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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Battle Flyer, by 
-Capt. Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: The Red Battle Flyer
-
-Author: Capt. Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen
-
-Translator: T. Ellis Baker
-
-Release Date: October 24, 2012 [EBook #41159]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED BATTLE FLYER ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
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-
-
-
-THE RED BATTLE FLYER
-
-[Illustration: CAPTAIN BARON VON RICHTHOFEN]
-
-
-
-
-THE RED BATTLE FLYER
-
-BY
-
-Captain Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen
-
-    Translated by T. Ellis Barker, with a preface and
-    notes by C. G. Grey, editor of "The Aeroplane"
-
-    NEW YORK
-    Robert M. McBride & Co.
-    1918
-
-
-
-
-    Translation
-    Copyright 1918
-    By
-    ROBERT M. McBRIDE & COMPANY
-
-
-    _Printed in the United States of America._
-
-
-    Published July, 1918
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-    CHAPTER                                   PAGE
-          PREFACE                                1
-
-       I. MY FAMILY                             19
-
-      II. THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR               29
-
-     III. BOREDOM BEFORE VERDUN                 52
-
-      IV. IN THE AIR                            57
-
-       V. MY FIRST SOLO FLIGHT                  82
-
-      VI. I FLY IN A THUNDERSTORM               92
-
-     VII. BOMBING IN RUSSIA                     98
-
-    VIII. MY FIRST ENGLISH VICTIM              109
-
-      IX. I GET THE ORDRE POUR LE MÉRITE       127
-
-       X. A FLYING MAN'S ADVENTURE             145
-
-      XI. MY RECORD DAY                        154
-
-     XII. SCHÄFER LANDS BETWEEN THE LINES      168
-
-    XIII. MY BROTHER                           196
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-                                                               FACING
-                                                                PAGE
-
-  CAPTAIN BARON VON RICHTHOFEN                         _Frontispiece_
-
-  THE FAMOUS RICHTHOFEN "CIRCUS"                                  64
-
-  THE FORTIETH RICHTHOFEN VICTIM                                 128
-
-  LIEUT. SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE SQUADRON    194
-
-  CAPTAIN RICHTHOFEN WITH HIS MASCOT DOG "MORITZ"                194
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE
-
-
-SOME time ago a Naval Officer who was engaged on particularly hazardous
-duty was discussing calmly the chances that he and his like had of
-surviving the war, assuming that it continued for several more years and
-that his particular branch of it increased its intensity. He wound up
-his remarks by saying, "The chief reason why I particularly want to
-survive the finish is that I'm so keen on comparing notes with our
-opposite members in the German Navy."
-
-That is the answer to those who ask, as an important official gentleman
-asked recently, why this English translation of Rittmeister von
-Richthofen's book should be published. It gives our flying people an
-opportunity of comparing notes with one of Germany's star-turn fighting
-pilots, just as that excellent book by "Contact" gives the Germans the
-chance of gathering the atmosphere of the Royal Flying Corps as it was
-in 1916 and 1917.
-
-"The Red Battle-Flyer" has evidently been carefully censored by the
-German authorities. Also it has possibly been touched up here and there
-for propagandist purposes. Consequently, although the narrative as it
-stands is extraordinarily interesting, the book as a whole is still more
-interesting on account of what one reads between the lines, and of what
-one can deduce from the general outlook of the writer. There is,
-perhaps, little to learn of immediate topical interest, but there is
-much that explains things which were rather difficult to understand in
-the past, and the understanding of such points gives one a line of
-reasoning which should be useful to our active-service aviators in the
-future.
-
-When one makes due allowance for the propagandist nature of the book,
-which gives one the general impression of the writing of a gentleman
-prepared for publication by a hack journalist, one forms a distinctly
-favorable mental picture of the young Rittmeister Baron von Richthofen.
-Our old friend Froissart is credited with the statement that in his age
-of chivalry it was always "impossible to inculcate into the German
-knights the true spirit of knightliness." Which seems to indicate that
-the practical German mind of those days could not understand the
-whimsicalities of the Latin ideas of chivalry, which--for example--bade
-a knight against whose shield an opponent "brake his spear" haul off out
-of the fight till the lance-less enemy unsheathed his sword and "drave
-into the combat" again. Probably the Hun of those days proceeded to
-stick his opponent in the midriff--wherever it may be--and so finished
-the fight.
-
-In the same true spirit of knightliness an Englishman knocks a man down
-and then stands back so that he can get up and have another chance,
-whereas a more practical person would take excellent care that his
-opponent never got up till he had acknowledged himself beaten. It is all
-a matter of the point of view, and largely no doubt a matter of
-education. However, making due allowance for the point of view, one
-finds surprisingly little Hunnishness in von Richthofen's manners or
-methods as set forth in print.
-
-It is one of the accepted facts of the war that the German aviators have
-displayed greater chivalry than any other branch of the German services.
-It was a common occurrence for their pilots to fly over our lines in the
-course of their business, and, by way of variety from that business, to
-drop packets containing letters from captured British aviators, or the
-personal belongings of the dead. One gathers that these acts of courtesy
-have become less frequent of late, owing to the intensification of
-aerial warfare, but it seems that captured and killed aviators still
-receive the full courtesies of war from the German aviators, whatever
-may be the fate of prisoners in other hands afterwards.
-
-It is not surprising therefore to find that, taking him all round,
-Rittmeister von Richthofen conveys to one the general impression that,
-_mutatis mutandis_, he is very like an English public school boy of
-good family. His egotism, as one finds it in the book, is the egotism of
-a young man who is frankly pleased with himself, but is more elated by
-his good luck than by his cleverness.
-
-Taking him by and large, one rather likes von Richthofen, and one
-fancies that most of the R.F.C. people who have fought him would be
-quite pleased after the war to sit at table with him and compare notes
-over the cigarettes and liquors, as my Naval friend wants to do with his
-pre-war friends of the German Navy. And there are unhappily not too many
-of our present enemies of whom one would like to express such an
-opinion.
-
-When one comes to read into the book one begins to find many interesting
-things about the German Army, and the war in general, as well as about
-the German Feldfliegertruppen--or Flying Service. The German is not
-really a skilful censor. Just as certain portraits painted by an artist
-at Ruhleben conveyed by the expression of the faces a good deal that
-Germany would like hidden, so von Richthofen's book, though carefully
-censored, lets out quite a good deal of information.
-
-The first thing that strikes one is that Germany's standing army at the
-beginning of the war was nothing like so perfect a fighting machine as
-we in this country believed. Although, like all the people with any
-sense in this country, the German Army knew that a war was coming, the
-officers and men seem to have set about their work in a singularly
-amateurish way, judging by the short section of the book devoted to the
-opening of the war on the Russian Front. And one is pleased to find that
-von Richthofen has the grace to laugh at himself and his
-brother-officers for their mistakes.
-
-In some ways the soldiers of all nations resemble one another strongly.
-For instance, one finds in this book the same contempt for what the
-Germans picturesquely call a "base-hog," as the French have for the
-"embusqué" and as the British front-line officer has for the young and
-able-bodied officer who is "Something on the Staff." This obnoxious
-breed is the same in all armies, and must be clearly distinguished from
-the carefully trained and expensively educated General Staff Officer,
-who is very much of a specialist and is the very brain of the Army.
-
-When we come to the purely aviatic portion of the book one finds more of
-the real von Richthofen and less of the cavalry officer. His honesty
-about his utter mental confusion the first time he went into the air
-recalls General Brancker's famous remark in his lecture to the
-Aeronautical Society when he said that no one ever sees anything at all
-during his first hour in the air owing to the hopeless confusion in his
-mind caused by the novel aspect of everything. Von Richthofen's
-description of his experience is about the best thing that has been
-written on the subject.
-
-An interesting bit of information is disclosed in his description of his
-flight in a "Grossflugzeug," on September 1st, 1915. At that period
-little was known about twin-engined aeroplanes. The Germans were known
-to have tried them, but they were not a success. The only example known
-to our people--though probably there were actually several different
-machines--was commonly known in the R.F.C. as "Wong-wong," on account of
-the curious noise made by the engines or air-screws when they got "out
-of phase"--as an electrician might call it. This noise is now quite
-familiar to the inhabitants of Southeastern England as the
-characteristic note of the Gotha bombers.
-
-Von Richthofen's good judgment of fighting values, though he was then
-only an observer, and a novice at that, is shown by his disapproval of
-the twin-engined aeroplane as a fighting machine. It is also of interest
-to learn that at that period the Germans had tried an auto-lock device
-to hold the rudder of a twin-engined machine over to one side so that it
-would fly straight if one engine went out of action, an ingenious idea
-even if foredoomed to failure.
-
-It is encouraging to find that though these twin-engined machines were
-in operation in September, 1915, the first bombing squadron so composed
-only came into action against defenceless Bucharest a year later. This
-shows that actually we in this country are not so very much slower in
-producing our new ideas, for our big Handley Page twin-engined biplanes
-first flew towards the end of 1915, and we began to use them regularly
-early in 1917--only a little more than a year later.
-
-The similarity of aviators in all countries is shown by von Richthofen's
-frank confession of blue funk when he made his first flight alone. That
-first solo is always the most anxious time in a pilot's career. Another
-touch of that nature which makes all aviators akin is seen in his
-accounts of how he and other pupils under instruction used to fly off on
-cross-country training trips and suffer from opportune forced landings
-in the parks of their friends or in likely-looking estates. One imagined
-that this manifestation of "wongling" was an essentially English trick,
-and would not have been tolerated for a moment under the iron discipline
-of the German Army. In the early days of the R.F.C. this looking for
-opulent hosts used to be known sarcastically as "hunting for
-Jew-palaces."
-
-The state of affairs on the Russian front is well shown in the brief
-reference in the book. "Flying in the East is absolutely a holiday,"
-says the writer, who adds that there was no danger on the Russian front,
-except the danger of being massacred by the Russians if brought down by
-engine failure. From which one understands that the Russians did not
-approve of making prisoners of enemy aviators. Their "Archies" were
-apparently good, but too few to be useful, and their aviators
-practically did not exist. Which is rather what one ventured to surmise
-in print at the time, despite the magniloquent Russian communiqués. When
-one thinks of all the good British and French aeroplanes and engines
-which were sent to Russia one regrets the waste of material.
-
-On the subject of air fighting, von Richthofen is always worth studying
-carefully. None will dispute his wisdom in laying stress on the
-importance of calmness in an air fight. We have lost many good fighting
-pilots through their getting excited and dashing headlong into an
-unequal combat. He, or his editor, has been sufficiently skilful not to
-give away his pet method of attack. However, one gathers that he
-depended largely on his first rush for his results, rather than on a
-prolonged series of manoeuvres.
-
-His dictum that "in air fighting results depend on ability and not on
-trickery," rather bears out this impression. Nevertheless he
-occasionally tells of a lengthy tussle with a particularly skilful
-enemy.
-
-Such a story relates how that very gallant gentleman, Major Lanoe
-Hawker, one of the best loved and admired of the R.F.C.'s many gallant
-fighting leaders, fell. It would seem that Major Hawker's machine was
-outclassed rather than that he was beaten by superior skill. One is glad
-to find that von Richthofen pays a tribute to the bravery and ability of
-his enemy, and it is perhaps some slight consolation to those of us who
-knew Lanoe Hawker to think that he fell a victim to the Germans' best
-man and not to a chance shot from an unworthy foe.
-
-It is rather curious that some time after emphasizing the fact that
-trickery does not pay in air fighting, von Richthofen should show how
-trickery does pay by describing his young brother Lothar's trick of
-pretending to be shot and letting his machine fall apparently out of
-control, so as to break off a fight with opponents who were above his
-weight. One is inclined to wonder how many optimistic young air-fighters
-have reported enemy machines as "driven down out of control," when in
-reality the wily Hun has only been getting out of the way of harm. The
-older hands in these days are not easily caught by such a trick, and the
-High Command refuses to count any victims so claimed unless the
-performance is verified by independent witnesses either on the ground or
-aloft.
