'ll be looking for things to build,
especially as without any manpower you can\'t build anything except
infrastructure.

## [ Military ]{#Military .mw-headline}

### [ Army ]{#Army .mw-headline}

Read the [Poor man\'s army](/wiki/Poor_man%27s_army "Poor man's army")
guide. It will explain somethings quite well

Airborne, Marines, and Mountain infantry are fools\' gold for Australia.
The additional abilities, especially Marines, are tempting, but
ultimately they\'re mitigated by the cost. You\'re on a shoestring
budget and for every 2 special Divisions you could have 3 infantry
Divisions, or more than four armoured Divisions. I recommend a large
armoured Corps for Australia: it\'s 3 less manpower per Division, it
will decrease your manpower losses, and with the Blitzkrieg doctrine
they\'re cheaper. The increased pace of offensives also reduces
casualties. Consider armoured cars for your units: they increase the
hard value and hence reduce manpower losses. Personally I\'ve always
added artillery to my infantry, but in this case I believe it\'s worth
considering any options to reduce manpower losses. I have also read that
militia with artillery is exceptional for purely defensive use, as they
cost far less, take fewer casualties, and with artillery are nearly as
powerful as infantry when in defense.

### [ Navy ]{#Navy .mw-headline}

The Royal Australian Navy starts with
[Fleet-in-Being](/wiki/Fleet-in-Being "Fleet-in-Being"){.mw-redirect} ,
read the [Naval Doctrine
FAQ](/wiki/Naval_Doctrine_FAQ "Naval Doctrine FAQ"){.mw-redirect} for
more information. The Royal Australian Navy will have to be royally
shafted. You start with seven transports, and by adding two you can move
three optimal sized Corps at a time. However, in terms of warships
there\'s not much you can do: Japan is a true naval power, you cannot
possibly defeat them directly. Even Italy and Germany, far from
first-rate navies, are above Australia\'s weight class. Australia can
stamp out heavy cruisers and destroyers, using British blueprints to
save time, but even if Australia musters a full nine CAs and nine DDs
against the Italians without Royal Navy support you\'ll be torn to
shreds by their motley collection of battleships supported by a score of
their own Heavy Cruisers. From observation, in a standard 1936 scenario
the RN can be relied upon to bottle up the Italians and Germans, but
Japan is the USN\'s responsibility. Armageddon may have affected the AI,
however, as in the last scenario as Australia I found the RN scattering
half the capital ships into ASW packets and the rest patrolling the
North Sea, thereby making it all blockade runs against the Italians. If
this is an AI change then unfortunately you cannot rely on the AI to
assist you in the Med anymore. All the same, unless you intend to strike
it out alone against medium powers, forget the Navy. Read the [Naval
Doctrine
FAQ](/wiki/Naval_Doctrine_FAQ "Naval Doctrine FAQ"){.mw-redirect} for
more information

### [ Air Force ]{#Air_Force .mw-headline}

I highly recommend a tactical air force. If you\'re not an airpower
type, read [Effective Use of
Airpower](/wiki/Effective_Use_of_Airpower "Effective Use of Airpower")
and prepare to change your view. I suggest a TAF over a SAF for severals
reasons: cost of strategic bombing is higher, Australia can\'t
realistically amass a large enough SAF to cripple a large nation, while
a TAF will reduce attrition. Four CAS can easily maul your enemies\'
Divisions, but costs a mere 8 manpower - less than one infantry
Division. For 12 manpower you can assemble four CAS and four fighters.
Usually I work with both interceptors and fighters, but Australia can\'t
afford it, and regardless the interceptor\'s eponymous abilities are
irrelevant in this situation. Fighters\' usefulness in CAS as a
secondary ability makes it far better pound-for-pound. The true value of
a TAF is in interdicting the enemy in combat to quickly defeat them,
then switching to ground attack to tear them up while they\'re horribly
vulnerable. This greatly reduces your own manpower losses as it\'s a
compounding effect: you speed up combat, reducing losses, then wear the
enemy\'s effectiveness down, further reducing time-in-combat, further
reducing losses.

## [ Events ]{#Events .mw-headline}

There are only election events.

## [ War ]{#War .mw-headline}

There are many possible expansionist strategies for Australia, varying
from leaving turning on the Allies to make easy killings among their
weaker members and their colonies while they\'re distracted, to blitzing
Japan. The only proven strategy I have used, however, is the Balkan
route, and I will not cover the other strategies.

