Can someone just tell me if I should leave it up or down? So many arguments for and against.
Generally ensure the gear is down if a forced landing occurs in a tricycle landing gear aircraft on an unprepared surface. The energy forces at impact are taken by the landing gear followed by the fuselage if the landing gear gives way. Less risk of severe spinal damage if the landing gear takes the initial impact. If the gear stays intact then you have the advantage of using wheels brakes and maybe even limited directional steering to further avoid surface obstacles.
That is why this scribe would prefer to be in a Cessna 172 rather than a Tiger Moth for example if faced with a forced landing with no power since there would be a strong likelihood of the Moth tipping over on touch down due to its tail-wheel undercarriage design. Many fighter aircraft in WW2 were tail wheel design known as conventional undercarriage. Because of this factor forced landing on unprepared surfaces were always wheels up.
With the advent of jet fighters like the Sabre with their relatively high landing speeds, significant spinal injuries were noticeable when landing wheels up on unprepared surfaces. The technique was changed to wheels down with the theory that the landing gear would absorb much of the initial energy of impact as it was designed to do. Even if the landing gear breaks off at impact or during the landing run, it has done its job of absorbing some of the energy which would be otherwise be taken by the fuselage underside and the pilot's spine.
The Boeing 737 Flight Crew training Manual reinforces the theory of the importance of energy absorption by its advice to try and land with at least one landing gear extended rather than fully wheels up. It does not use those words exactly but has checklists for partial or gear up combinations.