-
-Another point of interest in von Richthofen's fighting methods is that
-he states, that as a rule, he opens fire at 50 yards. Distances are
-hard to judge in the air. The pilot is more likely to underestimate them
-than otherwise, just as one does in judging distances at sea. But von
-Richthofen is probably as good a judge as any, and in this he seems to
-be stating a plain fact. In these days 50 yards is fairly long range.
-Some of our own crack fighters prefer 50 feet, if they can get into
-their favorite positions. Anyhow he shows the unwisdom of opening fire
-at 1,000 yards, as some inexperienced and excited machine-gunners are
-rather apt to do.
-
-Von Richthofen's chaser squadron--or Jagdstaffel, as the Germans call
-these formations--was the first to be known as a "circus." The famous
-Boelcke squadron, although a fairly mobile body, the members of which
-co-operated closely on occasion, never developed formation fighting to
-the extent that von Richthofen did.
-
-His men, although, as the book shows, they went out periodically on
-lone-hand ventures, generally flew in a body, numbering anywhere from
-half a dozen to fifteen or so. Their leader chose to paint his little
-Albatros a brilliant pillar-box red. The others painted their machines
-according to their fancy. Some had yellow noses, blue bodies and green
-wings. Some were pale blue underneath and black on top. Some were
-painted in streaks, some with spots. In fact, they rang the changes on
-the whole of the paint-box.
-
-They flew wonderfully, being all picked men, and in a fight they
-performed in a manner which would have seemed impossible to the most
-expert aerial acrobats.
-
-Also, the squadron was moved from place to place as a self-contained
-unit, so that it appeared wherever the fighting was thickest, or
-wherever British or French reconnaissance machines were busiest. It
-would be operating at Verdun one week. The next week it would be north
-of Arras. A few days later it would be down on the Somme. But as a rule
-it specialized on the British front. Wherever it pitched its tents it
-did its regular squadron performance, and followed it later in the day
-with lone-hand raids, or "strafing" flight by two or three machines at
-a time.
-
-When one considers the harlequin coloring of the machines, their
-acrobatic flying and their "two shows a day" performances from their
-one-week pitches, it follows logically that the humorists of the R.F.C.
-simply had to call the squadron "von Richthofen's Traveling Circus."
-
-Since then the word has acquired a meaning of its own among flying men.
-It connotes practically any special formation organized for the purpose
-of hunting enemy aviators, and consisting of picked men under a
-specially skilful leader. It need not necessarily be more mobile than
-any other squadron, and it need not indulge in freak colorings, though
-in the nature of its work, its flying must be acrobatic. The British
-"circuses" are in these days superior to the German circuses, because
-our machines are now at least as good as those of the Germans, and so
-our men, who have always been of higher average quality than the German
-aviators, have a fair chance of proving their worth.
-
-Of those of von Richthofen's circus mentioned in the book, Schäfer was
-the first to be killed. Before the war he lived in London, to learn
-English, working in an office in the city, when so inclined, but mostly
-spending his time on the river, or in sport. Those who knew him say that
-he was a pleasant lad and a good sportsman.
-
-Voss was the next to go, after what has been described by those who were
-in it as one of the most gallant fights of the war. On a Fokker triplane
-with a French le Rhone engine--evidently an experimental machine built
-for quick manoeuvring--he fought single-handed a patrol of six of our
-people, when he could have broken off the fight and have got away by
-abandoning an inferior companion. He was a brave man and a most
-brilliant pilot. His flying and shooting in his last fight are said to
-have been marvelously clever. None admire his bravery more than those
-who fought him.
-
-Others of the "circus" have fallen since then, and the present
-"Richthofen Jagdstaffel" is probably constituted very differently from
-that band of high-spirited desperadoes which was evolved from the
-original Boelcke squadron, and helped to build up the fame of von
-Richthofen. There is none of the old R.F.C. who would not cheerfully
-kill what is left of the "circus," and there is probably none who would
-not gladly shake hands with the survivors after peace is declared. They
-are worthy enemies and brave men.
-
-This little book gives one a useful insight into the enemy's methods,
-and more than a little respect for at any rate some of those whom we are
-at present endeavoring to kill.
-
-                                         C. G. GREY,
-                                   EDITOR, _The Aeroplane_.
-
-
-
-
-I
-
-_My Family._
-
-
-THE members of my family--that of Richthofen--have taken no very great
-part in wars until now. The Richthofens have always lived in the
-country; indeed, there has scarcely been one of them without a landed
-estate, and the few who did not live in the country have, as a rule,
-entered the State service. My grandfather and all my ancestors before
-him had estates about Breslau and Striegau. Only in the generation of my
-grandfather it happened that the first Richthofen, his cousin, became a
-General.
-
-My mother belongs to the family Von Schickfuss und Neudorf. Their
-character resembles that of the Richthofen people. There were a few
-soldiers in that family. All the rest were agrarians. The brother of my
-great-grandfather Schickfuss fell in 1806. During the Revolution of 1848
-one of the finest castles of a Schickfuss was burnt down. The Schickfuss
-have, as a rule, only become Captains of the Reserve.
-
-In the family Schickfuss and in the family Falckenhausen--my
-grandmother's maiden name was Falckenhausen--there were two principal
-hobbies: horse riding and game shooting. My mother's brother, Alexander
-Schickfuss, has done a great deal of game shooting in Africa, Ceylon,
-Norway and Hungary.
-
-My father is practically the first member of our branch of the family to
-become a professional soldier. At an early age he entered the Corps of
-Cadets and later joined the 12th Regiment of Uhlans. He was the most
-conscientious soldier imaginable. He began to suffer from difficulty of
-hearing and had to resign. He got ear trouble because he saved one of
-his men from drowning and though he was wet through and through he
-insisted upon continuing his duties as if nothing had happened, wet as
-he was, without taking notice of the rigor of the weather. The present
-generation of the Richthofens contains, of course, many more soldiers.
-In war every able-bodied Richthofen is, of course, on active service. In
-the very beginning of the present war I lost six cousins, and all were
-in the cavalry.
-
-I was named after my uncle Manfred, who in peace time, was adjutant to
-His Majesty and Commander of the Corps of the Guards. During the war he
-has been Commander of a Corps of Cavalry.
-
-My father was in the 1st Regiment of Cuirassiers in Breslau when I was
-born on the 2nd of May, 1892. We then lived at Kleinburg. I received
-tuition privately until my ninth year. Then I went for a year to school
-in Schweidnitz and then I became Cadet in Wahlstatt. The people of
-Schweidnitz considered me as one of themselves. Having been prepared for
-a military career as a Cadet, I entered the 1st Regiment of Uhlans.
-
-My own adventures and experiences will be found in this book.
-
-My brother, Lothar, is the other flying-man Richthofen. He wears the
-_Ordre pour le Mérite_. My youngest brother is still in the Corps of
-Cadets and he is waiting anxiously until he is old enough to go on
-active service. My sister, like all the ladies of our family, is
-occupied in nursing the wounded.
-
-
-    _My Life as a Cadet_
-
-AS a little boy of eleven I entered the Cadet Corps. I was not
-particularly eager to become a Cadet, but my father wished it. So my
-wishes were not consulted.
-
-I found it difficult to bear the strict discipline and to keep order. I
-did not care very much for the instruction I received. I never was good
-at learning things. I did just enough work to pass. In my opinion it
-would have been wrong to do more than was just sufficient, so I worked
-as little as possible. The consequence was that my teachers did not
-think overmuch of me. On the other hand, I was very fond of sport.
-Particularly I liked gymnastics, football, and other outdoor amusements.
-I could do all kinds of tricks on the horizontal bar. For this I
-received various prizes from the Commander.
-
-I had a tremendous liking for all risky foolery. For instance, one fine
-day, with my friend Frankenberg, I climbed the famous steeple of
-Wahlstatt by means of the lightning conductor and tied my handkerchief
-to the top. I remember exactly how difficult it was to negotiate the
-gutters. Ten years later, when I visited my little brother at Wahlstatt,
-I saw my handkerchief still tied up high in the air.
-
-My friend Frankenberg was the first victim of the war as far as I know.
-
-I liked very much better the Institution of Lichterfelde. I did not feel
-so isolated from the world and began to live a little more like a human
-being.
-
-My happiest reminiscences of Lichterfelde are those of the great sports
-when my opponent was Prince Frederick Charles. The Prince gained many
-first prizes against me both in running and football, as I had not
-trained my body as perfectly as he had done.
-
-
-    _I Enter the Army. (Easter, 1911)_
-
-OF course, I was very impatient to get into the Army. Immediately after
-passing my examination I came forward and was placed in the 1st Regiment
-of Uhlans, "Emperor Alexander III." I had selected that regiment. It was
-garrisoned in my beloved Silesia and I had some acquaintances and
-relations there, who advised me to join it.
-
-I had a colossal liking for the service with my regiment. It is the
-finest thing for a young soldier to be a cavalry man.
-
-I can say only little about the time which I passed at the War Academy.
-My experience there reminds me too much of the Corps of Cadets and
-consequently my reminiscences are not over agreeable.
-
-I remember that once one of my teachers bought a very fat mare, an
-amiable animal, whose only fault was that she was rather old. She was
-supposed to be fifteen years old. She had rather stout legs, but she
-jumped splendidly. I rode her frequently, and her name was Biffy.
-
-About a year later, when I joined the regiment, my Captain, von Tr----,
-who was very fond of sport, told me that he had bought a funny little
-mare, a fat beast, who jumped very nicely. We all were very interested
-to make the acquaintance of the fat jumping horse who bore the strange
-name Biffy. I had quite forgotten the old mare of my teacher at the War
-Academy. One fine morning, the animal arrived and I was astonished to
-find that the ancient Biffy was now standing as an eight-year-old in the
-Captain's stable. In the meantime, she had changed her master
-repeatedly, and had much risen in value. My teacher had bought her for
-$375., as a fifteen-year-old, and von Tr---- had bought her a year
-later, as an eight-year-old, for $850. She won no more prizes for
-jumping, in spite of her renewed youth, but she changed her master once
-more and was killed in action in the beginning of the war.
-
-
-    _I Become an Officer. (Autumn, 1912)_
-
-AT last I was given the epaulettes. It was a glorious feeling, the
-finest I have ever experienced when people called me Lieutenant.
-
-My father bought me a beautiful mare called Santuzza. It was a marvelous
-animal, as hard as nails. She kept her place in the procession like a
-lamb. In course of time I discovered that she possessed a great talent
-for jumping and I made up my mind to train her. She jumped incredible
-heights.
-
-In this enterprise I got much sympathy and co-operation from my comrade
-von Wedel, who won many a prize with his charger, Fandango.
-
-We two trained our horses for a jumping competition and a steeplechase
-in Breslau. Fandango did gloriously. Santuzza also did well by taking a
-great deal of trouble. I hoped to achieve something with her. On the day
-before she was to be put on the train I wished once more to jump all the
-obstacles in our training ground. In doing so we slipped. Santuzza hurt
-her shoulder and I broke my collar-bone.
-
-I expected that my dear fat mare, Santuzza, would also be a quick runner
-and was extremely surprised when she was beaten by Wedel's thoroughbred.
