Well as the title suggests to me, the German Empire is hard.
When I first start, I build logging camps and markets to gain income. I added the submod that includes armies in the beginning and marched an army straight to Belgium and conquered it. I put a puppet state there and conquered Rheims, and then defeated the French in the climatic extremely long Battle of Paris 1914. It so happens that the French rebel and out pops two big armies. When I defeat them, I couldn't move my main army anymore. France declared war on me, defeated my army and retook Paris. To make matters worse, the British Navy was at my ports.
GG.
So, do you guys know anyway to win as Germany. And what's the best nation to play.