Retreat priority
I'm going to write this up because a retreat or rout can sometimes incur casualties, and there are rules to it. Here's how it works:
A retreat is between 2 and 4 hexes. I will usually try to ensure that the retreating unit ends up in a good position
for that retreating unit, subject to these priorities.
A rout is 4 to 6 hexes, same restriction.
You cannot cross impassible terrain.
You cannot enter the same hex twice.
You cannot
end the retreat in a hex occupied by an enemy unit.
You cannot get
closer to the main enemy unit which caused the retreat.
If a unit cannot follow these rules, it surrenders.
For the first stages of a retreat or rout:
Priority one: going further away from the attacking enemy into unthreatened space, along a road.
This never incurs further casualties.
Priority two: Going further away from the attacking enemy into unthreatened space, not along a road.
This also never incurs further casualties.
(The fact that these have different priority means that a unit will always retreat away from the enemy
along a road rather than cross country if it is offered the choice, but can pick which road to use)
Priority three:
Not going further away from the attacking enemy, but into unthreatened space.
This may incur further casualties if it is not along a road.
Priority four: Retreating further away from the attacking enemy, into threatened space.
This may incur further casualties unless it is either (1) along a road or (2) into a friendly unit.
Priority five:
Not going further away from the attacking enemy, into threatened space but not into enemy occupied space.
This incurs further casualties, which are more severe if it's cross-country and not into a friendly-occupied space.
Priority six: Through an enemy unit.
This always incurs significant further casualties.
For the later stages of a retreat, the restrictions are looser and units just have to try and stay away from threatened space.
For example, in this situation:
If Longstreet's unit forces Pope's units to retreat, then the highest priority option Pope's stack can follow is to go to hex 2811 (further from the enemy, in threatened space but not actually through an enemy unit). This incurs casualties as it is not down a road.
They can then move to either 2810 or 2912 as the second hex of the retreat, and I would choose to have them move to 2810 (as this would take them closer to safety).
Then for the third and fourth hexes of the retreat they can move north over Licking Run.
Each of the two divisions with Pope here would suffer 1,000 casualties on the retreat - in addition to the results of the fighting.
However, this would be worse for Pope:
The first hex would be the same (500 casualties for moving into threatened space and not down a road), and then the second hex would be going through an enemy occupied hex (1,500 casualties). The result is that each of the two divisions would suffer 2,000 casualties.
A word of warning, though. If a unit is going to be eliminated by retreat penalties, it can choose to pick
any priority
once.
If for example Williams' division had only 2,000 men in it, it would be destroyed by retreating in this situation. I would therefore have it move to Liberty (1,000 casualties) and then it would retreat to and past Fayetteville - leaving 1,000 men still in the unit, instead of having it be destroyed.
Of course, they wouldn't be in
great shape...
This, again, is in keeping with the historical setting. It's not common for a unit in the Civil War to be completely destroyed (or functionally removed from the field such as by capture), after all, though it's by no means unheard of.