That would be a pretty big change though. Completely destabilizing in the Pacific. Destroyers would be extremely valuable. So many times I’ve cleared a Japanese destroyer and moved my whole fleet into SZ 6 in non-combat.
And it would change the ground game a bit too. I can remember a few times when playing as Germany when in Russian territory, and many times playing as Japan when fighting in Chinese territory where it was useful to use some infantry to take a territory and then move ahead two spaces with mechs/tanks into a friendly territory.
Also imagine playing as the UK and you decide to attack Iraq, but leave 1 mech behind to move through in non-combat to activate Persia.
I would presume that it is only changing it to what was intended in the rules. I play it as a local rule/interpretation. I cannot comprehend why the idea that you can can open then move through on non combat was intentional.
I take S. France as Germany and build subs. I use the subs from S France and the S Bombers from western Germany to smash any allied fleet that wants to park in SZ 91. This denies a strategic location for the allies unless they are prepared to build a sizable escort for their transports drawing funds away from the pacific. This also allows Italy to hold some NO’s early game without having to invest in a large fleet. The S bombers i am already purchasing for strategic raids on London and keeping the Atlantic clear anyway. building 5-6 subs is cheap considering the damage you could inflict on an allied fleet in SZ 91 not to mention the boost Italy will get.
Interesting possibility. You need to thin out other attacks and use up some mobile troops to get into S France on turn one.
I’ve never thought all that was worthwhile before but it might be if you can smash some forces off Gibraltar. Although you can still do so by building subs in SZ112. This relies on making a contribution to clearing the Med which I’ve never found to be a problem for Italy. With an allied bid adding sub(s) to the Med seems to be the reason for this one.
Germany helping Italy in the Med all depends on if you are looking to knock Russia out with a quick punch or throttle them slowly to death. If you’re taking the long game approach, a German fleet in the Med is worth every IPC. It creates an incredible headache for the Allied player who expects to dominate the Med early. Then it becomes an arms race, and guess who is closer to their supply lines?
And once the Med becomes an arms race, the Allied player often stops buying as much with the US in the Pacific… and Japan can wear down Russia from the back.
Just general thoughts - game by game will obviously be variable.
