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---
title: United_Kingdom
---
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::: {.eu4box style="width:330px; height:auto; float:right; clear:right"}
::: heading
::: {style="font-size:larger; padding: 3px 0px; text-align:center;"}
[Country guides](/wiki/Country_guides "Country guides")
:::
:::

::: {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]{.mw-selflink .selflink}\
[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](/wiki/Australia "Australia")\
[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)
-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Technology ]{.toctext}](#Technology)
-   [[ 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)
    -   [[ 7.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Spanish Civil War - UK intervention
        ]{.toctext}](#Spanish_Civil_War_-_UK_intervention)
    -   [[ 7.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ UK gears up for war
        ]{.toctext}](#UK_gears_up_for_war)
    -   [[ 7.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Guarantee Independence of Poland
        ]{.toctext}](#Guarantee_Independence_of_Poland)
    -   [[ 7.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Altmark Incident
        ]{.toctext}](#Altmark_Incident)
    -   [[ 7.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Destroyers for bases
        ]{.toctext}](#Destroyers_for_bases)
    -   [[ 7.6 ]{.tocnumber} [ Lend and Lease Shipment
        ]{.toctext}](#Lend_and_Lease_Shipment)
    -   [[ 7.7 ]{.tocnumber} [ Independence of India
        ]{.toctext}](#Independence_of_India)
-   [[ 8 ]{.tocnumber} [ Basic Tactical Situation
    ]{.toctext}](#Basic_Tactical_Situation)
    -   [[ 8.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Advantages ]{.toctext}](#Advantages)
    -   [[ 8.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Disadvantages
        ]{.toctext}](#Disadvantages)
-   [[ 9 ]{.tocnumber} [ War ]{.toctext}](#War)
    -   [[ 9.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Norway ]{.toctext}](#Norway)
    -   [[ 9.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Holding Germany in Ardennes
        ]{.toctext}](#Holding_Germany_in_Ardennes)
    -   [[ 9.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Waiting for USSR
        ]{.toctext}](#Waiting_for_USSR)
    -   [[ 9.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Italy first ]{.toctext}](#Italy_first)
    -   [[ 9.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Japan ]{.toctext}](#Japan)
    -   [[ 9.6 ]{.tocnumber} [ World War III
        ]{.toctext}](#World_War_III)
    -   [[ 9.7 ]{.tocnumber} [ Britskrieg ]{.toctext}](#Britskrieg)
-   [[ 10 ]{.tocnumber} [ Gaming the System
    ]{.toctext}](#Gaming_the_System)
    -   [[ 10.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ The Spanish Civil War
        ]{.toctext}](#The_Spanish_Civil_War)
    -   [[ 10.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Sicily Problem
        ]{.toctext}](#Sicily_Problem)
    -   [[ 10.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Avoid the German Surrender event
        ]{.toctext}](#Avoid_the_German_Surrender_event)
-   [[ 11 ]{.tocnumber} [ Playing with a mod (such as HSR)
    ]{.toctext}](#Playing_with_a_mod_.28such_as_HSR.29)
-   [[ 12 ]{.tocnumber} [ Additional Tips for 1936 Scenario -
    multiplayer
    ]{.toctext}](#Additional_Tips_for_1936_Scenario_-_multiplayer)
:::

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

An Empire Under the Sun. But the sun is fading. And so is the Empire.

Great Britain has a large empire over the whole world, including
powerhouse India. It is an advantage as long as the UK can hold it and
it is the worst nightmare as soon as the UK loses its colonies. Without
them, the UK is far less powerful. Fortunately in this game the player
can even expand the empire.

As an island nation the UK will not get any manpower from overseas
territory when at war, so the manpower growth will shrink considerably
as soon as the war starts. Considerably? Yes, India is national
territory and so nearly half the peace manpower growth comes from there.

Another important restriction is the peace-time IC penalty. At the start
of the game the UK has -50% [IC](/wiki/IC "IC"){.mw-redirect} . If the
road to war develops historically that penalty is lowered to zero due to
events when the war finally starts.

The United Kingdom is the leader of the Allies and has several
diplomatic options.

