tambo had started a thread on Aggressive UK Pacific Strategies and I had suggested trying my strategy that is up on Youtube. I don’t want to highjack his thread so I’m starting this one to lay out my “Middle Earth” strategy.
The first 3 turns are in my video;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4vpY_DGQJY
You can substitute moves around (like taking artillery to Iraq instead of a tank, moving the tank to Anglo Egypt Sudan along with 1 infantry from Egypt to stall the Italian forces on Ethiopia). What is really important is to take Persia and Iraq on UK1. The reason for this is so that you can place your IC on Persia on UK2. You need to get it there as soon as possible because you only have a limited amount of time before Japan assaults Calcutta and/or Germany assaults Moscow.
Once you’ve started your 3 transport shuck as detailed in the video, don’t waver from your plan or your strategy will fail. The whole point of this strategy is to put as many units smack dab in the middle of the board so the axis will never be able to take them out. Hence the name “Middle Earth.” Your unit purchases should look like this;
Turn A- 30 IPC’s
Persia- 1 fighter, 1 mech, 1 tank
South Africa- 2 infantry, 1 artillery
Turn B- 31 IPC’s
Persia- 1 fighter, 1 mech, 1 tank
South Africa- 1 infantry, 2 artillery
Alternate between A and B every second turn. Stay the course on these purchases and don’t be tempted to build a navy instead.
simon asked me why not just build an IC on Iraq instead of a Naval Base on Persia. The answer is that if you put the IC there, you will be further from India and your Middle Earth force will not be as mobile and able react anywhere. Shucking troops from SA means you can land them on Egypt, Iraq, Persia, and Eastern Persia in one move. You would need to purchase fast movers which are more expensive to move them around like that from an IC in Iraq. Putting the Naval Base on Persia also means you can move your troops to Egypt from Persia, Iraq, or Eastern Persia. Think of it as an inverted triangle where your forces can all move around the triangle in one move. One other benefit is that it is almost impossible for the Axis to take over SA, whereas if they bust into the Middle East they will get 2 IC’s. By bringing one of the transports down from the Atlantic you will not have to purchase any. He also asked why I didn’t stop in Brazil and activate them with the Atlantic transport. You need to start your 3 transport shuck as soon as possible so you can’t stop to smell the roses. Also, you don’t want to be taking any of your units from London and inviting Sealion. The US can use those extra 3 infantry in their assault on Europe.
You will be getting more money than what I showed in your buys. Here are some ways you can spend it;
1. Place units on London
2. Upscale purchases like fighter instead of mech or tank instead of artillery
3. Purchase the odd transport in Persia and move it to Sea Zone 81
4. An airbase on Egypt wouldn’t hurt but not a priority
What you don’t want to spend your money on;
1. Paying down damage on facilities in London unless Germany is building for a Sealion attack
2. Purchasing a bunch of boats and sailing them to the Pacific or the Money Islands. Stay away from Sea Zone 39. If Japan comes after your boats lead him away to the South Atlantic and then send in the Americans and ANZAC against their depleted navy.
3. Don’t be tempted to attack Turkey!!! This is a barrier that keeps the Axis away from Middle Earth.
As far as the UK Pacific goes, don’t purchase anything except infantry. Everything else will be coming from Middle Earth. Once Calcutta gets bombed don’t pay down the damage until you save up enough money to pay down and purchase units. Japan will just keep bombing if you keep paying down the damage. Make sure you spend all of the money before they attack Calcutta though, you don’t want to hand them all that money.
As far as Russia goes, purchase mechs and tanks and move them to Northwest Persia. Don’t cross the border into Russia until the last minute so that Russia can continue to collect their N.O. If they are not collecting it then go ahead and move units in. I don’t care what anyone says, if Germany can take Russia in 5 or 6 turns, then you’re playing Russia wrong. Despite what popular opinion says, turtling as Russia and waiting for the assault on Moscow is the wrong thing to do. Buy yourself a tactical bomber on turn 1 and learn how to counter-attack like a boss and you’ll hold on for much longer than 5 or 6 turns. This is an example of what I mean;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq17jkmkuHc
As far as Africa goes, don’t worry about losing Egypt early in the game. I actually prefer it if Italy takes them out because then I can get rid of them faster by using transports to counter-attack instead of chasing them across north Africa. After you clear out the Axis forces from Africa, build a garrison of units in Egypt and a garrison in Libya along with some air power. Keep your warships in SZ 81 in case you need to go into the Med to take out any Italian or German boats. Slowly build up transports in SZ 81. When the US makes it to Europe (hopefully the Med), you will be able to gang up on Italy. Let the Americans soften up the Germans first if you haven’t built up enough in Calcutta and Africa.You don’t have to rush through the game like the Axis does. Have just enough units in Egypt and Libya so that you will be able to transport them to Rome/Greece from Egypt and a second wave from Libya. The US can take Northern Italy and UK can take Rome or if Italy has built up send them both to Rome. They will have their boats in the same SZ so it’s unlikely that the Germans/Italians can eliminate them. Build up on Europe side as the Americans first so you can make up for the lack of UK in the Atlantic. Don’t worry about Japan, just keeping shucking 2 infantry to Honolulu so they can’t capture it. Of course you might have to change that strategy if Japan does go after the US. If they do then they will never get Calcutta with the Middle Earth troops building up there. Japan has to commit every resource to get Calcutta and even then they might fail if you send almost everything from Middle Earth there. Here is the American “Floating Bridge” strategy that works well with Middle Earth;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHkjC0E42d0&t=1198s
I’ve been perfecting this strategy for quite a while now. At this point the Axis can’t beat me no matter what they do. I never use a bid either. If you can beat this strategy then by all means tell me how so I can start winning games as the Axis again. Don’t just speculate either, play it out and try to beat it. Play it on the tabletop or on Triple A. Make sure you stick to the plan though so you can give it an honest test. The only thing I haven’t tried is using Sealion against it. Obviously that would mean you couldn’t start building there on the third turn, but at the same time you would be turning Russia into a superpower. Go get Berlin, Comrade, don’t hold back.
One thing is for sure, with that many tan units in the Middle East you will take away all hope of them attacking the strict neutrals. If they do, blow them a kiss from across the table and thank them profusely for paving the road to Berlin for you. Pick up the free infantry in the Middle East and Africa and make them pay for kicking the hornet’s nest in Middle Earth.
