I posted this question in r/battletech first but someone recommended me to ask it here too since there was no definitive answer:
I'm currently playing the planetary assault mini-campaign with a friend. We've just completed the first track (Meeting Engagement), I (defender) won the objective so the next track should be Pursuit, but there is a slight change in terminology I don't really understand:
In the Game Setup section it says that the attacker can field up to 75% of their total force. However for the defender it says that I can field up to 75% of my total surviving force. There are other tracks using this surviving force concept for the defender but I don't understand: does it mean I can only use the 75% of my surviving force from the previous track? Unless I'm missing something this sounds a bit unfair, since 2 of the 3 mechs I used are almost wrecks that would be under the forced withdrawal rules and the first track didn't allow for repairs. Some tracks use this wording, others don't, but it's always used for the defender force.
I don't find anything else in the campaign manual that explains this. English not being my first language I don't know if I'm missing something or just overthinking it. Help!