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

-   Industrial: try to get industry research as high as possible
    (especially the ones with + manpower, + IC, + IC efficiency, faster
    production time and + research efficiency). It is a good idea to
    watch the research of France carefully as they have a very high
    priority here. Maybe it is worth to wait a few months to research
    some of those techs so you can do it with French blueprints.
-   Infantry/tanks: Again, France will often research the ´39 infantry
    very, very early, so maybe you wait for the blueprint. Wait for the
    tank blueprints as well if you do not plan to start building them
    early.
-   Air: The UK will be fighting in every theatre of the war: and will
    need a massive air force if they are to be successful.The United
    Kingdom can afford and benefit from researching and building both
    [fighters](/wiki/Fighters "Fighters") and
    [interceptors](/wiki/Interceptors "Interceptors") . The benefit
    would be \"cheap\" home defence and powerful fighters for the Med,
    India and the Pacific. [CAS](/wiki/CAS "CAS"){.mw-redirect} are a
    bad idea: their range is an issue and if you don´t build them you
    save yourself some doctrine research. Doctrines should be kept up to
    date if one aspires to a world-class air force.
-   Navy: carriers and destroyers are your best friends. Make sure to
    research and produce them. Very important are escort carriers as
    they improve the British Battleship fleets considerably.

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

As the leader of the Allies the UK has a lot of options.

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

The UK can ally with many countries when at peace. Some of those
alliances are considered [gamey](/wiki/Gamey_tactics "Gamey tactics") ,
especially the alliance with Republican Spain.

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

As UK, you may want to focus on increasing the defense lobby slider.
Move it to max hawk although be aware that a lot of events prior to 1941
can modify your lobby and move it toward hawk as well, so you may
instead want to advance the slider toward standing army. Interventionism
is useful in reducing the amount of consumer goods required. However,
you do not need the bonus it gives on belligerence required for
declaring war until Germany is defeated since Germany will declare on
you.

You need one move towards hawk if all other events happen historically.
For the manpower (UK needs it!) that would be a natural first move. Then
move towards full free market and then move political right. What? Yes,
become social conservative. Market Liberal governments tend to loose
full free market due to events, social conservatives can´t reach it, but
also won´t get the event that reduces free market. Of course this can be
considered gamey.

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

In January your HoS dies and is replaced by a -10% IC one. Fortunately
this one is replaced by a better one in December of the same year. With
that one you stick to the end. Also the HoG, Stanley Baldwin, will
retire in late ´36 and will be replaced by Neville Chamberlain. Later
(´40) there will be an event that replaces N. Chamberlain with Winston
Churchill.

The other ministers are:

-   **Foreign Minister** : Anthony Eden as ideological crusader is
    available from the beginning. You may lose him in an event 1938.
    Choose the option that you keep him, he is the only ideological
    crusader until ´45!
-   **Armaments Ministers** : Sir John Simon gives +5% IC and +10%
    industry research and is available from 1937 on.
-   **Minister of Security** : Viscount Templewood is a man of the
    people and available from 37 on and can replace Baldwin (also a man
    of the people), who´s often lost due an event.
-   **Head of Intelligence** : William Gallacher from the start or one
    year later Lord Cecil of Chelwood, both industrial specialists.
-   **Chief of Staff** : That´s the player´s choice, until Sir Alan
    Brooke and his +25% manpower bonus becomes available in ´40.
-   **Chief of Army** : Again, player´s choice. Sir Alan Brooke becomes
    available in ´41 and offers Decisive Battle Doctrine, not the worst
    choice. Elastic Defence from Sir John Dill is definitely another
    good option.
-   **Chief of Navy** : From ´37 on you have Sir Dudley Pound, he offers
    Decisive Battle and that´s most likely the best choice for the
    Battleship-heavy Royal Navy.
-   **Chief of Air** : There is a great variety of ministers available.
    Most naturally Air Superiority seems a good option, but it has
    penalties for both strategic and naval bombers, so it might be a
    good idea to change to someone else if the RAF will build those
    planes. When the UK starts to build a wider variety of planes, maybe
    a Carpet Bombing Doctrine minister fits better, as that doctrine
    gives only a bonus for the most expensive planes and not a penalty
    for anything else.

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

Intelligence does cost much and you have very good research teams
already. So the potential benefit is arguably not so great.

