MJ's Australian multiplayer guide

This guide should help new Australian players grow into the shoes of an important Asian ally for the allies. This guide is intended to be used in a try hard scenario with adequite rules, competant allies and competant foes. This strategy is the most basic strategy for Australia and is intended for new players learning the ropes.

Overview & Setting

This multiplayer guide is best suited for try hard, semi-historical games with competant allies and competant opponents as well. I am assuming in this guide that Japan & America cannot join the war until 1941. I am assuming this is a vanilla game as well.

Main Goals

Australia has a couple of very specific goals to help the allies win the war. Here are them all:

1. Hold Singapore and contest Japanese invasions of the dutch east indies
2. Hold your mainland agaisnt potential naval invasions
3. Help out allies naval invade Japan
4. Help UK/Soviets/USA get fighter 3s/2s (depending on rules)
5. Help Allies in Africa pre-pacific war
6. Research naval bombers and kill fleets/convoys

Focus Path

Australia has a lot of focuses they have to go down and a lot of focuses that are very important to survive as Australia. I will go over what focuses to pick and what time you should have them.

The first few focuses Australia should take is almost it's entire industry tree, although part of it is locked off until other focuses are taken.

Here is the first year of focuses Australia should take:

1. 50% industry focus
2. First infrastructure bonus focus
3. Second infrastructure bonus focus
4. Add 2 civilians in random states focus
5. Add 2 militaries in random state focus
6. Add 1 military focus

Now at this point, depending on the rules a server may force Germany to take the Rhineland focus and if tension is high enough you should take the allies war council focus. With this focus you can get the political power guy (which is good and you should get him). It also allows you to go and do the SWPA focuses for defending Singapore later.


You'll want to start your air focuses in 1938, finish the first one on the left to get the fighter 3 bonuses, and the other two to the right to get the naval bomber bonuses.

When you're able to get your industry focuses from the right tree, go for it. You need those bonuses in order to remove the great depression and increase your recruitable population.

From there you want to do your land doctrine tree so you can get those 3 bonuses and the 50% bonuses towards support companies to ensure you have good AT agaisnt Japan mediums.

Research

As Australia you want to research a variety of things depending on what the UK wants you to do, so here are a couple of things NOT to research.
You likely don't want to research tanks, so don't worry about mobile warfare or tanks.
Don't research Heavy planes, naval doctrines, dispersed industry, synthetics, CAS and most ships (except destroyers or subs)

What does that leave? Fighters, Naval bombers, artillery pieces, infantry research, a couple of air doctrines, industry, electronics and most importantly: Right side mass assault (sorta lol).

How do I research fighters to get fighter 3s?
You want to start the game by researching fighter 1s, make sure you license them off the Soviets. Then once that finishes begin hard researching 2s, your first 150 pp should be the light aircraft designer to reduce the time it takes. Arguably, depending on the Canada you can get fighter 2s in roughly July to August of 1938. By then you should have the 100% bonus for fighter 3s, meaning you can get fighter 3s about 5 months before Hungary does, crucial time for the allies

What about naval bombers?
As Australia you have a bonus toward naval bomber 3s reducing the research time ahead of time pentalty by 100%. You basically do the same thing for naval bombers except you have two bonuses meaning it takes less time than fighter 3s. Probably should do those after you finish fighter 3s. (it'll take 1 day to do 1940 naval bombers due to the 75% bonus - 10% from air company and -15% from free trade)

Why Mass Assault?
Because manpower... As Australia you have very little manpower and need that 5% to build up a lot of divisions. You probably want to start researching Mass Assault a little before 1938.

Which air doctrines should I research?
Only a couple, just enough to get the naval bombing from the left doctrine, it will help you in bombing Japans navy or other navies.

Industry and electronics?
Research the usual for industry and electronics: radar, decryption/encyption, concentrated, efficiency, excavation.

How about Artillery and infantry equipment?
Research marines/mountaneers and get arty/at/aa (tier 2) and other items you may build. Make sure you research your support companies (signals, recon, engineer).

What if fighter 3s/ 1944 air tech are banned or limited?
Likely you'll want to do your first air focuses to get those things ASAP so your allies can begin researching fighter 2s well before the axis can and start. Same goes for naval bombers.

Production & Construction

Australia rarely has equipment shortages, and they usually do not last long.
As Australia you're going to want to build civilians far longer than most other countries.
Typically I like to have about 25 civs until I start building mils, the reason for this is because you simply don't have the manpower to field all of your equipment. After you have some where around 25-30 civs begin building mils. You'll likely run out of building slots to build mils but you need to build forts in Singapore as well so that'll be ok. As for your production there are four things you build as basics.

1. Motorized (for support companies)
2. Infantry equipment
3. Artillery
4. Support equipment
5. AA (just for support companies)
6. AT (if you think Japan is going to do Mediums)

Obviously you can build other types of equipment, but these are the basics.

If you think Japan is going to do medium tanks, you'll want 2nd tier AT to compete. As Australia you have two bonuses for support artillery, research the first AT and use the other two bonuses to get the 2nd tier. That should be enough to pierce the armor of a Japanese medium 2 (have two line AT in your marines).

