I hope that the following Q & A is of assistance:
Q. There were a couple of situations where I didn't understand the rules.
A. I hope that the following will make things clearer.
Q. It wasn't clear to me what to do if a base moved adjacent to enemies occupying two or more different squares.
A. In the lower-level rules in the book, I state that it is a matter of choice which of the enemy units the moving unit turns to face. I felt that it was up to the commander of the moving unit to decide, but did not state this specifically in the Big Battle rules.
Q. I didn't understand if a unit 'initiated' combat each turn it fought, or only in the first turn of combat (combats typically last more than a single round).
A. If side A moves a unit into contact with an enemy unit and Close Combat takes place, side A has initiated that combat. When it is side B's turn to activate units and a second round of combat takes place, side B is deemed to have initiated it … and so on.
Q. Did units have to fight in subsequent turns where they remained adjacent?
A. Units do not have to continue fighting during their turn if they do not wish to BUT if they are still adjacent when it is the other side's turn, the enemy might well choose to resume the fighting.
Q. Can units retreat to a flank?
A. I assume that you are asking if a unit can move sideways when it is forced to retreat? If so, then the answer is no, it cannot. I have not specifically stated this because to me retreat means to fall back or retire, neither of which implies a sideways movement. That said, I'd leave that interpretation up to the individual players because there may well be occasions where a sideways movement might be the only option open to the retreating unit.
Q. Can cavalry units withdraw from a combat then attack the same unit in the flank in the same turn?
A. Yes, they can … just as a unit that has been forced to retreat during one turn can charge forward and re-engage the enemy the next time it is activated. They will, however, require orders to do so.
Q. If a commander is with a unit that is destroyed but is himself uninjured, what happens – can he be fought or shot at?
A. If a commander/subordinate commander is with a unit that is destroyed but he remains unharmed, he can be attacked if he does not move to a place of safety. (In all the play-testing, this never happened!)
Q. It wasn't always clear to me in the rules when they were referring to the commanding general and when to all of the generals.
A. I've tried to ensure that in most cases the term commander applies to the commanding general and subordinate commander to the figure commanding a unit or group of figure bases. Therefore, the commanding general issues orders and the subordinate commanders act on them.
I hope that the above clarifies the situation.
paints the Dogman from the Flintloque starter set.