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

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

You are self sufficient and as such, you do not need to get more
resources. However you may want to trade for money and supplies. In
peacetime, trade the UK\'s plentiful Energy and Metal resources for the
Soviet Union\'s Supplies. The more IC the UK can free from supplies by
trading, the stronger the armed forces can become. Aim for the Supplies
/ IC slider to read 0.00. You also need to supply your allies with
resources they are lacking. To check how much resource they have, go to
diplomacy screen and open negotiations with them. You can check in the
slider on their current stockpile. To see if they produce a specific
resource, just look in the diplomacy screen in Allied section.

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

[IC](/wiki/IC "IC"){.mw-redirect} production is useful for any nation.
But it depends very much on your strategy how much you build. If you
will try to hold France and defeat Germany early you need a bigger army
than if you decide to stay relatively passive at first. One thing is a
must have by 40 at the latest: 16 fighters/interceptors against the
Germans and Italians. So don´t build too much IC.

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

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

At first you need troops so build infantry. But as your manpower is far
from infinite and you want to defeat Axis you should switch to build
tanks/motorized/mechanized units not too late. It is a good idea to
start one serial of tanks in ´39/40 and one of motorized for some
[Combined Arms](/wiki/Combined_Arms "Combined Arms") corps and keep it
running a long time. If navy and air force are not your main investments
even more. Marines are a very good idea, and Great Britain can also
profit from mountaineers.

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

The RN has lots of ships at the start, the priority should be to
improving the existing navy. Skip Battleships, the RN has 12 already and
that should be enough for the whole game. Do not build too many
carriers, Germany and Italy are easy enough to defeat. Against Japan you
can either go the \"more carrier\" route or just send your Battleships.
With [Fleet In Being](/wiki/Fleet_In_Being "Fleet In Being") the last is
definitely a good choice.

So, what does the RN need? Screens! Lots of them, an awful lot. For the
Battleships, for the carriers and for your cruisers and (in Armageddon)
to form some cruizerg fleets is an option for all the level II CA´s GB
starts with. Modern destroyers in your fleets are essential to hunt the
German subs.

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

The RAF will be the sharpest knife of the United Kingdom, if used
correctly, see [Effective Use of
Airpower](/wiki/Effective_Use_of_Airpower "Effective Use of Airpower") .
At first to gain air superiority and then to destroy the enemy. Invest
heavily here. Players with experience in naval warfare may consider to
skip naval bombers as TAC´s are good enough and your navy will rule.
More TAC´s is very nice to have. The UK can´t have enough of them. But
never neglect fighters/interceptors, GB has to fight the Italian and
German bombers/fighters nearly alone and can´t rely on the USAF against
Japan.

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

### [ Spanish Civil War - UK intervention ]{#Spanish_Civil_War_-_UK_intervention .mw-headline}

As soon as the Spanish Civil war brakes out in July 1936 the UK has the
option to intervene or not.

-   Don´t support causes
    -   +2 [dissent](/wiki/Dissent "Dissent")
    -   +1 isolationism

```{=html}

```
-   Support causes
    -   -200 money
    -   -10 manpower
    -   \- x supplies. x = 10 times the number of your maximum daily
        production.
    -   +4 dissent
    -   +1 interventionism
    -   +1 political left

If the UK helped and the Republicans won the UK gets

-   +5 manpower
-   -1 dissent
-   one random blueprint

In all those events the minor influences on relations to several nations
are missing, but all are really minor changes.

### [ UK gears up for war ]{#UK_gears_up_for_war .mw-headline}

This event will fire five times in an historical road to war. It´s
always triggered by German events:

-   Reoccupation of the Rhineland in the first months of ´36
-   Anschluß of Austria in Spring ´38
-   Sudetenland in Autumn ´38
-   Treaty of Munich in Spring ´39
-   Molotov-Ribbentrob Pact in August ´39

The effects are:

-   10% peacetime IC penalty removed
-   one move towards hawk lobby
-   +15 manpower

