I thought I'd make a post with full clarification on the round where the 42nd were able to break melee and actually shoot since I had Waste's permission, First let's look at the rules,
Spoiler
28. Melee is where the bayonet or sword from a player strikes a player on the opposing team or the weapon of a player on the opposing team.
28.1. Once any two players from opposing regiments are engaged in melee, all other players in the match must cease fire and join in the melee.
28.2. As per line spacing rules, the line cannot be split up to stall their opponent while the rest of their line forms up, preparing to shoot.
Although this wasn't a NANWL match, Moraine's league follows both the same premise and guidelines set by NANWL rules so I'll go by them. Amit made it a point in S7 of NANWL to make the rules as both clear and detailed as possible to remove loopholes regiments could turn the tide, This saved many matches during the season due to the fact that Amit stated that they should read the new guidelines beforehand to remove any problems within the future. However many regiments didn't do this and attempted to argue against calls made against them whether it be in the match or prior. All three rules are equally Important to this particular situation.
Starting from rule 28. Most people believe once melee is engaged between two regiments that only melee can finish that particular round, Theoretically, this is true, but there are rare occurrences where It isn't. What I'm saying is think carefully of every melee in every 1v1 you've been Involved in over the years. How many times have you actually been able to gain 7 man distance during a melee round? The rule states that once a player is hit, or blocks a hit they're in melee. It never states that if the regiment's break that melee that they could not shoot.
However Rule 28.2 means they can't leave a few players to fight twenty other while awaiting their deaths from a nearby position. This is illegal, Which meant once you separated Armada during that melee It could've counted as an overall distraction to the LG, Armada could've been subject to being slayed and If the 42nd line shot at this time might've been slain as well, Even if they weren't those were dangerous shots for 42nd to take at that moment due to the fact that Armada could've been re-engaged into melee at any moment. However when a regiment is "winging" or "fanning" away from the enemy and a player is Isolated this rule doesn't count, as it wasn't the member's fault for being separated.
So the next question should be, "Can this rule be taken advantage of by regiments?" No, It's possible that It can happen in a future NANWL but the likely hood of it happening is extremely low due to the factors that would need to be set, This melee happened on a flat side of the map (I believe there was a tiny mound giving a second slowdown for LG) and LG allowed us to gain at least 7 man distance away from them, During a melee It's close to impossible to break it due to the fact that no matter how hard you try, Everyone in the group fighting line won't be on the same page and people will get separated during the chaos and up downed or Isolated completely. Even then, Rule 28.2 prevents you from having those players leave that melee and attempt to distract the enemy in time for an effective reform. There are many considerations that have to be taken Into account before believing this rule can be taken advantage of with three sole factors, Distance, Map, and timing. Let's start in that order, shall we?
I've never seen a regiment gain that distance during a melee round In order to actually fire, and though It's possible (but highly unlikely) to happen again. By the time you look at all these considerations and look at the chance of you being lucky enough to actually gain the distance and get your shots off, It's not even worth making it a rule that once melee is engaged once It can't be disengaged. Even then, one thing defined this moment more than anything else; luck. The luck that we had shots, the luck that we were even able to gain the distance to use the shots, the luck that the ground was almost perfect to use the shots effectively and most Importantly the luck in actually hitting those shots.
There have been rounds similar to this in previous seasons of NANWL however, most have been one player being allowed to duel an opposing player and If he lost, that regiment would be considered out of melee and able to fire. Another similar instance is back in S7 within the IV Korps vs 15thCG 1v1, the 15thCG were able to break melee when AP0C was the last one left and they formed up and shot. However, AP0C happened to get into melee and able to stab a player the second he was shot. A round like this is one of the toughest decisions a referee has to make a call against. Due to the fact It takes into consideration the Individual skill of the players alive at the time.
Melee means all regiments must cease whatever they're doing at the time to join that melee if the melee gains the distance of a shooting engagement again then that they may reenable said engagement.
