Art De La Guerre

[Adrian Clarke]

Hi All

How is it usual to manage moving troops along a road with a bend in it? There is no terrain setup requirement to keep roads straight, but it seems clear that no provision is made in the rules for columns with a kink in them. As I understand it, columns are treated as groups one unit wide and x deep which turn by a simple wheel on one front corner, observing individual unit maximum movement limits (p29).

If a moving column of units only partly clears a bend in the road are the rear units moved off the road to the outside of the bend to maintain the integrity of the group or must the group be previously split into portions that are small enough to negotiate the bend seperately and remain on the road? Or something else?

Adrian

[Ramses II]

A really good question. Obviously the front unit wheels as you say, measuring from the outside. 

Other units in a column are normally positioned directly behind each other for convenience, but their positioning may be adjusted to avoid obstacles - just discuss this with the opponent as it is done so both are aware of the situation. 

Here, if necessary (ie in rough or difficult terrain where that is an issue) I would suggest staying on the road for movement, unless the column is attacked on the flank, where I would expect all units from both sides to be ‘conformed’ into a line that most closely approximates the original positioning of the line. 

Note, where the column comprises shallower bases (ie not 40x40), the trailing units of the column will be moved backwards to align with the attackers (see the FAQ p15)