Germany Opening Moves - Diplomacy

This will be a pretty quick post to talk about the opening moves for Germany here.  Being in the center of the map Germany can be pretty difficult to play.  Potential enemies of four sides, I'll be honest I don't normally volunteer for it.  That being said, the challenge can be fun and I wanted to dive into that a little more.

If you are playing Gunboat, or maybe everyone is ignoring you so that it feels like Gunboat these are my suggested opening moves for Spring 1901.
Kiel - Holland
Munich - Burgundy
Berlin - Kiel

Let's start with Kiel.   Because you have a fleet here you have an interesting decision to make.  Jump into Holland and use him how I would suggest, or head straight into Denmark and potentially keep Russia from that build.  The reason I think Holland is a better bet is this.  England will either assume you've gone mad and headed straight for France, or they'll at least feel comfortable in trying for Norway or Denmark with their army.  As Germany, the last thing you want is for a fourth power to have an army on the mainland.  That is why your fleet is in Holland.  England will think you will assume you need to support yourself into Belgium or move into Belgium with your fleet and Holland with Kiel's new army.  Neither of these is correct.  Your fall move for Holland will be into the North Sea.  England is going to attempt to convoy off of the island.  He needs that army in play if he's going to have a chance at keeping up and that's his only way.  A simple cut of that Convoy not only ensures you pick up Denmark and Belgium in the fall, but it also keeps England at home.

Turning our attention to Burgundy, you can see France is in a pickle.  Do they leave both Marseilles and Paris open? or do they take a step back and leave Spain/Belgium uncontested.  Losing a home center year one is pretty rough and I would suggest that the majority of players will not be willing to do that.  This leaves you in the clear to take Belgium no problem.  Moving into Burgundy was purely to get that scare affect and keep France from getting an additional build year 1.

Lastly we look at Berlin.  Jumping over to Kiel was just the first step towards taking Denmark.  Our little friend here is getting prepared for the jump to the beautiful orange Isle.

As a recap your fall moves look like this:
Holland - North Sea
Burgundy - Belgium
Kiel - Denmark

Before you know it you're right into three builds and all of your home centers are free to take them.  I would suggest two new fleets in Berlin and Kiel to mount the invasion of Britain and an Army left in Munich to defend against an angered France.  But either way you slice it, having 6 units in year two suddenly takes you from poor little Germany, to a power to be reckoned with.
Happy stabbing;)