[PvK]

If this is a simultaneous mode game, attacks and movement are handled between turns, so you just have to wait.

It it's turn-based, then I can only think there is another reason for your ships waiting to carry out the order, such as your empire being set to have ships not enter known minefields, and the enemy ships are in one, or your ships are unable to move any farther this turn, or something.

As for strategic combat, if you experiment with fleet strategy settings in the simulator, you will find that it is possible to specify strategies that will behave in several different ways.

PvK