Gifts...
If you are just starting out, allies are ESSENTIAL. They can mean the difference between victory and being a lame arsed loser with lots of tallies in the "Battles Lost" column.
Why are they essential? Gifts.
If you gift players that are higher in level than you, they send you good items. Oft times these items are better than anything you can purchase and/or afford.
So, when they send you something good, RETURN THAT GIFT. Most players that are higher, when they receive a gift, will gift it back again. Which of course means you get another one! And another, and another, etc., etc....
Fairly soon, you're level 30 and have a wicked army of Swedish Amphibious Forces, Global Hawks, Arjun MBT's, German MG-42's, Soviet Submarines, US Liners, and V22 Reapers and can stomp your opponents with ease.
These gifts help to fill in the gaps in your military that you have when battling, (look at the battle screen to see how many of each of the four types of units and their quantities you can field in battle), because you can't afford to purchase them yet. Heck, quite often not only can't you afford to purchase them, but they are also way better than anything you CAN purchase.
So gift away if you can. Find allies. But remember, you can't battle allies either, (but if you're new, who cares, you'd lose anyways).
p.s. watch out on having too many Swedish Amphibious Units or you end up with a barracks like this... (always loved Statler and Waldorf's comments)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XpKJWLHsAk
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