Axis Strategy in North Africa

[forestrouse]

I've been racking my brains over this for some time and have yet to figure out the right balance an Axis player should have in terms of a North African campaign and the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Against AI, the Axis can have both a robust Barbarossa and a winning strategy in the ME. To wit - take Malta in late 1940, reinforce the NA campaign with a few units (some mixture of inf corps, army, mechanized or tank unit, an additional bomber). Presto - Egypt will fall and Barbarossa will still have the requisite strength to likely succeed.

Against a good human player, this simply doesn't work. The British, once they have put sufficient resources in Britain to deter/stop an Axis invasion, can push all in on North Africa.

Any thoughts on what a successful Axis strategy can be in the Middle East that doesn't fatally weaken the invasion of the Soviet Union?