@Boldfresh:
ok here is the scenario. i have a US tank in norway. germany just attacked sweden but didn’t clear the standing army. on the US turn, can i move then tank THROUGH sweden in either combat or noncombat move, thereby activating the standing army, and then enter finland? so the question is, for a FBPN country, does activating the standing army require the tank to stop? and we know a friendly neutral can only be activated in noncombat, but just wanted to confirm the same was true of the FBPN.
Claiming a country is always non-combat move. If it was attacked and joined to your side, it is still unclaimed until occupied by non-combat movement. You cannot move into it and claim it in either the first or second move of a blitz.
Again, quoting the rules, Europe '40 2e page 11,
If the attack upon the formerly neutral territory is unsuccessful (the territory is not captured), any remaining defending units stay in the territory but can't move. The territory remains uncontrolled… ...but units from the side it's now allied with can move into it and take control of it and its remaining units **_in the same way as if it were a friendly neutral.
Since friendly neutrals can only be claimed in non-combat movement, attacked-but-not-captured neutrals can also only be claimed in non-combat movement. The rules seem pretty clear to me, if somebody wants to keep insisting I am wrong, please back up the claim with the relevant rule from the manual._**