Can U.S. ships deter a German naval attack in Round 2?

[blindingblizzard]

Two-player game; standard setup.  In Round 1, German player used all seven ships from sea zones 5, 7 and 10 to attack the British ships in sea zone 9.  He considered attacking the British ships in both sea zones 9 and 2, but he was concerned about losing too many ships to the minefield in sea zone 9 (he lost one sub).  Britain moved the remaining cruiser and transport from sea zone 2 to sea zone 8 on its Round 1 turn and also purchased a battleship and two transports.  At the end of their turn, all the ships were in sea zone 8.  This zone remained uncontested through the beginning of the United States Round 1 turn.  The rules state that U.S. ships cannot move into contested sea zones.  Does this imply that the U.S. cruiser in sea zone 1 can move into sea zone 8 with the British ships?  If so, when Germany is up in Round 2 do they declare war on the U.S. if they attack sea zone 8 (which contains both British and U.S. ships)?  This seems fairly important and needs clarification.  The U.S. being able to support the British fleet through Round 3 could either allow it to grow significantly or force Germany to bring the U.S. into the war much earlier than desired.

[Krieghund]

Welcome, blindingblizzard!

@blindingblizzard:

The rules state that U.S. ships cannot move into contested sea zones.Â

There is no such thing as a contested sea zone.  The rule states that the US may not move units into a contested territory.  (For clarifications on this, see the FAQ thread.)

In your example, Germany may choose to either include the US ships in its attack, bringing the US into the war, or ignore them.