Hippogriffia located in Noth Zebrica, bordering, Colthaginian Republic Warzena and Zarantia , also controls some islands. Your main threat — Chiroptera and Colthaginian Republic who will form alliance and attack you rougly in 3 years from game start. What is worse, Kingdom of Wingbardy, located in Southern Grifonia, will intervene in this war and not on your side (this is only true if they go fascist, which is historic option). This will be rough war, and if you not prepare properly, you will lose. Good for you, this guide exist.

You start with 8 mils, 15 civs (but only 9 of them available) and 10 dockyards. Not great, but it more then many others. You army consists of 20 divisions, 3 of them — marines, 1 — tank, 1 — royal guard and all other regular infantry. Not bad (but templates kinda meh, we'll see them later). But your pride is your navy. Its easily strongest navy in the game (maybe loses to equestrian one). And very soon it will save your nation from occupation.

First of all, disband these 100 early fighters you have on Mount Aris. You already producing basic ones, and your enemies airforce almost non-exist.
Second — retrain your tanks and royal guard into normal infantry template. You have only 8 mils, you cant afford tanks.
Third — with 3 marines start prepare naval invasion into Firstport, Chiroptera.
Fourth — combine all your navy, except subs into one group. This is your doomstack. Asign admiral with carrier buff to this fleet. Put subs in another fleet, asign admiral with buff to subs, and split them by 10s. On your carrier disband all planes except bombers, and fill newly vacant space with naval bombers.



Fifth — open production tab, stop producing tanks and carier fighters. On your cariers-in-production change airwings to 6 bombers



Sixth — Start building civs in Mount Aris



Seventh(optional but helpful, arms against tyranny dlc required) — Sell all early fighters, carier aircrafts except bombers, tanks, and such stuff on market

Eighth — set your starting focus and techs (which will be discussed later)

Hippogriffia starts with economic law "Isolation", and if you want to survive you need to get rid of it before war stars. In this guide considered harmonic path, but except for focuses, this strategy will work for any other (maybe except secret one). In harmonic tree only way to get rid of isolation — focus The Mountain Awakes, but to get it you have to be at war



OR finish focus Stirring From Slumber at the very bottom of your political tree.



Because you want to WIN the war, starting The Mountain Awakes when war startes is not an option. This means, you have to RUSH political tree, mostly ignoring all other stuff. Good news, you have enough time for this.

Now lets get a closer look on this tree. Right at star we should pick, should we isolate from world, or to look more outside our borders, and this is right time to introduce you to balance between hippogriffs and seaponies.You start with balnced society, but some events and focuses can change it in favor of seaponies or hippogriffs. When balance is shifted you gain debuffs so you want to maintain it.
Isolationist subtree gives you some early mills, fortifications on main island and defencive buffs, but locks you on "close economy". Trade subtree, gives you buffs for trade, construction speed in general, civs and infrostruction build speed and -consumer goods. You can go harmonist from both of subtrees, supremacist or neutral only from isolationis and communist only from trade. But actully, trade buffs give you more output (maybe only with international market, because with this 50% opinion buff and two 10% buffs from your advisors, you can sell your arms literally to anyone. Just not sell to Wingbardy it will be awkward)
starting focus order is

We dont take central focuses for now, we'll have time for them later

Doing these focuses you'll face a bunch of events about power struggle in your realm. i'd like to higlight communist's ones. If you will not repress them in all events, after completeng Harmony above all Posada will join your goverment as advisor(with bonuses to special projects and research) and nuclear scientist.
In order to do Stirring From Slumber you must have cores on Zumidia, for these purpose there is right branch of harmonist subtree. But first lets unite your societym to get nice bonuses and get rid of these anoying reccuring events "spent 60pp or shift balance". For this you need to complete
A Perfect Union and dont forget to click the desicion



After unification, lets go to Zumidian integration. You have two options. Left will integrate only Zumidia, but it slightly faster, right will form North Zebrican Federation of you, Zumidia and Warzena. it takes a bit much time, but give you cores on Warzena too. I usualy go with this option.
go down the tree, but be ready, to start The North Zebrican Federation you need to complete two decisions, 50 pp and 150 days each, which unlocks after completion of North Zebrican Development Commision This means, you will have some spare time, this is why we skiped those 2 focuses, needed for The Mountain Awakes
these two
You have time to do them and Our Zebra Citizens

and one more short focus, for example one of seapony/hippogriff domination.
After this complete The North Zebrican Federation, rush down Stirring From Slumber (you will need 50% war support, it shouldn't be a problem, focuses before it provide enough, also you can send attache for +10%) and finally, Awake the Mountain.

After that you have some time, around several months, i recomend grab last research slot (it is in your warfare tree, you ned either seapony or hippogriff domination) and Shell oil, because your fleet eats a ton of oil

As you already understood, we cannot survive without navy. At the least we need it to provide suply in Zebrica. Good that we start with decent navy techs, but there still some very usefull things to research.




