Fleeing from assault and entrenchments, 4th Ed.

[Blackcloud6]

12.13 says: If demoralized units start their activation in an assault hex, they must try to recover morale. If they fail they must exit the hex (moving only one hex rather than their maximum movement rate), and may suffer a "free shot" from the enemy units there if no friendly units remain in the hex when they leave (12.12). 

14.35 reiterates this: Demoralized units in an assault hex that fail a morale check must exit the hex, and may move only one hex when doing so (12.13).
yet
14.31 says: Exception: A demoralized leader or unit in a hex containing an entrenchment is not required to flee, but may do so if desired. See also 14.35.
So, what if the demoralized unit is in an entrenchment in an assault hex and starts its activation and fails to recover, does it flee or can it stay?

I'm thinking it must flee because 14.31 refers to 14.35 at the end of the sentence.

What say you?


Either way, this should go in the annotated rules

[J6A]

I'd read it that way, too. Normally, they would just cower down deeper in the trenches, however when the other guys are up in your face and tossing grenades at you, discretion is the better part of valor.

[Matt W]

Run away! Daniel and I played it wrong for quite some time.

[Poor Yorek]

DEM units in an entrenchment do not need to flee, though they may (if, for example, one wants to "make room" for newer good order units to enter).  The last sentence in 14.31 citing 14.35, in my view, is not "unmodifying" the exception in the sentence before it; rather, it simply adds additional citation to the entirety of the rule that the general case is that DEM units flee assaults when failing MC's (and may only move one hex when they do so).  The exception to this is when occupying an ENT.

PS  subsequent to reading the full rules in hard copy, I changed my view regarding this (see below).

[Blackcloud6]

OK then, it looks like this is not certain on how it should play.

[Shad]

If you take them cumulatively I think the answer is clearly "you must flee":

• DEM units that fail to rally in an entrenchment may stay in the entrenchment (14.31) but that's an exception and you are directed to look at 14.35 which discusses assaults specifically
  
• DEM units that fail must flee from anyone capable of obtaining a combat result against it, explicitly including Assault (12.12, 14.3, restated by 14.35)
  

Summarized:

• a DEM rally failure means flight if your unit is in danger UNLESS you are in an entrenchment AND NOT under assault
  
• a DEM rally during assault always means exciting the hex UNLESS the hex is surrounded, in which case you're off to Valhalla
  

[Blackcloud6]

and you are directed to look at 14.35 which discusses assaults specifically

This is the reason why I think a demoralized unit in an assault that fails morale must flee from an entrenchment.

[Poor Yorek]

I read the hard-copy rules and concur now with Shad. Guess I'm old school and it helps to have the physical print to peruse.

[Blackcloud6]

Consensus!