HOI4 Encirclement Guide | How to Encircle PROPERLY (2023)

Hearts of Iron 4 Tutorial Showing Beginners a Step-by-Step Guide on How to Create Encirclements. In this video you will learn WHERE to begin creating the circle, and WHAT steps You will Need to take To Ensure You Win!
Each step is explained in painstaking details, together with some fancy animations and editing that I spent the last couple hours knocking together! I really hope you find all my extra efforts useful. Ensure you leave a like if you did!
Games with Brains channel is now exclusively Hearts of Iron 4 content (HOI4). Old content from before will remain, but no longer added to.
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[@wendydelisse9778]

The need for a fuel refill often stalls a tank advance. A tank design with a fuel drum rack often helps a lot.

[@gameswithbrains]

This is a great point. I'm trying to avoid mentioning DLC where possible, but if you have the No Step Back DLC turned on, the tank designer / fuel drum option definitely helps for those longer range missions. Thanks for sharing the tip!

[@mikevismyelement]

I just always max my division logistical trucks and make sure I am attacking along railroads. Works pretty well but I think I'm going to start using this too

[@shanejohns7901]

@@mikevismyelement Depending on how deep you are in the enemy's country, you may want to build a depot right on the edge of your country's borders prior to attacking, as well. Then set that depot up with double-trucks instead of the horses for its distribution.

[@vewaddell]

Instead of infantry units attacking to pin down the enemy, use ctrl right-click to attack the enemy. This is a supporting attack and your troops take less losses and DON’T try to advance. Imagine then just shooting at the enemy to prevent them from moving but NOT coming out of their foxholes to try and take the territory from the enemy. The supporting attack works better than the full attack by preventing unnecessary losses.

[@onethatfell2001]

This was a really helpful guide, I never considered the holding enemy divisions down.

[@adamc9834]

Now I too can play like a pro

[@RyguyRB]

Appreciate your videos. Just recently got into HOI4 and it can be discouraging when you're looking for tips without ruining the fun of the game and the forums/other videos just say things like "this game is so easy" and "just abuse paratroops". Meanwhile I'm over here as Canada thinking I'm doing great and am going to take out the US, then declare war and get run over in 2 weeks. These vids help learn some more beginner-ish tactics without destroying the fun of learning and progressing through the game.

[@Ancient_Hoplite]

Paratroopers also really help with encircling if you can get the air superiority and they are also great for taking supply hubs.

[@michaeldoucet-morokael]

amazing tutorial

[@shanejohns7901]

Even if you play the 1936 campaign, Germany can get into battle very quickly by sending volunteers to Nationalist Spain immediately after the Spanish Civil War begins. It's an excellent way to get some of your units' (albeit, only land units) experience points higher before actual attacks between Germany and another country occur.

[@scorpiong0]

After no step back making good encirclements is a lot harder. For example if you play Soviets and you begin your counterattack in 1942-1943, Germans stack at least 10 divisions per tile(i saw at once 15-17 divisions per tile with anti tank batallions in their divisions) especially in expert ai, the ai will produce a lot of high quality fighters so in the air your cas or tactical bombers will not make huge impact like they usually do. So to breaktrough them you have to stack a lot of tank divisions and supply becomes a big problem. Even if you max supply the region and the railway the hub etc, eventually you have to cross to the enemy territory and after 2-3 tiles your supply sucks because of the huge stack of divisions. İf you try it with few divisions you cant get trough. Supply is biggest problem to create big encirclements. Of course against regular ai on normal difficulty this isnt a problem but in mp or expert ai its not that easy. You have to occupie the hubs step by step you have to wait the railways being fixed or you have to connect it yourself and that kind of warfare doesnt allow you to create big pockets because when you have eventually suplly they already have again 10-15 divisions per tile and you are surrounded.

[@themysteriousjc9684]

New video! :))

[@bagarn73]

Love your guides for HOI4. The latest struggle I've bumped into in HOI4 that I don't really understand how to perform is land invasions. Could you do a guide on that? The problem I'm having is that I can set up 1 or maybee 2 naval invasions, which only 10 batalions in each when I try to invade England. This force is too small at least later in the game to be able to suvive the presure that will retatiliate on the land invasion force that I send. Sending a new wave of invaders will take atleast 70 days more. I've also had problem with making syncronised naval invasions if I for some reason are able to send two naval invasions.

[@gameswithbrains]

this is a great idea for a video. I'm going to do this next

[@gameswithbrains]

I've just finished it - see my latest video, your idea!

[@pedrojoao6790]

A bit late but is there any way to prevent my offensive divisions from shuffling in the frontlines? It's fine if the standard infantry divisions keep moving along the frontline but sometimes after an attack order I want my Tank/ Mot/ Mec divisions to stay put there but they will move away to reinforce other points along the frontline.

[@raulmihalca7184]

keep editing frotlines

[@chriswho12345]

next video idea: encircle russia

[@AlexWehpunkt]

Just started HOI4 after 2000h+ in EU IV and I have so many questions - this video answered a lot of them, thank you! But How do I make sure my divisions are on the right spot to start the pincer movement? I already partitioned them into two groups via shift + number, but when I draw a field marshal front line, they are on the whole frontline and first have to reach their respective starting province. This of course leads to them not entering the battle at the same time. When I want to put them there before declaring, the go there and as soon as all units reached the point the just go back to their position on the frontline they had before.

[@RDH376]

I was thinking this too. Wouldn't the solution be to have your encirclement divisions in their own small army (e.g. 3-4 tank divisions) and deploy them on a narrow frontline where you intend to breakthrough? That way you can put them exactly where you need them, the downside being you have a general only commanding a small force. Not sure if there is a better solution?

[@gameswithbrains]

These are 2 very good comments, so it's completely valid tactically to plan and place your spearhead units (most likely tanks) in their own separate divisions, perhaps having 2-3 dedicated generals who only command these kinds of units up the front. There's also the spearhead command, although this requires DLC, which is also very helpful for pre-planning encirclement. Thanks

[@smackhead]

"then go there and as soon as all units reached the point the just go back to their position on the frontline they had before" This is my main gripe with the game. You can even see it in the final part of this vid where the unit number while encircled goes '7,6,5..' as they bail to do... whatever it is the AI thinks they should be doing. If I want to control my units I should be able to without the AI saying "Sorry mate, I'm taking over now" after I've specifically told a unit where to go. PS several thousand hours in combination starting from EU1 CK1 here... HOI4 is my first HOI game.

[@getimpaled3460]

Who needs an encirclement guide? I mean, no hate, but if you really need this guide, perhaps Hoi4 is not for you