What happens when a french troop is on a territory that is turned vichy

@trig IIRC the wording is “Republican Spain aligns to the USSR if attacked” which can be a bit linguistically confusing. I agree that Republican Span is the one that needs to be attacked.

@panzerbaguette Vichy would not be able to perform escort duty for the Italian convoy line, for the reasons you stated. It’s a neutral minor power controlled by Germany, and it’s only fighting ability is against Free France!

@trig Wow. I never would have noticed the black center on those roundels. Thank you for that. And the links. And the explanation. (The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen went from possibly the most boring flag of all time to a pretty cool one in one decade!)

@Chris_Henry
Thanks guys, I was wondering if there was anything specific about Paris being liberated.
But what you guys said seems to make sense.

Interesting takes from you both. This could lose focus, but I do like historical discussion :)

I think you both have valid points on the historical aspects vs. game play realities.

Britain’s and France’s alliance, at least in the form we know it as it concerns WWII, stemmed in 1938-1939 after the Munich Conference. The alliance was really geared towards stemming German/Italian expansions in Europe. I don’t think Japan/Asia was really much of a thought or concern. That probably stems from a number of things, a couple being a contemporary belief in Japanese/Asian inferiority (even with Japanese military success in the recent past), as well as being largely unaware that Japan would eventually harbor the ill will to fight the Allies. They didn’t join the Axis until 1940, remember.

That’s all to say that I agree with GHG, in a historical context, that Britain and France were more concerned about issues closer to home.

All that said, from a gaming perspective, I do agree with Dran here. In a hypothetical reality where Japan preemptively assaulted the British Empire in Hong Kong, Malay, Burma, India, etc., I think it’s very obvious France would have gone on high alert, fully realizing their Indochinese colonies might all of a sudden be in jeopardy. We of course cannot know this, since Indochina was occupied after a Vichy government took control. But I think reason dictates there would have been a heightening of fears in the French Empire.

In that regard, it would have been nicer to have seen a bit more of a peacetime income increase for a situation like this, I agree. But at least there is that +1 IPP for Japan attacking a Neutral UK.

@Caesar-Seriona I think you need to re-read the rule, it does not say you can only send to one nation. What the rule states is that, when you do Lend Lease to a nation, you can send that nation one unit or up to half that nations income. But you can do that same process multiple times.

Language from the book here:

7.8 Lend-Lease: During the Production Phase nations may lend money (IPPs) or military
equipment to other Major and Minor Powers.
Requirements: A nation can lend-lease to a nation under the following conditions:
(a) The receiving nation is at war with a Major Power or,
(b) A special circumstance (e.g. Spanish Civil War) allows a
nation to lend-lease.
A nation may not lend-lease to itself or to Aligned minors (since
they are technically also part of that nation). Britain cannot lendlease to the FEC or ANZAC.
Declaration: A player must announce his intention to lend-lease at
the start of the turn. You may lend either;
(a) Up to half the receiving nation’s current income in IPPs (not
counting bonus income), rounding fractions up. Or,
(b) One military unit. Such a unit must be produced at a factory in the Home Nation
specifically for the purpose of lending. You may not lend-lease units already on the
board.

It does not specify that you can only Lend Lease to a single nation. So that might help clear it up a bit. The USA can Lend Lease to China, USSR, UK, and Free France all in the same turn if it wants to, for example.

I guess I still don’t follow the logic on allowing Free France a free reign to take out Vichy though. I’m not saying the money from Vichy makes or breaks Germany winning, but it just doesn’t make any sense to allow the Allies to just take all the territory essentially for free while Germany can’t do anything about it. But we may have to just agree to disagree on that one. :grinning:

@Broken-Mortar
Oh I agree it’s a gamble and like any big gamble if it doesnt go your way it’s a bit of a disaster.
But given that I’ve seen Germany take a pretty bulked out France with barely any losses, it’s something to be considered. And when comparing the two outcomes, leaves you in more or less the same place.
However if the rolls do go your way, you can have a pretty effective fighting force capable of independent action in Africa or the Middle East.
Something to consider at any rate. Especially if you fancy trying something different.

@GeneralHandGrenade Great, thanks so much for clarifying GHG!