-
-Another time I had the good fortune to ride a very fine horse at a
-Sports Meeting at Breslau. My horse did extremely well and I had hopes
-of succeeding. After a run of about half the course I approached the
-last obstacle. At a long distance I saw that the obstacle in front was
-bound to be something extraordinary because a great crowd was watching
-near it. I said to myself: "Keep your spirits up. You are sure to get
-into trouble." I approached the obstacle, going full speed. The people
-about waved to me and shouted that I should not go so fast, but I
-neither heard nor saw. My horse jumped over and on the other side there
-was a steep slope with the river Weistritz in front. Before I could say
-_knife_ the horse, having jumped, fell with a gigantic leap into the
-river and horse and rider disappeared. Of course, I was thrown over the
-head of the animal. Felix got out of the river on the one side and I on
-the other. When I came back, the weighing people were surprised that I
-had put on ten pounds instead of losing two pounds as usual. Happily no
-one noticed that I was wet through and through.
-
-I had also a very good charger. The unfortunate beast had learned to do
-everything--running, steeplechasing, jumping, army service. There was
-nothing that the poor beast had not learned. Its name was Blume and I
-had some pleasant successes with him. The last prize I got riding that
-horse was when I rode for the Kaiser Prize in 1913. I was the only one
-who got over the whole course without a single slip. In doing so I had
-an experience which cannot easily be repeated. In galloping over a piece
-of heath land, I suddenly stood on my head. The horse had stepped into a
-rabbit hole and in my fall I broke my collar-bone. Notwithstanding the
-breakage, I rode another forty miles without making a mistake and
-arrived keeping good time.
-
-
-
-
-II
-
-_The Outbreak of War_
-
-
-ALL the papers contained nothing but fantastic stories about the war.
-However, for several months we had been accustomed to war talk. We had
-so often packed our service trunks that the whole thing had become
-tedious. No one believed any longer that there would be war. We, who
-were close to the frontier, who were "the eyes of the Army," to use the
-words of my Commander, believed least that there would be war.
-
-On the day before military preparations began we were sitting with the
-people of the detached squadron at a distance of ten kilometres from the
-frontier, in the officers' club. We were eating oysters, drinking
-champagne and gambling a little. We were very merry. No one thought of
-war.
-
-It is true that, some days before, Wedel's mother had startled us a
-little. She had arrived from Pomerania in order to see her son before
-the beginning of the war. As she found us in the pleasantest mood and as
-she ascertained that we did not think of war, she felt morally compelled
-to invite us to a very decent luncheon.
-
-We were extremely gay and noisy when suddenly the door opened. It
-disclosed Count Kospoth, the Administrator of Ols. He looked like a
-ghost.
-
-We greeted our old friend with a loud Hoorah! He explained to us the
-reason of his arrival. He had come personally to the frontier in order
-to convince himself whether the rumors of an impending world-war were
-true. He assumed, quite correctly, that the best information could be
-obtained at the frontier. He was not a little surprised when he saw our
-peaceful assembly. We learned from him that all the bridges in Silesia
-were being patrolled by the military and that steps were being taken to
-fortify various positions.
-
-We convinced him quickly that the possibility of war was absolutely nil
-and continued our festivity.
-
-On the next day we were ordered to take the field.
-
-
-    _We Cross the Frontier_
-
-TO us cavalry men on the frontier the word "war" had nothing unfamiliar.
-Everyone of us knew to the smallest detail what to do and what to leave
-undone. At the same time, nobody had a very clear idea, what the first
-thing would be. Every soldier was delighted to be able to show his
-capacity and his personal value.
-
-We young cavalry Lieutenants had the most interesting task. We were to
-study the ground, to work towards the rear of the enemy, and to destroy
-important objects. All these tasks require real men.
-
-Having in my pocket my directions and having convinced myself of their
-importance, through hard study during at least a year, I rode at the
-head of a file of soldiers for the first time against the enemy at
-twelve o'clock midnight.
-
-A river marks the frontier and I expected to be fired upon on reaching
-it. To my astonishment I could pass over the bridge without an incident.
-On the next morning, without having had any adventures, we reached the
-church tower of the village of Kieltze, which was well known to us
-through our frontier rides.
-
-Everything had happened without seeing anything of the enemy or rather
-without being seen by him. The question now was what should I do in
-order not to be noticed by the villagers? My first idea was to lock up
-the "pope"[1]. We fetched him from his house, to his great surprise. I
-locked him up among the bells in the church tower, took away the ladder
-and left him sitting up above. I assured him that he would be executed
-if the population should show any hostile inclinations. A sentinel
-placed on the tower observed the neighborhood.
-
-I had to send reports every day by dispatch-riders. Very soon my small
-troop was converted entirely into dispatch-riders and dissolved, so
-that I had at last, as the only one remaining, to bring in my own
-report.
-
-Up to the fifth night everything had been quiet. During that night the
-sentinel came suddenly rushing to the church tower near which the horses
-had been put. He called out, "The Cossacks are there!" The night was as
-dark as pitch. It rained a little. No stars were visible. One couldn't
-see a yard ahead.
-
-As a precaution we had previously breached the wall around the
-churchyard. Through the breach we took the horses into the open. The
-darkness was so great that we were in perfect security after having
-advanced fifty yards. I myself went with the sentinel, carbine in hand,
-to the place where he pretended he had seen Cossacks.
-
-Gliding along the churchyard wall I came to the street. When I got there
-I experienced a queer feeling, for the street swarmed with Cossacks. I
-looked over the wall, behind which the rascals had put the horses. Most
-of them had lanterns, and they acted very uncautiously and were very
-loud. I estimated that there were from twenty to thirty of them. One had
-left his horse and gone to the Pope whom I had let off the day before.
-
-Immediately it flashed through my brain: "Of course we are betrayed!"
-Therefore, we had to be doubly careful. I could not risk a fight because
-I could not dispose of more than two carbines. Therefore, I resolved to
-play at robber and police.
-
-After having rested a few hours, our visitors rode away again.
-
-On the next day I thought it wise to change our quarters. On the seventh
-day I was again back in my garrison and everyone stared at me as if I
-were a ghost. The staring was not due to my unshaved face, but because
-there had been a rumor that Wedel and I had fallen at Kalisch. The place
-where it had occurred, the time and all the circumstances of my death
-had been reported with such a wealth of detail that the report had
-spread throughout Silesia. My mother had already received visits of
-condolence. The only thing that had been omitted was an announcement of
-my death in the newspaper.
-
-An amusing incident happened about the same time. A veterinary surgeon
-had been ordered to take ten Uhlans and to requisition horses on a farm.
-The farm was situated about two miles from the road. He came back full
-of excitement and reported to us:
-
-"I was riding over a stubble field, the field where the scarecrows are,
-when I suddenly saw hostile infantry at a distance. Without a moment's
-hesitation I drew my sword and ordered the Uhlans to attack them with
-their lances. The men were delighted and at the fastest gallop they
-rushed across the field. When we came near the enemy I discovered that
-the hostile infantry consisted of some deer which were grazing in a
-nearby meadow. At that distance I had mistaken them for soldiers, owing
-to my shortsightedness."
-
-For a long time that dear gentleman had to suffer the pleasantries of
-the rest of us because of his bold attack.
-
-
-    _To France_
-
-WE were ordered to take the train in my garrison town. No one had any
-idea in what direction we were to go.
-
-There were many rumors but most of the talk was very wild. However, in
-this present case, we had the right idea: westward.
-
-A second-class compartment had been given to four of us. We had to take
-in provisions for a long railway journey. Liquid refreshments, of
-course, were not lacking. However, already on the first day we
-discovered that a second-class compartment is altogether too narrow for
-four war-like youths. Therefore, we resolved to distribute ourselves. I
-arranged part of a luggage car and converted it into a bed-drawing room,
-to my great advantage. I had light, air, and plenty of space. I procured
-straw at one of the stations and put a tent cloth on top of it. In my
-improvised sleeping-car I slept as well as I did in my four-poster in
-Ostrowo. We traveled night and day, first through Silesia, and then
-through Saxony, going westward all the time. Apparently we were going
-in the direction of Metz. Even the train conductor did not know where he
-was going to. At every station, even at stations where we did not stop,
-there were huge crowds of men and women who bombarded us with cheers and
-flowers. The German nation had been seized by a wild war enthusiasm.
-That was evident. The Uhlans were particularly admired. The men in the
-train who had passed through the station before us had probably reported
-that we had met the enemy, and we had been at war only for a week.
-Besides, my regiment had been mentioned in the first official
-communiqué. The 1st Regiment of Uhlans and the 155th Regiment of
-Infantry had taken Kalisch. We were therefore celebrated as heroes and
-naturally felt like heroes. Wedel had found a Cossack sword which he
-showed to admiring girls. He made a great impression with it. Of course
-we asserted that blood was sticking to it and we invented hair-raising
-tales about this peaceful sword of a police officer. We were very wild
-and merry until we were disembarked from the train at Busendorf, near
-Diedenhofen.
-
-A short time before the train arrived we were held up in a long tunnel.
-It is uncomfortable enough to stop in a tunnel in peace time, but to
-stop suddenly in war is still more uncomfortable. Some excited,
-high-spirited fellow wanted to play a joke and fired a shot. Before long
-there was general firing in the tunnel. It was surprising that no one
-was hurt. It has never been found out how the general shooting was
-brought about.
-
-At Busendorf we had to get out of the train. The heat was so great that
-our horses almost collapsed. On the following day we marched unceasingly
-northward in the direction of Luxemburg. In the meantime, I had
-discovered that my brother had ridden in the same direction with a
-cavalry division a week before. I discovered his spoor once more, but I
-didn't see him until a year later.
-
-Arrived in Luxemburg no one knew what were our relations with the people
-of that little State. When I saw a Luxemburg prisoner, he told me that
-he would complain about me to the German Emperor if I did not set him
-free immediately. I thought there was reason in what he said. So I let
-him go. We passed through the town of Luxemburg and through Esch and we
-approached the first fortified towns of Belgium.
-
-While advancing our infantry, and indeed, our whole division, manoeuvred
-exactly as in peace time. All were extremely excited. It was a good
-thing that we had to act exactly as we had done at manoeuvres, otherwise
-we should certainly have done some wild things. To the right and to the
-left of us, before and behind us, on every road, marched troops
-belonging to different army corps. One had the feeling that everything
-was in a great disorder. Suddenly, this unspeakable cuddle-muddle was
-dissolved and became a most wonderfully arranged evolution.
-
-I was entirely ignorant about the activities of our flying men, and I
-got tremendously excited whenever I saw an aviator. Of course I had not
-the slightest idea whether it was a German airman, or an enemy. I had at
-that time not even the knowledge that the German machines were marked
-with crosses and the enemy machines with circles. The consequence was
-that every aeroplane we saw was fired upon. Our old pilots are still
-telling of their painful feelings while being shot at by friend and
-enemy with perfect impartiality.
-
-We marched and marched, sending patrols far ahead, until we arrived at
-Arlon. I had an uneasy feeling when crossing, for a second time, an
-enemy frontier. Obscure reports of francs-tireurs, had already come to
-my ears.
-
-I had been ordered to work in connection with my cavalry division,
-acting as a connecting link. On that day I had ridden no less than
-sixty-six miles[2] with my men. Not a horse failed us. That was a
-splendid achievement. At Arlon I climbed the steeple in accordance with
-the tactical principles which we had been taught in peace time. Of
-course, I saw nothing, for the wicked enemy was still far away.
-
-At that time we were very harmless. For instance, I had my men outside
-the town and had ridden alone on bicycle right through the town to the
-church tower and ascended it. When I came down again I was surrounded by
-a crowd of angry young men who made hostile eyes and who talked
-threateningly in undertones. My bicycle had, of course, been punctured
-and I had to go on foot for half an hour. This incident amused me. I
-should have been delighted had it come to a fight. I felt absolutely
-sure of myself with a pistol in my hand.
-
-Later on I heard that several days previously, the inhabitants had
-behaved very seditiously towards our cavalry, and later on towards our
-hospitals. It had therefore been found necessary to place quite a number
-of these gentlemen against the wall.
