Declaring War

The side with initiative may declare war on major powers of the opposing side or neutral minor countries.

Restrictions on declarations of war apply concerning neutrality pacts, China, US entry, Vichy France, and Soviet Border Rectification.

Declaring war is done in the following steps:

Breaking Neutrality Pacts
A major power may break a neutrality pact if conditions are met to do so.

A neutrality pact may be broken if an enemy air unit flew a mission against a hex or unit you control, and originated from a hex controlled by the other signer of the neutrality pact.

A neutrality pact may be broken three or more turns after it is signed if your modified garrison value on your common border is double that of the other. The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed J/A 39. To find Garrison Value, add up the following totals for any units within 3 hexes of the enemy controlled hexes: Defensive garrison value is modified during the following turns after the pact is signed: When a major power wishes to break a neutrality pact, the attacker and defender increase their garrison value by their offensive (face-down) and defensive (face-up) entry markers, respectively (no more than doubling the garrison values without entry markers). If the final result has the attacker’s garrison value as double or more of the defender, the neutrality pact is successfully broken and war may be declared.
 * +1: (DiF Options 2 & 3) DIV and ART
 * +2: Corps-sized HQ-A, ARM, Mech, MTN, or SS
 * +1: Other land or aircraft unit (except PART and CVP)
 * Units must be face-up and not in an enemy ZoC
 * 2x garrison value for the first 9 turns
 * Unmodified garrison value for the next 6 turns
 * 1/2 garrison value for the next 6 turns
 * 1/4 garrison value for any later turns

Declaring War on a Major Power
Major powers announce which major power(s) of an opposing faction they wish to declare (or attempt to declare) war on.

Requirements for the USA to declare war:
Against Germany and/or Italy: Against Japan: Against any Axis major power:
 * The USA may attempt to declare war on Germany and Italy in the same step, but may not declare war on Japan in the same step that it declares war on another major power.
 * If the USA attempts to declare war on Germany and Italy in the same step, resolve them as one attempt. If successful, treat it as 2 declarations of war for US entry purposes.
 * The USA may declare on Vichy if it is at war with all other active Axis major powers, or with the major power that installed Vichy. It is automatically successful.
 * The values of the Ge/It and Ja entry pools are equal to 1.5x the value of the one pool and 1/2 the value of the other. The Ge/It and Ja tension pools are calculated the same way.
 * To attempt to declare war, the USA rolls on the It’s War table, comparing their entry level and tension level against the target major power(s), with the following dice roll modifiers:
 * -2 if the UK has been conquered.
 * -2 if China has been conquered.
 * -1 if China hasn’t been conquered but a Japanese unit is in China.
 * +3 if US entry option 34 (Pass War Appropriations Bill) has not been chosen.
 * -1 if the USA is at war with any major power.

If the USA is at war:
If the USA is at war with Japan, it is treated as having chosen every available unchosen entry option aimed solely at Japan; the USA rolls for each option, but moving markers to tension pools is voluntary (except for the US Declaration of War entry option). The same applies if the US is at war with both Germany and Italy (unless one has been conquered).

If the USA is at war with every unconquered Axis major power (except Vichy), it is treated as having chosen every available entry option (except US Entry Option 37 and 44).If the USA is at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy, it no longer draws entry markers, and returns all markers in the US entry and tension pools to the Entry Marker Pool.

Soviet Border Rectification
The USSR may declare the Soviet Border Rectification against Finland and/or Rumania, once each per game. If it declares against both in the same turn, fully resolve the first declaration before resolving the second.

Declaring War on a Major Power
Major powers announce which major power(s) of an opposing faction they wish to declare (or attempt to declare) war on.