Division Designs

As Austrlia you want four kinds of divisions. You want a 10 width cav division for a potential assault of the Australian mainland, and for garrison. You want either a (14-16)-4 Marine or Mountaneer division (although I highly recommend doing marines). Finally you want a 20 width pure infantry division. The 20 width division will be used for garrisoning the mainland. The marines/Mountaneers should be used in Singapore. Mountaneers will be better for defending Singapore because Singapore is a very mountainous region, especially the line you want to hold towards the north. However they're limited on their offensive abilities. Marines are better for the offensive if you plan on invading Japanese islands like Taiwan and other strategic Islands. They can also be used agaisnt Italy in Africa if Japan is bad or China is holding well. Overall I would pick marines over mountaneers anyday. The only offense Mountaneers can do is push up Malay but thats still difficult and lacks real strategical advtange besides securing Singapore... which you were doing anyway... Finally you want a 10 width british malaya division. They can be used to hold ports or the coast line of Singapore. They are a good substitute of manpower.

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Holding Singapore

This is one of the key goals Australia should prepare for. Depending on the Japan this can very easy or very difficult. There is a focus you must take as Australia called SWPA forts which adds 4 forts on the port in the north and 2 forts on each border tile. You'll want to build 5 forts on each tile, some servers allow six so build that many if you can. With the focuses included you can have 7-10 forts on each province in 3 tiles across the pennisula. IT IS CRUCIAL YOU HOLD THESE THREE PROVINCES!!!
If Japan pushes you back and encircles your army in the north, either by breaking in and encirciling your army from ports or takes the ports over himself, GG he'll likely go after your mainland which will lead to your capitulation. If you are going to lose the northern line in Singapore fall back in a coordinated retreat to a river that stretches across the pennisula.
If you lose that, fall back to the point where there are only two provinces across the pennisula, and where the airbase is.
If you lose the airbase, Japan will have air superiority over the whole Pennisula and will take the city. If you lose the airbase coordinate retreat out of Singapore and begin the defense of the Dutch East Indies. A lot of defending Singapore revolves around air power. If your UK is weak in the air, it will be very difficult to hold indefinitly.

Fighting in the Dutch East Indies

If the war is going well, or you lost Singapore but successfully evacuated. Its time to hold the dutch east indies. They are the most vulnerable country in the south east and if you can prevent a Japanese landing on the ports you will succed. If they land, challenging their naval invasions are risky but doable. If Singapore falls its crucial you hold the dutch east indies so that the rubber supply may live on for the allies. There is no designated strategy to hold the islands, just challenge any invasions from the start and if they take a port challenge their advance and wait for American tanks + support.

Holding the Mainland

This is probably the easiest part of Australias job. To hold the mainland you should use your 20 width infantry divisions and place 2 on a port and 1 on each side of the port.
Do not worry about guarding New Guinea, its rather unimportant and very costly to supply for both Japan and Australia. The basic principle for Australia is to guard your ports and prevent Japan from landing. If he lands you need to dedicate a lot of firepower to prevent the expansion of his landing and kill it at its source. If it's a very serious landing with tanks and almost an entire army of marines, you will need American support to defend. If you can spare the manpower you can defend the island straits attached to New Guinea. Holding Australia is rather difficult to do if Japan has taken over different key objectives. If Japan defeats you in Singapore, you can try and defend in the city of Singapore, but with limited air support you'll likely lose your divisions from constant attacks by Japans divisions and CAS. When Japan may attack the mainland is a tricky to precise. Japan could attack you first, or Japan may never attack you. Despite the uncertainity, holding Australia is easier than attacking. But remember don't allow Japan to expand his invasions beyond the port.

Conclusion

Australia is a very crucial nation in the south pacific. You are very strategical for the allies, allowing them early fighter 3s and securing vital rubber supplies. I hope this guide serves you well playing Australia. Good luck :D!

[robertordf]

lets updating the guide for competitive multiplayer:
DONT do fighter 3 or cas, just rush fighter -2y focus and do fighter 2.
Dont care about troops on singapure or malasya or even austr, USA will take care for.
only do superior firepower 11-6 marines/art and be ready in early 40' in egypt. Your only role in game is to take out ita islands and backdoor elalamein. After jp enters war, you backdoor singapure. After that you are done, just assist EUA and UK in invasions.
Refit your CA;CL to a better design, start in in 36', after that just do cheap destroyer/CL

[mjb2k]

Fighter 3s*

[mjb2k]

@Private Wojtek obviously the meta has changed a lot from when I made this guide. The goal in this guide is to achieve fighter 3s for the allies not fighter 2s due to the 100% ahead of time research bonus Australia has. But that being said when I made this I put in case fighter 2s were banned, "Likely you'll want to do your first air focuses to get those things ASAP so your allies can begin researching fighter 2s well before the axis can and start. Same goes for naval bombers.".

[Perfect Femcell]

this is awful any aus who follows this will cuck the allies out of fighter 2's

[mjb2k]

@T1 Draven I could definitly do that but the MP community appears to be dying at a very fast rate so if I get to it I will.

[I will take your hat]

Would you mind updating this for F2 meta /australian tank meta?

[mjb2k]

@[-|-409th-|-] soulsilver Yep probably. I'll have to redo somethings and what not but shouldn't be all that bad. I'll probably make some sort of China guide for the new DLC. We'll see.

[Soulsilver]

Great guide man mine is kinda out of date in alot of ways... we will both be in the same boat after the next dlc.

[mjb2k]

Note: Australian Marines will probably go out of style in the next update. Will probably just need to do Infantry but Japan will have the same issue so what goes around comes around.