-
-In the afternoon I reached the station to which I had been ordered, and
-learned that close to Arlon my only cousin Richthofen had been killed
-three days before. During the rest of the day I stayed with the Cavalry
-Division. During the night a causeless alarm took place, and late at
-night I reached my own regiment.
-
-That was a beautiful time. We cavalry men who had already been in touch
-with the enemy and had seen something of war, were envied by the men of
-the other armies. For me it was the most beautiful time during the whole
-of the war. I would much like to pass again through the beginning of the
-war.
-
-
-    _I Hear the Whistling of the First
-    Bullets. (21-22nd August, 1914)_
-
-I HAD been ordered to find out the strength of the enemy occupying the
-large forest near Virton. I started with fifteen Uhlans and said to
-myself: "To-day I shall have the first fight with the enemy." But my
-task was not easy. In so big a forest there may be lots of things hidden
-which one can not see.
-
-I went to the top of a little hill. A few hundred paces in front of me
-was a huge forest extending over many thousands of acres. It was a
-beautiful August morning. The forest seemed so peaceful and still that I
-almost forgot all my war-like ideas.
-
-We approached the margin of the forest. As we could not discover
-anything suspicious with our field glasses we had to go near and find
-out whether we should be fired upon. The men in front were swallowed up
-by a forest lane. I followed and at my side was one of my best Uhlans.
-At the entrance to the forest was a lonely forester's cottage. We rode
-past it.
-
-The soil indicated that a short time previously considerable numbers of
-hostile cavalry must have passed. I stopped my men, encouraged them by
-addressing a few words to them, and felt sure that I could absolutely
-rely upon everyone of my soldiers. Of course no one thought of anything
-except of attacking the enemy. It lies in the instinct of every German
-to rush at the enemy wherever he meets him, particularly if he meets
-hostile cavalry. In my mind's eye I saw myself at the head of my little
-troop sabering a hostile squadron, and was quite intoxicated with joyful
-expectation. The eyes of my Uhlans sparkled. Thus we followed the spoor
-at a rapid trot. After a sharp ride of an hour through the most
-beautiful mountaindale the wood became thinner. We approached the exit.
-I felt convinced that there we should meet the enemy. Therefore,
-caution! To the right of our narrow path was a steep rocky wall many
-yards high. To the left, was a narrow rivulet and at the further side a
-meadow, fifty yards wide, surrounded by barbed wire. Suddenly, the trace
-of horses' hooves disappeared over a bridge into the bushes. My leading
-men stopped because the exit from the forest was blocked by a barricade.
-
-Immediately I recognized that I had fallen into a trap. I saw a movement
-among the bushes behind the meadow at my left and noticed dismounted
-hostile cavalry. I estimated that there were fully one hundred rifles.
-In that direction nothing could be done. My path right ahead was cut by
-the barricade. To the right were steep rocks. To the left the barbed
-wire surrounded the meadow and prevented me attacking as I had intended.
-Nothing was to be done except to go back. I knew that my dear Uhlans
-would be willing to do everything except to run away from the enemy.
-That spoilt our fun, for a second later we heard the first shot which
-was followed by very intensive rifle fire from the wood. The distance
-was from fifty to one hundred yards. I had told my men that they should
-join me immediately when they saw me lifting up my hand. I felt sure we
-had to go back. So I lifted my arm and beckoned my men to follow.
-Possibly, they misunderstood my gesture. The cavalrymen who were
-following me believed me in danger, and they came rushing along at a
-great speed to help me to get away. As we were on a narrow forest path
-one can imagine the confusion which followed. The horses of the two men
-ahead rushed away in a panic because the noise of every shot was
-increased tenfold by the narrowness of the hollow way. The last I saw
-of them was as they leaped the barricade. I never heard anything of them
-again. They were no doubt made prisoners. I myself turned my horse and
-gave him the spurs, probably for the first time during his life. I had
-the greatest difficulty to make the Uhlans who rushed towards me
-understand that they should not advance any further, that we were to
-turn round and get away. My orderly rode at my side. Suddenly his horse
-was hit and fell. I jumped over them and horses were rolling all around
-me. In short, it was a wild disorder. The last I saw of my servant, he
-was lying under his horse, apparently not wounded, but pinned down by
-the weight of the animal. The enemy had beautifully surprised us. He had
-probably observed us from the very beginning and had intended to trap us
-and to catch us unawares as is the character of the French.
-
-I was delighted when, two days later, I saw my servant standing before
-me. He wore only one boot for he had left the other one under the body
-of his horse. He told me how he had escaped. At least two squadrons of
-French cuirassiers had issued from the forest in order to plunder the
-fallen horses and the brave Uhlans. Not being wounded, he had jumped up,
-climbed the rocks and had fallen down exhausted among the bushes. About
-two hours later, when the enemy had again hidden himself, he had
-continued his flight. So he had joined me after some days, but he could
-tell me little about the fate of his comrades who had been left behind.
-
-
-    _A Ride With Loen_
-
-THE battle of Virton was proceeding. My comrade Loen and I had once more
-to ascertain what had become of the enemy. We rode after the enemy
-during the whole of the day, reached him at last and were able to write
-a very decent report. In the evening, the great question was: Shall we
-go on riding, throughout the night in order to join our troops, or shall
-we economize our strength and take a rest so that we shall be fresh the
-next day? The splendid thing about cavalrymen on patrol is that they
-are given complete liberty of action.
-
-We resolved to pass the night near the enemy and to ride on the next
-morning. According to our strategical notions, the enemy was retiring
-and we were following him. Consequently, we could pass the night with
-fair security.
-
-Not far from the enemy there was a wonderful monastery with large
-stables. So both Loen and I had quarters for ourselves and our men. Of
-course, in the evening, when we entered our new domicile, the enemy was
-so near that he could have shot us through the windows.
-
-The monks were extremely amiable. They gave us as much to eat and to
-drink as we cared to have and we had a very good time. The saddles were
-taken off the horses and they were very happy when for the first time in
-three days and three nights, a dead weight of nearly three hundred
-pounds was taken from their backs. We settled down as if we were on
-manoeuvres and as if we were in the house of a delightful host and
-friend. At the same time, it should be observed that three days later,
-we hanged several of our hosts to the lanterns because they could not
-overcome their desire to take a hand in the war. But that evening they
-were really extremely amiable. We got into our nightshirts, jumped into
-bed, posted a sentinel, and let the Lord look after us.
-
-In the middle of the night somebody suddenly flung open the door and
-shouted: "Sir, the French are there!" I was too sleepy and too heavy to
-be able to reply. Loen, who was similarly incapacitated, gave the most
-intelligent answer: "How many are they?" The soldier stammered, full of
-excitement, "We have shot dead two, but we cannot say how many there are
-for it is pitch dark." I heard Loen reply, in a sleepy tone: "All right.
-When more arrive call me again." Half a minute later both of us were
-snoring again.
-
-The sun was already high in the horizon when we woke up from a
-refreshing sleep the next morning. We took an ample breakfast and then
-continued our journey.
-
-As a matter of fact, the French had passed by our castle during the
-night and our sentinels had fired on them. As it was a very dark night
-nothing further followed.
-
-Soon we passed through a pretty valley. We rode over the old battlefield
-of our Division and discovered, to our surprise, that it was peopled not
-with German soldiers, but with French Red Cross men. Here and there were
-French soldiers. They looked as surprised at seeing us as we did at
-seeing them. Nobody thought of shooting. We cleared out as rapidly as
-possible and gradually it dawned upon us that our troops, instead of
-advancing, had retired. Fortunately, the enemy had retired at the same
-time in the opposite direction. Otherwise I should now be somewhere in
-captivity.
-
-We passed through the village of Robelmont where, on the previous day,
-we had seen our Infantry in occupation. We encountered one of the
-inhabitants and asked him what had become of our soldiers. He looked
-very happy and assured me that the Germans had departed.
-
-Late in the afternoon I reached my regiment and was quite satisfied with
-the course of events during the last twenty-four hours.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Russian priest.
-
-[2] This seems to be a translator's mistake for kilometres, which would
-mean a little over 40 miles--in itself a sufficiently fine performance.
-
-
-
-
-III
-
-_Boredom Before Verdun_
-
-
-I AM a restless spirit. Consequently my activity in front of Verdun can
-only be described as boresome. At the beginning I was in the trenches at
-a spot where nothing happened. Then I became a dispatch-bearer and hoped
-to have some adventures. But there I was mistaken. The fighting men
-immediately degraded me and considered me a Base-hog. I was not really
-at the Base but I was not allowed to advance further than within 1500
-yards behind the front trenches. There, below the ground, I had a
-bomb-proof, heated habitation. Now and then I had to go to the front
-trenches. That meant great physical exertion, for one had to trudge
-uphill and downhill, criss-cross, through an unending number of
-trenches and mire-holes until at last one arrived at a place where men
-were firing. After having paid a short visit to the fighting men, my
-position seemed to me a very stupid one.
-
-At that time the digging business was beginning. It had not yet become
-clear to us what it means to dig approaches and endless trenches. Of
-course, we knew the names of the various ditches and holes through the
-lessons which we had received at the War Academy. However, the digging
-was considered to be the business of the military engineers. Other
-troops were supposed not to take a hand in it. Here, near Combres,
-everyone was digging industriously. Every soldier had a spade and a pick
-and took all imaginable trouble in order to get as deeply into the
-ground as possible. It was very strange that in many places the French
-were only five yards ahead of us. One could hear them speak and see them
-smoke cigarettes and now and then they threw us a piece of paper. We
-conversed with them, but nevertheless, we tried to annoy them in every
-possible way, especially with hand grenades.
-
-Five hundreds yards in front of us and five hundred yards behind the
-trenches the dense forest of the Côte Lorraine had been cut down by the
-vast number of shells and bullets which were fired unceasingly. It
-seemed unbelievable that in front men could live. Nevertheless, the men
-in the front trenches were not in as bad a position as the men at the
-Base.
-
-After a morning visit to the front trenches, which usually took place at
-the earliest hours of the day, the more tedious business began. I had to
-attend to the telephone.
-
-On days when I was off duty I indulged in my favorite pastime, game
-shooting. The forest of La Chaussee gave me ample opportunities. When
-going for a ride I had noticed that there were wild pigs about and I
-tried to find out where I could shoot them at night. Beautiful nights,
-with a full moon and snow, came to my aid. With the assistance of my
-servant I built a shelter seat in a tree, at a spot where the pigs
-passed, and waited there at night. Thus I passed many a night sitting on
-the branch of a tree and on the next morning found that I had become an
-icicle. However, I got my reward. There was a sow which was particularly
-interesting. Every night she swam across the lake, broke into a potato
-field, always at the same spot, and then she swam back again. Of course
-I very much wished to improve my acquaintance with the animal. So I took
-a seat on the other shore of the lake. In accordance with our previous
-arrangement, Auntie Pig appeared at midnight for her supper. I shot her
-while she was still swimming and she would have been drowned had I not
-succeeded at the last moment in seizing her by the leg.
-
-At another time, I was riding with my servant along a narrow path.
-Suddenly I saw several wild pigs crossing it. Immediately I jumped from
-the horse, grasped my servant's carbine and rushed several hundred yards
-ahead. At the end of the procession came a mighty boar. I had never yet
-seen such a beast and was surprised at its gigantic size. Now it
-ornaments my room and reminds me of my encounter.
-
-In this manner I passed several months when, one fine day, our division
-became busy. We intended a small attack. I was delighted, for now at
-last I should be able to do something as a connecting link! But there
-came another disappointment! I was given quite a different job and now I
-had enough of it. I sent a letter to my Commanding General and evil
-tongues report that I told him: "My dear Excellency! I have not gone to
-war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose." At
-first, the people above wanted to snarl at me. But then they fulfilled
-my wish. Thus I joined the Flying Service at the end of May, 1915. My
-greatest wish was fulfilled.
