To be clear I just meant the shape of the front line (narrow stripe into enemy territory), not the type of attack order used.
So here goes (again, this is based on version 1.5.3):
I simplified the scenario some more; a single division (left) assigned to a front line that is connected to its own control area* but cut off by a battle.
In this case the 4th pathing type seems to be used first. It does not allow moving on enemy controlled provinces and into existing land combats, i.e. the usual pathing that's used for front shuffling. This path search fails in this case.
If the target province is in the same control area* or another condition in the control area is met, the 2nd pathing type gets tried. This happens in my example. The 2nd pathing type allows moving onto any province where the combined HP of all enemies is less than the unit's own HP. Yes, really.
*a collection of provinces that are contiguously connected with each other and controlled by the same tag
Edit: the alternative condition is that the unit's current control area has no coastal provinces
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