Quote Originally Posted by Divinus Arma
But then consider two units who are not charging, and they are instead facing each other fighting. In this instance, the attack and defense stats cancel one another out. So, a 1 attack 10 defense unit vs a 1 defense 10 attack unit would be equivalent. (terrain and other factors being equal of course).
Units with att/def 0/10, 5/5 and 10/0 are all equal in overall combat power, but they will inflict and suffer casualties at different rates against a given target. High attack factor is desireable when you want to break a line as fast as possible or maximize the initial kills on a flanking attack. High kill rates also have a dynamic effect on morale and depress morale more than low kill rates. At least that's the way it worked in the previous games. I'm not sure about RTW.