-
-
-
-
-IV
-
-_In the Air_
-
-
-THE next morning at seven o'clock I was to fly for the first time as an
-observer!--I was naturally very excited, for I had no idea what it would
-be like. Everyone whom I had asked about his feelings told me a
-different tale. The night before, I went to bed earlier than usual in
-order to be thoroughly refreshed the next morning. We drove over to the
-flying ground, and I got into a flying machine for the first time. The
-draught from the propeller was a beastly nuisance. I found it quite
-impossible to make myself understood by the pilot. Everything was
-carried away by the wind. If I took up a piece of paper it disappeared.
-My safety helmet slid off. My muffler dropped off. My jacket was not
-sufficiently buttoned. In short, I felt very uncomfortable. Before I
-knew what was happening, the pilot went ahead at full speed and the
-machine started rolling. We went faster and faster. I clutched the sides
-of the car. Suddenly, the shaking was over, the machine was in the air
-and the earth dropped away from under me.
-
-I had been told the name of the place to which we were to fly. I was to
-direct my pilot. At first we flew right ahead, then my pilot turned to
-the right, then to the left, but I had lost all sense of direction above
-our own aerodrome. I had not the slightest notion where I was! I began
-very cautiously to look over the side at the country. The men looked
-ridiculously small. The houses seemed to come out of a child's toy box.
-Everything seemed pretty. Cologne was in the background. The cathedral
-looked like a little toy. It was a glorious feeling to be so high above
-the earth, to be master of the air. I didn't care a bit where I was and
-I felt extremely sad when my pilot thought it was time to go down
-again.
-
-I should have liked best to start immediately on another flight. I have
-never had any trouble in the air such as vertigo. The celebrated
-American swings are to me disgusting. One does not feel secure in them,
-but in a flying machine one possesses a feeling of complete security.
-One sits in an aeroplane as in an easy chair. Vertigo is impossible. No
-man exists who has been turned giddy by flying. At the same time, flying
-affects one's nerves. When one races full speed through the air, and
-particularly when one goes down again, when the aeroplane suddenly dips,
-when the engine stops running, and when the tremendous noise is followed
-by an equally tremendous silence, then I would frantically clutch the
-sides and think that I was sure to fall to the ground. However,
-everything happened in such a matter-of-fact and natural way, and the
-landing, when we again touched terra firma was so simple, that I could
-not have such a feeling as fear. I was full of enthusiasm and should
-have liked to remain in an aeroplane all day long. I counted the hours
-to the time when we should start out again.
-
-
-    _As an Observer with Mackensen_
-
-ON the 10th of June, 1915 I came to Grossenhain. Thence I was to be sent
-to the front. I was anxious to go forward as quickly as possible. I
-feared that I might come too late, that the world-war might be over. I
-should have had to spend three months to become a pilot. By the time the
-three months had gone by, peace might have been concluded. Therefore, it
-never occurred to me to become a pilot. I imagined that, owing to my
-training as a cavalryman, I might do well as an observer. I was very
-happy when, after a fortnight's flying experience, I was sent out,
-especially as I was sent to the only spot where there was still a chance
-of a war of movement. I was sent to Russia.
-
-Mackensen was advancing gloriously. He had broken through the Russian
-position at Gorlice and I joined his army when we were taking Rawa
-Ruska. I spent a day at the aviation base and then I was sent to the
-celebrated 69th Squadron. Being quite a beginner I felt very foolish. My
-pilot was a big gun, First Lieutenant Zeumer. He is now a cripple. Of
-the other men of the Section, I am the only survivor.
-
-Now came my most beautiful time. Life in the Flying Corps is very much
-like life in the cavalry. Every day, morning and afternoon, I had to fly
-and to reconnoiter, and I have brought back valuable information many a
-time.
-
-
-    _With Holck in Russia. (Summer, 1915)_
-
-DURING June, July and August, 1915, I remained with the Flying Squadron
-which participated in Mackensen's advance from Gorlice to Brest-Litovsk.
-I had joined it as quite a juvenile observer and had not the slightest
-idea of anything.
-
-As a cavalryman my business had consisted in reconnoitering. So the
-Aeroplane Service as an observer was in my line and it amused me vastly
-to take part in the gigantic reconnoitering flights which we undertook
-nearly every day.
-
-For an observer it is important to find a pilot with a strong character.
-One fine day we were told, "Count Holck will join us." Immediately I
-thought, "That is the man I want."
-
-Holck made his appearance, not as one would imagine, in a 60 h. p.
-Mercedes or in a first-class sleeping car. He came on foot. After
-traveling by railway for days and days he had arrived in the vicinity of
-Jaroslav. Here he got out of the train for there was once more an
-unending stoppage. He told his servant to travel on with the luggage
-while he would go on foot. He marched along and after an hour's walking
-looked back, but the train did not follow him. So he walked and walked
-and walked without being overtaken by the train until, after a
-thirty-mile walk, he arrived in Rawa Ruska, his objective. Twenty-four
-hours later his orderly appeared with the luggage. His thirty-mile walk
-proved no difficulty to that sportsman. His body was so well trained
-that he did not feel the tramp he had undertaken.
-
-Count Holck was not only a sportsman on land. Flying also was to him a
-sport which gave him the greatest pleasure. He was a pilot of rare
-talent and particularity, and that is, after all, the principal thing. He
-towered head and shoulders above the enemy.
-
-We went on many a beautiful reconnoitering flight--I do not know how
-far--into Russia. Although Holck was so young I had never a feeling of
-insecurity with him. On the contrary he was always a support to me in
-critical moments. When I looked around and saw his determined face I had
-always twice as much courage as I had had before.
-
-My last flight with him nearly led to trouble. We had not had definite
-orders to fly. The glorious thing in the flying service is that one
-feels that one is a perfectly free man and one's own master as soon as
-one is up in the air.
-
-[Illustration: THE FAMOUS RICHTHOFEN "CIRCUS"]
-
-We had to change our flying base and we were not quite certain in which
-meadow we were to land. In order not to expose our machine to too much
-risk in landing we flew in the direction of Brest-Litovsk. The Russians
-were retiring everywhere. The whole countryside was burning. It was a
-terribly beautiful picture. We intended to ascertain the direction of
-the enemy columns, and in doing so flew over the burning town of
-Wicznice. A gigantic smoke cloud, which went up to about 6,000 feet,
-prevented us continuing our flight because we flew at an altitude of
-only 4,500 feet in order to see better. For a moment Holck reflected. I
-asked him what he intended to do and advised him to fly around the smoke
-cloud which would have involved a round-about way of five minutes. Holck
-did not intend to do this. On the contrary. The greater the danger was
-the more the thing attracted him. Therefore straight through! I enjoyed
-it, too, to be together with such a daring fellow. Our venturesomeness
-nearly cost us dear. As soon as the tail-end of the machine had
-disappeared in the smoke the aeroplane began to reel. I could not see a
-thing for the smoke made my eyes water. The air was much warmer and
-beneath me I saw nothing but a huge sea of fire. Suddenly the machine
-lost its balance and fell, turning round and round. I managed to grasp a
-stay and hung on to it. Otherwise I should have been thrown out of the
-machine. The first thing I did was to look at Holck and immediately I
-regained my courage for his face showed an iron confidence. The only
-thought which I had was: "It is stupid, after all, to die so
-unnecessarily a hero's death."
-
-Later on, I asked Holck what had been his thoughts at the moment. He
-told me he had never experienced so unpleasant a feeling.
-
-We fell down to an altitude of 1500 feet above the burning town. Either
-through the skill of my pilot or by a Higher Will, perhaps by both, we
-suddenly dropped out of the smoke cloud. Our good Albatros found itself
-again and once more flew straight ahead as if nothing had happened.
-
-We had now had enough of it and instead of going to a new base intended
-to return to our old quarter as quickly as possible. After all, we were
-still above the Russians and only at an altitude of 1500 feet. Five
-minutes later I heard Holck, behind me, exclaiming: "The motor is giving
-out."
-
-I must add that Holck had not as much knowledge of motors as he had of
-horseflesh and I had not the slightest idea of mechanics. The only thing
-which I knew was that we should have to land among the Russians if the
-motor went on strike. So one peril had followed the other.
-
-I convinced myself that the Russians beneath us were still marching with
-energy. I could see them quite clearly from our low altitude. Besides it
-was not necessary to look, for the Russians shot at us with machine-guns
-with the utmost diligence. The firing sounded like chestnuts roasting
-near a fire.
-
-Presently the motor stopped running altogether, for it had been hit. So
-we went lower and lower. We just managed to glide over a forest and
-landed at last in an abandoned artillery position which, the evening
-before, had still been occupied by Russians, as I had reported.
-
-I told Holck my impressions. We jumped out of our box and tried to rush
-into the forest nearby, where we might have defended ourselves. I had
-with me a pistol and six cartridges. Holck had nothing.
-
-When we had reached the wood we stopped and I saw with my glasses that a
-soldier was running towards our aeroplane. I was horrified to see that
-he wore not a spiked helmet but a cap. So I felt sure that it was a
-Russian. When the man came nearer Holck shouted with joy, for he was a
-Grenadier of the Prussian Guards.
-
-Our troops had once more stormed the position at the break of day and
-had broken through into the enemy batteries.
-
-On that occasion Holck lost his little favorite, his doggie. He took the
-little animal with him in every flight. The dog would lie always quietly
-on Holck's fur in the fusilage. He was still with us when we were in the
-forest. Soon after, when we had talked with the Guardsman, German troops
-passed us. They were the staffs of the Guards and Prince Eitel Friedrich
-with his Adjutants and his Orderly Officers. The Prince supplied us
-with horses so that we two cavalrymen were sitting once more on
-oat-driven motors. Unfortunately doggie was lost while we were riding.
-Probably he followed other troops by mistake.
-
-Later in the evening we arrived in our old flying base on a cart. The
-machine was smashed.
-
-
-    _Russia--Ostend (From the Two-Seater
-    to the Twin-Engined Fighter)_
-
-THE German enterprise in Russia came gradually to a stop and suddenly I
-was transferred to a large battle-plane at Ostend on the twenty-first of
-August, 1915. There I met an old acquaintance, friend Zeumer. Besides I
-was attracted by the tempting name "Large Battle-plane."[3]
-
-I had a very good time during this part of my service. I saw little of
-the war but my experiences were invaluable to me, for I passed my
-apprenticeship as a battle-flier. We flew a great deal, we had rarely a
-fight in the air and we had no successes. We had seized a hotel on the
-Ostend shore, and there we bathed every afternoon. Unfortunately the
-only frequenters of the watering-place were soldiers. Wrapped up in our
-many-colored bathing gowns we sat on the terraces of Ostend and drank
-our coffee in the afternoon.
-
-One fine day we were sitting as usual on the shore drinking coffee.
-Suddenly we heard bugles. We were told that an English squadron was
-approaching. Of course we did not allow ourselves to be alarmed and to
-be disturbed, but continued drinking our coffee. Suddenly somebody
-called out: "There they are!" Indeed we could see on the horizon, though
-not very distinctly, some smoking chimneys and later on could make out
-ships. Immediately we fetched our telescopes and observed them. There
-was indeed quite an imposing number of vessels. It was not quite clear
-to us what they intended to do, but soon we were to know better. We
-went up to the roof whence we could see more. Suddenly we heard a
-whistling in the air; then there came a big bang and a shell hit that
-part of the beach where a little before we had been bathing. I have
-never rushed as rapidly into the hero's cellar as I did at that moment.
