At present this allows a small number of BG(s) - frequently skirmishers - to potentially delay an opponents Battle Line and unduly slow the game. This is particularly so if the Battle Line is composed of slower troop types (eg HF).
From an historical viewpoint I don't believe that skirmishers were able to significantly delay an advance by heavier troops in open going unless the skirmishers were at least partly to the opponents flank or rear.
We need to ask for example whether such an intervening line of enemy skirmishers could have stopped the Greek hoplites rapid advance at Marathon or Julian's Roman infantry at Ctesiphon (363AD). Given that in both those instances the enemy battleline had a high proportion of missile troops (Persian foot and Sassanid Horse archers respectively) which generated much more firepower than skirmishers were able to muster and they were unable to hold back the closing HF) it seems unlikely that a line of skirmishers could have significantly slowed the opposition in such cases - either by their physical prescence or by their shooting.
The above premise can also be supported I believe by the battles of the Second Punic War. Psiloi were not there to slow the opposition heavy foot - once they started advancing the psiloi cleared out of the way. Rather they were there to snipe at the opposing heavies forming up in deployment, whilst protecting their own heavy troops from being inconvenienced in the same manner.
With the above in mind I'd therefore like to propose the following rule change;
If a BG or battleline is making a second move it must stop when within;
a) 3 MU of enemy skirmishers that are entirely to the front of the second movers BG or BL's leading base edge.
b) Otherwise when they approach to with 6 MU of enemy.
(NB - I admit 3 MU is a bit arbitrary but chosen as this is would allow HF in open going to move to charge range of the skirmishers. If HF movement is increased in V2 then the above rule could be amended appropriately).
I now await the inevitable howls of anguish
Given the mechanics of FOG this makes it too easy to take them out of th eequation - something which I recall DBM got canned for (and rightly so). This is something that needs to be seriously addressed in V2.
