Slitherine

FoG 2.0. A BG of Arm.Knights consists of only three bases of knights in one rank, one next to other and are in close combat with a BG of four H.Arm. Knights.Three of those H.Arm.Knights are in the First rank (each of them facing an Arm.Knight in close combat) and the fourth one is in the second rank and doesn't contribute to the melee.
Next to the three Arm. Knights and facing the same direction, is a friendly small BG of four L.Foot in column, giving an overlap against the H.Arm. Knights and contributing the melee with one dice.It's the Arm.Knights round and we are at the melee phase.
The Arm.Knights loose the combat and the death roll, so a base of them has to be removed.The question is; Can the owing player remove the base of Arm.Knights that is in side edge contact with the friedly L.Foot and leave the other two bases of Arm.Knights without the obligation to shift them and renew the contact with the L.Foot?
This way, on the next turn the H.Arm.Knight owner won't be able to use his spare base of H.Arm.Knights to contact frontally the L.Foot B.G which will be saved from a defeat.
I read the rules in page 124, but I can't find a sure answer.Any clarification? Thanks-Harry

The LF are not in close combat and are free to move away in their turn (see page 54 and pages 82-83). According to the RAW, there is nothing that says you must remove a base so as to preserve an overlap. In the example you gave, you can remove a base from either end.

But that brings up the question of whether or not the H.Armd Knight base in the 2nd rank can still expand even though the LF are no longer eligible to fight as an overlap. Page 80 says a BG can only expand into contact with a new enemy BG if either of the following apply:
1. The new enemy BG was already fighting it as an overlap.
2. n/a

Since the LF have already contributed a die to the melee in the previous turn, that seems to qualify as already fighting as an overlap. So could the H.Armd Knights expand to engage the LF even though the Armed Knights remove the base in contact with the LF eliminating the overlap position? I don't know that answer.

Thanks for the reply Bbotus.So, A BG of L.foot that contributed to a melee the previous turn, due to the distraction of a neighbouring friendly base (the Arm.Knights base) can now escape the melee and also the opponent can't even create a new overlap against the Arm.Knights because he will contact corner to corner the free L.Foot column which is neither fighting as an overlap at the begining of this turn, nor will be an overlap during the following mellee after the expansion of the H.Armoured Knights, since there is an one element gap between the last two Arm.Knights and the L.Foot column.Well, I can live with that if its the rule of the game, but it doesnt sound rational.

No, I saw my mistake.If there is a gap between the Arm.Knights and the L.foot column, the H,Arm. Knihts already have a base as an overlap against the Arm.Knights and so the Fourth base of them can be expanded on the other side of the B.G.So its not that bad.Just the L.Foot are saved.