# HOI4 Germany Guide 2026: Focus Order, Templates and MIOs

> A historical-focus, Iron Man Germany playthrough covering the full focus order, the MIO (Ministry of Industrial Organization) equipment picks for tanks, planes and ships, and the division templates used from the Anschluss cavalry rush through Barbarossa. Includes the exact stats and IC costs pulled from Division, Tank, Ship and Plane Designer screenshots, plus what the top comments dispute.

- **Game:** Hearts of Iron IV
- **Category:** Nations
- **Author:** LongBeam (https://guides-factory.com/about)
- **Difficulty:** Intermediate
- **Reading time:** 22 min
- **Published:** 2026-08-09
- **Updated:** 2026-09-06
- **Tags:** Division templates, Economy, Focus tree, Germany
- **Adapted from:** [Bitt3rSteel - Building the ULTIMATE GERMANY in 2026! - Germany Guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM)
- **Canonical URL:** https://guides-factory.com/guides/hoi4-germany-guide

---

<p class="note">Patch not stated in the video; the creator confirms running all current DLC by name (Arms Against Tyranny, By Blood Alone, No Step Back, La Résistance, and No Compromise, No Surrender). Treat the upload date, 31 Jan 2026, as the reference point.</p>

## 🎯 The core idea

A historical-focus, Iron Man German plan: rush the economy and doctrines through Rhineland → Four-Year Plan → Anschluss; pad the Anschluss army-size check with a throwaway 96-division cavalry "meme army" that never fights; then chain Poland into the Low Countries, France, Britain, the Balkans, USSR and USA with the same plains-toward-supply-hubs pincer every time. For the monarchist path, see the [Kaiserin Germany guide](/guides/hoi4-kaiserin-germany-guide).

<ul class="legend">
  <li><span class="badge free">free</span> costs nothing</li>
  <li><span class="badge cheap">cheap</span> small cost</li>
  <li><span class="badge setup">setup</span> needs preparation</li>
  <li><span class="badge grind">grind</span> pays off slowly</li>
  <li><span class="badge skip">skip</span> the thing to avoid</li>
</ul>

## Focus order

As posted in the video's description, matching the order taken on screen; Days is filled only where the video states or implies a date.

