Rashi (Bamidbar 10:25) quotes a disagreement whether Israel traveled as a line or a square:
מאסף לכל המחנות – תלמוד ירושלמי (ירושלמי ערובין ה':א'): לפי שהיה שבטו של דן מרובה באוכלוסין היה נוסע באחרונה, וכל מי שהיה מאבד דבר היה מחזירו לו, אתיא כמאן דאמר: כתיבה היו מהלכין, ומפיק לה מכאשר יחנו כן יסעו (במדבר ב':י"ז), ואית דאמרין כקורה היו מהלכין, ומפיק לה מן: מאסף לכל המחנות.
The Talmud Yerushalmi Eiruvin 5:1 has the following statement: Because the tribe of Dan consisted of numerous troops (i.e. was more numerous than each of the other tribes, except Judah which marched on the front, cf. Chapter II), it marched in the rear so that if anyone of the other tribes lost anything, he (Dan) restored it to him. (מאסף לכל המחנת therefore means "the one who gathered in everything belonging to all the camps".) – There is one authority that holds that they traveled in formation like a box (i.e. in a military square) and derives this from the text, "just as they encamp so shall they journey" (Bemidbar 2:17), and there is another authority that maintains that they traveled in a straight line like a beam, and derives this from the statement that Dan was "the gatherer of all the camps".
In addition to the cloud signaling when it was time to break camp (ibid 9:17) there were also multiple trumpet blows to signal to each degel specifically when it was actually time to hit the road (ibid 10:5-6) which was based upon the different degel quadrants etc departing consecutively vs concurrently (ibid 11-28).
That makes sense if they traveled in line formation, however, if they traveled as they camped, then presumably they all stuck together and traveled as one, what does it mean that they traveled one after the other?
Does it mean that they didn't fall into single file and stayed on the side they camped but didn't travel as they actually camped which was as a square?
