@Admiral_Thrawn:
We have a problem with rules and I want to hear what other people think. I’ll set it up. Me as the Soviet Union has a sub in the South Atlantic and and Transport in the Azores sea. The British have a Destroyer,sub,and transport in the Central Atlantic. It is Italy’s turn and he has 1Destroyer,1sub,and 4transports in the strait of Gibraltar. The SU and the Axis are not at war. In this scenerios rules it says and I quote:“The Soviet Union must remain at peace until Germany or Italy initiates hostilities against the Soviet Union. Then it must declare war against both of these countries and no others.” Thats all it says about how the SU becomes at war with the Axis. Can the Itialians move there fleet through the Russian fleet to get to the british without declaring war on the SU? I say no. When in A&A is it not “initiating hostilites” to put your war ships into the same sea zone as the opponent?
This how I responded to the German players claim that the Italians could move through the Russians to get to the British.
I can kinda of see where you are coming from but putting naval units in the same sea zone as mine seems to be starting hostilites. Let me put it this way. I as the Soviet Union would consider it an act of war if you bring your naval vessels anywhere near mine. I.E. in the same sea zone.
So what does everyone else think? Do you think I am right or wrong?
With all do respect, Admiral, I would have to say you are wrong. You are not in the war at present and therefore are a neutral nation. Under the International Law of the time, a warship of a belligerent nation could enter neutral waters or a visit a neutral port for a period of 24 hours without being subject to internment or seizure. Neither the entering of national waters or a port was viewed as an act of war. A historical case in point was that the Russians received Lend-Lease supplies carreid by Russian ships to the port of Vladivostok throughout the war, unhindered by the Japanese who territorial waters they were crossing, and obviously they were sailing in combat zones. The US Coast Guard cutter Modoc was for a while tailing the Bismarck in the Greenland Sea area, without the Germans considering it an act of war. Unless the Italian player attacks you, he can freely move his ships through the sea zones occupied by your vessels, just as you could freely move ships through sea zones occupied by his vessels. The British allowed Italian merchant ships and naval vessels to pass through the Suez Canal up to the time of Italy declaring war.
As for Gewehr trying to get Spain involved, one factor in Spain’s staying out of the war, at least to an extent, was the fact that the US guaranteed grain shipments of 700,000 tons a year to Spain if it stayed neutral. As Spain was recovering from the destruction of the Spanish Civil War, it was really in no shape to fight, and the grain helped Franco feed the populace. Food is a very good bribe. I say to an extent, as a Spanish division served on the Russian front fighting the Russians, althought there is good reason to believe that Franco staffed the division with anyone he regarded as a potential toublemaker within the Falangist Party, and devoutly hoped that they would not come back. Most of them did not. The Italians also operated an underwater sabotage force from an Italian freighter in Algeciras, attacking merchant ships in Gibralter harbor with limpet mines attached to their hulls. It seems reasonable to assume that the Spanish were not entirely in the dark about the activities. In some respect it worked to the benefit of both sides that Spain stay neutral. I would argue for game purposes that Spain not be in the game, as it took quite a while to recover from the Spanish Civil War.