@Mill:
Retreat rules clarification.
I thought this was a simple original rule, but someone else’s interpretation isn’t easy to debunk. I also found some important wording discrepancies between my Second Edition hard copies that came with my games, and the downloadable Second Edition rules I found online!
When attacking from multiple territories with overland units, are all origination territories eligible retreat destinations for the entire battle, or must at least one unit survive, that attacked from that territory, to qualify it as a valid retreat destination?
Simple example. I attack a territory with 1 artillery from territory A, and 1 infantry from territory B. After one round of combat, only my artillery remains. May I retreat to A or B, or only A?
You may retreat to A or B, your choice. Rule book quote:
@Axis:
The attacker (never the defender) can retreat during this step. Move all attacking land and sea units in that combat that are on the battle strip to a single adjacent friendly space from which at least 1 of the attacking land or sea units moved. In the case of sea units, that space must have been friendly at the start of the turn. All such units must retreat together to the same territory or sea zone, regardless of where they came from.
So, the question seems to me to be about the line, “Move all attacking … units in that combat that are on the battle strip to a single adjacent friendly space from which at least 1 of the attacking … units moved”. This line means that if you attack from A to F, you must retreat from F to A. It also means that if you attacked from A, B, C, and D to F, you may retreat all of your units from F to your choice of A, B, C, or D. It doesn’t matter where the units were originally, just that at least one of the units that were present at the start of the fight came from A, at least one from B, and so on.
Example of why this is: Say you attack with two infantry from A, two infantry from B, and a bomber from E into F. You lose three infantry in the first round and decide to retreat. Where did the remaining infantry come from, A or B? It doesn’t matter, you can retreat to either A or B.
Does that clear things up?
-Midnight_Reaper