I'm going to have to figure out this ATTACK thing b/c I've won most of the battles I initiated, but two players retaliated (that's fine) but just beat me down over and over and over again. I mean, look at this:
Apparently if you attack someone, it basically gives them an open door policy on your troops. My win % is really attractive, but that doesn't mean anything as two of these attacks cost me a ton of money and recruits.
Moral of the story - don't attack others in the beginning. Wait for someone to attack you and then you can go back and attack them whenever you want.