<table>
<thead><tr><th>#</th><th>Focus</th><th>Days / date</th><th>Unlocks</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>1</td><td>Remilitarize The Rhineland</td><td>by 8:03</td><td>clears demilitarized zone</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>Führerprinzip</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Reichsleiter Todt</td><td></td><td>starts Todt's sub-chain</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>The Four-Year Plan</td><td></td><td>preferred over Prioritize Economic Growth</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Autarky Efforts</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Institute Price Controls</td><td>~17:11</td><td>price-control decisions</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Reorganize The Wehrmacht</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Construct The Reichsautobahn</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>Party Chancellor Hess</td><td>~31:45</td><td>+1 build slot, +10% construction/region</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>Anschluss (force deploy if needed)</td><td>by 22:13</td><td>gated on army ≈23× Austria's</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>KdF-Wagen Factories</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>Develop Heraeus Research Facility</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>Accelerate the Rearmament Program</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>Develop Modern Maneuver Warfare</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>Adopt New Panzer Doctrine</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>Goebbels</td><td>~34:14</td><td>replaces Todt</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Establish Production Targets</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>Concentrated Armament Program</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>Demand Sudetenland</td><td>by 36:39</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>20</td><td>First Vienna Award</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>21</td><td>Fate Of Czechoslovakia</td><td>~38:43</td><td>top option: puppet</td></tr>
<tr><td>22</td><td>Coal Liquefaction</td><td>~39:24</td><td>switches Todt's MIO to I.G. Farben</td></tr>
<tr><td>23</td><td>Expanding The Luftwaffe</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>24</td><td>Aeronautical Research Institute</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>25</td><td>Dive Bombers</td><td>~43:34</td><td>unlocks Hugo Sperrle</td></tr>
<tr><td>26</td><td>Build The Rur Dam</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>27</td><td>Panzer Troop Schools</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>28</td><td>Reassert Eastern Claims</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>29</td><td>Advanced Panzer Research</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>30</td><td>Combined Arms</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>31</td><td>Instill Auftragtaktik</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>32</td><td>Establish Buna Werke</td><td>~46:22</td><td>+2 rubber/synthetic refinery</td></tr>
<tr><td>33</td><td>Danzig Or War</td><td>21d as focus, 10d to justify directly</td><td>Poland war-goal date</td></tr>
<tr><td>34</td><td>Around Maginot</td><td>~58:31</td><td>garrisons Belgium/Luxembourg tiles</td></tr>
<tr><td>35</td><td>Operation Weserübung</td><td></td><td>Denmark/Norway prep</td></tr>
<tr><td>36</td><td>Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact</td><td>~67:43</td><td>partitions Poland</td></tr>
<tr><td>37</td><td>Demands to Sweden (once Norway caps)</td><td>~72:18</td><td>Västerbotten resources</td></tr>
<tr><td>38</td><td>Operation Sealion</td><td></td><td>UK invasion</td></tr>
<tr><td>39</td><td>Operation Green/Tannenbaum (optional)</td><td></td><td>vs. Switzerland</td></tr>
<tr><td>40</td><td>Subsidize Hoesch-Benzin (might bypass)</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>41</td><td>Establish The Reichswerke</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>42</td><td>Seize Foreign Industries (bypass)</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>43</td><td>Autarky Achieved</td><td></td><td>ends MEFO timer, adds Wirtschaftswunder</td></tr>
<tr><td>44</td><td>Crossing the Atlantic</td><td></td><td>enables US invasion</td></tr>
<tr><td>45</td><td>Form the Zentrale Planung</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>46</td><td>Uplift the Rosenberg Office</td><td></td><td>Reichskommissariat splitting</td></tr>
<tr><td>47</td><td>For the Jagdwaffe</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>48</td><td>The Triumphant Will</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>49</td><td>Anti-Comintern Pact (skip if not close to winning US)</td><td>before ~early 1941</td><td>else Japan declares on you</td></tr>
<tr><td>50</td><td>War With USSR</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>51</td><td>Panzergrenadier</td><td></td><td>armor attack/breakthrough</td></tr>
<tr><td>52</td><td>Improve the Logistic System</td><td></td><td>motorized/mechanized attack</td></tr>
<tr><td>53</td><td>(free choice — "you've won!")</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<div class="divider">═══ mios and production ═══</div>

## MIO and company picks

![Industrial Concern popup with RWE selected, showing its −7.5% consumer goods and 150 PP cost tooltip](/media/guides/markdown/0f1ed7cf-0d27-4fb4-ace2-00f5cc3ca503.webp)

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">One MIO per equipment category, kept all game</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Henschel/tanks, Focke-Wulf/most aircraft, Rheinmetall/artillery, Mauser/guns, Walther/rest; assign each once via create-variant, since it isn't automatic.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=86s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1:26 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
This Industrial Concern selector (RWE tooltip: −7.5% consumer goods, +5% nuclear research, 150 PP) only exists with Arms Against Tyranny.
</div>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @yovollow (50 likes) timestamps the same MIO picks independently: 17:42 Mauser, 20:07 Rheinmetall, 22:14 Blohm & Voss, 31:20 Henschel, 32:51 Focke-Wulf, 36:14 Opel. <span class="note">— yovollow</span>
</div>

## Initial construction and production

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Max core infrastructure, then 5 civilians, +5 guns, +2 artillery; collapse the ship queue to one copy each</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Shift-click big ships to the back, then max their dockyards — ~2 per capital ship finishes them before the war.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=149s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2:29 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

![Production screen at 37/37 military factories and 10/10 dockyards](/media/guides/markdown/117498c7-589a-49ee-a3cd-74ab9270e73b.webp)

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
37/37 military factories, 10/10 dockyards, Support Equipment/Artillery/trucks/Panzer II/Do 22/BF 109D all running at once (narration names one item at a time).
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ the anschluss rush ═══</div>

## Division designer: the cavalry rush

![Division Designer showing the interim Panzer-Division template, Combat width 16](/media/guides/markdown/35507fcf-53ed-4fb5-a20e-8b191f707d34.webp)

96 throwaway cavalry divisions exist purely to satisfy the Anschluss army-size check, not to fight (the shot above is the Panzer-Division template covered in Division templates below).