Requirements for the USA to declare war:
Against Germany and/or Italy: Against Japan: Against any Axis major power:
 * The USA may attempt to declare war on Germany and Italy in the same step, but may not declare war on Japan in the same step that it declares war on another major power.
 * If the USA attempts to declare war on Germany and Italy in the same step, resolve them as one attempt. If successful, treat it as 2 declarations of war for US entry purposes.
 * The USA may declare on Vichy if it is at war with all other active Axis major powers, or with the major power that installed Vichy. It is automatically successful.
 * The values of the Ge/It and Ja entry pools are equal to 1.5x the value of the one pool and 1/2 the value of the other. The Ge/It and Ja tension pools are calculated the same way.
 * To attempt to declare war, the USA rolls on the It’s War table, comparing their entry level and tension level against the target major power(s), with the following dice roll modifiers:
 * -2 if the UK has been conquered.
 * -2 if China has been conquered.
 * -1 if China hasn’t been conquered but a Japanese unit is in China.
 * +3 if US entry option 34 (Pass War Appropriations Bill) has not been chosen.
 * -1 if the USA is at war with any major power.

If the USA is at war:
If the USA is at war with Japan, it is treated as having chosen every available unchosen entry option aimed solely at Japan; the USA rolls for each option, but moving markers to tension pools is voluntary (except for the US Declaration of War entry option). The same applies if the US is at war with both Germany and Italy (unless one has been conquered).

If the USA is at war with every unconquered Axis major power (except Vichy), it is treated as having chosen every available entry option (except US Entry Option 37 and 44).If the USA is at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy, it no longer draws entry markers, and returns all markers in the US entry and tension pools to the Entry Marker Pool.

Declaring War on a Neutral Minor Country
The USSR may make territorial claims to Finland and/or Rumania; if both are claimed, one must be resolved before claiming the other.

Major powers announce which neutral minor countries they are declaring war on.
 * Roll for the US entry action effect for each declaration of war. If the USA has successfully declared war on an enemy major power this step, roll for unchosen US entry options aimed at that major power.
 * Allocate control of minor countries declared war on during this step, in the order that the countries were declared war on

Aligning Minor Countries
Each major power may voluntarily align 1 minor country this step.

Axis minor countries
Germany or Italy may align Afghanistan, Iran, or Iraq if they control 4 or more in-supply corps of their own nationality in an adjacent country, except the USSR and Turkey.

Germany may align Argentina, Chile, or Paraguay if an Allied major power has declared war on an American minor country. Once per game, Germany may align any or all of Latvia, Lithuania, and/or Estonia in a single impulse, if the aligned countries are neutral; this will only triggers 1 US entry roll.
 * Alternatively, any Axis major power may align them if 4 or more corps-sized units of their own nationality are in any adjacent countries.

Germany may align Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, or Rumania based on the Soviet border rectification rule:
 * Finland may be aligned if Germany declares war on the USSR, but not if the USSR declares war on Germany.

Japan may align French Indo-China or Madagascar if it is Vichy controlled and there are no Allied non-Partisan units in the country (this triggers US entry actions).

Japan may align Siam during any turn.

If an Axis major power controls Gibraltar, it may align Spain ; if so, Gibraltar becomes part of the Spanish home country.

Germany may align Turkey if at least 4 in-supply German corps units are in the USSR in hexes adjacent to the Turkish border

If an Axis major power controls Athens, and if Italy, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania are all Axis controlled, it may align Yugoslavia

Allied minor countries

 * The USA may align Brazil if the USA is at with with Germany, Italy, and Japan.
 * The USA may align any or all of Central America ( AiF Option 1: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama), Cuba, and/or Haiti if the US is at war with Germany, Italy, or Japan.
 * The USA may align Mexico if the USA is at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan.
 * The CW or France may align Yugoslavia if there are 4 or more of its own corps units in any adjacent countries.

Creation and Alignment of Ukraine
A major power that controlled Kiev and expended 15 build points in a previous Production step may choose to [Special Rules|create and align Ukraine].

Set Up Minor Countries
For each major country that either had war declared on it or was aligned by a major power, in the order that they were declared war on or aligned.
 * Minor country land and air units with an availability year prior to the current year are set up; if they have the current year, they are placed in the production circle to arrive in the next turn.
 * Naval units with an availability year 2 years prior to the current year are set up; if one year prior, place in the construction pool
 * Set up the minor country’s units in hexes controlled by that country
 * At least half of the set up units must be located in the minor country’s home country
 * Using the controlling major power’s CP, set up convoy points according to the Minor Country Convoy Point Set-up table(19.4.1).
 * The controlling major power must declare whether unbuilt units will be added to the force pool; if not, all unbuilt units and all destroyed units from that minor country are scrapped.

