Cave to the Germans (continue this branch seeing you ally with the Axis forces – if you’re fascist going it alone will likely result in war with Germany due to their war goal from ‘Around Maginot’).

War on Pacifism (it’s important that you do decisions to get rid of Shell-shocked Spectator of the Great War trait that decreases your overall manpower).

Gateway to Europe (start giving trade bonuses to Germany over Britain).

HOI4: The Netherlands Guide – To ensure your survival you should side with Germany and focus on building your army up Of course, with the focus tree being so large now, I thought it would be wise to only list the most important focuses for ease of reading.

With this, I’ve listed below what are the most important focuses fulfilled in an efficient manner.

Yet, at the same time, Holland gets a few horrible traits like -50% recruitable population and decreased construction speed meaning you either risk war or begin the game with a meager industry. You need to pick your side before 1939 before Hitler does the ‘Around Maginot’ focus. Motorised work well for smaller nations as they are easier and cheaper to produce and defend better than tanks

Go down ‘Mobile Warfare’ land doctrine prioritising motorised bonuses instead of tanks (the left side of the research tree).

Using two military factories should be enough – make sure you place your main focus is on infantry equipment, artillery and motorised.

Move your twelve fighters to Holland (they are in the colonial territory by the Dutch East Indies) and produce fighters to have air superiority in your mainland.

In addition, the new focus tree gives you some stupendous bonuses towards your navy granting further dockyards for production. While you’ll struggle to compete with Britain, having a decent surface navy (a mix of destroyers, light cruisers and battleships) will help you in naval invasions.

You should place more attention on your navy rather than your air force.

Moreover, if you go democratic, non-aligned or communist you will need a strong army to defend against Germany – you should focus on infantry, forts and naval production as it will be easier to compete with the Germans over Britain’s immense navy. If you go fascist, you will need at least 24 divisions (18 infantry and 6 motorised) to get a respectable war score in France.

Build up your military as it will be essential for whatever path you take.

Following these will give you a greater chance of success. As usual, I will begin the guide with some rudimentary principles that are worth following, even if you ignore my military tactics and political ideology.

Hearts of iron tips