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch grind">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Queue 96 cheap cavalry divisions, force-deploy each at ~20% training</span> <span class="badge grind">grind</span><br><span class="desc">"I like them worthless" — they never fight, so training them is wasted time. Right-click the field marshal after deploying to auto-distribute them.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=546s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9:06 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
Anschluss threshold: roughly 23× Austria's army — the creator's own recollection, unverified.
</div>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @user67999 (2 likes): just train fully-equipped infantry before August 1937, no meme divisions needed. <span class="note">— user67999</span>
- @terminator729arnie2 (24 likes): without Götterdämmerung (a different DLC), the check becomes "50,000 guns in reserve" instead. <span class="note">— terminator729arnie2</span>
</div>

![Political panel showing the Anschluss progress bar and party seat breakdown](/media/guides/markdown/2617b3fa-c3dc-419d-b9fe-55dfc35faa12.webp)

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch cheap">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Top option on the Austrian DNSAP-ban event (50 PP); spend early army XP on "assign political loyalty"</span> <span class="badge cheap">cheap</span><br><span class="desc">Sets up an easier diplomatic Anschluss; stability feeds PP gain, consumer goods and factory output at once. MEFO-bills penalty is offset by Price Controls, gold-reserve decisions, and eventually Autarky Achieved.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=648s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10:48 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="divider">═══ navy and spain ═══</div>

## Ship design: the "meme cruiser"

![Ship Designer for the Admiral Hipper light-cruiser refit, stats panel showing Production Cost 5088](/media/guides/markdown/356d66d7-db25-44e4-a6c3-795856ea717f.webp)

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Rebuild the Admiral Hipper as a light cruiser with Blohm & Voss</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Main batteries → Light Cruiser Battery II, two slots → Secondary Battery II, AA and armor upgraded. Result: 30.3 knots, Light Attack 27.0, HP 136.5, Production Cost 5088 — meant to shred a screening line for torpedoes.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=945s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">15:45 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

The [navy guide](/guides/hoi4-navy-guide-2026) covers fleet composition for the Channel fight ahead.

## Spain: volunteers and trait farming

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch grind">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Send 6 volunteers plus air support to San Jurjo; optionally trait-farm, stopping at ~99%</span> <span class="badge grind">grind</span><br><span class="desc">3 motorized + 3 armor + 2 air wings. Armor for Panzer Leader, rivers for Engineer; overshooting past 99% wastes the cheap early traits.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=1075s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">17:55 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @bruhwot4293 (11 likes), on the pick at 50:32: prefers Rolf Carls for the Hochseeflotte, who starts with Ironside. <span class="note">— bruhwot4293</span>
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ tank and aircraft design ═══</div>

## Tank design: the free flame tank

![Tank Designer for the flame tank, tooltip confirming its 100% design-cost discount](/media/guides/markdown/1c9f157d-d964-42eb-b583-28e6ef0bd4bf.webp)

Tooltip: "Has 100.00% discount on this design / Spend ★0" — confirming it's genuinely free.

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch free">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Design the flame tank first, then clone it into your real medium tank for 4 XP</span> <span class="badge free">free</span><br><span class="desc">Basic medium chassis, 3-man turret, flamethrower, Christie suspension — swap the flamethrower for a howitzer to get your production tank. Later swap wet ammo storage for Easy Maintenance (44:17).</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=2261s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">37:41 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
Flame-tank stats: Soft Attack 9.5, Armor 12.9, Breakthrough 26.7, Production Cost 11.36 — none spoken.
</div>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @jeremyglass4283 (78 likes): research Maintenance Company II before your first medium chassis so Easy Maintenance goes on the first flame tank, saving ~30 army XP. <span class="note">— jeremyglass4283</span>
</div>

