Army Field Manual I Warfighting Tactics - Part 1 The Fundamentals | 7-13

Retirement
7-43. Purpose. The purpose of the retirement is to move a force away from and out of contact
with an enemy. When planning for a retirement, commanders should consider the
possibility of a meeting engagement with moving enemy forces; while this cannot be
planned for in detail, rehearsing drills and understanding of TTPs will prepare the force
(see Section 7 - Meeting engagement). The commander may decide to employ a screen or
guard force where there is uncertainty regarding the possibility of interdiction by enemy
deep operations, or the unexpected actions of the local population.

7-44. Principles. The principles for a retirement are as for the march.