My idea on this is thus:
Attacker attacks you. S/he conducts opening fire, removes casualties, conducts normal fire, removes casualties, at this point, the attacker has the option to attack or retreat. S/he decides to attacker. Now defender has the option to retreat and decides the battle’s lost, best to conserve for a later day.
Any infantry, armor or fighters the defender has may retreat one space to a friendly territory. They must all retreat to the SAME place (yes, even the fighters, no separation.)
Any artillery or bombers have to be left on their own, but may inflict damage on the attacker in subsequent rounds. Idea being, artillery is heavy and not easy to move, and bombers are not defensive units, they also don’t magically launch when the base is under attack, more likely they are on the ground and their crews are using pistols to defend the base.
No defender retreat option from naval attacks. (Except fighters.) Naval warships traveling at 6-8 knots are not going to out run anything, especially not attacking planes! Submarine submerge still an option.
I use the following systems and patch them together as follows:
All units for the active player that still have a movement point left over can allocate this to retreats. So the attacker who moved to adjacent territories and still has the second MP left over can move out of combat even if they took the territory. This prevents the ‘getting stuck’ problem of the counter attack where you then kill tanks w/o fodder.
the attacker, then defender can allocate retreats either part or in full. Any units left behind still roll on attacks or defense and additional hits caused then go against units retreating ( this could be against either side)
All units are treated the same. No special dispensations for unit type, except air units involved fight independently until the sky is clear
Land units cant hit air units and air cannot attack land w/o supporting land units. So you cant have a situation of 3 fighters and two infantry against 3 defending infantry. The most planes you can bring in would be 2 in that case.
In naval combat either side may retire. Naval battles always allowed either side to retreat…their was no such thing as ‘no escape’ except to damaged ships already slowed down by combat.
The option to retreat from battles when attacked, is one of the rule changes that should be included in a 5th.ed. rules revision.
Only after first phase of combat, but then both attacker and defender should have the option to retreat whenever they choose to.
The way it is now is not realistic. Even if A&A never can be realistic, because it would be tactical simulation, or micro
management, there are some issues that can be changed within the current philosophy. Defender retreat option is one of the
rules that if implemented the right way, it will be more according to real war situations, still within a strategic level.
Another option is to remove the possibility for attacker to retreat an attack,
to include a defender retreat option is the best alternative imo.
Its funny how just because you won you can’t retreat from an attack. (Yet you can retreat when you haven’t won yet and things are messy.)
Both attacker and defender should be able to retreat. In part or fully, regardless or what the other side chooses.
Planes are very fast compared to ships. But thena gain the planes can’t chase forever. Their aircraft carrier has to keep up. So its still fleet chasing fleet.
I agree, defender should be able to retreat, but in this way the retreat option, instead of be a desperate decision to save the army, becomes an opportunity for the defender that can attract the attacker in a trap. This could be a good tactic, in North Africa Rommel was a master of this, but A&A is more strategic than tactic. So, i think, this opportunity could be “limited”.
My idea for this is: defender can declare retreat after at least one cycle of combat. If defender declare retreat, attacker only roll for another cycle of combat and the defender remove all casualties immediately and then the combat is over, defender can’t roll for her/his units (they’re retreting). The attacker wins the combat and the defender have to move all her/his units in the SAME space. No units rest “behind”. This rule also can be applied to naval combats, because ships usually make smoke clouds to hide their retreat.
Defending submarines have still the advantage of fire back and submerge. If an enemy destroyer is there, sub’s can now retreat instead of submerging.
I like this rule!!! ;)
EDIT: i forgot… AntiAircraft and (of course) Industrial Complexes CAN’T retreat.