## Aircraft design

![Plane Designer for the Bf 109 D fighter: 510 km/h max speed and 880 km range](/media/guides/markdown/63a651c8-1f7f-43b2-9180-5f5fa1733efa.webp)

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Upgrade BF 109, Ju-87 and the naval bomber with fuel tanks for range</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Swap light MG turrets for fuel tanks; add a second cannon to the BF 109; add Fieseler to the naval bomber. Without By Blood Alone, just research CAS and the fighter line.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=1374s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">22:54 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
BF 109D stats: 510.0 km/h, Range 880 km, Air Attack 10.0, Conversion Cost 4.50, Production Cost 22.00.
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ research and doctrines ═══</div>

## Research and doctrines

![Research screen, Aerodynamics and Avionics project list with Helicopter at 547 days](/media/guides/markdown/a30ace0c-ffe3-4f56-83f5-1a2649a245a6.webp)

Four research slots; Aerodynamics and Avionics mid-selection — Helicopter 547 days, Radar 330 days, numbers never narrated.

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Motorization Drive, then "Streamline Deployment" in armor doctrine; hire Guderian</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Motorization Drive makes armor/motorized conversions free; Guderian gives +15% doctrine mastery and faster tanks. Without No Step Back, just produce the plain "medium tank" design.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=1206s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20:06 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

![Focus tree right half, Fritz Todt succession event choosing Speer over Göring](/media/guides/markdown/3da321e4-ff31-4b23-8a21-d64313eb3033.webp)

The right half of the focus tree, Sudetenland through Crossing the Atlantic.

![Focus tree Economy branch with Prioritize Economic Growth's 35-day completion tooltip open](/media/guides/markdown/2ef17b00-1efc-455b-aaa7-8f29d242df70.webp)

The left (Economy) half of the tree.

<div class="divider">═══ poland ═══</div>

## The war with Poland

![Battle plan map: Fall Weiss pincer arrows converging on Warsaw](/media/guides/markdown/794e3a42-70a1-4a22-bcce-cb640fce0e6c.webp)

"Fall Weiss": a 48-division arrow toward Lublin, a pincer converging on Warsaw.

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Stage everything before declaring, don't call allies, push railways toward supply hubs</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Naval invasion planned for Norway, land invasion for Denmark, armor on plains tiles. "They're a liability." Łódź, then Warsaw — not the big red attack button.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=3084s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">51:24 ↗</a></em>
</li>
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">On "future of the German rearmament program," pick the top option</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Converts MEFO bills to economy of conquest, allowing gold seizure to offset the consumer-goods penalty.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=3230s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">53:50 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
84% capitulation after 5 days; 21,000 guns captured at full capitulation.
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ low countries, france, britain ═══</div>

## Low Countries, France, and Britain

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch grind">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Declare on the Netherlands alone, drive Utrecht → Amsterdam → The Hague → Rotterdam</span> <span class="badge grind">grind</span><br><span class="desc">Belgium's one border tile is forested/defensible; under 7 days to knock the Netherlands out.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=3531s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">58:51 ↗</a></em>
</li>
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Redeploy to Antwerp, then cut south through France to Paris</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">With Götterdämmerung, Belgium capitulates by event once any state outside the Ardennes falls. On Historical, France's disjointed government halves its surrender limit; stated capitulation: 9 days.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=3636s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60:36 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

![Fleet panel showing task forces moving toward the English Channel](/media/guides/markdown/2adc67b7-8509-44bc-b505-aff086a538eb.webp)

Flotta 1 under Admiral Lütjens, en route to the Channel.

