@ghr2:
in that scenario, the carriers/trannys are defenseless, so, since the trannys cant retreat, they will die, the carriers can retreat after any round of combat if they choose.
Why can’t they retreat? They don’t actually unload until after the sea battle, so as long as they are not all killed in the battle, they can retreat (which they won’t be, since there is only 1 plane and at least 1 attacking unit)
Remember in the rules, attacking trannys are not “defenseless”, they are “selected last.” If the defender does not have enough hits to kill all attacking transports (AFTER all eligible combat units are destroyed, mind you), any that survive can retreat.
Check the blue box on p. 19 of the 1st edition europe rulebook