Hope I'm not just whining needlessly (although I probably am). But it seems to me like a quick tweak in the rule could make this much more logical, realistic, and intuitive. A steady wall of armies moving forward shouldn't allow a retreat to slip in between them.

That obviosuly isn't a stead wall. A steady wall would mean you follow kiel up with a piece that came from Holland or something of the liking. This makes perfect sense seeing as how Kiel is evacuated for instance and those attacked in Munich see the empty territory and decide to dispatch their remaing troops there.

Thats not a loophole. The army in Munich retreated to Kiel because it was open. If you had an unit there he wouldn't have been able to move there. You should have kept your army in Kiel and supported the Baltic into Berlin.
http://phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=8279

i see that kiel was open there, and i understand what you're saying-- that if i had followed from behind into kiel, he couldn't have retreated there. i just think in real life, an army wouldn't be able to squeeze through. kiel and ruhr are moving at the same time; kiel isn't evacuated until munich is routed. they wouldn't "see the empty territory" and kiel isn't "open"; they'd see a second army moving forward from kiel towards berlin, right in front of their face. oh well; i guess i just lose.

You realize that an army is 1/2 mile wide, and the provide of Kiel is probably a few hundred miles wide?

and you realize this is a game emulating real life... not real life.

(that should say 'province', not 'provide')

it's a game? it isn't real life? wow, thanks. good to know.

You mean I don't need to feel guilty about killing those armies? :p

to answer your (implied) original question, junior... yes, I think it is in the spirit of the rules. A retreat can certainly be used as an offensive maneuver. In fact, you can sometimes manipulate your opponents into giving your army or fleet a free move during the retreat phase.

Retreats are powerful, and most certainly can (and should) be used to slip through invading forces whenever possible.

and yes. I refer to "retreats" as "free moves". ;)

Using retreats in this way has been a tactic well back into history, often used to lure an enemy unit into a trap, but equally if you can get an enemy to attack you in the wrong location, you can go straight past...