### [ Guarantee Independence of Poland ]{#Guarantee_Independence_of_Poland .mw-headline}

If the treaty of Munich happens historically the UK offers Poland an
alliance shortly after that. Historically, the treaty contained secret
clauses that specifically stated that Britain and France only had to
fulfil their obligations to Poland if specifically Germany invaded. This
was done to keep the Allies from having to declare war on the Soviet
Union. The two option are:

-   Offer alliance
    -   relations to France and Poland
    -   relations to Germany suffer
    -   +1 interventionism

```{=html}

```
-   Don´t offer alliance
    -   +15 [dissent](/wiki/Dissent "Dissent")
    -   relations to France and Poland become worse
    -   relations to Germany improve
    -   +2 isolationism

### [ Altmark Incident ]{#Altmark_Incident .mw-headline}

From September ´39 on there is a chance the Altmark incident will
happen.

If the UK decides to intervene:

-   +1 manpower
-   -1 dissent
-   +1 hawk lobby

Otherwise:

-   +1 manpower
-   -1 dissent
-   +1 dove lobby

### [ Destroyers for bases ]{#Destroyers_for_bases .mw-headline}

If Paris is in Axis hands there is a 15% chance every 20 days that the
USA offer destroyers to the UK

-   +1 Hawk lobby
-   +10 relations with USA
-   -5 manpower
-   +50 escorts in convoy pool
-   Military access for USA

### [ Lend and Lease Shipment ]{#Lend_and_Lease_Shipment .mw-headline}

If Germany is at war with the Allies and GB owns the home islands there
is a good chance that the USA send Lend and Lease shipments to the
Britain. The first shipment arrives usually shortly after the Vichy
event fired and has the following effects for GB:

-   supplies +5000
-   oil +2500
-   metal +2500
-   +6 base IC in six different cities.

Every following shipment delivers

-   3000 supplies
-   1000 oil
-   1000 metal
-   +6 base IC in the same cities.

### [ Independence of India ]{#Independence_of_India .mw-headline}

If Germany does not exist there is a 8% chance every month from November
´45 on that India declares their independence from GB.

No matter what option the player chooses, the UK cores are removed from
Pakistan, India and Burma.

-   They cannot be hold back releases Pakistan and India as free
    nations, not in your alliance.
-   This must not be allowed causes +20
    [dissent](/wiki/Dissent "Dissent") .

## [ Basic Tactical Situation ]{#Basic_Tactical_Situation .mw-headline}

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

-   Natural ability to strike anywhere in the world, which could allow
    for a multitude of different play styles, from historical
    play-through to global conquest.
-   Generally in good shape resource wise making it easy to manage any
    deficiencies that show up.
-   Once \"Lend-Lease\" is triggered they received numerous boosts of
    IC.
-   Large starting navy.
-   Hardest nation in the world to be annexed.
-   AI normally will not (and won\'t at all on lower levels) invade
    england.

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

-   Far flung worldwide territories are difficult to defend, which is
    compounded with small defense forces in each general area.
-   Long Dangerous supply convoys.
-   Transporting units to a hot zone often takes a long time, and it\'s
    very dangerous.

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

There are numerous options for the war in Europe when playing UK. Some
of them are:

1.  Send all infantry divisions to France. If you array them properly,
    you can stall Germany indefinitely.
2.  Wait until Germany declares war on USSR and perform D-Day without
    the help of USA.
3.  Let France falls and after Italy joins Axis, invade North Africa and
    then mainland Italy. In HoI2 and Doomsday there is the Sicily
    Problem (see gamey tactics below).

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

As UK you can try to hold Norway easily with the RN only. With air
superiority over the sea around Denmark the RN should be able to
intercept all German transports. The day Germany DoW´s Denmark and
Norway the United Kingdom should buy the Danish and Norwegian tactical
bomber wings. Otherwise the Danish ones are lost in the capitulation
event and the Norwegian ones will very soon do suicidal missions.

### [ Holding Germany in Ardennes ]{#Holding_Germany_in_Ardennes .mw-headline}

If you choose the first option, you should build as many infantry
divisions and aircrafts during peace time as possible. Consider
attaching them with engineer brigade or artillery to increase their
strength.

Before and during the war, keep piling up the troops in northern France.
Do not send them to France as expeditionary troops! The AI will waste
them. Since sometimes the AI France will try to counterattack Germany
even leaving their provinces weakly defended, you need to move the
defenders around to make sure that there will be no weak point.

