Hi I am new to SWR having got it for Christmas however having played two full games both as the rebellion I feel like I have a firm grasp on the rules now however I am looking to have something clarified which I am unable to definitively answer within the rules reference.

During my game today I attacked the opposing Imperial fleet by attempting a mission (Plan the assault, I think) which allowed me to move a fleet directly from my Rebel Base into an enemy system where combat then has to be resolved if required.

My opponent had no leader in the system so I invited him to take a leader from his pool before combat began, he however felt that this activated the system on his behalf and he should be able to pull in ships from the adjacent systems, this would in effect turn my ambush into me being ambushed.

Now i'm 80% to 90% sure this cannot happen as the defending player is simply being asked to assign a leader with tactic values to lead his forces as he is already engaged in combat and he is not making a tactical move himself however the reason I ask is because he saw it being played this way on a youtube video.

It states nowhere that this can be done but it also does not explicitly say you cannot so I am struggling to answer it.

Also he also said on this same video that you only have the option to retreat once and if you don't you are committed to battle to the end. The way I read the rules is that retreating is the final step of combat once damage has been assigned and dealt with and happens at the end of each combat round.

Any help would be appreciated

When sending a leader to command his fleet, it is not his command phase so he does not "activate" the system, and thus can't bring in adjacent units there.

Either player can chose to retreat or stay at the end of each combat round, active player deciding first.

The defending player does not get to pull in units from other systems if they choose to drop in a leader with tactics values. They are not considered to be activating the system.

For the retreating question, I don't have my rules references handy, but I think I'm correct:

When retreating, all hyperspace-capable units (can move between systems on their own) MUST retreat with the leader. Other units (ground units, TIE fighters) can be moved with them, according to your carrying capacity. Oh, and Death Stars can't retreat, ever.

So for units, there's only one retreat window available. I don't recall offhand if you can retreat extra leaders in subsequent rounds, but I suspect not.

Cheers guys that confirms it for me.

Thanks