Determining attacker and defender/'Man-to-Man' Chn

[sepulchre]

I must be overlooking something, but maybe someone can point me in the right direction. In the 'man-to-man' battery of Chainmail how does one determine which of the combatants within melee range (3") is the attacker and whom is the defender. I realize there are all sorts of qualifiers about the combatant as defender, attackers positioning, and combatant's weapon class, but which of the opposing figures has the initiative?

[jcstephens]

Either situational (one figure's side is charging, the other standing) or roll for initiative.

[rsdean]

A quick check of the rules shows this to be a little unclear...it would be easier to remember if there was a melee resolution after each player's move, but as it is, the figure moving into contact would be, imho, the default attacker. For any subsequent rounds, you don't need to remember that, but do need to remember who struck the first blow in the first round. You could end up with an ambiguous situation if using simultaneous movement, so I'd roll at the point. That's the old default rule for miniatures.

[sepulchre]

Jcstephens and rsdean your accounts seem intuitive. I was just struck by how entirely 'unclear' this is as you note. It does not appear that dicing for initiative is a precident set forth anywhere in Chainmail. I had just assumed Gary was relying on simultaneous initiative, though I'm not sure how that would actually work. If the two of you or anyone else has a clear idea of this please post!

[jcstephens]

The rules as written state: "When using the Man-To Man combat system all preceding rules apply, except where amended below". Mass combat initiative is found in the Turn Sequence section on page 9, where players dice for initiative, winner choosing to move first or last. The rules as commonly interpreted are that the moving unit is the attacker, with ambiguous situations resolved by a referee's decision, or a dice roll if there is no referee. There are provisions for simultaneous movement using written orders, but this DEFINITELY requires a referee to keep things sorted out. More trouble than it's worth, says I.

[sepulchre]

Thanks JC, completely completely missed the idea of connecting the movement die roll to melee initiative. Much clearer now.
'Both opponents roll a die; the side with the higher score has the choice of electing to move first (Move) or last (Counter-move)' (9 Chnml).