Slitherine

I know p94 states "Bases in contact with front edge of enemy bases must remain in contact with the same enemy bases."

This does mean that pike/shot BGs on both sides can, but not must, try to reform as best as possible even when locked in combat?

Could this result in an expansion of more than one file?

Blathergut wrote:I know p94 states "Bases in contact with front edge of enemy bases must remain in contact with the same enemy bases."

This does mean that pike/shot BGs on both sides can, but not must, try to reform as best as possible even when locked in combat?

I think you are correct - but I haven't checked the rules too thoroughly

Could this result in an expansion of more than one file?

I guess it might - as long as you were in an "illegal" formation before the reform, you cannot reform from a legal formation to another legal formation.

Ok weird situation in our last game not sure I did this correct.

I have a pike and shot in legal line formation that were providing rear support so 1 full base is behind the unit directly in front and to my right, then a base space and another friendly unit to my left directly in front of my left hand base.
The left hand unit ends up in melee with 2 enemy pike and shot units and is taking losses, I decided it was time to run the reserves up, but I can't shift enough to clear the friends to my right as I would have to shift a full base, and it would put me right in the rout path of my unit in melee.
I move forward 3 MU and go into a column with the pike out front and shot all in behind, the pike stand was in the clear the shot were both behind the forward units. At the end of the move I am now beside and in side base contact with the unit that was to my front right so basically I have 4 base frontage between the 2 units.
My unit in melee auto breaks during the next enemy combat phase and routs, one of the two enemy pursue into contact with my unit in column.
During my turn I want to expand out by 1 base, so move 2 shot out to my left. I am still in contact with a friendly unit to my right so could not expand out that way.
So I have 2 shot bases left, I had one behind my two fighting shot bases and one behind the pikes... wasn't sure where else to put them since if they both went behind the front shot it would be a 4 bases deep and not in a legal formation as one file is two bases and the other would be 4 bases.
The enemy broke and ran while I was still in this formation I pursued at the end of melee and caught them but they outran me during the JAP rout. Next movement phase I reformed into a proper pike and shot formation.

Was that right? Seemed to make sense at the time since I ended up out of combat with pike and shot behind each other due to the expansion from column.

I assume when you say you expanded a file of shot to the left you mean you fed them into melee during your turn, relying on col 1 par 2 of page 97 allowing expansion to an intermediate formation between column and a legal formation.

(If not a melee expansion, a normal expansion can't be used to create an illegal formation, which 2 Pike with 2 Shot behind and 2 Shot on their side would be. )

You pursued in the illegal formation and were indeed then entitled to reform (you can reform even when in combat, with certain logical exceptions on page 94-95).

Yes I was feeding in bases that were not in contact to base contact with the enemy I was in melee with.