After stalling Germany indefinitely, start to make landing in North West
Germany with marines. It will disrupt their offense and let you claim
those territories for yourself instead of giving them to France.

### [ Waiting for USSR ]{#Waiting_for_USSR .mw-headline}

This is a simple strategy. Let Germany declare war on USSR and then once
you are ready, land your troops in France. Germany will have a big
problem since it has to fight on two fronts. It is absolutely the
player´s choice where to land, the Balkans or Italy are also good choice
after Axis troops moved east a while.

### [ Italy first ]{#Italy_first .mw-headline}

After the Vichy regime is established and British forces cleared Africa
there is no need to stop. Invading and taking Italy should not be that
difficult and with enough bombers any German troops moving south should
be destroyed before they can cause trouble. Doing this early in game
will need much more effort than waiting until Axis is at war with the
Soviets, so British troops may lack in India/Asia. you can also land in
northern Italy and take the north and create a puppet state up their so
you can deal with the other Italians who in the end will regain their
rightful provinces. this is a good way to keep Italy from becoming to
strong.

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

No matter how the UK deals with Europe, from late ´41 on it is likely
that Japan DoW´s the USA and the UK. If the USA are not yet part of the
Allies invite them into your alliance asap. No matter how the situation
in Europe is, many of your troops are likely to be stalled there, either
against Axis or at the border to the Soviet Union. You have the RAF and
the RN and should have several divisions in Burma. Let all your mobile
troops stay in Europe (and continue to build them), but move enough
infantry, the marines and, if available, the mountaineers to Asia. Also
bring some \"air field guards\" to Asia, either militia or garrison
troops.

Fighting in Burma can take long time. Marching through Burma is even
worse. GB has three air fields in that area and should definitely use
them. Counter-attack enemy advances and let your bombers do the work.
This way GB should be able to hold Burma easily. If, finally, British
troops are on the offence make sure to take out Siam´s last VP´s at the
same time so Britain can annex them rather than the capitulation event.

If there are enough troops you can try to hold every base/island you
have, but especially in the first months of the war the strong IJN and
enemy naval bombers will make it difficult to fight like you want.
Defending all colonies needs far more divisions than Britain probably
has there. So let Japan land where they want, there is not much you can
do against it. Hit their convoy routes, use your bombers against the
troops if possible and retake the islands you or your allies lost
against less opposition after Japan removed parts of the invasion
forces. This way you destroy a lot of enemy troops with very few
casualties.

Most interesting is the naval war. Use all your battleships in Asia and
have your carrier fleet(s) ready. There should be no reason to hold
strong units back at home as the navies of Germany and Italy should be
long beaten by now. The RAF has to provide air cover for your fleets or
the RN risks some very unpleasant surprises. With the best leader(s) the
British Battleships should be able to take out many Japanese ships. If
the Japanese fleet does not use one large carrier fleet the RN should be
able to take out every CTF separately relatively easy. Wait for the
latest carrier warfare doctrines until you try a carrier vs carrier
engagement, and even then make sure there are more British than Japanese
carriers.

If, finally, the IJN is crippled and all Japanese conquests are retaken,
Britain should take Taiwan and go for Japan mainland. Without manpower
reserves the remaining Japanese troops still own China (most likely),
but fighting against them should become easier. Thinking about World War
III Britain it is very important that the USA get a (strong) foothold in
China/Korea, so don´t take all for Britain.

### [ World War III ]{#World_War_III .mw-headline}

After Japan is defeated UK is at peace. (Un)fortunately only until
either the SU or the USA decide that the \"Cold War gets hot\", then the
UK is at war once again. As GB is most likely low on manpower it should
rely heavily on air power, let the bombers do the work. Use the mobile
corps to keep the enemy moving and destroy everything with the RAF.
Don´t forget the fronts at Norway, Persia and perhaps India. Especially
from Persia the UK can take some high IC good provinces.

A landing in the backyard of the SU (Archangelsk) is a good move to
divert enemy troops from the main frontline in Europe and to keep them
moving for your bombers.