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch grind">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Mass fighters near Calais, set the navy to "never repair, engage at high risk," launch at 150+ naval dominance</span> <span class="badge grind">grind</span><br><span class="desc">Pushed to a shown 710 and launched immediately rather than waiting ~20 days for the timer bonus. Mass CAS over southern England, land infantry, then armor: "as soon as the armor lands, it is all over."</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=4422s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">73:42 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @fraflo25 (30), @britishshlag558 (18), @A5TRA35 (16) and @L3ros (5 likes) independently report losing most or all of the navy in the Channel. <span class="note">— multiple commenters</span>
- @jeronimoepic2946 (8 likes): Sea Lion around 1940 can mean instantly being surrounded by ~60 British divisions per tile. <span class="note">— jeronimoepic2946</span>
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ global conquest ═══</div>

## Peace deal, USA, and the pivot east

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Core-annex only actual German claims; puppet the rest, call Canada into the US war</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Poland/Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands/France/most of Switzerland annexed; overseas holdings puppeted. Airbases in eastern Canada stage the US strike.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=4824s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80:24 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
US war "over" at Germany 246 divisions vs. US 100, 3:1 economy. Final tally: 1.4 million US casualties vs. under 400,000 German.
</div>

## The war with the USSR

![Division Designer showing the late-game Panzer-Division, Organization 42.6](/media/guides/markdown/da061a7f-f367-464d-b920-72e5c97fff67.webp)

The late-game Panzer-Division: support anti-air dropped, a logistics company added for Siberia. That jump comes from stacking soft-attack bonuses — see the [modifier-stacking guide](/guides/hoi4-modifier-stacking-red-bubble).

<table>
<thead><tr><th>Stat</th><th>Interim Panzer-Division (~Dec 1936)</th><th>Late-game Panzer-Division (Apr 1941)</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>Combat width</td><td>16</td><td>36</td></tr>
<tr><td>Soft attack</td><td>158.3</td><td>770.9</td></tr>
<tr><td>Hard attack</td><td>26.3</td><td>39.7</td></tr>
<tr><td>HP</td><td>112.2</td><td>273.2</td></tr>
<tr><td>Organization</td><td>29.0</td><td>42.6</td></tr>
<tr><td>Breakthrough</td><td>148.5</td><td>737.6</td></tr>
<tr><td>Armor</td><td>16.1</td><td>35.4</td></tr>
<tr><td>Max speed</td><td>8.5 km/h</td><td>8.1 km/h</td></tr>
<tr><td>Production cost (IC)</td><td>1563–3365</td><td>3859–8117</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<p class="note">Organisation 42.6 is read off the designer panel. The creator says "35" aloud nearby; it does not match this template, so the screen value is used.</p>


<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
The infantry-division template's exact stats were never caught on a clean screen — only "same as the starting template plus support anti-air" is known.
</div>

![Battle plan map: Barbarossa pincer through Kovel and Rovno toward Proskurov](/media/guides/markdown/134ef21d-ed1c-4e1b-81ea-84c3587810ab.webp)

The same pincer scaled up: Kovel and Rovno toward Proskurov. The [Soviet Union guide](/guides/hoi4-soviet-union-guide-2026) covers the USSR's own focuses and designs.

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Break the pact with Japan yourself before ~early 1941; consider puppeting rather than fully occupying the USSR</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">Skipping Anti-Comintern lets Japan declare on you instead. Full occupation creates an undefended border with Japan, who can then break its own pact over your Southeast Asian puppets.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=5440s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">90:40 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
Führer Directive 21: Moscow/Leningrad/Kiev/Stalingrad within 6 months for +10% war support. Stated: 781,000 Soviet vs. 25,000 German casualties at day 16; final tally ~5.12 million vs. ~150,000 (hedged).
</div>

<div class="tipbox alt"><span class="tag">From the comments (not in the video)</span>
- @lovecolouredmasterspark (9 likes): aggressive Chinese-front volunteers can end the Sino-Japanese War before you've even declared on Poland. <span class="note">— lovecolouredmasterspark</span>
</div>

<div class="divider">═══ economy along the way ═══</div>

## Trade and resources

![Trade screen showing 35 civilian factories (15 used, 19 available) and a rubber-import tooltip](/media/guides/markdown/a0dbee34-f829-4f8c-856c-f522460beca1.webp)