Call Out Reserves
Active major powers and minor countries may call out their reserves: After completing the Declaring War step, move on to Impulse Actions.
 * Any reserve or MIL units that were previously removed from the game may return to the force pool.
 * Then, any reserve units in the Reserve Pool may arrive on the map as reinforcements, and are turned face-down.


 * 1) The USSR may make territorial claims against Finland and/or Rumania. If both are being chosen, fully resolve one claim before executing the other.
 * 2) Major powers announce announce any neutral minor countries they are declaring war on.
 * 3) * If the US has declared war on an enemy major power this step, also roll for unchosen US entry options aimed at that major power.
 * 4) Any minor countries that had war declared on them now align with major powers, in the order they were declared on.
 * 5) * If an Axis major power declares war on a minor country on the American map, it aligns with the USA.
 * 6) * No minor country may align with China except when playing with DoD or PatiF.
 * 7) * A minor country aligns with an active major power that is hostile to the major power that declared on it, whose capital is closes to its own capital (do not take terrain into account). If that major power refuses the alignment, it takes the next closes active major power, and so on. If there is no active major power that allows alignment, the minor country is immediately conquered by the attacking major power.
 * 8) Each major power may align up to 1 minor country as follows:
 * 9) * Axis minor country alignments (US Entry Action 19 unless stated otherwise)
 * 10) ** Japan may align Indochina if the Vichy government has been installed(US Entry Action 1)
 * 11) ** Japan may align Madagascar if the Vichy government has been installed(US Entry Action 5)
 * 12) ** Germany or Italy may align Afghanistan, Iran, or Iraq if there are at total of at least 4 in-supply corps-sized units of that major power (not aligned minors) in any adjacent countries (except USSR and Turkey).
 * 13) ** Germany may align Argentina, Chile, or Paraguay if an Allied major power has declared war on any minor whose home country is on the America map. They may also be aligned by any Axis major power if there are at least 4 corps-sized units of that major power (not aligned minors) in any adjacent countries.
 * 14) ** Once per game, while Germany and the USSR are at war, Germany may align any or all of the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) together, provided all three countries remain neutral; this only results in 1 US entry roll.
 * 15) ** The Soviet Border Rectification rule my allow Germany to align Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and/or Rumania.
 * 16) ** The Allies mining the Norwegian coast may result in Germany aligning Norway.
 * 17) ** Japan may align Siam during any turn.
 * 18) ** Any Axis major power that controls Gibraltar may align Spain; at this time, Gibraltar becomes part of Spain's home country.
 * 19) ** Germany may align Turkey if at least 4 in-supply German corps-sized units are in the USSR in hexes adjacent to the Turkish border.
 * 20) ** Any Axis major power that controls Athens may align Yugoslavia if Italy, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania are all Axis controlled.
 * 21) * Allied minor country alignments
 * 22) ** The USA may align Brazil or Mexico if the USA is at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan.
 * 23) ** The Soviet Border Rectification rule may allow the USSR to align Bulgaria.
 * 24) ** The USSR may align Central America, Cuba, and/or Haiti if the USA is at war with Germany, Italy, or Japan.
 * 25) *** When Option 1 (AiF) is in use, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama replace Central America.
 * 26) ** During the Liberation step, the Allies may liberate and align Czechoslovakia as a combined country if they have conquered both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
 * 27) ** During the Liberation step, the Allies may liberate and align Ethiopia.
 * 28) ** During the Liberation step, the Allies may liberate and align the Spanish Republic. If it does so, all Spanish Republican naval units with an availability year of earlier than the current game year are scrapped.
 * 29) ** The CW may align Yugoslavia if there are a total of 4 or more CW corps-sized units in any adjacent countries.
 * 30) *** France may align Yugoslavia if there are a total of 4 or more French corps-sized units in any adjacent countries.
 * 1) *** France may align Yugoslavia if there are a total of 4 or more French corps-sized units in any adjacent countries.