Slitherine

1) Is a kinked column a normal formation? If not, does a kinked column automacically reform into a non-kinked column at the start of the next maneuver phase?

2) May a BG in a kinked column expand or turn 90 or 180?

3) If a column is in a battle line that wheels, does the column still kink? If so, is a battle line with two or more columns adjacent unable to wheel due to the inability of one or more columns to kink?

Chris

batesmotel wrote:1) Is a kinked column a normal formation? If not, does a kinked column automacically reform into a non-kinked column at the start of the next maneuver phase?

See 4-2

2) May a BG in a kinked column expand or turn 90 or 180?

Offhand can't think of anything stopping it.

3) If a column is in a battle line that wheels, does the column still kink? If so, is a battle line with two or more columns adjacent unable to wheel due to the inability of one or more columns to kink?

Chris

A battle line cannot kink so I believe that a BG in column as part of a BL will not kink. If you like the "manoeuvre unit" is not longer the column.

nikgaukroger wrote:

batesmotel wrote:3) If a column is in a battle line that wheels, does the column still kink? If so, is a battle line with two or more columns adjacent unable to wheel due to the inability of one or more columns to kink?

Chris

A battle line cannot kink so I believe that a BG in column as part of a BL will not kink. If you like the "manoeuvre unit" is not longer the column.

Is this a v2 change Nik? In v1 it is at least arguable that the kinking would occur as part of the BL. The v1 wording suggesting the BL allows you to move all the BGs in the line as if a general is with them but I don't see anything that implies no kinking.

grahambriggs wrote:

nikgaukroger wrote:

batesmotel wrote:3) If a column is in a battle line that wheels, does the column still kink? If so, is a battle line with two or more columns adjacent unable to wheel due to the inability of one or more columns to kink?

Chris

A battle line cannot kink so I believe that a BG in column as part of a BL will not kink. If you like the "manoeuvre unit" is not longer the column.

Is this a v2 change Nik? In v1 it is at least arguable that the kinking would occur as part of the BL. The v1 wording suggesting the BL allows you to move all the BGs in the line as if a general is with them but I don't see anything that implies no kinking.

In all honesty an interpretation - I don't think anything has changed from v1 and I would have said the same thing for that.

nikgaukroger wrote:

grahambriggs wrote:

nikgaukroger wrote: ...
A battle line cannot kink so I believe that a BG in column as part of a BL will not kink. If you like the "manoeuvre unit" is not longer the column.

Is this a v2 change Nik? In v1 it is at least arguable that the kinking would occur as part of the BL. The v1 wording suggesting the BL allows you to move all the BGs in the line as if a general is with them but I don't see anything that implies no kinking.

In all honesty an interpretation - I don't think anything has changed from v1 and I would have said the same thing for that.

My impression is that in general the V1 rules for kinked columns were pretty sketchy and didn't cover lots of things. While I lobbied unsuccessfully for getting rid of them in the V2 beta, at least their behavior is better specified now even if battle lines including columns still aren't explicitly described.

Chris

It's pretty hard to consistently kink a column (at the point of the wheel) that's part of a battle line. In some cases you can, such as when the column is at the pivoting end of the battle line. In other cases, such as when the column is in the middle (and in particular when the neighbouring battle group is several ranks deep, there is no space to kink the column. For consistency no battle group that's part of a battle line should be kinked. This is much clearer in FoGR - all battle groups that are part of a "divisional wheel" keep the same relative positions.

If a kinked column of skirmishers is charged by non-skirmishers in the open can it evade, or must it evade?

Regards
Martin

Cannot - 9-10 needs a tweak.

Cannot - 9-10 needs a tweak.

4-2 confirms this.

The rules may not be clear. But c'mon, a "column" is a special concept with special rules because it represents a more nimble formation for forward movement, but is assumed to be a sub-optimal formation for actually approaching the enemy and fighting. Why would taking a load of narrow formations and welding them into a big battle-ready block mean they should still be treated en masse as if moving as individual columns?