If needed help the USA in China/Korea with bombers, it´s far better to
help there early than to find out the hard way that the Red Army managed
to reach Burma.

Last but most important: Watch the manpower!!! If necessary the UK
troops should retreat from every fight and attack carefully (perhaps
even with mobile corps only).

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

Britain is a powerful country, but problematically it has to fight
multiple other powerful countries all at once. In real life this diluted
Britain\'s resources so much that it could only just hold on in multiple
theatres until the Americans arrived. In HoI2, armed with superior
strategy and a little fore-knowledge, you can easily change this
outcome. The key principle is: apply overwhelming force to the decisive
points quickly, and then move on. You will have a number of battles to
fight, in order:

-   1940 - Save Norway
-   1940/1 - Drive Italy out of North Africa
-   1941/2 - Defeat Japan and protect your Far Eastern possessions
-   1943- - Rescue Europe from German domination

If you get bogged down trying to fight Italy, Japan and Germany all at
once you will not be able to defeat any of them. Instead, try to end
each of these confrontations before the next one starts, allowing you to
deploy all of your forces against each in turn. Thanks to Britain\'s
powerful navy you have the ability to do this. In the course of the game
you will need to build at least five squadrons (each 4 units) of FTR to
defend Britain and your navy, a strong force of TACs and at least 4-8
CVs by 1942. After this invest in your ground forces. Don\'t be afraid
to buy expensive formations like ARM, MAR and MOT. Your IC may seem
tight at first, but you will run out of MP long before the war ends.

When Germany invades Norway deploy your fleet and 10-12 INF to defend
it. Make sure that whenever you send your fleet in range of an enemy
coast you cover it with FTR, or you will start taking heavy losses to
enemy bombers. Norway should be fairly easy to hold. Move at least a
squadron of TACs there and start bombing Kiel with your fleet stationed
outside under the protection of your FTR. You want to destroy the
Kriegsmarine so you can redeploy all your naval strength to the East
later. When Italy enters the war, with the bulk of your army in North
Africa you should be able to quickly overrun them. MAR and ARM-MOT will
help greatly here as you can encircle the Italians. From Libya you can
bomb Taranto and destroy the Regia Marina too. DO NOT invade Sicily,
even though you can easily hold it with your navy, until after Germany
declares war on USSR. Otherwise it can spook them into defending Italy
rather than attacking the Soviets, and this will hurt you greatly later.

Italy should be finished in 1940. As soon as you destroy the axis fleets
spend 1941 bombing Germany if you like, while moving your army and navy
to the Far East. Deploy your INF to Burma and Malaya, but take your
ARM-MOT too. When Japan declares war you need at least one and ideally
two strong carrier task forces to immediately advance into the South
China Sea. Again make sure to keep FTR cover. The war in Burma will be
extremely slow and both sides will find it difficult to advance. But
this is Britskrieg! With the Japanese Navy destroyed or forced into
port, take the Chinese islands, then Okinawa, and finally launch an
assault on the Japanese mainland with all your mobile forces.
Problematically it is unlikely that Japan will surrender even after you
take almost all of its cores, but they\'re no longer directly a threat.
Code a surrender event if you like, or try to peace with them via the
game\'s diplomacy system. White peace should be fairly easy, but
puppetting them is preferable and that can be problematic. You can
simply leave large INF stacks in a 3/4 province border in India and
leave them to it, but bear in mind that China will likely spam a lot of
INF for Japan which can become problematic over time.

However you mop up the situation, Japan is now finished, and you want to
move all your forces back to Europe. By 1943/44, Sovs will have been
fighting Germany for some time and hopefully should have them on the
ropes. You want to invade just before the high ebb of Nazi conquests, so
as much of it as possible goes to you rather than the Soviet Empire. You
can try for Italy first which will be easy and provide a reasonably
strong ally, but Italy doesn\'t provide a good way into Central and
Eastern Europe. Alternatively you can invade Germany itself around Kiel
and try to grab a border with the Soviets as far East as possible. At
that point, the world should be Britain\'s. Japan is likely to be a
puppet, as is most of Europe except France and Benelux which are
returned by event. Destroy the Soviets, return America to the Crown, or
just sit back and enjoy your new Germanic colonies.

