History Main / TacticalWithdrawal

* One scene from ''LordOfTheRings'' describes Faramir attempting to do this and leading his men back to Minas Tirith in an orderly retreat despite having already lost one battle and continuing to be harassed by the enemy cavalry. That is, until [[TheDreaded the Nazgul]] get involved, when it ''does'' turn into a rout until Gandalf and some Gondorian knights do the BigDamnHeroes thing.

* An option in the ''HeartsOfIron'' games when it is clear that a division cannot win against an enemy force but still has enough organization to maintain contact. It is entirely reasonable to withdraw a defending division when attacked, as at the very least the enemy division will have to delay several days before its next attack, and is an essentialy element of setting up encirclement traps. Pulling an attacking division out of an assault that is clearly not working will save organization and manpower as well.

* ''[[DawnOfWar Dawn Of War 2]]'' used a similar system - but make sure you initiate it ''before'' enemy engages in melee, if you don't want to become a slaughter anyway (Retreating units take more melee damage).

* "Broken" troops in ''{{Warhammer}}'' and other Games Workshop games, troops who are "broken" aren't always in a rout. Especially Space Marines. "Initiate Tactical Withdrawal!". The Black Templars invert this by ''running towards the enemy'' when broken, as do the Sisters Repentia.
** As of the latest Codex, the Space Marines have "Combat Tactics", which lets them deliberately fail Morale checks and fall back. "And They Shall Know No Fear", another rule of theirs, means they won't run off screaming as per usual on the next turn.
** Another example is in the ''Apocalypse: Reload'' expansion. Players using any "Imperial" army may choose the "General Staff" asset. The player rolls three dice (instead of two) when taking a Leadership test, and may discard the die of his choice. It states explicitly that using high dice to fail represents the commander ordering his troops to withdraw.

* It generally requires well trained troops to pull this off, the details vary with the terrain, but it generally involves some sections breaking off and others laying down supressive fire. Militia and less professional armies generally break and run if overwhelmed, but with proper organization and planning, they merely disperse, re-group, and get back into the fight under more favorable conditions. These tactics are particularly important for guerrilla forces, which can expect to face overwhelming odds on a regular basis if they don't pull out before their stronger enemy rallies additional forces if the fight stays in one spot for too long.

* GeorgeWashington was particularly skilled at organizing tactical retreats during the RevolutionaryWar. He realized that preserving the revolutionary army was a higher priority than defeating the British in battle.
* Similar to the RevolutionaryWar example above, the [=USA=]'s CivilWar lasted for years due to the well-executed retreats by either side after losing a battle.

A move like this could, if done right, be almost as effective as a battle victory, at least in terms of damage to the opponent's morale. Indeed, the attacking soldiers, hyped for battle, will often find themselves confused and frustrated if their intended target is not where they expected it to be, and chances are that the higher command will be disappointed at being cheated out of what they saw as an easy victory, and the development can possibly force them to change parts of their strategy, if not throw it completely out of the window.

* {{Lampshade}}d in ''WorldOfWarcraft'', with one of the achievements being titled, "We're Not Retreating; We're Advancing in a Different Direction".

* It generally requires well trained troops to pull this off, the details vary with the terrain, but it generally involves some sections breaking off and others laying down supressive fire. Militia generally break and run if overwhelmed, although this was was ''heavily'' subverted by Hezbollah during Israel's 2006 invasion of Lebanon.
** Generally it's a sort of reverse leapfrog (used while advancing) where those in front retreat to the rear of the group while the rest fire forward. Once settled into the rear, those now in front retreat to the back of this. Repeat.

-->''They are extremely powerful, and quite frankly we haven't a [[HoldYourHippogriffs snowflake's chance in Vulcan's forge]] of winning. I suggest a *cough* tactical advance '''[[NoExceptYes away from]]''' the enemy!''\\
--'''[[TotalWar Rome: Total War]]'''

* "Broken" troops in ''{{Warhammer}}'' and other Games Workshop games, troops who are "broken" aren't always in a rout. Especially Space Marines. "Initiate Tactical Withdrawal!". The Black Templars subvert this by ''running towards the enemy'' when broken, as do the Sisters Repentia.\\
\\
As of the latest Codex, the Space Marines have "Combat Tactics", which lets them deliberately fail Morale checks and fall back. "And They Shall Know No Fear", another rule of theirs, means they won't run off screaming as per usual on the next turn.\\
\
Another example is in the ''Apocalypse: Reload'' expansion. Players using any "Imperial" army may choose the "General Staff" asset. The player rolls three dice (instead of two) when taking a Leadership test, and may discard the die of his choice. It states explicitly that using high dice to fail represents the commander ordering his troops to withdraw.