-The English squadron shot perhaps three or four times at us and then it
-began bombarding the harbor and railway station. Of course they hit
-nothing but they gave a terrible fright to the Belgians. One shell fell
-right in the beautiful Palace Hotel on the shore. That was the only
-damage that was done. Happily they destroyed only English capital, for
-it belonged to Englishmen.
-
-In the evening we flew again with energy. On one of our flights we had
-gone very far across the sea with our battle-plane. It had two motors
-and we were experimenting with a new steering gear which, we were told,
-would enable us to fly in a straight line with only a single motor
-working.[4] When we were fairly far out I saw beneath us, not on the
-water but below the surface, a ship. It is a funny thing. If the sea is
-quiet, one can look down from above to the bottom of the sea. Of course
-it is not possible where the sea is twenty-five miles deep but one can
-see clearly through several hundred yards of water. I had not made a
-mistake in believing that the ship was traveling not on the surface but
-below the surface. Yet it seemed at first that it was traveling above
-water. I drew Zeumer's attention to my discovery and we went lower in
-order to see more clearly. I am too little of a naval expert to say what
-it was but it was clear to me that it was bound to be a submarine. But
-of what nationality? That is a difficult question which in my opinion
-can be solved only by a naval expert, and not always by him. One can
-scarcely distinguish colors under water and there is no flag. Besides a
-submarine does not carry such things. We had with us a couple of bombs
-and I debated with myself whether I should throw them or not. The
-submarine had not seen us for it was partly submerged. We might have
-flown above it without danger and we might have waited until they found
-it necessary to come to the surface for air. Then we could have dropped
-our eggs. Herein lies, no doubt, a very critical point for our sister
-arm.
-
-When we had fooled around the apparition beneath us for quite a while I
-suddenly noticed that the water was gradually disappearing from our
-cooling apparatus. I did not like that and I drew my colleague's
-attention to the fact. He pulled a long face and hastened to get home.
-However, we were approximately twelve miles from the shore and they had
-to be flown over. The motor began running more slowly and I was quietly
-preparing myself for a sudden cold immersion. But lo! and behold! we got
-through! Our giant apple-barge[5] barged along with a single motor and
-the new steering apparatus and we reached the shore and managed to land
-in the harbor without any special difficulty.
-
-It is a good thing to be lucky. Had we not tried the new steering
-apparatus on that day there would not have been any hope for us. We
-should certainly have been drowned.
-
-
-    _A Drop of Blood for the Fatherland_
-
-I HAVE never been really wounded. At the critical moment I have probably
-bent my head or pulled in my chest. Often I have been surprised that
-they did not hit me. Once a bullet went through both my furlined boots.
-Another time a bullet went through my muffler. Another time one went
-along my arm through the fur and the leather jacket; but I have never
-been touched.
-
-One fine day we started with our large battle-plane in order to delight
-the English with our bombs. We reached our object. The first bomb fell.
-It is very interesting to ascertain the effect of a bomb. At least one
-always likes to see it exploding. Unfortunately my large battle-plane,
-which was well qualified for carrying bombs, had a stupid peculiarity
-which prevented me from seeing the effect of a bomb-throw, for
-immediately after the throw the machine came between my eye and the
-object and covered it completely with its planes. This always made me
-wild because one does not like to be deprived of one's amusement. If you
-hear a bang down below and see the delightful grayish-whitish cloud of
-the explosion in the neighborhood of the object aimed at, you are always
-very pleased. Therefore I waved to friend Zeumer that he should bend a
-little to the side. While waving to him I forgot that the infamous
-object on which I was traveling, my apple-barge, had two propellers
-which turned to the right and left of my observer-seat.[6] I meant to
-show him where approximately the bomb had hit and bang! my finger was
-caught! I was somewhat surprised when I discovered that my little
-finger had been damaged. Zeumer did not notice anything.
-
-Having been hit on the hand I did not care to throw any more bombs. I
-quickly got rid of the lot and we hurried home. My love for the large
-battle-plane, which after all had not been very great, suffered
-seriously in consequence of my experience. I had to sit quiet for seven
-days and was debarred from flying. Only my beauty was slightly damaged,
-but after all, I can say with pride that I also have been wounded in the
-war.
-
-
-    _My First Fight in the
-    Air. (1st Sept., 1915)_
-
-ZEUMER and I were very anxious to have a fight in the air. Of course we
-flew our large battle-plane. The title of our barge alone gave us so
-much courage that we thought it impossible for any opponent to escape
-us.
-
-We flew every day from five to six hours without ever seeing an
-Englishman. I became quite discouraged, but one fine morning we again
-went out to hunt. Suddenly I discovered a Farman aeroplane which was
-reconnoitering without taking notice of us. My heart beat furiously when
-Zeumer flew towards it. I was curious to see what was going to happen. I
-had never witnessed a fight in the air and had about as vague an idea of
-it as it was possible to have.
-
-Before I knew what was happening both the Englishman and I rushed by one
-another. I had fired four shots at most while the Englishman was
-suddenly in our rear firing into us like anything. I must say I never
-had any sense of danger because I had no idea how the final result of
-such a fight would come about. We turned and turned around one another
-until at last, to our great surprise the Englishman turned away from us
-and flew off. I was greatly disappointed and so was my pilot.
-
-Both of us were in very bad spirits when we reached home. He reproached
-me for having shot badly and I reproached him for not having enabled me
-to shoot well. In short our aeroplanic relations, which previously had
-been faultless, suffered severely.
-
-We looked at our machine and discovered that it had received quite a
-respectable number of hits.
-
-On the same day we went on the chase for a second time but again we had
-no success. I felt very sad. I had imagined that things would be very
-different in a battle squadron. I had always believed that one shot
-would cause the enemy to fall, but soon I became convinced that a flying
-machine can stand a great deal of punishment. Finally I felt assured
-that I should never bring down a hostile aeroplane, however much
-shooting I did.
-
-We did not lack courage. Zeumer was a wonderful flier and I was quite a
-good shot. We stood before a riddle. We were not the only ones to be
-puzzled. Many are nowadays in the same position in which we were then.
-After all the flying business must really be thoroughly understood.
-
-
-    _In the Champagne Battle_
-
-OUR pleasant days at Ostend were soon past, for the Champagne battle
-began and we flew to the front in order to take part in it in our large
-battle-plane. Soon we discovered that our packing-case[7] was a
-capacious aeroplane but that it could never be turned into a good
-battle-plane.
-
-I flew once with Osteroth who had a smaller flier than the apple-barge.
-About three miles behind the front we encountered a Farman Two-seater.
-He allowed us to approach him and for the first time in my life I saw an
-aerial opponent from quite close by. Osteroth flew with great skill side
-by side with the enemy so that I could easily fire at him. Our opponent
-probably did not notice us, for only when I had trouble with my gun did
-he begin to shoot at us. When I had exhausted my supply of one hundred
-bullets I thought I could not trust my eyes when I suddenly noticed that
-my opponent was going down in curious spirals. I followed him with my
-eyes and tapped Osteroth's head to draw his attention. Our opponent fell
-and fell and dropped at last into a large crater. There he was, his
-machine standing on its head, the tail pointing towards the sky.
-According to the map he had fallen three miles behind the front. We had
-therefore brought him down on enemy ground.[8] Otherwise I should have
-one more victory to my credit. I was very proud of my success. After
-all, the chief thing is to bring a fellow down. It does not matter at
-all whether one is credited for it or not.
-
-
-    _How I Met Boelcke_
-
-FRIEND Zeumer got a Fokker Monoplane. Therefore I had to sail through
-the world alone. The Champagne battle was raging. The French flying men
-were coming to the fore. We were to be combined in a battle squadron and
-took train on the first of October, 1915.
-
-In the dining car, at the table next to me, was sitting a young and
-insignificant-looking lieutenant. There was no reason to take any note
-of him except for the fact that he was the only man who had succeeded
-in shooting down a hostile flying man not once but four times. His name
-had been mentioned in the dispatches. I thought a great deal of him
-because of his experience. Although I had taken the greatest trouble, I
-had not brought an enemy down up to that time. At least I had not been
-credited with a success.
-
-I would have liked so much to find out how Lieutenant Boelcke managed
-his business. So I asked him: "Tell me, how do you manage it?" He seemed
-very amused and laughed, although I had asked him quite seriously. Then
-he replied: "Well it is quite simple. I fly close to my man, aim well
-and then of course he falls down." I shook my head and told him that I
-did the same thing but my opponents unfortunately did not come down. The
-difference between him and me was that he flew a Fokker and I a large
-battle-plane.
-
-I took great trouble to get more closely acquainted with that nice
-modest fellow whom I badly wanted to teach me his business. We often
-played cards together, went for walks and I asked him questions. At last
-I formed a resolution that I also would learn to fly a Fokker. Perhaps
-then my chances would improve.
-
-My whole aim and ambition became now concentrated upon learning how to
-manipulate the sticks myself. Hitherto I had been nothing but an
-observer. Happily I soon found an opportunity to learn piloting on an
-old machine in the Champagne. I threw myself into the work with body and
-soul and after twenty-five training flights I stood before the
-examination in flying alone.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[3] The Grossflugzeug, or "G" class of German aeroplane, later given up
-as a flying machine owing to its slow speed and clumsiness in manoeuvre
-and used in its later developments for night-bombing only.
-
-[4] This apparently refers to an auto-lock arrangement on the rudder-bar
-to save the pilot from having the rudder against the engine all the
-time.
-
-[5] A literal translation of the German slang, analogous more or less to
-the British term box-kite.
-
-[6] From this disposition of the air-screws, and from the date of the
-occurrence, one assumes that this was one of the very earliest
-twin-engined Gothas, of the type which the R. F. C. nicknamed
-"Wong-wong," because of the curious noise made by the engines or
-air-screws when they ran out of step.
-
-[7] Still another example of slang, indicative of the clumsiness of the
-Grossflugzeug in the air.
-
-[8] It was also the British custom to ignore--as part of the score--all
-machines brought down in enemy territory. Later it became permissible to
-count such victims if their destruction was verified by independent
-witnesses.
-
-
-
-
-V
-
-_My First Solo-Flight. (10th October, 1915)_
-
-
-THERE are some moments in one's life which tickle one's nerves
-particularly and the first solo-flight is among them.
-
-One fine evening my teacher, Zeumer, told me: "Now go and fly by
-yourself." I must say I felt like replying "I am afraid." But this is a
-word which should never be used by a man who defends his country.
-Therefore, whether I liked it or not, I had to make the best of it and
-get into my machine.
-
-Zeumer explained to me once more every movement in theory. I scarcely
-listened to his explanations for I was firmly convinced that I should
-forget half of what he was telling me.
-
-I started the machine. The aeroplane went at the prescribed speed and I
-could not help noticing that I was actually flying. After all I did not
-feel timorous but rather elated. I did not care for anything. I should
-not have been frightened no matter what happened. With contempt of death
-I made a large curve to the left, stopped the machine near a tree,
-exactly where I had been ordered to, and looked forward to see what
-would happen. Now came the most difficult thing, the landing. I
-remembered exactly what movements I had to make. I acted mechanically
-and the machine moved quite differently from what I had expected. I lost
-my balance, made some wrong movements, stood on my head and I succeeded
-in converting my aeroplane into a battered school 'bus. I was very sad,
-looked at the damage which I had done to the machine, which after all
-was not very great, and had to suffer from other people's jokes.
-
-Two days later I went with passion at the flying and suddenly I could
-handle the apparatus.
-
-A fortnight later I had to take my first examination. Herr von T---- was
-my examiner. I described the figure eight several times, exactly as I
-had been told to do, landed several times with success, in accordance
-with orders received and felt very proud of my achievements. However, to
-my great surprise I was told that I had not passed. There was nothing to
-be done but to try once more to pass the initial examination.
