Maneaters and position within the unit

I'm going to try out a bigger unit of MEs later this week and was wondering if you can swap a MEs place within the unit at any time(except when that model is in contact with the enemy)


Say I had a unit of 12 MEs in 4x3 formation.

First rank has Brace of Pistols, second rank has a single pistol, and third rank has GWs.

Would I be able to Stand and Shoot with my Pistoleaters and then immediatly have the GW guys replace them in the 2nd rank?

No - You would need to reform after the first round of combat. If you win combat, you can do this automatically, otherwise you would need to take a leadership test. Keep in mind that you have to remove models from the back rank when they die - I usually keep 1 or 2 naked maneaters in the back rank for this reason (obviously, would remove these first).

I run mine stubborn, so I tend to gear them all, at least wit AHW, so that people charging flanks and rears still get chewed up.  Of course I do not run units that large in normal games, so iI had  third rank I migh feel different.  One thing I do is put a GW on the standard bearer so he is always up front until the bitter end, giving the unit a little extra late initiative punch against harder targets.  It diffuses the shooting side role a little, but sometimes having some S7 swings comes in handy, especially with poison in the mix.

If you win combat, you can do this automatically, otherwise you would need to take a leadership test.

No.
You cannot, as per the combat reform rule, move a model out of base contact with the enemy (which you would be doing if you send models to another rank).

You're simply stuck with the models in base contact, unless you have characters that can make way.

If you win combat, you can do this automatically, otherwise you would need to take a leadership test.

No.
You cannot, as per the combat reform rule, move a model out of base contact with the enemy (which you would be doing if you send models to another rank).

You're simply stuck with the models in base contact, unless you have characters that can make way.

Yes.
Models in the 2nd rank are not in base-to-base and can therefore swap places with the models in the 3rd rank. They can move as a part of the combat reform.