lawrenceg wrote:hammy wrote:I think people are getting very picky on words here. There is as all have said no definition of melee other than melee is a form of close combat and close combat actually applies to a whole BG.
The rule restricting non flank flank charges reads "can still contact the flank edge of an enemy base, provided that it was not already in melee to it's front"
The rule about shooting into close combat says "A base cannot be shot at if it is in a possition to fight as a 1st or 2nd rank or overlap in melee this turn" It does not say bases in melee i.e. ones in the first or second rank of a BG in melee does it.
If I was umpiring an event I would allow a charge on the second or subsequent rank of a BG by an unengaged BG it would count exactly the same as if the charge had happened without the frontal contact i.e. the fight would be 2 dice each side and use the normal POAs for the troops in question as if they had charged each other frontally.
I have no problem with this and see it as an extra force with confidence in their charge hurling themselves into the fight rather than sidling up and joining in which is represented by moving to the overlap.
I think if I were umpiring, I would say that any base contributing to a dice or POA in melee was "in melee", which is a reasonable definition in the absence of a formal one. It would be "in melee to its front" if the target of those dice was in front of it, not necessarily in contact.
In that case the 1st - 4th ranks of pike could not be charged, unless they were fighting as an overlap (and hence not in melee "to its front")
3rd and 4th ranks, although in melee, could still be shot at as they are not "in a position to fight as a 1st or 2nd rank ". However, if a base is in one of the formally defined overlap positions then it cannot be shot whatever rank it is in.
IMO a pike formation that is in combat can be charged as a non flank charge on the flank edge of the 2nd-4th rank by another BG, this will result in a combat between one base of pike and one base of the chargers. The pike will fight as though they have been hit in the front of the BG i.e. as a 4 deep formation and the chargers will fight normally.
I took this to mean that combat is treated as if the
base impacted had been contacted on its own front so only ranks behind it would count for its POA.
About time the authors stepped in and told us what they intended.