-
-
-    _My Training Time at Döberitz_
-
-IN order to pass my examinations I had to go to Berlin. I made use of
-the opportunity to go to Berlin as observer in a giant plane.[9] I was
-ordered to go by aeroplane to Döberitz near Berlin on the fifteenth of
-November, 1915. In the beginning I took a great interest in the
-giant-plane. But funnily enough the gigantic machine made it clear to me
-that only the smallest aeroplane would be of any use for me in battle. A
-big aerial barge is too clumsy for fighting. Agility is needed and,
-after all, fighting is my business.
-
-The difference between a large battle-plane and a giant-plane is that a
-giant-plane is considerably larger than a large battle-plane and that it
-is more suitable for use as a bomb-carrier than as a fighter.
-
-I went through my examinations in Döberitz together with a dear fellow,
-First Lieutenant von Lyncker. We got on very well with one another, had
-the same inclinations and the same ideas as to our future activity. Our
-aim was to fly Fokkers and to be included in a battle squadron on the
-Western front. A year later we succeeded in working together for a short
-time. A deadly bullet hit my dear friend when bringing down his third
-aeroplane.
-
-We passed many merry hours in Döberitz. One of the things which we had
-to do was to land in strange quarters. I used the opportunity to combine
-the necessary with the agreeable. My favorable landing place outside of
-our aerodrome was the Buchow Estate where I was well known. I was there
-invited to shoot wild pigs. The matter could be combined only with
-difficulty with the service, for on fine evenings I wished both to fly
-and to shoot pigs. So I arranged for a place of landing in the
-neighborhood of Buchow whence I could easily reach my friends.
-
-I took with me a second pilot, who served as an observer, and sent him
-back in the evening. During the night I shot pigs and on the next
-morning was fetched by my pilot.
-
-If I had not been fetched with the aeroplane I should have been in a
-hole for I should have had to march on foot a distance of about six
-miles. So I required a man who would fetch me in any weather. It is not
-easy to find a man who will fetch you under any circumstances.
-
-Once, when I had passed the night trying to shoot pigs, a tremendous
-snowfall set in. One could not see fifty yards ahead. My pilot was to
-fetch me at eight sharp. I hoped that for once he would not come. But
-suddenly I heard a humming noise--one could not see a thing--and five
-minutes later my beloved bird was squatting before me on the ground.
-Unfortunately some of his bones had got bent.
-
-
-    _I Become a Pilot_
-
-ON Christmas Day, 1915, I passed my third examination. In connection
-with it I flew to Schwerin, where the Fokker works are situated, and had
-a look at them. As observer I took with me my mechanic, and from
-Schwerin I flew with him to Breslau, from Breslau to Schweidnitz, from
-thence to Luben and then returned to Berlin. During my tour I landed in
-lots of different places in between, visiting relatives and friends.
-Being a trained observer, I did not find it difficult to find my way.
-
-In March, 1916, I joined the Second Battle Squadron before Verdun and
-learned air-fighting as a pilot. I learned how to handle a fighting
-aeroplane. I flew then a two-seater.
-
-In the official communiqué of the twenty-sixth of April, 1916, I am
-referred to for the first time, although my name is not mentioned. Only
-my deeds appear in it. I had had built into my machine a machine gun,
-which I had arranged very much in the way in which it is done in the
-Nieuport machines.[10] I was very proud of my idea. People laughed at
-the way I had fitted it up because the whole thing looked very
-primitive. Of course I swore by my new arrangement and very soon I had
-an opportunity of ascertaining its practical value.
-
-I encountered a hostile Nieuport machine which was apparently guided by
-a man who also was a beginner, for he acted extremely foolishly. When I
-flew towards him he ran away. Apparently he had trouble with his gun. I
-had no idea of fighting him but thought: "What will happen if I now
-start shooting?" I flew after him, approached him as closely as possible
-and then began firing a short series of well-aimed shots with my machine
-gun. The Nieuport reared up in the air and turned over and over.
-
-At first both my observer and I believed that this was one of the
-numerous tricks which French fliers habitually indulge in. However, his
-tricks did not cease. Turning over and over, the machine went lower and
-lower. At last my observer patted me on the head and called out to me:
-"I congratulate you. He is falling." As a matter of fact he fell into a
-forest behind Fort Douaumont and disappeared among the trees. It became
-clear to me that I had shot him down, but on the other side of the
-Front. I flew home and reported merely: "I had an aerial fight and have
-shot down a Nieuport." The next day I read of my action in the official
-communiqué. Of course I was very proud of my success, but that Nieuport
-does not figure among the fifty-two aeroplanes which I have brought
-down.[11]
-
-The communiqué of the 26th of April stated: "Two hostile flying machines
-have been shot down by aerial fighting above Fleury, south and west of
-Douaumont."
-
-
-    _Holck's Death. (30th of April, 1916)_
-
-AS a young pilot I once flew over Fort Douaumont at a moment when it was
-exposed to a violent drum-fire. I noticed that a German Fokker was
-attacking three Caudron machines. It was my misfortune that a strong
-west wind was blowing. That was not favorable to me. The Fokker was
-driven over the town of Verdun in the course of the fight. I drew the
-attention of my observer to the struggle. He thought that the German
-fighting man must be a very smart fellow. We wondered whether it could
-be Boelcke and intended to inquire when we came down. Suddenly, I saw to
-my horror that the German machine, which previously had attacked, had
-fallen back upon the defensive. The strength of the French fighting men
-had been increased to at least ten and their combined assaults forced
-the German machine to go lower and lower.
-
-I could not fly to the German's aid. I was too far away from the battle.
-Besides, my heavy machine could not overcome the strong wind against
-me. The Fokker fought with despair. His opponents had rushed him down to
-an altitude of only about eighteen hundred feet. Suddenly, he was once
-more attacked by his opponents and he disappeared, plunging into a small
-cloud. I breathed more easily, for in my opinion the cloud had saved
-him.
-
-When I arrived at the aerodrome, I reported what I had seen and was told
-that the Fokker man was Count Holck, my old comrade in the Eastern
-Theater of war.
-
-Count Holck had dropped straight down, shot through the head. His death
-deeply affected me for he was my model. I tried to imitate his energy
-and he was a man among men also as a character.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[9] Possibly a very early example of the Riesenflugzeug type, which is
-the next biggest thing to the Grossflugzeug type, which includes the
-Gothas, A. E. G.'s, Friedrichshafens, and other of the twin-engined
-types.
-
-[10] It is not clear whether this refers to a gun pointing upwards, as
-guns at that time were commonly fitted on the upper plane of the
-Nieuport, or whether the gun fired through the air-screw. Probably the
-latter fitting is meant. Later on one reads that he was then flying an
-Albatros, so it may have been a top gun.
-
-[11] Note.--This book was written after Captain von Richthofen had
-brought down fifty-two aeroplanes. At the time of his death he was
-officially credited with eighty victories.
-
-
-
-
-VI
-
-_I Fly In a Thunderstorm_
-
-
-OUR activity before Verdun was disturbed in the summer of 1916 by
-frequent thunderstorms. Nothing is more disagreeable for flying men than
-to have to go through a thunderstorm. In the Battle of the Somme a whole
-English flying squadron came down behind our lines and became prisoners
-of war because they had been surprised by a thunderstorm.[12]
-
-I had never yet made an attempt to get through thunder clouds but I
-could not suppress my desire to make the experiment. During the whole
-day thunder was in the air. From my base at Mont I had flown over to
-the fortress of Metz, nearby, in order to look after various things.
-During my return journey I had an adventure.
-
-I was at the aerodrome of Metz and intended to return to my own
-quarters. When I pulled my machine out of the hangar the first signs of
-an approaching thunderstorm became noticeable. Clouds which looked like
-a gigantic pitch-black wall approached from the north. Old experienced
-pilots urged me not to fly. However, I had promised to return and I
-should have considered myself a coward if I had failed to come back
-because of a silly thunderstorm. Therefore I meant to try.
-
-When I started the rain began falling. I had to throw away my goggles,
-otherwise I should not have seen anything. The trouble was that I had to
-travel over the mountains of the Moselle where the thunderstorm was just
-raging. I said to myself that probably I should be lucky and get through
-and rapidly approached the black cloud which reached down to the earth.
-I flew at the lowest possible altitude. I was compelled absolutely to
-leap over houses and trees with my machine. Very soon I knew no longer
-where I was. The gale seized my machine as if it were a piece of paper
-and drove it along. My heart sank within me. I could not land among the
-hills. I was compelled to go on.
-
-I was surrounded by an inky blackness. Beneath me the trees bent down in
-the gale. Suddenly I saw right in front of me a wooded height. I could
-not avoid it. My Albatros managed to take it. I was able to fly only in
-a straight line. Therefore I had to take every obstacle that I
-encountered. My flight became a jumping competition purely and simply. I
-had to jump over trees, villages, spires and steeples, for I had to keep
-within a few yards of the ground, otherwise I should have seen nothing
-at all. The lightning was playing around me. At that time I did not yet
-know that lightning cannot touch flying machines. I felt certain of my
-death for it seemed to me inevitable that the gale would throw me at
-any moment into a village or a forest. Had the motor stopped working I
-should have been done for.
-
-Suddenly I saw that on the horizon the darkness had become less thick.
-Over there the thunderstorm had passed. I would be saved if I were able
-to get so far. Concentrating all my energy I steered towards the light.
-
-Suddenly I got out of the thunder-cloud. The rain was still falling in
-torrents. Still, I felt saved.
-
-In pouring rain I landed at my aerodrome. Everyone was waiting for me,
-for Metz had reported my start and had told them that I had been
-swallowed up by a thunder cloud.
-
-I shall never again fly through a thunderstorm unless the Fatherland
-should demand this.
-
-Now, when I look back, I realize that it was all very beautiful.
-Notwithstanding the danger during my flight, I experienced glorious
-moments which I would not care to have missed.
-
-
-    _My First Time In a Fokker_
-
-FROM the beginning of my career as a pilot I had only a single ambition,
-the ambition to fly in a single-seater battle-plane. After worrying my
-commander for a long time I at last obtained permission to mount a
-Fokker. The revolving motor was a novelty to me. Besides, it was a
-strange feeling to be quite alone during the flight.
-
-The Fokker belonged jointly to a friend of mine who has died long ago
-and to myself. I flew in the morning and he in the afternoon. Both he
-and I were afraid that the other fellow would smash the box. On the
-second day we flew towards the enemy. When I flew in the morning no
-Frenchman was to be seen. In the afternoon it was his turn. He started
-but did not return. There was no news from him.
-
-Late in the evening the infantry reported an aerial battle between a
-Nieuport and a German Fokker, in the course of which the German machine
-had apparently landed at the Mort Homme. Evidently the occupant was
-friend Reimann for all the other flying men had returned. We regretted
-the fate of our brave comrade. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, we
-heard over the telephone that a German flying officer had made an
-unexpected appearance in the front trenches at the Mort Homme. It
-appeared that this was Reimann. His motor had been smashed by a shot. He
-had been forced to land. As he was not able to reach our own lines he
-had come to the ground in No Man's Land. He had rapidly set fire to the
-machine and had then quickly hidden himself in a mine crater. During the
-night he had slunk into our trenches. Thus ended our joint enterprise
-with a Fokker.
-
-A few days later I was given another Fokker. This time I felt under a
-moral obligation to attend to its destruction myself. I was flying for
-the third time. When starting, the motor suddenly stopped working. I had
-to land right away in a field and in a moment the beautiful machine was
-converted into a mass of scrap metal. It was a miracle that I was not
-hurt.
