Attacking camps and BUAs

Is the truth out there!

Do you, fellow gamers, agree that any front edge contact with a camp or BUA is enough to fight it in close combat? Even if it only meets the corner of the camp/BUA or is in partial edge to edge contact with it?

Example (b is facing down, c is enemy camp):

bbbb
cccccc
cccccc

Is b in close combat contact with c?

I play that the entire front edge of the attacking element must be touching the camp, but there is no requirement to have a front corner touching a corner of a camp.

So your example would be just fine, or even this

-bbbb-
cccccc
cccccc

is fine as well. Of course all my camps are squares or rectangles.

Now you have to consider that BUAs can be ovoid or polygonal, so there are instances when you wouldn't have a "flat" surface for an element to contact smoothly. In this case I apply the logic of defending a river so that either an element's two front corners must touch the BUA, or any point of the front edge of an element must touch the BUA (which is the usual instance). You can use this for non rectangular camps as well.
We have also considered judging contact to always be when the two front corners are touching the BUA. There is a slight overlap of the unit base with the BUA, but it does make the situation clear.

[ March 18, 2005, 09:54: Message edited by: jldiii ]

My camps are all sorts of shapes; any front-edge contact is perfectly adequate for fighting them.

The truth is in the rules.

"Artillery or War Wagons cannot move into edge or corner contact with an enemy element or an enemy-controlled BUA or camp. Other troops can move into contact with enemy elements only if a single element or at least one element of a group ends in both front edge and front corner-to-front corner, or full front edge to rear edge, contact with an enemy element or overlaps enemy already in close combat. ... Elements attacking a BUA or camp must be in front edge contact with it."

also
"A BUA can be attacked by up to 3 enemy elements fighting separately, combats ceasing if its defenders are destroyed. A camp can be attacked by only 1 enemy element. A BUA or camp cannot be overlapped or overlap."

Phil goes into great detail about how elements must be in contact; front edges and corners touching. The requirement for an element to attack a camp or BUA is much less detailed. All that is needed is "front edge contact." No mininum of such conact is noted. We know that enemy elements are different from camps and BUA because these are treated as two different situation in the first sentence.

I mention the Close Combat section rules on BUAs and Camps to show that 3 elements could combat a BUA but there is no indication that all theree must be in full front edge contact.

EEE1EEE2EEE3
xxBUABUA

where x is space, E are three elements facing down. If E2 and E3 were recoiled then E1 could still fight and it is in only partial contact with the BUA. But partial contact is "contact" and that is all that is needed.

By the way, an early draft of the rules stated only that there was combat if the element was in contact with the BUA or Camp. This was like the wording of 1.1. It was pointed out to Phil that this could be side or even rear contact so he added the words "front edge."

Thanks.

Just one note: my example should have contained some blanks. It was like this:

bbbb
---cccccc
---cccccc

So, b can attack the camp (c). Great!

Good point raised, all. It hadn't occured to me before. Live and learn...