Melee Combat

[Surfcandy]

During Melee DR on the melee table say a 7 is needed and successfully rolled when the Attacker is attacking and chart says all units eliminated BUT rules say to allow the defender to roll as the attacker before removing counters.

How does that work and if it is allowed could defender now target only certain units for their attacking turn?

It seems to me if the initial attacker DR against all the units is successful (melee odds table chart) it's over. If not the defender now attempts to attack. If neither results in elimination it goes to the next turn melee.

 

[Barthheart]

Yes both side get to "attack" before any pieces are removed.
Yes the defender can choose to only try and kill one of the other side's units.

 

[Surfcandy]

The thing I have trouble with is on the first attack the attacker gets a dr that "eliminates" all the defender units in the hex. Now the defender becomes the attacker and gets a lucky roll and "eliminates all the defenders also in the hex.

Now what happens since both sides were successfully rolled eliminating all defenders on both occasions?

 

[Stéphane Tanguay]

The attacker does not have to attack all the defending units; it can attack only some. The units that it eliminate are not removed yet (they are on their way to be eliminated but not yet; everything is simultaneous). The defender can choose which attacking units it will counterattack. Once the defender counterattack result is known, all eliminated units are removed from the board and, if only non-melee eligible units are left (on one or both side), they are removed too; they are assumed to have gone down with their melee-eligible friends. The Melee marker remains on the hex, even if there is no longer any units present, until the next admin phase.

 

[Surfcandy]

Thanks, it was the "time continuum" everything happening simultaneously during melee that was throwing me off.

 

[Thommygunner]

Melee is always considered simultaneous, both sides declare how they are attacking and make attack rolls before the results are tabulated. Sequential Melee (one side attacks and the effects are applied to the defender before the defending unit may attack) is covered under 8.4 Ambush.