On Foot

[Liebchen]

The above seems to indicate that the units were not in T mode and then switched to T mode to retreat..what effect does this have on the unit as a hard or soft target?

Marquo, if the units is dismounted, it's a soft target. The halftracks are behind the infantry, likely providing some support, but the infantry is exposed and can also fire as a normal infantry in deployed mode.

When the infantry goes into "T" mode, the troops are getting into their halftracks, and they are now getting the protection from the HTs' armor. If the pursuing infantry has little or no hard attack ability, then the HT infantry is relatively immune to their fire, even though it's in "T" mode.

So:
Outside the halftracks (deployed) = soft target
Inside the halftracks ("T" mode) = hard target