1914 has improved in that aspect.
Each defending artillery get a preemptive shot at amphibious units.
Then regular combat start.
Immediately before the combat is resolved, any defending artillery present in the attacked territory can make a pre-emptive strike against all of your offloading land units and fighters as they come ashore.
1914 OOB rules p. 22
It is more than Sub-like surprise strike, because all defending artillery units can roll again in regular combat phase.