How to run a pursuit?
There was some confusion about this in our game yesterday. At the end of a melee, the infantry loser routs a half compulsory move away immediately and is 6" away. The infantry winner gets a Pursue! result on the table. On the next turn's compulsory phase, they move simultaneously. This is where the question comes up. Since the infantry loser is still 6" away within pursuit reach, it seems the pursuer would pursue after the loser, but because they start 6" apart, in most cases there is no way the pursuer can catch them. I guess the problem for us was deciding when the infantry pursuer would go after the loser infantry. I seems that if the loser infantry is already 6" away to start, they are for all practical purposes "out of reach" because you'll never catch them in the open if you're both infantry. Thanks.

Addendum
Okay, I think I found the source of some of my confusion. The only time a unit does an immediate half rout/retreat back is during a "Being Charged" test. It appears that after a melee or morale test, the first movement for a routed/retreated defender would be in the next turn's compulsory phase. So, the two melee units would remain locked together. One would be marked Pursue, the other marked Rout. When the Comp Move phase came, the Router would be moved 12" directly away and the Pursuer would move 12" (Column Charge). If the Router fled out of the charge arc of the Pursuer or through a friendly unit, the friendly unit would then become the target of the Pursuer and they would move into contact with no morale checks or firing. I assume this new target can't fire defensively regardless whether it is unformed by the routers or not. They might be surprised by the sudden charge of the pursuers.

C, You are spot on with your second analysis! :D (And any defenders that are intepenetrated may not defensive fire.) DB

So would you move the router first and then the pursuer? The Compulsory Phase is simultaneous, but I assume routers and retreaters would all be moved first. Otherwise, there would be no pursuit movement at all. Thanks for the help. These rules are rapidly becoming very popular out here in Southern California.

C, Glad you like them! 8) Yes, as the Compulsory Phase is simultaneous any retreating/routing unit and its pursuers will all move at the same time. So the winners of a melee who pursue their broken opponents simply stay in contact for the compulsory move phase and subsequently fight a further melee round in the following melee phase. DB