The Balkan route has many advantages. When launched in 1941 it provides
a five year build up period, which may be too long for some, but is not
necessary inactive. You may attempt to stall the invasions of Poland,
Denmark, Norway, France and the Benelux, Yugoslavia, and Greece, but
even if successful it just means you\'ll have less prizes after the
shooting stops. You can also assist in the conquest of North Africa, but
like stalling Axis assaults it\'s a needless sacrifice of precious
manpower that you\'ll need later on.

It is possible to indefinitely hold Narvik and therefore Norway against
the Germans, tying down a handful of Divisions, but I found attempts to
stop the other invasions futile. The invasion of France can be seriously
slowed by the presence of Australian Corps, in fact as a novice I held
out until September. Eventually, though, even with military control of
the Netherlands and Belgium, the Allies break. It makes sense to attempt
to rescue as many Belgian and Dutch Divisions from the Fall of France to
assist your later liberation campaigns. Other armies are unsalvageable
(Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Luxembourger, Yugoslav, Greek) because they
disappear when their nation is annexed.

I found holding Greece quite easy until Yugoslavia fell; then my handful
of Australian and Greek Divisions were overwhelmed by vast numbers of
Panzers, German allies, and air superiority. Since that campaign I\'ve
learned a lot about combat, and I assume an experienced player could
hold Greece against the Axis. However, I don\'t recommend it.

In 1941, just prior to Operation Barbarossa, the entire Balkan region is
in the Axis camp. The Balkans aren\'t exactly the jewels of Europe, but
they\'re a decent breadbasket for an ambitious Australia. Hopefully the
Royal Navy clears the Mediterranean for you, allowing unimpeded landings
in Greece. As the Axis will be heavily engaged on the Eastern Front you
should have an even chance against the thin but steadily increasing
defenders in the Balkans. If you follow my suggestions on army doctrines
and composition you should have a highly mobile force capable of
repeatedly encircling small packets of enemy Divisions and grinding them
down piecemeal. Annexing Hitler\'s satellites will rapidly deplete the
Axis forces against you. You will probably find though, that
Australia\'s small army alone can\'t face the overwhelming Wehrmacht
alone, and require assistance. The New Zealanders, South Africans, and
Canadians are largely dormant, allowing you to dragoon them into
supporting or spearheading your operations. If you rescued the Dutch and
Belgian armies then you can add them to your armies as well.

There\'s not a lot to be said about strategy after you\'ve landed in the
Balkans. In some situations the bulk of Italian Divisions are stuck in
Africa, allowing you to lance north along the Dalmatian coast to Trento,
isolating the Italians for a handful of units to clear and annex.
Alternately a broad front may allow you to prevent the enemy amassing a
serious threat on any one flank, and there aren\'t really any landmarks
to aim for; there\'s no industrial heartland or particular region suited
to encirclements. It\'s probably worth liberating some puppet states, as
their manpower is not transferred to you (see below for details) and
without additional manpower you can\'t expand your army, navy, or air
force. Puppets, however, can churn out new Divisions to do your bidding
via military control. By now you\'re probably into the early part of
1942, holding a line from the Black Sea to Switzerland. The world is
your oyster - go after Germany, or hold the line while they collapse
under the weight of the USSR, focusing on the Pacific instead. Once your
puppets have build enough forces you can leave the Allies (if the war is
over) and strike against them with the Australasian allies.

## [ Alternative Route ]{#Alternative_Route .mw-headline}

You don´t want to conquer the Balkans because it´s a long way away from
Australia? You want to face and tame the immediate threat in the
Pacific? You like naval warfare more than tanks? Then you may want to
choose a different first conquest: Japan. Compared to the above strategy
you end with a less powerful Australia, but nevertheless you have a fun
and challenging game. And you won´t have to fight an excessive land war
against the Red Army in World War Three.

### [ The time before the war against Japan ]{#The_time_before_the_war_against_Japan .mw-headline}

Build some IC to get the third tech team in the first years. To be able
to face the IJN you can´t rely on cruisers or destroyers only, the true
ruler of the Pacific waves are carriers. Never built carriers as such a
small country? Me neither ;), but it works. It will cost you much
research time as you have to research the [Base
Strike](/wiki/Base_Strike "Base Strike") doctrine. You won´t have time
to research Blitzkrieg or IC to build tanks, so you should stick to your
starting land doctrine path. It fits pretty well to your small infantry
army.

