ORIGINAL: Dalwin
ORIGINAL: Tulius Hostilius
ORIGINAL: Torplexed
The manual for WIE describes Finland as a minor power. You can't play Finland alone by itself in that game like Germany or Italy.
It seems to me you would have to draw the major/minor line somewhere. If Spain is a major power, why can't Turkey or Sweden be major powers too? They had good sized military establishments. Heck, Brazil had a decent sized navy with a few battleships. I don't think this game is meant to be like Hearts of Iron where all nations are playable and you can try your hand at conquering the world playing Bhutan or Tibet.
I must confess I'm really not sure why India is counted as a playable nation though. She was pretty much just another colonial dominion of the British Empire like Canada or Australia, and reliant on Britain for her military kit.
Every game has its issues. I think that was a decision for game balance, but it bothers me a little, just as some parts of the British Empire that are perpetually Neutral in West Africa, since they aren’t worth of the diplomatic effort to bring them to the Allies (and much less to the Axis), such as Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
It also bothers me that Goa belongs to India, since it was Portuguese until 1961.
At the scale of the map, Goa is small enough that it should likely not even be represented. It is not like Hong Kong which belonged to one of the belligerents and was at least nominally defended. If Portugal had joined the Axis, India would have seized Goa very quickly with virtually no resistance. It not being shown as Portuguese is fine in this game.
Indeed, but it was not British, or better of the British Raj. Other options could be considered, as another city. Portugal joinning the Axis would be quite a-historical.
ORIGINAL: Platoonist
Goa eventually became a haven for Axis agents. In the Portuguese colony of Macau in China the Japanese exerted considerable control through "advisors" whom the Portuguese administration were in no position to resist, and East Timor was occupied successively by the Australians and then the Japanese. You get the sense neither side respected Portuguese neutrality very much. [:D]
The Portuguese Timor was the only Portuguese territory that was invaded, by the Australians, when there was ship on the way to reinforce the Portuguese garrison (it wouldn’t make much difference, it was symbolic). There were spies in all the neutral countries. For instance, Lisbon was a paradise for spies, from both sides. As Goa, as you say. Later in the war the USA bombard Macau, but if I recall correctly, later Portugal received a compensation.
