In an assault the attacker takes possession of the hex in question if they roll more hits (after defender's defence roll) than the defender, if not the defender holds the hex. In a recent game I assaulted (with a full squad) a hex occupied by a single squad with two remaining elites (the other two having been eliminated earlier in the game). I achieved two hits eliminating the defending squad. The defender achieved three hits reducing my squad to a single infantry figure. Technically this was an unsuccessful assault (defender achieved more hits than attacker) even though I destroyed the defending squad. Under these circumstances can I still take the hex?

In this particular case it was not critical to the game but I can think of plenty of scenarios where it might have been. If this has been clarified elsewhere please provide link.

I think the rules are pretty clear on this.

From pg.34 of the rules:

If the defender’s number of hits equals or exceeds that of the
attacker, the assault is unsuccessful. The active unit and any supporting
units are fatigued, and the Assault action is over

Sorry - you do not get to advance if you loose the fight. Imagine there are a few scared soldiers left, shooting more or less randomly. But enough to discurage the attackers that have seen their fellows slaughtered for little gain.

I managed to win a game vs. the british once, having no units left on the board at all, and the attacker stalled just before the objective!

Thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated. Despite reading over the rules a repeatedly at the time my friend and I came to the wrong conclusion. Your explanation makes it clear.