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Portugal in the game counted as a neutral country. How correctly is it?

Dreamslayer wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 7:38 pm Portugal in the game counted as a neutral country. How correctly is it?

Are you referring to how neutral it was historically?

Salazar of course strongly sympathized with the Nationalists. Portugal provided supplies and material to the Nationalists, although it was a fairly poor country at the time with limited industrial capacity. More importantly, IIRC it was used to transship items, particularly those under some sort of neutrality restriction.

You live and NY, and can't sell the Nationalists military grade radios because the US Govt won't give you an export license? No problem, sell them to the Portuguese. And then who knows what happens to them........that type of thing

Others can probably provide more color, but it was not very neutral

This is on contrast with the French, who really did close the border after the first month (with some periods where they did let shipments through), though they would allow civilian supplies etc to cross the borer.

Q-Ball wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 8:49 pm Are you referring to how neutral it was historically?

Yes, I'm about it.

This is on contrast with the French, who really did close the border after the first month (with some periods where they did let shipments through), though they would allow civilian supplies etc to cross the borer.

If about France. Some books mention that Republican ships (war ships) used French ports.

Dreamslayer wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 9:17 pm

Q-Ball wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 8:49 pm Are you referring to how neutral it was historically?

Yes, I'm about it.

This is on contrast with the French, who really did close the border after the first month (with some periods where they did let shipments through), though they would allow civilian supplies etc to cross the borer.

If about France. Some books mention that Republican ships (war ships) used French ports.

IIRC, Republican warships only visited French Ports right at the end of the war, when the Republican Navy fled to Tunisia to be interned....I'm not aware of warships using French ports in the interim? Would be interested if that was the case

Both sides certainly had their merchant ships use neutral ports. Probably Republican ships stayed away from Italy, Germany, Portugal, etc, and Nationalist ships may have had some countries they did not visit (USSR for sure, Mexico, maybe France)

Most ships travelled between Bilbao/Santander and ports of Rochefort, Bayonne and Bordeaux. 2 Republican submarines were repairing there at some point. Many semi-military vessels ran away there at the end of the war in 1937 and were interned for the remainder of the conflict. The French had friendly non-intervention policy under Blum, which of course changed once he got ousted.

Portugal was first friendly and allowed german ships to unload cargo, but they got their own uprising which was crushed. That and British pressure forced Salazar to close the door.

Composition of the government fleet as of April 14.
...
destroyers:
...
<Antequera> is completing repairs in Casablanca and will soon depart for Santander

its about 14 Apr 1937
I guess,Antequera = DD Almirante Antequera
also, there is note about this DD - "Next to the name of this and the next two ships, there are "?"marks in the fields."

I'll try to catch other examples about French ports.

Dreamslayer wrote: Fri Feb 27, 2026 12:02 am

Composition of the government fleet as of April 14.
...
destroyers:
...
<Antequera> is completing repairs in Casablanca and will soon depart for Santander

its about 14 Apr 1937
I guess,Antequera = DD Almirante Antequera
also, there is note about this DD - "Next to the name of this and the next two ships, there are "?"marks in the fields."

I'll try to catch other examples about French ports.

That is because certain things written in Spanish don't get converted to English very well.

RangerJoe wrote: Fri Feb 27, 2026 12:15 am That is because certain things written in Spanish don't get converted to English very well.

Nah, its from Soviet report written in Russian and I used online translator.

Dreamslayer wrote: Fri Feb 27, 2026 12:21 am

RangerJoe wrote: Fri Feb 27, 2026 12:15 am That is because certain things written in Spanish don't get converted to English very well.

Nah, its from Soviet report written in Russian and I used online translator.

Okay, the same process then.