Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Here's the sequence of play for the Germans when attacking and Ground Support takes place:

To fly ground support:
1. your opponent flies combat air patrol to potential target hexes;
2. you fly your selected attacking bombers, escorting fighters and combat air patrol to potential target hexes;
3. your opponent flies intercepting fighters or both bombers and escorting fighters to the target hexes;
4. you fly intercepting fighters to the target hexes;
5. fight any air-to-air combats;
6. AsA option 3: surviving bombers suffer anti-aircraft fire from AA units (see 22.4.2);
7. add the tactical factors of surviving bombers to their side’s combat value in the land attack;
8. return all remaining aircraft to base and turn them face-down.

You get no chance to intercept with the Russians because there were no German planes flown in step 2. The only way for you to get your fighters into the combats is to commit them as escorts along with your bombers. (Or to have flown CAP with them in anticipation of German Ground Support)

Edit: clarity