I've read on pag.215 of the CO book, that when a battle is over the side that controls the battlefield can recover the hardware that can can still be repaired and used. And it's ok and logical (I've seen photos from WWII of entire American tank platoons equipped with Panzers!).
But I've found some oddities in the rules and again, I want to know if someone that plays more than me can give some opinions.
The first rows of page 215 read "To remove an individual unit from the field requires a 'mech to drag it off, or a vehicles with sufficient empty cargo capacity to carry it off". It's clear. BUT just a few rows down we read "Each two 'mechs or vehicls can together recover one unit (for 'Mechs see Draggin a Mech p.97 TO:AR).
So... it is sufficient one 'mech ro recover a unit or we need two?
this rule contradicts itself in just 6 rows!
It is not the only problem with that: I can understand a vehicle with carry abilities, like the 'mech recovery vehicles we see in TRO:3060, but how can a generic vehicle carry away a 'mech? This few rows says that a mech and a vehicle can drag away a unit from the battlefield pointing the reader to another book. But in Tactical Operations the rule to drag mechs does not tak about vehicles!
And anyway, how can a generic vehicle drag away a mech? In the same paragraph we see that a vehicle can tow another one only if the former is a tractor. That makes sense, but why then immediately it is said another thing, saying that any vehicle can drag away other units, even mechs, with the help of other mechs?
Perhaps this paragraph needs an errata?
By the way, this sub-chapter says that to recover hardware after a battle, the player has to use the very same mant/rep cycle of the battle, or he cannot try that later. It is not strange that dragging away a (let's say) damaged tank or crippled mech is doable only the "evening" of the battle? The day after, or I could say even the day after tomorrow I think could be still good enough for that (except for some extreme planet weather conditions, but that could be a special case I suppose)!
And again, the units that should be employed to recover hardware from the battlefield cannot have partecipated in the previous battle. That’s ok, but that means that every battletech lance or company should be accompanied by specialized vehicles or tech squads, because they have to immediately rush and intervene after the dust settles. If a battle is over, and there are no support personnel in the immediate vicinity, everything on the battlefield is left there to rot? I think that if a battle is over, and there is something really special, that can be recovered even the day after when a specialized group is alerted and sent there to make the job (if the battlefield is still kept of course).
So, I find strange that a battlefield can be salvaged only the very same day of the battle and I think that there is confusion in how the units can be effectively recovered.