Some troops can move impetuously without a specific order by a general. This may reflect initiative by local commanders (sometimes even regulars) following a standard operational procedure not needing an individual order by a general; or in the extreme case, undisciplined disobedience by hairy barbarians not successfully restrained. Such troops are impetuous on land until broken or the cause ceases; and until then will advance, automatically renew combat or chase broken enemy unless controlled. They are:
• Expendables.
• Irregular elements of - Knights (S), (O) or (F) [but not (X)], Light Horse (S), Camelry (S), Blades (F), Spears (O), Hordes (S) or (F), and all Warband. Mounted impetuous foot remain impetuous.
• Regular Knights (F) based as a single-element wedge.
• Psiloi while affected by the TZ of enemy foot, unless friends intervene.
• A single element of regular cavalry placed alone in ambush (as a globus) that has not yet moved.
• Any elements other than train that are aware of broken or shattered enemy closer than 400p, or aware of an enemy feigned flight closer than 400p and have not been halted, or would contact enemy Baggage. • Troops that crossed a hidden obstacle this bound, or that are in a river unless fleeing.
Impetuous elements must make a spontaneous advance as either individual elements or a column unless: • They belong to the command of a general who is/was inert or is an uncommitted unreliable ally. • They have moved (unless across a hidden obstacle) or been halted this bound, or are in close combat. • They are foot that would cross fortifications from the inside.
• They are in difficult going or in ambush, have not yet moved during the battle, and choose not to move. • They are overlapping an enemy element, and choose not to move.
• They are mounted that would contact enemy fortifications or enter difficult going other than FO. • They are Knights that would contact Elephants or Camelry.
• Their command is at least partly disheartened. • None of the directions below is possible
A spontaneous advance does not expend PIPs. Its direction must be any of:
• Straight ahead, but only if it goes further from its side’s rear battlefield edge or closer to visible enemy. • Unless in column behind another moving element, to move its front edge into contact or overlap with
the closest enemy element in reach part of which is directly in front, or if there is none, with the closest visible enemy element in reach any part of which is in front of a line extending its rear edge.
• Directly towards the enemy Baggage or routing element that is visible closer than 400p which is most nearly straight ahead.
• Continuing along a road, battlefield edge or the edge of a terrain feature if this will take it closer to the enemy rear battlefield edge.
A spontaneous advance must be the full permitted tactical move distance, except that the element or column: • Moves an extra 80p if moving straight ahead in good going without ending in any contact with enemy. • Moves double distance if this will contact enemy routers.
• Must reduce its move by approximately 5-10p if needed to avoid ending in front corner-to-front corner contact with friends, unless its front edge contacts enemy or will overlap enemy.
• Immediately pivots less than 90° to end facing in the same direction as a friendly element it contacts that is in close combat or that it cannot pass through, or is any impetuous element that has moved this bound. This permits a mass spontaneous advance to be redirected by a tactical move of one of its leading elements in the new direction, to which the other spontaneous elements will gradually conform. This is the equivalent of “There they are! Follow me!”
• Immediately pivots on its front corner to end parallel to an enemy element this meets.
• Ends its move when it (a) contacts friends it cannot pass through or enemy, (b) pivots to conform to friends or enemy it contacts, (c) is 80p or less from mounted enemy it can shoot at, (d) its front edge reaches a battlefield edge, or (e) it is at the centre of an enemy BUA.
Being spontaneous or the move ending does not alter the obligation to conform in an enemy TZ (see p.32). Impetuous troops that cannot move spontaneously must use a tactical move or stay in place. If 2 or more
HALTS
A halt is required only to prevent any of the following for the current bound:
• An impetuous element or group being forced to make spontaneous advance/s.
• A naval element from drifting on to a lee shore in strong winds and being shipwrecked. • An element or group that has not previously routed of a broken command from routing. A halt is not a move, even if it includes such a turn, so is unaffected by going.
Expendables that have previously moved spontaneously and troops that have previously routed cannot halt. ARRIVAL OF DELAYED OR FLANK MARCHING COMMANDS
A raw PIP dice score of 6 by a delayed or flank marching command indicates the immediate arrival of a delayed command on its rear battlefield edge at least 800p from side edges, or the arrival of a flank marching command in its next bound. After its side’s 6th bound, the score needed by any but an allied command changes to 5 or 6.
If either side has used the Delayed Start stratagem, all flank marches and delayed commands arrive on a score 1 less. A short hook ordered by a Brilliant C-in-C as a Flank Attack stratagem arrives on a score 1 less. A command including a Brilliant general can also arrive on a score 1 less, but if he does it expends 1 of his 2 brilliant strokes. An Inert general will not arrive until he makes the correct score a 2nd time.
A flank march’s flank of arrival is immediately declared and the opponent asked if he also has a flank march on that flank. If both sides have a flank march on that flank, the two commands’ total numbers of elements including Baggage are compared. A smaller flank march is driven back. Both are driven back if equal sized. A smaller flank march arrives in its next bound. A larger flank march arrives in its next subsequent bound, being assumed to have been delayed by the smaller command’s initial resistance. Equal flank marches arrive in their next bound after one of them has a further raw PIP score of 6.
Any train of a driven-back unsuccessful flank march are lost. Its remaining elements can arrive anywhere in its side’s own half of the specified flank edge. Any elements without PIPs to do so are lost.
Unopposed or larger flank marches arrive anywhere in the opposing side’s half of the specified flank edge, and/or (if by land and the arrival score was 6) the nearest 400p of its rear edge. Baggage arrives last.
Front rank elements arriving by tactical or march move measure their move from the battlefield edge. Any whose base depth exceeds their maximum move distance are placed with their rear base edge on the battlefield edge. No element can arrive inside a BUA, nor have part of its base over the battlefield edge.
Arrival by Impressed Shipping
A flank march by naval elements can arrive on any suitable navigable water feature, but impressed shipping only by sea. Each element on impressed shipping dices once and must score at least 2 to arrive. The score needed is increased by 1 in strong winds or fog; and by 2 if enemy naval elements present exceed half yours and there are no strong winds or fog. Elements landing from impressed shipping are placed with their rear edge on a beach or quay, any enemy contacted making room. Mounted and train cannot move that bound, and are penalized in combat that bound and next as if in difficult going. Foot can make single element moves.
Stragglers
Any elements arriving by land that fail to move on to the battlefield in the bound of arrival are straggling. Straggling elements are lost if their command is already broken or was driven back. Other stragglers must arrive in the next bound in which their command’s PIP score is sufficient for them to move clear of the edge. Stragglers cannot be kept off the battlefield if PIPs can be used to move them on.
Arrival Surprise
Any enemy element less than 400p from and in sight of the place of arrival on a flank edge of any non-straggler element of an unopposed or larger land flank march must immediately flee as directly as terrain permits away from that flank edge, unless either inside a fortified BUA, in close combat or concealed in ambush.