Battlefield withdrawls

[Yyrkoon]

I use the Team Rocket motto: He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day.

I generally withdraw a general when it's down to three or so guys in the unit and I have spears rushing me

[desert]

Knowing when to withdraw is a skill that will aid all players in their quest to be the very best, like no one ever was.

Battle every day, and you will claim your rightful place as faction leader of the world. You know that it's always been your dream.

It's your fault, Yyrkoon.

[Decimus Attius Arbiter]

I only withdraw when using horse archers and when it's obvious from the start that I've made a very big mistake. Like this one time as Getai I tried to assault that town with all the cordinau orcas, druids, and naked fanatics.

[pirates_say_arrgg]

Withdrawing is sort of hard if not done at the right moment, to me.
I try to withdraw my armies only when that historical general did it. In my new Hannibal AAR, (Which will come here within this month hopefully) the pitched battles were usually only fought till one of the armies withdrew, not until one was destroyed.... unless Hannibal had his way, like if the Roman commander was Fulvius, Flaminius, Varro, Sempronius and Minucius, just to name a few.

But to go on, sometimes I have to sacrifice a unit of my Italian allies to retreat and save my army to fight yet another day or in order to find a better position in which I can have a better position.
Or if you don't what to sacrifice a unit, try using your cavalry to charge the front lines and let your infantry get a good distance back and before you lose to many cavalrymen, and then pull them back and retreat in good order. In good order means try to retreat in something that resembles a battle formation just in case you need to turn around and fight. Retreating in good order allows you to be able to reinforce your retreating troops too, if they were caught by the enemy. Slingers/archers can make for a good covering force, since they have a long range and are quicker than most infantry.

[lobf]

Actually, I've been wondering this forever. I always seem to lose men when I withdraw, at least according to the battle stats screen. Do I actually lose men?

(My computer has been out of commission for over a month now, so there's no testing this here.)

[bovi]

If you "withdraw" by quitting the battle, you lose men. If you withdraw all your units out of the battlefield, they're all good.

[Ca Putt]

I've lost a few generals because I didn't withdraw. But the fact is. I play as KH... if you withdraw your FM is gunna get run down by cavalry.

Also... KH have the tendency to pull something out of nothing. I've won a battle where i was outnumbered about 15 or 20 to 1 and in the end it was 10 guys duking it out over thousands of bodies. My General 2 spartans and a massalian hoplite vs a handful of makedonians who were more experienced than me. We won

When do you decide that its time to book it? instead of standing and taking the heat.

i fully agree, Hellens don't retreat. either they could still win or give the enemy a phyrric victory or they all get killed in the attempt of fleeing :(

tho I do make a strategic withdrawl sometimes, but mostly if i knew before, that i won't be able to do much more damage or even win. (like when i engage spearmen with mounted skirmishers or a elite fullstack of AS with HA)

ps and the second worst faction to retreat with are sweboz(imo)

[JRG]

I very rarely withdraw. One of the only times I have was when in my Pontos campaign I happened to spot Antiochus II of Seleuceia just strolling through my lands without any other units. I sent three or four units (including an FM) to kill him. Unfortunately, when I attacked him, a second, larger army appeared out of nowhere. So I went in, killed Antiochus and then withdrew to avoid the other army.