If a unit wins a combat and all the enemies it is fighting flee, then the victorious unit must normally pursue. The troops surge forward, hacking at their retreating foes as their backs are turned, cutting them down as they run and scattering them before their uncontrolled fury. Note that a unit will only pursue if all the enemies it is fighting flee - if one enemy unit breaks and flees whilst another fights on then the victorious troops cannot pursue. Like fleeing, pursuit is a hectic and uncontrolled affair, so dice are rolled to determine how far the pursuing unit moves.

Once fleeing troops have been moved, victorious units will pursue. To find out how far they pursue, starting with the unit with the highest Unit Strength, roll 2D6 or 3D6 in exactly the same way as for fleeing troops. This is their Pursuit roll. If a victorious unit scores equal to or greater than the Flee roll scored by the unit it is pursuing then the fleeing unit is completely destroyed - all the troops are cut down as they run or they are scattered beyond hope of regrouping. Pursuers are moved the full distance indicated straight towards the fleeing troops, and through their position if their pursuit move is especially long. If the pursuers do not roll a sufficently high score to catch the fleeing unit then no further casualties are caused and the pursuers are simply moved the distance indicated towards their fleeing enemies. Pursuers always move their full pursuit distance unless their pursuit takes them into contact with fresh enemy (see p.76). During a pursuit move, pursuers ignore any penalties for obstacles and terrain (apart from impassable terrain) - their victory has given them the extra impetus to chase their fleeing enemies.

Note that units do not continue to pursue in subsequent turns; pursuit is a single bonus move which is made when a beaten enemy flees. One unit can only pursue one fleeing enemy unit, even if it broke several units in close combat.

Assuming that pursuers do not encounter any fresh enemy, they move the distance indicated by their dice roll and thereafter are ready to fight normally. So, in their following turn they may charge, march or move normally exactly like any other unit, and no penalty is imposed because of their pursuit move.

It sometimes happens that pursuers move so far that they hit a fresh enemy unit. The pursuers are carried forward against the enemy unit as they chase their fleeing enemy. This is treated as if it were a new charge. However, this will only happen if your direct pursuit move would take you into contact with the enemy. The pursuing unit has no choice in the matter, they must charge against the fresh enemy. The unexpectedly attacked unit can only respond to the charge by holding; any attempt to flee, stand & shoot, or do anything else amidst the confusion of running bodies is deemed impossible. They must make any necessary Psychology tests immediately.

If the new enemy causes fear or terror (see the Psychology section), the pursuers do not have to make a test - they are gripped by the excitement of the chase and are ready to fight any enemy! Note that psychology will apply as normal in the subsequent turns - only the tests required to charge opponents who cause fear or terror are ignored.

Since pursuit into fresh enemy is treated as a new charge, all rules governing charges apply. Specifically, the pursuers must endeavour to bring as many charging models into combat as possible. This means that it will often be necessary to wheel slightly in order to face the enemy.

The resulting combat is worked out in the following turn. The pursuers are charging and so get all the usual benefits and bonuses as if they had charged that turn, even though their charge occurred during the close combat phase of the previous turn. A fleeing unit is destroyed even if its pursuers subsequently charge a new enemy, as long as the pursuing unit's Pursuit roll scores equal to or greater than the fleeing unit's Flee roll.

A player may decide that he would prefer his unit did not pursue a fleeing enemy. Normally a unit must pursue if it is able to do so, but, before rolling to see how far the enemy flees, the player may attempt to halt the pursuit by making a test against the unit's Leadership (Ld). This represents the unit's leader calling to his troops to hold, while their natural inclination is to run after the enemy and cut them down. Roll 2D6. If the score is equal to or less than the unit's Leadership value then the test is passed and the unit may remain stationary instead of pursuing.

A unit does not have to pursue if it is defending a wall, hedgerow or a comparable obstacle or fortification. As pursuit would force the unit to abandon its secure position there is obviously an incentive to stay put! In such a case, the player can choose whether to pursue or not without the need of a dice roll.

A unit which pursues its fleeing enemy off the table returns to the same point from which it left the table, in the same formation in its following Movement phase, facing directly towards the battlefield. The unit may not charge, as it has missed its opportunity to declare charges, but may move its full Move that turn, and it may shoot and otherwise participate in the game as normal. In any case, the unit counts as having moved and so will suffer a -1 penalty to any shooting.