He's not saying that they don't perform better in guard mode when attacked from the front, he's saying that they actually will be more effective. However, he's noting that they do not get a bonus to attack or defense in guard mode, it is merely that their formation is much tighter and they maintain formation better. This improves their effectiveness in defending against frontal attacks because the individual men in the unit are not isolated from the rest the way they are without guard mode on. But they do not get some sort of +4 defense bonus as far as I know, it's just that the formation is tighter and harder for the enemy to break into.
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