We are not using any special rules except for applying the SBG siege rules to War of the Ring which required a few modifications. The reason Gondor is getting defeated early on in the campaign is because we are playing it "historical". Gondor is weak at the beginning of the war and in the books Osgiliath and Cair Andros were both overrun before the forces of evil descended upon Minas Tirith. Gondor's only chance was when reinforcements arrived from Rohan and The Fiefdoms.
In our campaign, the Evil players decided to wait until all of Sauron's armies massed and then tried to delay the reinforcements from arriving. But the clock is ticking since there are only twelve turns to the campaign. I believe it is the Evil side's strategy to hit Minas Tirith with everything and hope to quickly take the city in one turn and not be too concerned with the arrival of Rohan and the Fiefdoms.
We will have to see what happens in Turn 6 which we will be playing in February to see if their strategy works. If not, they will have to deal with the combined armies of Rohan and Minas Tirith and oh don't forget... the eagles are coming!
Oh and the models are from all of our collections, not just mine so I'll pass along the compliments on the painting.
Warlord
http://lotrwarofthering.blogspot.com/