Three flankers…

[SteveT]

Had this situation earlier.

One Macedonian unit, facing off against a line of 3 Persian units.  (So 1 supporting left and 1 supporting right)

A Persian Light Horse was somewhere to the left flank of the Macedonians, not engaged.

The rules say only 1 support per flank allowed.

I believe as the Persians were not starting the turn fully BEHIND the Macedonians they couldn’t do a Rear attack.

What could they do?

 

Thanks.

 

[Big Al]

I assume you are talking about the light horse? They may attempt to charge the Macedonian quarter that they start the turn in. From what you say, that is in the flank quarter, so, they can charge the flank. Meanwhile, the three Persian units to the front may attack the Macedonian front. The Macedonians are in trouble, as they cannot deal with the flank attack easily and the Persian cavalry will not suffer any negatives from what I assume to be pikes, seeing as they will have charged the flank (-1 to all of their attacks). Yes, the Persians to the front have lost their charge bonus, but the flank charge gives them back their advantage (1 better roll than the pikes – hitting on 4+ while pikes would hit on 5+).

 

hope that helps.

[SteveT]

Yes Al, thanks , some very useful pointers there.

I should have added a diagram to better illustrate the situation.

So the Macedonians and Persian Infantry are all already engaged. 2 Persian Inf are in support.

Next turn the Persian Light cavalry can move. If they contact the Macedonian flank, can the left supporting Persian Infantry still claim support? Since then, in a sense, the Macedonian would then have 2 interacting with that flank.

 

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[Big Al]

Right. Having now seen the diagram, the light cavalry would require a two move order to charge the Macedonian flank. Once it has charged, everything I said earlier happens.

Regarding supporting units – The flank rule that you have asked about is something that you have misunderstood. When the rule talks about how many supports can be on each flank, it is referring to your own unit’s flanks, not the enemy’s.

An attacking unit can have a maximum of three supporting units, one on either flank and one to the rear. In your situation, the supporting units would continue to support in the following combat after the cavalry join in. Look at the first diagram on page 67. The caption explains it, as will the text.

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