Another one from a game yesterday, again it might be in the rules somewhere but we didn't have enough time to look in depth yesterday and my rules are still on ship that I think decided to drop anchor and catch some sun for month before finishing the journey! I will try to sort out an Imgur account today to add an image later but I'll try to explain the question first.
Two friendly TUGs fighting two opposing TUGs, all in line and all lined up base to base etc, no gaps. So its
AABB
CCDD
One combat has been resolved (AA v CC) and both side's TUGs remain in combat. Adjacent to them DD breaks / destroys BB. We had a discussion then about whether DD should, or even could, 'Pursue' its given distance or whether it has now, by virtue of BB vanishing, become a 'Support' and thus can't pursue even if it wanted too.
The problem we had was deciding at which point DD becomes a support? In this turn it wasn't a support, it was fighting it's own combat so on the one hand we thought it might not 'become' a support until the next turn and thus could pursue then on the other hand we thought that there is no 'start of / end of' status as such that is differentiated by turn (at least in this regard) and that DD becomes a support to CC immediately BB vaporises, despite the fact that DD won't actively act in that capacity until the next turn. We ended up going with the latter.
Top of page 167, 9.7C.1. UGs do not pursue if they are in contact with an enemy they are in position to fight in melee combat, even as a supporting file.
So no, they do not pursue.
As soon as D routs, they are in a position to be a supporting file, so don't pursue.
Thanks Richard. I'll point the guys with the books in the direction of the paragraph, pending the raft arriving.
The funny thing is that if involved only as a support file the unit may move away, may charge straight forward but not pursue 8)