* ''{{Erfworld}}'' has the protagonist conduct a number of hit-and-run attacks that technically count as "losses" each time by the rules of the world, but his opponent loses far more valuable siege units.

* The (disasterous) retreat of the British from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass in 1842.

* "Broken" troops in ''{{Warhammer}}'' and other GamesWorkshop games, troops who are "broken" aren't always in a rout. Especially Space Marines.
-->-- ''Initiate Tactical Withdrawal!''
** The Black Templars subvert this by ''running towards the enemy'' when broken.
*** Similarly with Sisters Repentia.
** As of the latest Codex, the Space Marines have "Combat Tactics", which lets them deliberately fail Morale checks and fall back. "And They Shall Know No Fear", another rule of theirs, means they won't run off screaming as per usual on the next turn.
** Another example is in the ''Apocalypse: Reload'' expansion. Players using any "Imperial" army may choose the "General Staff" asset. The player rolls three dice (instead of two) when taking a Leadership test, and may discard the die of his choice. It states explicitly that using high dice to fail represents the commander ordering his troops to withdraw.

* CompanyOfHeroes has a retreat button for all infantry so they can reinforce and regroup at your base.
** Also useful if you just want them to get back there or somewhere close by.
* ''DawnOfWar 2'' used a similar system - but make sure you initiate it ''before'' enemy engages in melee, if you don't want to become a slaughter anyway (Retreating units take more melee damage).
* Part of normal combat in ''{{Warcraft}} 3'', with heroes or armies attacking, doing some damage to the enemy base/expansion/army, then pulling out, except when in a strong enough position to just annihilate the opposition. Sometimes done via Town Portal Scroll if walking is not an option, or would result in losses.

* In CodeGeassTheAbridgedSeries, Cornelia chooses not to retreat, but to "retake land that we've already conquered!"

* In Red Dwarf the crew must "Obtain" a new engine part, and after negotiations with a local tribe fails they attempt to steal it and sneak away, after this fails Lister grabs the part and runs back to the ship, as he passes the other crew members that are waiting he shouts... "Change of plan... LEG IT!"
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<<|MilitaryAndWarfareTropes|>>

-->''We're not retreating, we're advancing! Towards future victory.''\\
-- '''Sarge''', ''RedVsBlue''

A move like this could, if done right, be almost as effective as a battle victory, at least in terms of damage to the opponent's morale. Indeed, the attacking soldiers, hyped for battle, will often find themselves confused and frustrated if their intended target is not where they expected it to be, and chances are that the higher command will be disappointed at being cheated out of what they saw as an easy victory, and the development can possibly force them to change parts of their of strategy, if not throw it completely out of the window.

A move like this could, if done right, be almost as effective as a battle victory, at least in terms of damage to the opponent's morale. Indeed, the attacking soldiers, hyped for battle, will often find themselves confused and frustrated if their intended target is not where they expected it to be, and chances are that higher command will be disappointed at being cheated out of what they saw as an easy victory, and is possibly even forced to change their entire strategy.

A move like this could, if done right, be almost as effective as a battle victory, at least in therms of damage to the opponent's morale. Indeed, the attacking soldiers, hyped for battle, will often find themselves confused and frustrated if their intended target is not where they expected it to be, and chances are that higher command will be disappointed at being cheated out of what they saw as an easy victory, and is possibly even forced to change their entire strategy.

A move like this could, if done right, be almost as effective as a battle victory, at least in therms of damage to the opponent's morale. Indeed, the attacking soldiers, hyped for battle, will often find themselves confused and frustrated if their intended target is no where they expected it to be, and chances are that higher command will be disappointed at being cheated out of what they saw as an easy victory, and is possibly even forced to change their entire strategy.

* Although quite common in war (outside of [[HollywoodTactics Hollywood]], anyway), probably one of the more famous retreats of the 20th century (and certainly one of the more bloody, given the local conditions even before considering this is during a war) is US forces breaking out of the December 1950 Chinese trap laid at the Chosin Reservoir, in the KoreanWar. Considering that the troops involved fought a pitched battle to get back the way they came, it is slightly unclear if this can be defined as a retreat.