@wittmann:
So, Marc, do you have any idea if it should be Allied or Axis leaning, in this game?
Perhaps it should stay Allied, but Argentina should be made pro Axis.
Might be fun to hot things up in South America.
Here’s my assessment of where the countries of Latin America stood historically (as opposed to what the Global game map says) in relation to the Axis and the Allies, with some ideas on how this might play out in A&A terms.
Central America
This map territory is actually a region consisting mostly of sovereign states: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras (a.k.a. Spanish Honduras), Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. All of them joined the Allies in December 1941. The region also includes two foreign-controlled territories – British Honduras (a British possession in the years 1871-1964) and the Panama Canal Zone (controlled by the United States) – which both entered the war when their respective controlling countries did.
Assessment: they were Allied nations from the moment when the US entered the war.
West Indies
This is a region comprising a mix of sovereign states and foreign-held territories. The sovereign states were Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic; all three joined the Allies in December 1941. The foreign-held territories consisted of American ones like Puerto Rico; British ones like Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Tobago and some of the Lesser Antilles (including Barbados); French ones like Martinique and Guadeloupe; and Dutch ones like St. Martin. All of these entered the war when their respective controlling countries did.
Assessment: treated as a group for the sake of simplicity, they were Allied nations from the moment when the US entered the war.
Mexico
Declared war on the Axis powers in May 1942 after a number of U-boat attacks on Mexican ships.
Assessment: became an Allied nation about half a year after the US entered the war.
Brazil
Declared war on the Axis powers in August 1942 after a number of U-boat attacks on Brazilian ships. It became the only Latin American nation to send troops overseas when it contributed about two divisions to the European theatre in 1944.
Assessment: became an Allied nation about half a year after the US entered the war.
Bolivia
Joined the Allies in 1943 (the only country in the world to declare war in that year), but shortly thereafter its President was overthrown and was replaced by a new President with fascist sympathies. The country remained in the war on the Allied side, but made no military contributions.
Assessment: for the sake of simplicity, can be considered a neutral state; it entered the war in mid-stream, on a more or less nominal basis.
Chile
Initially neutral due to its commercial interests with Germany, but gradually distanced itself from the Axis nations, with whom it finally broke relations in 1943. Declared war on Japan in 1945.
Assessment: neutral until the last year of the war.
Ecuador
Stayed neutral until February 1945, when it joined the Allies.
Assessment: neutral until the last year of the war.
Uruguay
Neutral for much of the war. Broke off relations with the Axis in early 1942. Joined the Allies in February 1945.
Assessment: neutral until the last year of the war.
Columbia
Although it does not appear to have ever joined the Allies in a formal sense, Columbia leaned in their direction. It broke relations with the Axis soon after Pearl Harbor; it supplied the Allies with oil; it signed the United Nations Declaration in July 1943; and it declared a state of “belligency” against Germany in late 1943 following a U-boat attack on a Colombian ship.
Assessment: should at the very least be considered pro-Allies, but probably not an actual Allied nation.
Peru
Peru did not formally declare war on the Axis powers until 1945, but it supported the Allied powers from an early date. It broke relations with the Axis in January 1942; it allowed an American air base to operate from its territory and supplied it with aviation fuel; and its ships patroled the Panama Canal area.
Assessment: should be considered pro-Allies.
Venezuela
Venezuela did not formally declare war on the Axis powers until late in the war, but it broke relations with the Axis powers soon after Pearl Harbor and it was an important source of oil for the Allies throughout the war.
Assessment: should be considered pro-Allies.
Argentina
Stayed neutral for most of the war, despite being ruled by a succession of authoritarian and/or military regimes. This was due in part to the fact that neutrality was seen as being economically advatageous (since the country could sell exports to both sides), but also due to conflicts within the Argentine government between fascists and leftist radicals. The US pressured Argentina to join the Allies, but this was offset by Argentina’s traditionally close ties with Germany, with a resulting preference for neutrality. A small number of Argentine volunteers fought on the Allied side. Argentina broke relations with the Axis powers in June 1943 following a coup, but only joined the Allies in March 1945.
Assessment: neutral until the last year of the war, but politically volatile and with some potential to have tilted in either direction at an earlier date.
Paraguay
The country’s authoritarian government was openly sympathetic to the Axis, as was the country’s large German population. The US tried to decrease German influence in Paraguay with financial assistance, but had only limited succes. Paraguay did not act against German economic and diplomatic interests in the country until it joined the Allies in February 1945.
Assessment: should be considered pro-Axis.