The Third Reich Beginners Basic Strategy Guide – Playing the Axis Side.

As with most games, I always start on the easiest level to allow myself time to get use to the controls, interfaces,
rules and strategy of a game, and playing The Third Reich (3R) is no exception.

It is an amazing game, thoroughly engrossing, and has a lot of replay-ability. But it does have a lot of rules too
learn and each turn has a number of different actions that you have to perform.

These actions can seem rather daunting, but once you get used to them and learn how to use them properly, you
will soon think nothing of them. But on top of learning the different actions in each turn, there is the problem of
what actual strategy do you employ in order to reach your objectives in the game. This is what this guide aims to
do for the novice 3R gamer.

I should add, that this is only a basic strategy guide to use, but it is one that I have used on a number
of occasions, and found that it works most of the time, so it is a good one to try until you get used the
game.

Because the game uses a Combat Results Table, this adds an element of chance to each battle, so the out come
might not always be the same from game to game. The only way to increase your chance of success in each battle
is to attack with overwhelming odds, though this is not always possible, so don’t’ be too disappointed if this
strategy does not go to plan!

The Campaign Mode

My Grand Strategy for Germany is this:

1. Capture Poland as quickly as possible. You have to attack Poland in your first turn anyway (part of the
rules and it is what started the war!), but you should put all effort into doing it quickly.
Make sure all of your air units are available for attacking Poland, but you may have to place an airbase
near the German/Poland border to accommodate all of them as there are not enough cities close enough
to Warsaw.

This is an example of how I would set up the German forces to attack Poland.
1 – this has an airbase and an armour unit under the air unit.
2 – this has an armour unit under the air unit.
Speed is of the essence; so don’t waste time attacking all polish unist, just head straight for Warsaw.
Once you capture a capital city and hold it for one turn, they will be conquered and all of their unit will be
removed.

2. Move the bulk of your forces to the western front to attack the French. Leave some on the eastern front,
but you can build your forces up again on the Eastern Front before war breaks out with the Russians,
when you get the chance of adding replacements.
 During the set up phase, place 4 units as in the picture above (mixture of armour and infantry). Because
Germany always starts first, this gives you the chance to fill the vacant hex in the French defensive line.
This will increase your odds during combat and when you come to attack the French units adjacent. If you
don’t move into this hex, the French will with 2 units and it will be a nightmare to displace them.
When you are ready to attack the French, declare war on Luxembourg, so you can move units into that
country, which will give you a wider front to attack from.

Remember to make full use of your airpower, as this will prove critical in some engagements to give you
better odds of a good result.

You may find that you might have to declare war on Holland and Belgium, as this will give you a wider
front to attack from and stop your forces from getting bottled up in a small front. This will mean that the
Dutch and Belguim forces will be deployed in their countries and you will have to eliminate them.
But if you do, just go straight for the capital, hold it for a turn, and “poof”, they all disappear.

3. Capture Paris as soon as possible and hold for one turn, as this will remove all French counters.

4. The next stage is to capture Britain before the Russians join the war. This will remove all British counters.
This will obviously mean an invasion by sea, but also use your Paratroopers.

5. Once Britain has been captured, start moving units to the eastern front. Leave some units around the
coast, especially any towns and cities, because when America joins the war, they will constantly try to
invade. Keep plenty of air and sea units in and around the English channel so you can counter an
American threat.

6. Now turn your attention to the Russians (if you haven’t had to do so yet). It will be a mammoth task to
break the Russian front line, as the have lots of units, but luckily, not as strong as yours. The Russians will
more than likely attack countries like Bulgaria and Romania, which will mean these countries will be under
your control. It will make the Eastern frontline even bigger, but this can play to your advantage, as it will
allow your more powerful units to punch a hole in the Russian lines.

7. A good tactic to employ on the Russian front is to encircle groups of their units and cut off their supply
lines. If they are unable to re-supply their units in the next turn, those units will be eliminated.

My Grand Strategy for Italy is this:

1. Build up your forces in Libya, but do not go to war with Britain yet. The reason for this is the Italian units
are to weak to really deal with the British, so it is best to fortify your position in Libya without war for as
long as possible. Also, make sure you place a few units at the border between Italy and France, as it is
more than likely the allies will declare war on Italy, so do this to avoid leaving yourself un-guarded
 2. When the Germans finally capture Britain and France, all of their units will disappear from North Africa and
the Middle East, leaving the Italians to capture everything in these areas, completely unopposed. This will
allow you to capture a good number of cities that are needed to fulfil your scenario objectives.

3. As you move your Italian forces east and then north into the Middle East, direct them toward the
Caucuses, and attack the Russians from behind. They can then capture more vital cities, and will add an
additional front for the Russians to fight, and this will make the Russians move units from the eastern
front to deal with the Italians, making it a little easier for the Germans. Hopefully by this point the
Germans have made significant gains and have broken the Russian lines.

One other country that I have not yet mentioned is Finland. They will come under your control when the Russians
attack them. This too, can become another front for the Russians to have to contend with.

If the combat results go in favour of Finland, you could try and attack Moscow. This may seem a suicide mission,
but yet again, it would force Russia to move units from the eastern front so they can deal with the Finnish units,
thus making the eastern front line weaker and enable the Germans to exploit this. You can also replace the lost
units later.
 Tactics

Remember your objectives, which is to capture at least 28 major cities by Winter 1943. Don’t get bogged down
trying to eliminate lots of units of Britain and France. Capture their capital cities and hold for a turn, and they will
be defeated. Russia, on the other hand, is not so easy to defeat. You should read the information manual (not
operations manual) to find a more detailed way of how the Axis can defeat the Russians.

Attrition can be costly to your units, especially on the Eastern Front. Once you are at war with Russia, they will
quite often choose attrition over offensive or pass options, and because of the amount of combat factors they
have on the Eastern Front, you may find you could have to lose up to 7 units/counters.
This could be devastating if you have to remove valuable infantry units, and if the allies go first in the next turn (it
is not always guaranteed the Axis will have their turn first in any given round, as it will depend on the BRP’s that
are generated).
So, to avoid this happening, during your replacement phase of your turn, always place at least 7 Replacement
units at the Eastern Front.. These units only have a defensive value and can be used as losses as a result of
attrition, which means no loss of valuable units and are cheap to buy.