Art De La Guerre

[Ballista]

Are you able to do an extension and charge units into contact ?

Ie Group of units start 2 wide, 2 deep. They declare a charge and say I'm going to expand this group by two units and then move into contact with enemy I have declared a charge on.

Is this allowed ?

[Hazelbark]

p 43 left column section 4, last bullet.

[AlanCutner]

[SteveR]

Hi Alan,

I originally agreed with you. Page 33 first bullet says that a group may advance straight ahead before or after an extension.

So my reading had always been that if the extension puts you in contact it counts as a charge, but that if contact requires an advance *after* the extension you may not make it a charge. As extension is not one of the allowed maneuvers before a charge, and the advance after extension is optional and not part of the extension itself.

A contraction requires an advance, the exemption to the general case for it does not present a difficulty. The advance is part of the contraction.

That said, upon reflection, given the inclusion of contractions into the specifically allowed cases it seems to me that any extension move is intended to be allowed.

[Ballista]

[Ballista]

[Ramses II]

[KevinD]

[Zoltan]

I just don’t get it.

If the head of a column is already in contact with the enemy it will (apart from certain exceptions) have fully conformed.

Why would other units in the column use an extension move to now make contact? Wouldn’t this cost an extra CP because the head of the column is already in combat?

Surely other units in the column would make their own moves by paying 1 CP to slide sideways and advance into contact, on either side of the column head unit, if there are sufficient CP? Or in the case of impetuous units with insufficient CP, make an uncontrolled charge into contact starting with a slide. These moves are not really “extensions” by the column.

If I have a column of 4 MC 2UD away from a line of enemy non-evading troops, for 1CP can I charge the column into contact (by the lead unit) and then simply flick the other 3 units out into contact as an extension charge?

[Ballista]

Subject to constraints on expansion yes

Expansion cost is 1UD plus 1UD for each unit that expands (frontage) so in your example wouldn't it be expansion by 1 unit only?

[Zoltan]

[madaxeman]

[Hazelbark]

Just to be clear you can expand and charge. Not charge and expand.

[SteveR]

"Just to be clear you can expand and charge. Not charge and expand."

Well Dan...

Page 43 says that an expansion move that "brings the front of one or more units into contact with the enemy" is a charge.

Page 33 first bullet says that a group may advance straight ahead before or after an extension.

Now I am informed that the advance after an extension is really part of the whole extension move so page 43 in fact means you may extend and charge.

Fair enough

However page 33 last bullet says that it is possible to make an extension even if one or more of the front units are in melee. So if the advance is just part of the extension why can't it be done before the units flare out in addition to after?

Given the principle that specific cases modify general cases.

I'm willing to accept "just because" if this is what is desired of course. Rules writing is difficult.

[madaxeman]