It is a a very good idea to do an excessive spy campaign against Japan
to steal some blueprints. As you are equal or ahead in many research
areas and share the same land doctrine path it is \*relatively\* likely
that you steal some of their naval doctrines. Relatively means: you
really have to spend some money and time to achieve that goal, but I
would say it is definitely worth the effort.

OK, you build up industry, start to build a small infantry force in late
´38 and lay down your first serial run of CV IV´s in late ´38 or early
´39. Oh, and squeeze in some militia. You want to have your air fields
secured or be at least warned when enemy troops are approaching your air
fields, nothing would ruin your game more effectively than enemy troops
capturing your air force. All these \"early\" production requests mean
that you have to build IC a little bit longer but it also means you can
do something earlier.

As soon as you researched the ´40 TAC you should start a serial run, you
need some air power that can hit the ground and the sea. Move your small
army to Egypt to help Britain. In June ´40 I had nine infantry and six
militia divisions there and was able to help the Brits significantly
without too much manpower losses. As Australia you really want strong
Brits, so they can defend India by themselves. In late ´40 all except
one last factory was ready and I had built \~15 infantry so I started a
series of fighters (of course the ´40 model). To provide a good carrier
escort research DD-V in mid ´40 already so you can start to build them
early. The next months were relatively easy: The TAC´s started to
destroy Italian convoys and ships and as soon as the first four fighters
were ready they were sent to Libya.

With air cover in the Med, my second carrier ready in ´41 and enough
DD´s for them and a competent Vice Admiral in charge (use the
spotter/superior tactician - he gains experience fast and minimizes the
risk that an enemy fleet closes the distance) you can send your CV fleet
against the Italians. In a long campaign I sunk only very few ships as
early carrier warfare is not the most effective way to sink enemy ships,
but the Vice Admiral got much experience (very important), many Italian
ships were always in port and French and British ships could use the Med
nearly freely. Bring your land troops home in ´41, except two or three
militia divisions to secure the air fields you use.

From ´40 on I started to buy some transport fleets from allies. With a
blueprint and some supplies from you they are really cheap. Oh, and a
second carrier serial started after the eighth and last TAC was built.

Finally, in late ´42 Japan started their war.

### [ The war against Japan ]{#The_war_against_Japan .mw-headline}

So, you have two carriers, eight TAC´s, a growing air force of fighters
and a tiny army. What to do with them?!? You still have to wait one or
two years until you can hope to challenge the remaining IJN with a
larger Australian carrier fleet, but that does not mean you can do
nothing. Send your army to Burma and help the Brits to defend it until
they have enough troops of their own there. Use your bombers and
fighters there.

After the Japs are stalled in Burma start to remove your armies from
there and retake Indonesia that is most likely lost to Japan. Use the
air field(s) and start to use you air power against the IJN. Use your
CTF very carefully and defensively, but you have a good chance to sink
many small fleets around Indonesia which try to bring new troops and
that´s an opportunity you should not miss, so don´t let your carriers
miss this time of the war because you are afraid to loose them.

Reinforce or retake the Philippines if you feel that Indonesia is save
for the moment. Do that after you found out where the enemy carriers are
by watching the map and/or bombing some ports. Yeah, that´s a boring
job, but is essential as you can´t afford to loose your CTF and
transports.

Use your fighters and bombers to harass Japanese convoys and to bomb
some ships. If you are patient you can starve the troops in Taiwan and
Okinawa, your next logical conquests that bring you closer to your goal,
mainland Japan. From now it is (active) waiting for the IJN to be weak
enough so your carriers (should be five or six by now) are strong enough
to defend your transport ships against every resistance. Taking Japan
when you finally managed to land there is the easy part :).

With Japan secured the ultimate goal of this alternative route is
achieved and Australia now has a very good industrial base to do
whatever they want as long as it does not cost manpower ;). Maybe Siam
and Indochina are your next targets or maybe Italy is now a more
tempting target.

## [ References ]{#References .mw-headline}

[Tech Team
(Australia)](/wiki/Tech_Team_(Australia) "Tech Team (Australia)")
[Template:Anthology](/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Anthology&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Anthology (page does not exist)"){.new}
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