Art De La Guerre

[Three]

I thought I had the issue of evade interpenetration all squared off, but a couple of situations in recent games has got me wondering.

Picture a line of 6 heavy foot facing up the page. On the right hand corner of the right hand end unit is a light foot unit, in side edge and front corner to corner contact, also facing up the page.

To the right of the light foot and facing left is an enemy cavalry unit. In the enemy's turn, it charges the right flank of the light foot. The light foot has to evade. It makes a quarter turn. Irrespective of what it rolls as it's adjusted evade move, it will not clear the line of heavy foot, but it will clear some.

My understanding was that because it can interpenetrate at the very least the first heavy foot base, it does so, and continues to do so until it reaches the last base it is able to completely clear, and then slides to clear the next base it cannot even partially fully cross ie if the light foot rolls up, it would be able to cross fully the first 3 bases of the heavies, then it is unable to even partially cross the 4th base, so slides to avoid (30mm) and then continues on the remaining 10mm.

An alternative view was put, based on page 39 right hand column, 4th bullet point, where the Light foot would cross the 4 bases of the heavies, and the 4th base of the heavies would then be pushed back enough to allow the light foot to complete it's move ie displace the heavy foot a base width/1 UD backwards.

My reading of the whole pg 39 Adjusting position section is that it is about perpendicular interpenetration, but I can see the point being made.

What does the panel think?

[Zoltan]

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

1. The LI will get away
2. The charging cav will smash into the nearest HI flank
3. It’s de minimis where the LI end up

Let’s have a fun, fast game - don’t waste time fretting over such an immaterial point. Simply slide the LI either side of the HI line - the big boys are not going to move aside for the puny lads (the author’s intention is clear - LI interpenetrate HI in any direction without any “penalties”).

[Andy Fyfe]

[Neep]

The root question is:
If a LI can partially cross a unit, but there is no room to adjust beyond, is the crossed unit then adjusted?
This has been asked more than once, and the consensus is that the bullet cases on page 39 are mutually exclusive, so no.

Thus it cannot interpenetrate the 4th unit, leaving it stuck in the 3d unit, which therefore it cannot interpenetrate, leaving it stuck in the 2d unit....
So it must slide immediately, and then continue its evasion move.

[REVISED] I am reminded that LI can interpenetrate in any direction, so they could travel through the first 3 units, then slide sidewise to avoid the 4th (assuming enough MA). One could construct a situation where this would be useful.