Art De La Guerre

[pichuleante]

Can you put a road crossing an impassable river?

If so, how do you consider the terrain for combat purposes in the bridge?

[Hazelbark]

p 75 right side, road, 4th bullet

Road passes over a river (even if flooded)
also 3rd bullet.

So yes a road may cross a flooded impassable river.

It may not pass over other impassable terrain.

[pichuleante]

Ok but..

Terrain in a road for combat purposes is determined for the terrain underneath, in this case, is difficult?

[Mike Bennett]

[Mark G Fry]

I would suspect that making the road also Impassable is probably not the intention of this rule, although my reading of the general rule on Roads across terrain would suggest that this is the actual outcome (no matter how illogical that may appear).

However, I have always though the idea that the underlaying terrain influences travel on a road a bit odd, in most circumstances.
Whilst I can see that a road traversing a steep hill will still slow down units travelling along it, the +1 UD of extra movement seems at odds with the rules intentions.
I would have though that the whole purpose of a road through a Marsh (presumably on a causeway), or a Forest/wood, Plantation or Brush (where the difficult trees, grapevines and shrubs etc. have all been deliberately cleared) or even across a Field or through a Village, was the very reason the road was created, so as to mitigated any negative terrain impact.

The current rule does however create some oddities. For example - can a WWg or Elephant move along a road that passes through a Forest?

Whilst I'm aware that the rules around applying the underlying terrain effect to units travelling on a Road is simply a games mechanism, not an attempt at historical simulation, I think that this actually makes Roads far less interesting as a terrain mechanism, and we often see Roads not deployed in games, because of this.
Maybe an alternative is to say that Roads going through terrain drops the effect of that terrain by one terrain type - so Difficult becomes Rough, Rough becomes Open and all units get their +1UD additional movement. Just a thought.
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'He could have lived a risk-free, moneyed life, but he preferred to whittle away his fortune on warfare.' Xenophon, The Anabasis

[Mike Bennett]

In battle troops are say up to 16 deep in wide formations. This is not a formation that can benefit from a road

I think that roads are for strategic movement, and especially useful for supply wagons etc more so even that infantry or cavalry. In battle situations roads should be largely irrelevant, except maybe as river crossing points.

[ethan]

Ambrose Burnside has views on this...though perhaps not the best argument...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnside%27s_Bridge

[Neep]

It's a road, so if you stay on it, you can move at the plain terrain rate +1.
It's a road so you fight as if in impassible terrain - which has no penalties associated with it.
Silly, but T'TR.

[Mike Bennett]

[Ramses II]

I think Mike has the answer. 
Troops on a road would march in a narrow column. However when fighting, the troops would deploy in a battle line, spreading out across the terrain. 

As Ethan osays, a bridge is a narrow structure which can be defended by limited numbers of troops, especially if it spans an ‘impassable’ feature that prevents the attacker from bypassing it. 

Also, ADLG operates at a high level, ignoring lower level details eg. changing formation. 

[Mike Bennett]

[Dickstick]

Contact is just impossible.
Missile fire only.
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Player 747 don't call me Jumbo

[Mike Bennett]

[Ramses II]

Let’s agree that this niche case is obscure. Historical examples of small number of men holding up an army suggest that there is no ADLG level of melee as such when fighting on a bridge.  

Mike questions whether having a front edge over the bridge while the rear is still on the bridge is sufficient to permit a melee.

RAW, units may not enter (or fight in) impassable terrain, but this is precisely where the combat is deemed to take place. Since the terrain prevents entry and hence prevents a melee, in effect, a unit near the bridge over an impassable river prevents the enemy from crossing unless it can completely exit the bridge.  

[Hazelbark]

Just to keep this thread active

FAQ

A unit on a road that crosses a river is on a bridge. It is then treated as if it were in clear terrain and has no penalty in combat or shooting.

When a unit defends the bank of a river, it has a bonus of + 1 in combat against units located at least partially in the river or on the bridge.