Ancient Rules Ambiguity: When does "play" begin?

[triangular_cube]

I guess I reiterate the issue, opining on it. I think the Axis should decide entry map sides before the Soviets setup. Otherwise wouldn't it be rather pointless to write them down?

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll go with that. 

It may seem like I am splitting hairs, and I probably am, but the whole map gets converted to forest hexes so 2-3 hexes can represent 2-3 turns of movement for some of these units.