When does a keil stop being a keil?

[Glactophagos]

Question:
A keil starts 4 rank deep, looses the 4th rank due to shooting or after melee and then reforms.
Is it still considered to be a keil?

Cheers,
Huub

[lionheartrjc]

In Maximus:

A keil must be 2 files wide if an initial 8 and 3 files wide if an initial 12.  Base losses do not affect it.  (I think you may be thinking of FoG-R).

Richard

[LawrenceG]

So it can lose as many ranks as it likes with no effect, but if it loses a complete file it stops being a keil.
But if it then expands so it is the correct number of files again, it is back to being a keil.

Is that correct?

What if it expands above the required number of files? (i.e. is the number of files requirement precise, or the minimum?)

If a file turns to face a flank attacker, does it still count towards the "width"?

[lionheartrjc]

The rule is what it says:
It is not losses, it is how wide the UG is.
It is not a minimum, the UG must be the required number of files wide.

So yes, if it loses an entire file, then you could expand it again to meet the requirement of the characteristic.  Realistically, I am not sure this is likely to happen very often!

The following is for clarity:
If bases turn to face a flank (or rear), then it no longer meets the requirement for the characteristic.