Fight!

All models in base contact with an enemy must fight. Models cannot elect not to strike, nor can they normally be prevented from doing so.
Occasionally a spell or special effect will stop models from fighting, but more often will simply reduce a model's chances of landing a blow – the will to survive is particularly strong when a six-foot-tall, heavily muscled killing machine is laying about you with an axe.

Who Can Attack?

Models can fight if they are in base contact with an enemy model when it is their chance to attack, even if the models' bases only touch at the corner.
Even models attacked in the side or rear may fight. In such cases the models are not actually turned to face their enemy – we simply assume that the individual warriors twist around as best they are able in the tight press of warriors.
Normally, a warrior can only strike blows against an enemy model in base contact. The most common exception is if he is making a supporting attack.

Models in base contact with an enemy, even just corner-to-corner, can attack (marked red).

How Many Attacks?

Models in base contact with one or more enemies strike a number of blows equal to their Attacks characteristic. For most troops this will normally be 1, although bonuses for additional hand weapons (see the Weapons section), spells or special rules can raise or lower the total. More powerful creatures, characters and monsters will often have 2, 3, 4 or even more Attacks.

Dividing Attacks

Sometimes a particular model will find itself in base contact with two different kinds of enemy, perhaps warriors from two different units, or even a rank-and-file warrior and a character.
If a model is touching enemies with different characteristic profiles, for two or more characters or units with the same characteristic profiles, it can choose which one to attack when its turn to strike comes (before any dice are rolled).
For example, if faced with an enemy character and an enemy warrior, you might decide to attack the warrior because he is easier to kill, or you could take a more heroic path instead and attempt to slay the enemy character.
Similarly, if a model has more than 1 Attack, it can divide its attacks as the player wishes. Only the most skilled, experienced or formidable warriors have more than a single Attack on their profile, and it seems sensible that such fighters would have the wits to strike at more than one foe should the opportunity present itself.
There's no right or wrong in such a decision – just make sure you declare your intentions to the opponent before any dice are rolled.

These two Dwarfs are in contact with both an Orc and a Goblin, so can choose to direct their attacks at either unit.

Supporting Attacks

Warriors in the second rank do not sit idly by whilst their comrades battle away, but muster forward to strike blows of their own. We refer to the attacks made by these models as supporting attacks.
A model can make a supporting attack if it is directly behind a friendly model that is itself fighting an enemy in base contact, as shown in the diagram below.
Supporting attacks cannot be made to the side or rear. Nor can they be made by models that are in base contact with enemies – they must fight the more immediate foe!
Of course, a warrior making a supporting attack is rather more constricted by the press of bodies than one who is face to face with his foe. To represent this, he can only ever make a single Attack, regardless of the number of Attacks on his profile, or any bonus Attacks he might otherwise be entitled to because of special rules or other unusual effects.
Supporting attacks are made against models in base contact with the front rank model that is being fought 'through'. If the front rank model is in base contact with two or more enemies with different profiles, the attacking player can choose which model to direct the supporting attack against (before dice are rolled).

Models (marked blue) can make supporting attacks as they are directly behind a model attacking normally (marked red).

The models in base contact are fighting to their flank, so no supporting attacks can be made by these two models.

The Horde

Some units have the Horde keyword. Any unit with that keyword that is at least ten models wide is counted as being a horde. Warriors in a horde can make supporting attacks from the third rank, not just from the second!
This represents the crush of bodies driving yet more warriors into striking distance, as well as the back ranks surging forwards to assail the unengaged enemy warriors. If the unit drops below the minimum frontage it ceases to be a horde and loses the ability to make these extra supporting attacks.

The unit of Dwarfs is ten models wide, so an extra rank can make supporting attacks. Red = Attacks normally. Blue = Can make a supporting attack.

Incomplete Ranks

Strange gaps where models are missing from a rank do not prevent warriors from fighting.
If a unit is fighting to its flank, the models in the incomplete rank are moved into contact with the enemy, there to fight and be fought normally. If the unit is fighting to its rear (or fighting to both flanks) some enemy models might not end up in base contact because of the models in the incomplete rear rank. In this specific situation, the models can fight across the gap, even if not physically in base-to-base contact. In reality, the chargers would not have stopped one step away from the enemy and would have moved in to continue the fight – treat these models as being in base contact with the enemy.

The models in the incomplete rank are moved to be in contact with their enemies (see next diagram).

If casualties inflicted on the Goblins cause the unit to be separated, move the Dwarfs unit forward to maximise contact. Red = Attacks normally. Blue = Can make a supporting attack.

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