## [ Gaming the System ]{#Gaming_the_System .mw-headline}

### [ The Spanish Civil War ]{#The_Spanish_Civil_War .mw-headline}

In '36, Britain is crippled by the restrictions of its leadership and
peace-time economy. While the monarchy sorts itself out, start
influencing Republican Spain as actively as you can, all the way up to
200. - Trade with the Netherlands and Belgium for cash, if you have to.
Once the Spanish civil war hits, ask them to your alliance until they
accept. Congratulations, you are now at war. Take military control of
both Republican Spain and France, and if you haven't already, pull
British troops from India and Egypt back to your island. Keep a French
guard on their borders, and then ... let the Nationalists win. The goal
is to gain more territory for Britain, so once Republican Spain has been
annexed, start landing your own troops. If you're British troops are
having trouble beating the Nationalists, take the territories bordering
France. Then, French troops can move across British territory to help
the fight, giving all newly conquered territory to the British. Destroy
the Nationalists, but don't annex! Keep the phony war going until the
Germans declare war on Poland in '39.

With the additional resources from your war-time economy, you will be in
a position to destroy Germany. Focus on a strong Army. Unless you want
German to annex Poland, you must move quickly. Germany will leave its
northern shores almost completely defenceless. Land in bulk, take
Berlin, and crush Germany as you please. You can repeat the French
tactic if you want, hugging the western border all the way down to
France and letting their tanks roll across your territory and then the
rest of Germany.

Once Germany is annexed, the next war will be fought against Japan.
Prepare by building up Hong Kong and India. You'll be fighting a land
war in Asia and a hard Navy battle in the Pacific, so you'll need a
well-rounded fighting force. Be careful -- by the time Japan declares
war, it will have many state-of-the-art CV´s to throw at you. The
quickest way to win this war is to take the island of Japan and then
make landings all across the Chinese coast, but the enterprise is risky
with the Japanese fleet in action. Make sure your CV tech, naval
doctrine, and fighter doctrines are prioritized. If the Japanese fleet
is giving you trouble, invade China from the west while building your
navy up to strength.

Taking China will take years, but once that's done, you'll now have a
long border across the south of Russia. If Poland was annexed earlier by
Germany, you may want to liberate it and ban it from the alliance, to
create a buffer between British-Germany and Russia. Be prepared for an
epic ground war broken by long winters. Take your time and build a large
army, and maybe a few nukes, before attempting. Afterwards, the world is
yours, congratulations!

### [ Sicily Problem ]{#Sicily_Problem .mw-headline}

Another exploitive course of action (in HoI2 and Doomsday) is the
following: Let France fall. Place most of your troops in North Africa.
Once Italy joins the Axis, overrun them so you will conquer most of
North Africa. This will allow you to land in Sicily island, as well as
providing naval and air bases.

After France falls and before Germany declares war on USSR, you need to
invade Sicily. Have your fleet perform shore bombardments, fighters on
air superiority and bombers on interdiction. Land 3 marines in the
weakest beachhead in Sicily (the island south of Italian peninsula). If
you lose the battle, use other marines and try to land again. Keep
trying until you gain a province. Land enough troops there to take out
the other province.

Once you secured Sicily, the AI Germany will become anxious and send
most of its troops to the southern tip of the peninsula trying to cross
it and invade Sicily. There are two options that allow you to hold
Sicily indefinitely:

-   Place a fleet between Italian mainland and Sicily.
-   Garrison enough troops to defend against AI invasion.

If you decide to place a fleet to guard Sicily, be very careful with
Italian naval bombers. Return damaged ships to port to avoid being sunk.

With the bulk of German army in Italy, you can run wild in other parts
of Europe. Land the troops in France and make your way to annex Germany.

### [ Avoid the German Surrender event ]{#Avoid_the_German_Surrender_event .mw-headline}

The German surrender event may not be the best choice when British
troops liberated mainland Germany but not all conquests as (in
Armageddon) most territories go to the Soviets. In this situation
encircle Berlin before the Red Army arrives. It will cut off the rest of
Germany from supplies, but in that situation this exploit should not
play an important role.

