Peru

[ ]{#Walkthrough_for_1936_Scenario_(DD)} Walkthrough for 1936 Scenario (DD)

Peru has the potential to be a great South American power- but when playing as Peru, one should always remember two things. The first of these is that:

• Brazil and Argentina are the two strongest South American nations.
• Peru cannot hold its own if the USA decides to declare war on it, so alliance with one of these (preferably Argentina) is essential.

An alliance with Venezuela or Chile can also be helpful due to these nations’ number of IC-rich provinces. At the onset of 1936, it is important to set to building up units- because of Peru’s limited resources, it’s not that important to bother researching better infantry division models. Instead, use your one tech slot to research Land Warfare Tactics or Industrial development. Your units can be updated to later models later as you take over valuable industrialised provinces from other nations.

Ecuadorian Invasion

Your two starting divisions should be placed first at the Ecuadorian border- wait until each of these units contains around three divisions each, and then move them both to a province bordering Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Remember that you can either build divisions or allocate IC towards supplies and reinforcements- there simply is no compromise at this early stage in your empire-building. Ecuador and Peru will at some stage declare war on each other, due to their territorial dispute over Iquitos- therefore, it doesn’t matter too much if you annex Ecuador. This can be achieved easily by attacking Quito with your five or six divisions, then annexing the nation. Don’t worry if the Ecuadorians have started taking over worthless Peruvian territory in the North- you can annex them and it won’t matter. This is the easy thing about campaigns in South America- most nations have only one or two important provinces so it requires relatively little work to take the necessary territory and annex the entire nation in question.

[ ]{#Army_&_Alliance_Building} Army & Alliance Building

By this time, other nations will start to realise what you are doing- you should start influencing the USA and Brazil or Argentina, and start eliminating enemy spies. Spend a few months doing this before building a couple more divisions and adding them to your two existing units which should now be on the Bolivian border. It is also useful to have an ally by now- Argentina is a likely choice- by now you should have been able to move the sliders over to Fascist or at least Paternal Autocrat. The Argentineans are usually Fascist in 1936/37 so you should only need to influence them a few times to get them as an ally. If you haven’t moved the sliders further to the left, there’s little point trying to get the Brazilians to join you- they are more likely to join the comintern by around 1938 anyway, if they have become Left-Wing Radical and have Giulio as their Head of State.

Bolivia and Onwards

Move your troops to Cuzco and Arequilpa preferably, but the important thing is to let the Bolivian forces in La Paz move straight into Peruvian territory. The Bolivian AI will not resist the bait, leaving La Paz for the taking. Move your troops straight in to La Paz as the Bolivians reach Peruvian territory- do not even bother to pocket and destroy them- simply annex Bolivia and now your border your Argentinean allies. Argentina is very useful to you by now as it commands a large army- but it can do with more IC to make this more useful to you. Paraguay is easy to defeat if you move some of your forces through Bolivia and take Asuncion. Let the Argentineans have Paraguay- by now they should have just over 30 IC points.

Northern Chile

Chile is next- but don’t forget to wait again to build a few divisions and let your armies regain organisation. I’d suggest placing these new troops in Lima, Quito, or other coastal areas. Cheaper divisions should be used for anti-partisan duty in Northern Bolivia and Ecuador, whilst some could be placed along the Brazilian border in the Amazon. Most of Chile’s IC is concentrated in the North- Antofagasta and Santiago. These provinces will give you a great 12 IC if you can take them- but you will need all 8 or 9 divisions- preferably attacking from La Paz and Sucre- to take over Antofagasta and its huge metal resources. Chile will keep offering to give you some Islands and Antofagasta but who cares? Their capital is ripe for the taking. Defeating Chile is a race against the clock. They usually have around one division in each province- even the ones far down south. Try to reach Santiago before Chile’s reinforcements from the South arrive- it’s best to wait till when the Chilean Navy is in port there, then it will be destroyed when you take Santiago over. Chile has a fairly good navy which it is best not to engage in battle with. After you have taken Santiago, there is one more province beyond it which you need to annex the nation. With a quick shore bombardment (then rebasing back in Santiago before the Chilean Navy can get you- if it hasn’t been destroyed already, that is) you can take this last important province- Puerto Montt. If you’re allied to them, let Argentina take the rest of Chile before you annex it. That will save you the trouble of having to send troops all the way down to the southern tip of South America to have to defeat some partisans in difficult mountainous territory. Let the Argentineans do that for you! If Argentina needs more IC- declare war on Uruguay for them- they’re usually not brave enough to do it themselves- and if necessary help them do it with some of your troops.

[ ]{#Second_Military_Rebuild_&_War_in_Brazil} Second Military Rebuild & War in Brazil

Building a few cavalry divisions now with your new IC is very helpful- as they can cover the large distances of your new Empire to defeat partisans. Remember that with remote provinces you control, it is essential to keep consumer goods high at all times to stop dissent. What to do next is really up to you- after this, Peru can be considered about as powerful as Argentina- however; the Argentineans will be reluctant to move their troops north to help you win territory, so you shall have to fight Brazil. Argentina will be able to take all the most important Brazilian cities such as Recife and São Paulo. By doing this they become more powerful and also are able to move their front line North at the same level with you. One would think that Brazilian territory in the Amazon is valuable- but don’t be mistaken. If you can take territory up to Manaus, you are at a great advantage over Columbia and Venezuela as you can attack them from the back door- through the Amazon Rainforest. Coupling this tactic with your larger divisions in Quito and Iquitos on the Colombian border, you should be able to surround the coastal provinces of Colombia pretty quickly.

North of the Amazon

Colombia and Venezuela are very risky. Usually a declaration of war on Colombia is coupled with a declaration of war by the US on you. This is an earlier reason to let Argentina take most of Chile- Argentina will always be the dominant military partner of your little alliance so you will have to rely on it to defend the coast. Your navy will be useless against the Americans, so you’ll have to rely on defending the coast with everything you have. If the Brits declare war on you, take Georgetown and the rest of the Guyanas (French and Dutch) as fast as you can. If you leave it until the last minute, they will pour in troops from Australia and New Zealand. The only way to stop this is to take Guyana or seize the Panama Canal. What else can Peru do? Well, declaring war on the USA with your Argentinean or Brazilian allies can be useful if you time it with the Japanese declaring war on the USA. Having a few allies in the Carribean can be useful too- Guatemala will maintain around 50+ relations with you- perhaps building on that can get them into an alliance?

by Mehmet12, 2007