Sponno columns passing through friends and causing them to recoil

[LawrenceG]

At the recent MK 1-day comp I had a chariot Cv in front of a column of impetuous spear(O) that went sponno.

I thought the column should pass through the chariot as a block, and the chariot having been passed through by 4 elements should recoil 4 times.

My opponent thought that the first spear would pass through, then the chariot recoil, pushing the other three spears back nearly 80p. Then the second spear pass through causing the chariot to recoil again, pushing the remaining two spears back again. Then the 3rd spear pass through, with the chariot recoiling and pushing back the last spear (which has now been pushed back about 160p), then the final spear passing through. The net result of this would be to split the column up into single elements.

How do people normally play this?

Do the rules favour one interpretation over the other?

[landmeister]

Sponno columns CANNOT be moved by single elements. Page 30: Impetuous troops must advance spontaneously in columns if they can, as individual elements only if not,... In the situation you describe, the Sp can advance in column, so they pass through in block.