"Confirmatory Question - Recoil Outcome" Topic

If a base is attacked frontally with another enemy unit in flank contact and gets a recoil result, then it is destroyed instead – is that right? (Because its rear corner is "already in such contact with an enemy")

And the same question if the recoiling base was in right-rear to right-rear contact with a base on its flank.

Yes to the first. See the figure 19c, on page 27. The succeeding figures also illustrate a variety of flank contact and recoil situations.

Not sure if I understand your second post. If the recoiling element's right rear corner is only contacted by an enemy element's right rear corner as well, then, if I'm visualizing this correctly, then there is no enemy frontal edge contact, so it is fine to recoil. Unless the enemy element is positioned so that the recoiling element has absolutely no room at all to move back. In that case, it dies.

Unless, of course, elephants are involved.

Thanks very much Tony for confirming.

WRT the second one, you are visualizing it correctly, it seems reasonable, but I can't find a reference to it only being the front edge of the enemy contacting the base that would make a difference to it. As far as I can see, "the recoiling element's rear corner is already in such contact"…

Or does the rear corner-to-rear corner not count as contact for these purposes?

Depends I think. If the corners are in mutual contact, but in such a way that the enemy element in not the recoiling element's path, then the recoiling element can merrily recoil away.

However, if the rear corners are in mutual contact in a such way that the recoiling element cannot recoil any distance at all without contacting the enemy element, then it is destroyed.

Basically, if the enemy element is touching and in any way behind the recoiling element, the latter cannot recoil and is therefore destroyed. In neither instance does the enemy element provide any sort of overlap modifier.

Again, elephants excepted.

Excellent, thanks very much for confirming Tony.