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It would also depend on the rules type. eg an activation sort where an action is resolved each unit in turn would allow a succession of columns to attack a line but they would each do so individually. A more traditional rule set that has phases where everything moves, then everything fights would lead to the problem you mention.
Excuse me but I probably miss something here. If you chose to put 2 or even 3 battalions in column, just to destroy a single enemy battalion in line, then ... do it! Why not? You will engage 3 valuable battalions [or units, whatever] against only ONE enemy unit and then you will be exposed to any enemy cavalry attacks and you risk losing 3 units at once! I can't see anything wrong here with any set of rules. As a matter of fact, my favourite set of rules is Volley & Bayonet. The smallest unit in this set is the brigade. So, I have no problems with huge battalions etc. But I think that sometimes gaming problems are in our minds and not on the table.
Battalion formations are below the level of representation in Volley and Bayonet. So it is immune to such gaming ploys.
...I think that Soult's dice in Albuera was pretty bad that day. He had a cunning plan but no dice at all...
Perhaps the problem is time. In wargames everything happens very fast, but when you read after action reports the one thing that strikes you is how much time took to organize a the troops for an attack, or maneuver them to fill a gap in the line, while the actual combat was over after just a relatively short period of time -except skirmish combat and bombardment, which could go on for hours-. However, in the wargaming table maneuvers are fast, while combat is comparatively slow, with assaults and counterattacks going on for several game-turns (at least, in my experience, of course). On the other hand, skirmish combat is of marginal importance in most rulesets.
Maybe the answer is to have multiple combat phases within a single turn. The board Game Rommel in the Desert had moves that went by with both sides resting up and accumulating supplies, punctuated by single turns that saw lots of action.