<ol class="checklist">
<li class="ch setup">
<label><input type="checkbox"><span class="body"><span class="name">Trade with land-connected, non-belligerent partners; build synthetic refineries</span> <span class="badge setup">setup</span><br><span class="desc">UK, Dutch East Indies, British Burma named. No low-fuel warning exists. Natural rubber sits with France/Netherlands/UK — the three countries this build fights early.</span></span></label>
<em><a class="jump" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadQ3euApmM&t=400s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6:40 ↗</a></em>
</li>
</ol>

<div class="tipbox video"><span class="tag">In the video</span>
Screen-only: 35 civilian factories (15 used, 19 available); import estimate "each 8 rubber needs 2 convoys."
</div>

<p class="note">Day counts are stated aloud for only a handful of focuses; the rest are unmarked. Auto-captions mangle several proper nouns (a German province name, general names like "Von Munchstein" for likely von Manstein); and the Anschluss army-size multiplier as a game constant vs. testimony.</p>

## Where to go next

Germany does not fight alone. The [Italy guide](/guides/hoi4-italy-guide) covers what the junior Axis partner can actually do with its own focus tree instead of following you into the Mediterranean, and the [Kaiserin path](/guides/hoi4-kaiserin-germany-guide) is the non-aligned monarchist alternative to everything on this page. Once the industry is running, [the Tank Designer guide](/guides/hoi4-tank-designer-guide) covers what to actually put in the panzer divisions, module by module, with the costs read from the current game files.

## Sources

Bitt3rSteel, "Building the ULTIMATE GERMANY in 2026! - Germany Guide," 1:46:14. Top comments were reviewed and used where they added, corrected, or disputed a claim in the video.

---

## FAQ

### What is the focus order for Germany in HOI4?

This guide follows a historical-focus order starting with Remilitarize the Rhineland, the Four-Year Plan and Anschluss, then Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, before branching into Danzig or War, the Low Countries, Sea Lion, and eventually War With USSR. The full 53-focus sequence is listed as a table with the day counts the video actually states or implies.

### Do you really need 96 cavalry divisions for the Anschluss in HOI4?

In this video, yes: the creator queues 96 cheap, undertrained cavalry divisions purely to clear the army-size check, which he states as roughly 23 times Austria's army. A top comment disputes this is necessary at all, claiming fully-equipped infantry trained before August 1937 works just as well, so treat the cavalry rush as one method rather than the only one.

### What is the best early tank design for Germany in HOI4?

The video designs a flame tank first because the game gives a 100% experience discount on the first design in a newly unlocked line, confirmed on screen at a design cost of zero. It then clones that design, swapping the flamethrower for a medium howitzer, to get a production medium tank for just 4 army experience.

### What MIOs (companies) should Germany use in HOI4?

The video assigns Henschel to tanks, Focke-Wulf to most aircraft (with Junkers leveled for CAS and Fieseler for naval bombers), Blohm & Voss and Deschimag interchangeably for ships, and Rheinmetall, Mauser and Walther across artillery, guns and the rest of infantry equipment. These require Arms Against Tyranny; without it, only the plain industrial-concern panel is available.

### Does Germany lose its navy fighting Britain in HOI4?

The video's approach — a converted light cruiser, ships set to never repair and engage at high risk, and a naval-dominance push to 710 against a 150 threshold — is presented as reliable. Several top comments dispute this in practice, independently reporting losing most or all of their navy in the English Channel using a similar approach, so results may vary by AI behavior and timing.

### What is the best industrial concern for Germany in HOI4?

This build takes RWE. Its tooltip is −7.5% consumer goods and +5% nuclear research for 150 political power, and the consumer-goods line is the half that matters in 1936 — it frees civilian factories at exactly the point Germany is building everything at once. Note that an industrial concern is not the same thing as an equipment MIO: you pick one of each, and they do different jobs.

### Do you need Arms Against Tyranny for Germany's industrial concerns in HOI4?

For the industrial concern selector, yes — that menu only exists with Arms Against Tyranny, so without the DLC the RWE pick in this guide is simply not available to you. The equipment MIOs are a separate system and are unaffected: Henschel for tanks, Focke-Wulf for most aircraft, Rheinmetall for artillery, Mauser for guns and Walther for the rest still apply.