river crossing speed ?

[Jerome]

A former DBAol veteran and now DBA2.newcomer, I came across this rules that looks weird to me
"Tactical moves distance table : 100 paces while the front edge of a single element or of a column is in a non-paltry river"

It looks very clear, but weird, to me. After the front edeges of the front element has finished crossing the river, a bridge suddenly appears and all over elements in the column are now able to cross at full speed ?

Am I wrong, is there somewhere in the rules something that contredict this interpretation and that I missed ?

Thanks

Jerome

PS : sorry this may looks like a very basic and simple question, whose answer is just " please read the rules"... but it seems really weird to me.

[Jerome]

whoops... wrong thread. It should have been under "rules questions". my apologies.

[Timurilank]

It looks very clear, but weird, to me. After the front edeges of the front element has finished crossing the river, a bridge suddenly appears and all over elements in the column are now able to cross at full speed ?

Jerome,

The penalty of a reduced speed is valid for the entire column, so as the head of the column moves out of the river then the entire column may continue at it's normal movement rate. Even though the tail of the column has not crossed the river, it has paid the movement penalty.

The ford or bridge would not delay a column's rate of march. In fact, as a ford or bridge is associated with the placement of a road and for any troops except light horse this could increase it's tactical move distance.

Do you have a large group of DBA players in Paris? I am thinking of traveling this summer.

cheers,
Robert

[xeswop]

The rule does indeed mean that when the front edge of an element or the front edge of an element leading a column is out of the river the element or the column moves at the rate for the going they are in. Consider the front element is "feeling" its way across the river. Once it is over the river, then everyone moves faster.

[Jerome]

Originally posted by Bob.:
Consider the front element is "feeling" its way across the river. Once it is over the river, then everyone moves faster. Originally posted by Timurilank:
Even though the tail of the column has not crossed the river, it has paid the movement penalty.
Thanks guys, these are 2 good ways of understanding this rule.

That what I like with DBA , there is always (nearly so) a point of view that makes the ruling logic and reasonable.

Jerome

[konstantinius]

However weird this provision might seem, it is grounded in reality: the few times that I've marched in long column, I've witnessed the same thing: as soon as the point clears the whatever obstacle might be there, the speed of the whole column picks up since now the point moves freely and the men behind scramble to keep up thus increasing everyone's speed.

[nick hux]

I think it works like this:

Take a column of men, 10 men wide with 2 yards (or metres - for the example it makes no difference) between ranks. They march at 1 yard/second on good ground, halved to 1/2 yard/second in a river 30 yards wide.

Now look at the front rank of the column:
1. It moves at 60 yards/minute until it reaches the river.
2. Once in the river the it moves at 30 yards/minute for 1 minute.
3. It then returns to 60 yards/minute.

That is OK for the front rank (and just like DBA), but how does the rest of the column keep up?

To keep the column together what is important is that the rate at which the men move past any point is constant.

In good ground 1 rank of 10 men goes past every 2 seconds (because of the 2 yard gap between ranks) = 5 men/second or 300 men (30 ranks) a minute. They must keep this up in the river - by closing the gap between ranks to 1 yard. The speed is halved but the "density" of men is doubled.

So the progress once the front is through the river is smooth and at "full speed" :D .

Nick