Supporting units retreating in difficult terrain

[jbbpioneer]

Another battle case had a knight stand flanking a defender who had his front edge (being attacked by another stand) in the clear and back edge in difficult terrain. Thus all units per 66.4 are considered to be in difficult terrain for combat results. The attacker loses and falls back. The supporting knights also must fall back but, being considered in difficult terrain, are destroyed!???

Your ruling please!

[Rod]

The "supporting unit" (the knight) is not the "beaten unit" so it would simply be forced to fall back and is not destroyed.

[David Kuijt]

Another battle case had a knight stand flanking a defender who had his front edge (being attacked by another stand) in the clear and back edge in difficult terrain. Thus all units per 66.4 are considered to be in difficult terrain for combat results. The attacker loses and falls back. The supporting knights also must fall back but, being considered in difficult terrain, are destroyed!???

Your ruling please!

Ah, I see your confusion. If you read the rules carefully, it does NOT say that Knights are destroyed if they Fall Back.

What it says (72.5) is the following:

Mounted in Difficult terrain. A mounted stand that is partly or entirely in difficult terrain and is beaten but not doubled must perform the following action:

• If it is Knights or Cataphracts, the stand is destroyed.

So it is not Falling Back (in difficult terrain) that kills the Knights, it is losing the combat (getting beaten but not doubled). Other Knights that are in flank or rear attack positions on the enemy stand fall back normally when the front stand loses.

[jbbpioneer]

That all sounds most reasonable. Thanks for the official view.