End RtPh ADJACENT to broken KEU?

[Randy Strader]

My opponent and I were in the last half turn of our scenario. His attacking USMC had finished their portion of the RtPh. I, as the defending IJA, was considering Voluntarily Routing the crew in PP18. (To understand why, if the crew remained alive, it would deny the USMC player enough CVP to win the scenario. To my understanding, I could voluntarily rout the crew by exchanging it for a broken vehicle crew [G1.3]). However, my question concerns the legality of the rout destination.

A10.51: “A routing unit may never rout toward a Known armed enemy unit.” At the beginning of its Rout, hex OO19 would be chosen as its target. The unit in NN19 is not a KEU at the beginning of rout.

It seems clear from the Comprehensive Rout Example that a broken unit can remain in its hex adjacent to a broken KEU. What I am unclear on is whether a unit can end its rout adjacent to a broken KEU who was not a KEU when the rout began?

A10.51 in the “Upon reaching” sentence implies No — “Upon reaching a building/woods Location not ADJACENT to a Known enemy unit…”

However, A10.5’s verbiage is slightly different: “…nor—regardless of terrain—may it end a RtPh ADJACENT to or in the same Location with a Known enemy unit that is both unbroken and armed.” (my emphasis)

Assuming the crew is broken, is it legal for the unit to rout to hex OO19? Thanks in advance for your consideration.

 

[jrv]

A10.51 in the “Upon reaching” sentence implies No — “Upon reaching a building/woods Location not ADJACENT to a Known enemy unit…”

I think the rest of this sentence is important: "Upon reaching a building/woods Location not ADJACENT to a Known enemy unit, a routing unit must stop and end its RtPh in that building/woods Location." If it reaches a building/woods Location that is ADJACENT to a KEU, it is not required to stop routing. But I believe it may stop its rout if it desires. A10.51 does not say it must continue routing if it finds itself in a building/woods (or other terrain, for that matter) ADJACENT to a KEU, only that it can. A10.5 says that if it ends next to a unbroken, armed KEU it is eliminated for FTR, but if it opts to end next to a broken or unarmed KEU it is not eliminated for FTR. I think you can rout and end next to the broken American.

JR

 

[Randy Strader]

I think the rest of this sentence is important: "Upon reaching a building/woods Location not ADJACENT to a Known enemy unit, a routing unit must stop and end its RtPh in that building/woods Location."

Hello JR, thanks for the clarification. The additional context does indeed help, and I am not sure I had read it this way before. To paraphrase, the presence of the ADJACENT KEU in the 10.51 quote converts a MUST into a MAY when considering whether the routing unit stops upon reaching woods or building (absent the other condition about adjacent woods/building). Its presence doesn't necessarily cause FTR, unless the "unbroken and armed" provision of A10.5 applies and, in addition, the unit cannot or chooses not to rout further.

Randy