Contacting in Flank

I think the reasoning goes like this:

Element ‘B’ is not entirely beyond the flank-line, so can only contact ‘A’ in the front.
Element ‘E’ is also not entirely beyond the flank-line, so can only contact ‘A’ in the rear.

(In my copy of HoTT I added the words ‘front, flank, and rear’ to Element 'A’ on page 31,
then drew pointed arrows from all the other element’s to show their legitimate moves)

I agree Stevie that if the wording was only 'entirely' that it would make sense, (as it does for the paragraph above which talks about contacting an element at the rear,) but it's the inclusion of the bit about 'partially' when contacting a flank that's confusing me, as it doesn't seem to illustrate it in the diagrams. 

Here is a picture of the HoTT 2.1 page 31 diagram, for
those that don’t have the rule book readily available:-




I think I may have sussed-out where the confusion is Sheffmark.
The middle of page 17 says:-
“No element can move into contact with an enemy element’s flank unless it starts partly
 or entirely on that side of an imaginary line prolonging the side base edge of the enemy,
 any part not being on that side of the line being behind the enemy rear (see page 31).”

At first glance this poorly written sentence appears to be concentrating on the ‘flank-line’.
However, the very next last part, which I have underlined, is actually saying you can’t
contact a flank when entirely behind the ‘rear-line’ and only partly over the ‘flank-line’.
(i.e. Element ‘E’ on page 31, as opposed to Element 'F' which is entirely beyond the lines).

The confusion is caused by having the important part of this sentence at the end instead
of having it at the beginning where it should be.

As an experiment imagine that Element ‘A’ were facing ‘E’ instead of ‘B’.
Then the possible moves would be the same...neither can contact a flank.

Fortunately the diagram on page 31 makes things clear.
(Thank heavens for the diagrams!...without them I’d have a much harder time of
understanding the rules properly...both HoTT 2.1 AND DBA 3.0)

Well spotted Bob.
I have taken the liberty of posting your link for those who, like myself, do not possess
a copy of the HoTT 2.0 (2002) rules so that they can make a direct comparison:-



As we can see, Element ‘F’ is not entirely beyond the ‘rear-line’, so cannot contact ‘A’s’ rear.
But it is also not entirely beyond the ‘flank-line’ either, as part of it is behind the ‘rear-line’.

Perhaps that is what that garbled sentence on page 17 is trying to say:-
“...any part not being on that side of the line (i.e. the flank-line) while also being behind the enemy rear.”

Indeed, if players are only using the HoTT 2.1 (2014) diagram, and find they have troops in the same
position as shown by Element ‘F’ above, they may be confused as to which edge of ‘A’ they can contact.

It also explains the use of the word ‘partly’...Element ‘F’ is partly (but not entirely) beyond both the
‘flank-line’ and the ‘rear-line’, so cannot contact the enemy rear but can still contact their flank.

I see your point.

Perhaps it’s a rule change in HoTT 2.1 (2014)...Element ‘E’ is already
entirely beyond the ‘rear-line’, and only partly beyond the ‘flank-line’,
so upon review it was later decided that it can only contact the rear.

On the other hand, Element ‘F’ in the HoTT 2.0 (2002) diagram, and
the same would apply if it were in such a position in HoTT 2.1 (2014),
is deemed to be partly in both the flank and rear areas, and entirely
in neither, so it can only contact the flank.

(Other than that all I can say is: “I didn’t draw the diagrams”) 

I too don’t have a copy of the HoTT 2.0 (2002) rules, so am scrambling about in the dark here.
Could someone post the exact wording? (Bob has already provided us with the HoTT 2.0 diagram).

In the meantime, and not knowing the exact wording of the earlier HoTT 2.0 (2002) rules,
I think that the HoTT 2.1 (2014) wording is a bit inconstant with the 2014 diagram.
Page 17 says:-
“No element can move into contact with an enemy element’s flank unless it starts partly
 or entirely on that side of an imaginary line prolonging the side base edge of the enemy,
 any part not being on that side of the (flank) line being behind the enemy rear.”
 (the word in blue has been added by me to help my understanding of what it’s trying to say)

The 2014 diagram shows that Element ‘E’ is partly over the side-line, but all of the element is
behind the enemy rear, therefore it should only contact the rear and not the flank (for the very
same reason that Element 'B' can only contact the front and not the flank).

This is much easier to remember (which is perhaps why it was changed in HoTT 2.1):-
　　If you are entirely behind the rear-line, you can only contact the rear (i.e. Element ‘E’).
　　If you are entirely behind the flank-line, you can only contact the flank (i.e. Elements ‘C’ and ‘D’).
　　If you are entirely behind both lines, you can choose to contact either edge (i.e. Element ‘F’).
　　If you are partly behind both the flank and rear lines, again you can only contact the flank.
　　(as shown in the HoTT 2.0 (2002) diagram)

Of course, elements can also contact the front, if they have enough movement, but the page 31
diagram is only concerned with “Flank or Rear Contacts”, so this is not mentioned.

(Other interpretations are possible however...)