I’m playing a G40 game and have the following scenario that I would like a ruling on:
Japanese fleet (many ships + transports) in SZ19. On the US turn it non-combat moves a sub into SZ19.
On the Japanese turn, for the combat phase I move away several ships + transports and a DD + planes sink the sub.
My opponent @sovietishcat believes I cannot move the transport out of the area unless it is actively involved in an amphibious assault that turn because that would be a non-combat move for the transport, and Triple-A does not accurately enforce that rule.
While I agree that the transport cannot move troops this turn because they would need to be off-loaded during non-combat, I do not see why I cannot move the transport out of the combat zone during the combat phase…which ends the transport’s movement for that turn. Avoiding combat is still a legal combat-phase move, right?
If @sovietishcat is right, does this “rule” apply to the combat ships as well? i.e., all the ships have to remain in SZ19 if I want to sink the sub, or if I want to move any of them, then the sub lives.