## [ ]{#Playing_with_a_mod_(such_as_HSR)} [ Playing with a mod (such as HSR) ]{#Playing_with_a_mod_.28such_as_HSR.29 .mw-headline}

If you are playing with a mod such as Historical Stony Road, Germany
becomes a very powerful opponent and your only strategy when the war
starts seems to desperately try to hold on to what you already have. In
most cases, Germans will have enough ground forces to cut through any
French (and your) defense and trigger Vichy France event. With that
said, a player should concentrate on maintaining NAVY superiority,
building tons of destroyers and carriers, as well as a lot of RAF
fighter planes to suppress those annoying naval bombers. The first
priority for ground attack is securing your position in Mediterranean
and taking Africa. The second, I would say is annexing Siam since Japan
will join the war shortly, and proceeding further north, help Nat China
with their little Japanese problem. D-Day without US in most cases
becomes a wishful thinking. You can hope for your soviet friends to help
you take Germany, but you will not win the game that way, Comintern will
have a lot more points by the end. So step by step, here is what one
should do if playing with HSR:

-   Build tons of carriers/destroyers
-   Marines and infantry should be your other specialization
-   Don\'t bother with armor before early 1943; armor in the
    desert/jungles does not help much
-   With enough troops (15 should be more than enough) prepare for a
    full scale African assault when Germany and Italy DOW you
-   Have at least two major fleets with carriers floating in the
    Mediterranean, making sure no German on Italian fleet goes through
-   Secure the English Channel with lots of destroyers
-   Put some more destroyers around Gibraltar and to the west of it,
    even to the west of Africa - this is where your convoys are usually
    attacked by German subs
-   Expect a lot of air support, especially naval bombers, so make
    fighters and place them accordingly
-   Send about 20+ troops, some with artillery and heavy division
    attachments, to India to secure Sino-Indian border and commence an
    attack on Siam (from Indonesia and India on two fronts)
-   Take and annex Siam ASAP and advance into Chinese mainland if
    Japanese has already taken it
-   Continue to push them for as long as you can/want.
-   You will lose many islands in the Pacific, but don\'t bother taking
    them back; US will do that for you later
-   D-day requires a lot of planning and units. When you think you\'re
    ready and have enough US support (should be around 1943-1944), make
    a lot of infantry/mechanized/armored divisions and with all your
    remaining marines, land on any part of the beach and then proceed to
    establishing a beachhead/new front.
-   I recommend taking control of US armies at this point, the D-Day in
    HSR proved to be a very difficult thing mostly due to highly
    advanced German forces and their determination to kick you back to
    where you came from
-   Rush toward Berlin and try to take it before the Russkies
-   If you manage, you\'ll win this game; if not\....try again later.

## [ Additional Tips for 1936 Scenario - multiplayer ]{#Additional_Tips_for_1936_Scenario_-_multiplayer .mw-headline}

Your priorities should be as follows:

-   1\) Maintaining naval supremacy -

In the North Sea you can keep the German player bottled up from the
beginning and not allow his transports to seize Iceland (for example, as
this is not a naval base you want him to have) or much worse, attempt a
SeaLion. Same goes for the English channel, you don\'t want the Hun\'s
hordes crossing your channel and landing in England, and the best way to
insure this is to 1) not start work on the \'chunnel\' just yet, and 2)
maintain naval supremacy in the channel Almost as importantly is keeping
superiority in the mediterranean. Believe it or not, you are in a good
position to do this, Malta can be as much of a pain in the Axis neck in
the game as it was historically. Your goal here is to keep the
Italians/Germans from getting reinforcements to Africa, it is essential
to keep the Suez open - if you control the med this shouldn\'t be a
problem.

-   2\) Air supremacy - In order to accomplish item one, you\'re going
    to need a lot of planes. Naval bombers are your most dreaded
    nightmare, and since they can wreck your fleet in almost no time
    (and when this happens the game can go south very very quickly), so
    to address this you\'re going to need to build some fighters, the 3
    interceptors you start the game with will not cut it I\'m afraid.

If you succeed in these two endeavors, you should be able to hold the
Suez open (especially critical as most German players will plow through
Spain and capture Gibraltar), keep the Germans off your island and
generally be a continued annoyance to the German player, even in your
darkest days of fighting them almost single-handedly.
:::