Retreat

What happens with the troops that are forced to retreat?
Can they attack? For instance to take back the hex from where they retreated.
Can they defend if the hex that they retreated to is attacked?

1. they may do so but if they move into or thru enemy ZOC they are destroyed instead.
2. If units legally retreat they can attack as long as a supply token is in the hex they are in or adjacent.
3. NO they do have the option of attacking when its your turn. no units roll on defence. Attacks are alternating bounds where one guy attacks one place anf the other player then attacks a place… until both are finished with attacks. That way alot more strategy is possible.

Correct. A hex adjacent to a hex with enemy units is an enemy ZOC– even if friendly units are in that hex.

Can they defend if the hex that they retreated to is attacked?

Units cannot retreat to hexes that are in enemy ZOC, therefore they could not retreat to a hex that might be attacked later in the same turn by opposing land units.

I suppose during Air Combat (which occurs prior to Ground Combat) you could retreat land units from an attacked hex to another hex that has enemy planes attacking it but is yet to be resolved, as long as that hex is not in enemy ZOC.  (Aircraft don’t create ZsOC).  The retreated units could then be used toward antiaircraft fire efforts(if applicable) and would be taken into account when deploying the Combat Strips to determine the hits made by the Aircraft Attack.

Opinions on this?  Am I correct?

~Josh

yes correct but the question is strange because each combat is alternating for each side so its not clear that any hex retreated to is actually a Hex under attack because nobody would know of such a thing. You only need to worrk about retreating thru enemy ZOC.

I think this question comes up because people when looking for a place to retreat suddenly go, “Oh, if I go there I can beef up my attack from there on my turn to attack.” They want to turn the negative of retreating into a positive. They then get that niggling “something isn’t right” about that in the back of their head and “know” they can’t do that but still want to. By then they have lost track of the real reason they can’t go to the hex.

When I was at Spring Gathering I answered this question for 2 different games and the game I was playing in.

@Imperious:

yes correct but the question is strange because each combat is alternating for each side so its not clear that any hex retreated to is actually a Hex under attack because nobody would know of such a thing. You only need to worrk about retreating thru enemy ZOC.

Yes it is clear which hexes are under air attack before any are resolved.

1.  Roll for air initiative.
2.  First player lays all of his planes down, splitting them up however he likes, then second player lays all of his, splitting them up however he likes.
3.  First player chooses which air-embattled hex to resolve first.  After that is resolved, second player chooses the next air-embattled hex to resolve, and they alternate choosing and resolving until all air-embattled hexes have been resolved.

Let’s say I am Axis and that I won air initiative this round.  Say that after step 2 above, there are only two hexes under air attack… one on my front line, which is threatened by the bulk of allied planes and has all my planes, and an adjacent hex behind my line out of Allied ZOC that is being attacked by the remaining Allied planes.

I choose to resolve the frontline hex first.  We conduct dogfighting, antiaircraft, and air attack.  In the end, a few of my units are forced to retreat.  I can retreat them back into the second hex, even though it is due for air combat and even though my moving units there may have an effect on antiaircraft fire and hit assignment.

This is the way I see it according to the rulebook, but something about it feels a bit wrong.  Should you be able to retreat to an air-ambattled hex that is out of enemy ZOC, even if (and especially if) your doing so will influence the resolution of that hex?  It does seem that way.  Just asking because I can’t find anything in the rules that prohibits this.

~Josh

… and a quick trip to the BoB faq/errata on Avalon Hill reveals this:

Can ground units retreating from hits from Fighters and Bombers move into another hex where the other player has Aircraft?
Yes, Aircraft do not exert a zone of control. When the combat occurs in this hex, these units will participate in that combat also.

… so there you have it.

~Josh

Why wouldn’t you resolve the air combat in the hex available for retreat by other units first? Then you don’t risk those extra AA dice or reducing your odds of hitting the things you hope eliminate in the hex.

In my example I want to retreat my forces.  That way they have a shot at possibly being involved in antiarcraft fire in both hexes.  That’s why I chose the forward hex first, since I as Axis had the initiative.  If I were Allies, with air initiative, and I wanted to prevent Axis from doing that as in my example, then I would, yes, choose the rear hex first.

~Josh