Distant combat attack against an Exaggerated Numbers group

[Barritus]

Player A has a group of elements in one rank. He uses Exaggerated Numbers to make it look like a group in three ranks.

Player B shoots at the group with artillery and destroys an element in the front rank.

What happens to the (not real) elements in the second and third ranks immediately behind the destroyed element?

[LawrenceG1]

The group has not changed formation between column and line, so nothing happens to the fake elements.

I'm not sure whether the fake elements still count for group continuity, though.

Lawrence Greaves