You not need to rush this, your dockyards are busy at the start, and you will build some convoys more, but these a pretty much mandatory, you should have them (and some destroyers with them) at the war start. All navy stuff should be reserched with escort fleet MIO (If you have No step back DLC) for juicy bonuses to sub detection



All other are as usual, but note your race industry techs for some construction speed, and there are some army bonuses in race techs as well.

With first 127 PP (you have a buff to advisor cost) get Silverstream.
After that choose heads of Army&Navy, after that can get another 10% to trade or do what you want.
Keep some PP before awakening the Mountain in order to set partial mobilisation and extended conscription.

All ships, except subs, that in production at start of the game, go to doomstack, subs go to sub fleet
Don't forget to train your new ships for some navy exp, you'll need it later
After your dockyard end their constraction queue, start construction of 300 convoys (its a bit more then necesary but better safe then sorry). After their completion, start constuctions these destroyers

all destroyes put in a new fleet and split by 5s. Build them until war is over

First of all, you will need 12 garrison divisions for ports on your main island and outer islands.
After that start spaming infantry divisions, but dont eat all ponypower, you need some for destroyers.
With first experience, get rid of supply company in your infantry template. When you set extended conscription, you'll have enough ponypower to add your garisons to 10 width and you main infatry to 6-1s with AA support. Maybe you'll have enough arty for 7-2s, but better to add more divisions, 36 is enough to hold, with 48(and some marines) you can end the war. talking of marines, recruit more, minimum you need 6, but better max them out. Also I love to add field hospitals, because you have not so many ponypower, and if you going to long run you probably run out of ponies.

At start of war, look at your destroyer fleet. If you have 10 or less it bad, but not worry, this happens. War start timing is not hard coded, it can shift, and it means that in your case it starts early. Set your destroyers to protect convoys ONLY in Sequestria (Channel between you and Zebrica), all other sea tiles around Aris set to "yellow" access


This force majority of your supply run throug Sequestria.

If you have 20+ destroyers you can just click all sea tiles.
In either case for your sub fleet you set convoy raiding and click all tiles that are not shallow sea (so no Seaquestria and Chiroptera's coasts), and for your doomstack set strike force and click all sea tiles around. Also set your doomstack to alwys engage and never repair. It will require more attention from you, but it efficiency will be significantly higher. In case your doomstack gets havily damaged, set him to repair, and reasign your destroyers like in case if you have 10 or less (they will be obliterated without main fleet, so best you can - provide supply at the continent). Also do this in case you run out of oil. (remember, you can buy oil to fasten refillment).

In good scenario you should have smth like this


The best scenario if you manage to attack Colthagian fleet before Wingbardy joins. In this case you easily wins them one by one.
Worst scenario is your doomstack engages combined fleets of them all. You will lose many screens and your fleet will be havily damagedm but it happens to me only once, and you still can control channel, but outer island will be almost guarnteed lost. In this case you'll need add some fresh destroyers to doomstack and use it more accurate.
With navy exp, get navy spirit for repair speed, and for chance of increasing attack of your admirals.
If your fleet wasn't deleted in first months, you are safe, just check for it ocasionaly, and if it has many damaged ships - go to repair

DO NOT RUSH, let them attack you.
They not has a lot of equipment, if they will attack (and they will) they lose many of it. You can retreat for far, just dont lose Ain-Trotgourait. You almost certainly will be pushed out of that corner betwen former Zarantia and Colthfagen, feel free to give it, dont lose divisions (you can double click adjacent tile to force retreat from battle)

After you decimate enemy fleets, if you weren't pushed away from Chiroptera's border, you can start naval invasion. Set doomstack to Support invasion and go on. After succesful invasion go for bat's capital.
After that try to cut their forces at north with your marines and regular infantry. At the Colthagian border just hold for now, first capitulate Chiroptera. At this point you probably have more troops the Chiroptera and Colthagen, so try some more encirclements. In order to capitulate Chiroptera, you need take it's capital, Batsby, Ursagrad and some coastal tiles. After bat's capitulation you'll have this beatiful line of zebras, staying right before your firing squads. Kill them all
.
After that all pretty much over. Assign some troops (in my case it was marine army) to hold remaining Zarantian forces, and with all troops destroy Colthagen. Just dont forget about fleet, or you can find some Wingbardian forces, landed in former Chiroptera. They probably cant change anything at this point, but it will be very anoying.

Also if you want humiliate Wingbardy even more, you can Naval invade their holdings in Abbysinia. Just take all ports, and all forces that remains there will be doomed. Cats will be gratefull for liberation and give you +100 relationship (yes that's all). Just don't try to invade Wingbardian core territory. They have way too many forces here, and with this strategy they never lost them, because they never had a chance to land.

Congratulations. With win in North Zebrica you have oportunity to go and kill some bugs in Equestria.
It is important to help your friend, because friendship is magic.
Hope this guide will help anyone to play the best country.
Feel free to write in comments how bad at formating I am
Soundtrack for this war: