"Warmaster Medieval Rules Question - Combined Arms" Topic

Question for anybody familiar with Warmaster Medieval Rules:

In a combined Arms unit, Billmen at the front front and longbow to their rear, can somebody explain how the longbow "add their shot" to the front rank.

Does that mean that the Bill-men get a +1 dice per-stand to their attack in Combat (as if the longbowmen were shooting into the melee) … or something totally different..in which case…. what?

Similarly on page 74 diagram 74.3 what does it mean when it says that the "stand behind shoots as part of the unit"… the front Billmen have no ranged ability, so is it trying to say that the rear rank longbow stand gets to "shoot" into combat whilst the front rank Billmen "melee"?

Essentially it means that a stand of Longbows can lend its ranged attack to a stand of Billmen directly in front of it. Normally a ranged unit is not allowed to shoot if its line of sight is blocked by another unit directly in front of it.

It doesn't affect melee, apart from the Billmen being allowed to use the Longbowmen's ranged attack for defensive fire when charged.