Rules question - activating and moving through friendly neutrals


  • This question popped up in a friendly forum game. My understanding is that a power at war can’t activate a friendly neutral and move through it to another territory on the same turn. Take USSR for instance. It is at war in Europe and decides to move a tank and a mech into Northern Persia from Caucasus to activate the friendly neutral and then continues moving to Persia. Is this an illegal move? Pleased to hear.


  • That is right. You have to stop to convert the Friendly one. Is friendly, not Allied (yet).
    On page 10 it says: can be moved into(but not through).


  • Thank you Wittmann on that.
    Your help is allways apreciated.

  • Customizer

    The rules regarding neutrals can be a bit odd at times. In some ways, it seems like a strict or non-friendly neutral provides you with more options than a friendly neutral.
    For example: Russia has tanks in the Caucasus. They can not blitz through NW Persia to attack Iraq because they can’t enter NW Persia until their non-combat move and then they have to stay there.
    However, say Germany has captured the Caucasus and has tanks and mechs there. Since to Germany NW Persia is a non-friendly neutral, Germany CAN blitz NW Persia to attack Persia.
    What’s more, say Germany left one mech in the Caucasus. On the non-combat move of the same turn where they blitzed NW Persia they can have that mech move through NW Persia and activate Iraq.
    So while it takes an Ally at least 2 turns to activate friendly NW Persia and then attack unfriendly Iraq, it takes an Axis just 1 turn to attack 2 unfriendly neutrals and activate a friendly neutral.


  • Great point knp.

    This rule doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. If the country is friendly, you’d think you’d be able to move through it.  Intuitively I would think it would be more challenging to move through a hostile country than a friendly one.

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17

    Politicians need more time than soldiers. The friendly neutral is expecting a formal delegation to pay a visit, not someone in a tank dashing by and waving “Hi! You’re with us now!”

    But I agree that in the game, it’s a bit odd.


  • @Herr:

    Politicians need more time than soldiers. The friendly neutral is expecting a formal delegation to pay a visit, not someone in a tank dashing by and waving “Hi! You’re with us now!”

    But I agree that in the game, it’s a bit odd.

    Yeah that’s basically it!
    Allies stop and wave and Axis, well they…march.  :-)

    Fun aside, I agree with you, it is a bit odd.

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