Slitherine

I have been playing allied games exclusively against excellent Axis players and have observed that the Russians are unable to act historically. If the axis player emphasizes from the very beginning air / armor techs, then the TAC / Panzer combination allows the destruction of Russian units at will, and it is impossible to mount a meaningful counteroffensive, ever. If you are an Axis player who has not tried this, you should. You will see what I mean.

Am I the only one who cannot get the Russians to hold the line? Experienced and successful axis players admit to me that their Russians in allied games routinely lose as well, and these are experienced players. An axis win should be that the Russians roll into Poland after May 1945. Not that Russia is permanently in reverse gear.

One possible solution may be to increase Russian labs during peace time so that we recreate the historical Russian tech advantages. Or reduce labs available for the axis player in the earlier years. Remember that historically the Germans had superior organization, but tech advantage not so much.

Appreciate comments from all you experienced players.

PS - I am playing GS 3.10

Russians operate pretty historically for me - not prefect but close enough. The game mechanics dictate that you run in 41, maybe get a small winter offensive, 42 depends on what the Axis does, but you shouldn't think offensive until 43 really.

they key is that you save units by trading space - very Russian!

I think that you are either trying to be too aggressive too early or you are not doing enough with the western Allies. It's easy to become overconfident when playing the Allies because of the Allied economic potential. Against a good Axis opponent who didn't make any blunders, you won't be able to perform major offensives in 1942 before winter (local counter-attacks are feasible, though). As richardsd said, usually it's best to save units by trading space. Also, note that the Soviets cannot defeat the Axis alone, so the western Allies need to keep the Axis busy. If the Axis can focus their full attention on the SU, you will be in trouble.

Very helpful advice and comments. I agree that my western Allies have been too passive, allowing Axis to focus their full attention on Russia. No wonder I always got in trouble. Thanks!