-
-FOOTNOTE:
-
-[12] Probably this means a patrol of one or two flights--of four
-machines each. One does not recall a whole squadron disappearing at
-once, though one or two squadrons had their whole personnel renewed one
-or two at a time in the course of a month or so.
-
-
-
-
-VII
-
-_Bombing In Russia_
-
-
-IN June we were suddenly ordered to entrain. No one knew where we were
-going, but we had an idea and we were not over much surprised when our
-Commander told us that we were going to Russia. We had traveled through
-the whole of Germany with our perambulating hotel which consisted of
-dining and sleeping cars, and arrived at last at Kovel. There we
-remained in our railway cars. There are many advantages in dwelling in a
-train. One is always ready to travel on and need not change one's
-quarters.[13]
-
-In the heat of the Russian summer a sleeping car is the most horrible
-instrument of martyrdom imaginable. Therefore, I agreed with some
-friends of mine, Gerstenberg and Scheele, to take quarters in the
-forest near by. We erected a tent and lived like gypsies. We had a
-lovely time.
-
-In Russia our battle squadron did a great deal of bomb throwing. Our
-occupation consisted of annoying the Russians. We dropped our eggs on
-their finest railway establishments. One day our whole squadron went out
-to bomb a very important railway station. The place was called
-Manjewicze and was situated about twenty miles behind the Front. That
-was not very far. The Russians had planned an attack and the station was
-absolutely crammed with colossal trains. Trains stood close to one
-another. Miles of rails were covered with them. One could easily see
-that from above. There was an object for bombing that was worth while.
-
-One can become enthusiastic over anything. For a time I was delighted
-with bomb throwing. It gave me a tremendous pleasure to bomb those
-fellows from above. Frequently I took part in two expeditions on a
-single day.
-
-On the day mentioned our object was Manjewicze. Everything was ready.
-The aeroplanes were ready to start. Every pilot tried his motor, for it
-is a painful thing to be forced to land against one's will on the wrong
-side of the Front line, especially in Russia. The Russians hated the
-flyers. If they caught a flying man they would certainly kill him. That
-is the only risk one ran in Russia for the Russians had no aviators, or
-practically none. If a Russian flying man turned up he was sure to have
-bad luck and would be shot down. The anti-aircraft guns used by Russia
-were sometimes quite good, but they were too few in number. Compared
-with flying in the West, flying in the East is absolutely a holiday.
-
-The aeroplanes rolled heavily to the starting point. They carried bombs
-to the very limit of their capacity. Sometimes I dragged three hundred
-pounds of bombs with a normal C-machine.[14] Besides, I had with me a
-very heavy observer who apparently had not suffered in any way from the
-food scarcity.[15] I had also with me a couple of machine guns. I was
-never able to make proper use of them in Russia. It is a pity that my
-collection of trophies contains not a single Russian.
-
-Flying with a heavy machine which is carrying a great dead weight is no
-fun, especially during the mid-day summer heat in Russia. The barges
-sway in a very disagreeable manner. Of course, heavily laden though they
-are, they do not fall down. The 150 h. p. motors prevent it.[16] At the
-same time it is no pleasant sensation to carry such a large quantity of
-explosives and benzine.
-
-At last we get into a quiet atmosphere. Now comes the enjoyment of
-bombing. It is splendid to be able to fly in a straight line and to
-have a definite object and definite orders. After having thrown one's
-bombs one has the feeling that he has achieved something, while
-frequently, after searching for an enemy to give battle to, one comes
-home with a sense of failure at not having brought a hostile machine to
-the ground. Then a man is apt to say to himself, "You have acted
-stupidly."
-
-It gave me a good deal of pleasure to throw bombs. After a while my
-observer learned how to fly perpendicularly over the objects to be
-bombed and to make use of the right moment for laying his egg with the
-assistance of his aiming telescope.
-
-The run to Manjewicze is very pleasant and I have made it repeatedly. We
-passed over gigantic forests which were probably inhabited by elks and
-lynxes. But the villages looked miserable. The only substantial village
-in the whole neighborhood was Manjewicze. It was surrounded by
-innumerable tents, and countless barracks had been run up near the
-railway station. We could not make out the Red Cross.
-
-Another flying squadron had visited the place before us. That could be
-told by the smoking houses and barracks. They had not done badly. The
-exit of the station had obviously been blocked by a lucky hit. The
-engine was still steaming. The engine driver had probably dived into a
-shelter. On the other side of the station an engine was just coming out.
-Of course I felt tempted to hit it. We flew towards the engine and
-dropped a bomb a few hundred yards in front of it. We had the desired
-result. The engine stopped. We turned and continued throwing bomb after
-bomb on the station, carefully taking aim through our aiming telescope.
-We had plenty of time for nobody interfered with us. It is true that an
-enemy aerodrome was in the neighborhood but there was no trace of
-hostile pilots. A few anti-aircraft guns were busy, but they shot not in
-our direction but in another one. We reserved a bomb hoping to make
-particularly good use of it on our way home.
-
-Suddenly we noticed an enemy flying machine starting from its hangar.
-The question was whether it would attack us. I did not believe in an
-attack. It was more likely that the flying man was seeking security in
-the air, for when bombing machines are about, the air is the safest
-place.
-
-We went home by roundabout ways and looked for camps. It was
-particularly amusing to pepper the gentlemen down below with machine
-guns. Half savage tribes from Asia are even more startled when fired at
-from above than are cultured Englishmen. It is particularly interesting
-to shoot at hostile cavalry. An aerial attack upsets them completely.
-Suddenly the lot of them rush away in all directions of the compass. I
-should not like to be the Commander of a Squadron of Cossacks which has
-been fired at with machine guns from aeroplanes.[17]
-
-By and by we could recognize the German lines. We had to dispose of our
-last bomb and we resolved to make a present of it to a Russian
-observation balloon, to the only observation balloon they possessed. We
-could quite comfortably descend to within a few hundred yards of the
-ground in order to attack it. At first the Russians began to haul it in
-very rapidly. When the bomb had been dropped the hauling stopped. I did
-not believe that I had hit it. I rather imagined that the Russians had
-left their chief in the air and had run away. At last we reached our
-front and our trenches and were surprised to find when we got home that
-we had been shot at from below. At least one of the planes had a hole in
-it.
-
-Another time and in the same neighborhood we were ordered to meet an
-attack of the Russians who intended to cross the river Stokhod. We came
-to the danger spot laden with bombs and carrying a large number of
-cartridges for our machine guns. On arrival at the Stokhod, we were
-surprised to see that hostile cavalry was already crossing. They were
-passing over a single bridge. Immediately it was clear to us that one
-might do a tremendous lot of harm to the enemy by hitting the bridge.
-
-Dense masses of men were crossing. We went as low as possible and could
-clearly see the hostile cavalry crossing by way of the bridge with great
-rapidity. The first bomb fell near the bridge. The second and third
-followed immediately. They created a tremendous disorder. The bridge had
-not been hit. Nevertheless traffic across it had completely ceased. Men
-and animals were rushing away in all directions. We had thrown only
-three bombs but the success had been excellent. Besides, a whole
-squadron of aeroplanes was following us. Lastly, we could do other
-things. My observer fired energetically into the crowd down below with
-his machine gun and we enjoyed it tremendously. Of course, I cannot say
-what real success we had. The Russians have not told us. Still I
-imagined that I alone had caused the Russian attack to fail. Perhaps
-the official account of the Russian War Office will give me details
-after the war.
-
-
-    _At Last!_
-
-THE August sun was almost unbearably hot on the sandy flying ground at
-Kovel. While we were chatting among ourselves one of my comrades said:
-"To-day the great Boelcke arrives on a visit to us, or rather to his
-brother!" In the evening the great man came to hand. He was vastly
-admired by all and he told us many interesting things about his journey
-to Turkey. He was just returning from Turkey and was on the way to
-Headquarters. He imagined that he would go to the Somme to continue his
-work. He was to organize a fighting squadron. He was empowered to select
-from the flying corps those men who seemed to him particularly qualified
-for his purpose.
-
-I did not dare to ask him to be taken on. I did not feel bored by the
-fighting in Russia. On the contrary, we made extensive and interesting
-flights. We bombed the Russians at their stations. Still, the idea of
-fighting again on the Western Front attracted me. There is nothing
-finer for a young cavalry officer than the chase of the air.
-
-The next morning Boelcke was to leave us. Quite early somebody knocked
-at my door and before me stood the great man with the _Ordre pour le
-Mérite_. I knew him, as I have previously mentioned, but still I had
-never imagined that he came to look me up in order to ask me to become
-his pupil. I almost fell upon his neck when he inquired whether I cared
-to go with him to the Somme.
-
-Three days later I sat in the railway train and traveled through the
-whole of Germany straight away to the new field of my activity. At last
-my greatest wish was fulfilled. From now onwards began the finest time
-of my life.
-
-At that time I did not dare to hope that I should be as successful as I
-have been. When I left my quarters in the East a good friend of mine
-called out after me: "See that you do not come back without the _Ordre
-pour le Mérite_."
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[13] This is the first reference to the regular "Traveling Circus" idea,
-in which the whole squadron works as a self-contained unit, with a
-special train to move its material, stores, spares, and mechanics, from
-place to place, and also provides living accommodations for the pilots.
-
-[14] The German C-type machines are the two-seater reconnaissance types.
-The D-type are the single-seater fighters or "chaser" machines. The
-G-type are the big three-seater bombers.
-
-[15] It is interesting to find a German joking about food scarcity in
-1916, exactly as people in England joke about it in 1918. One is able
-thus to form some idea of the comparative states of the two countries,
-and to judge how Germany would have fared if the British blockage had
-been rigidly enforced at the beginning of the war.
-
-[16] It was 150 horsepower in 1916. By the beginning of 1918 all modern
-German C-type machines had 260 h.p., and by April, 1918, German biplanes
-with 500 h.p. in one engine were beginning to appear. In consequence the
-extreme height (or "ceiling") of a C-type machine had risen from 12,000
-feet to 20,000 feet.
-
-[17] Attacks on troops on roads by low-flying aeroplanes were not
-regularly organized acts of war in those days, though such attacks had
-been made by R. N. A. S. pilots in Belgium in 1914. It is curious that
-despite the observed effects of the R. N. A. S. attacks, and the
-experiences of such men as von Richthofen, neither the British nor the
-German aeronautical authorities ever took the trouble to devote
-attention to this new method of war. The racial similarity of the two
-belligerents is marked in this as in other matters.
-
-
-
-
-VIII
-
-_My First English Victim. (17th September, 1915)_[18]
-
-
-WE were all at the Butts trying our machine guns. On the previous day we
-had received our new aeroplanes and the next morning Boelcke was to fly
-with us. We were all beginners. None of us had had a success so far.
-Consequently everything that Boelcke told us was to us gospel truth.
-Every day, during the last few days, he had, as he said, shot one or two
-Englishmen for breakfast.
-
-The next morning, the seventeenth of September, was a gloriously fine
-day. It was therefore only to be expected that the English would be very
-active. Before we started Boelcke repeated to us his instructions and
-for the first time we flew as a squadron commanded by the great man whom
-we followed blindly.
-
-We had just arrived at the Front when we recognized a hostile flying
-squadron that was proceeding in the direction of Cambrai. Boelcke was of
-course the first to see it, for he saw a great deal more than ordinary
-mortals. Soon we understood the position and everyone of us strove to
-follow Boelcke closely. It was clear to all of us that we should pass
-our first examination under the eyes of our beloved leader.
-
-Slowly we approached the hostile squadron. It could not escape us. We
-had intercepted it, for we were between the Front and our opponents. If
-they wished to go back they had to pass us. We counted the hostile
-machines. They were seven in number. We were only five. All the
-Englishmen flew large bomb-carrying two-seaters. In a few seconds the
-dance would begin.
-
-Boelcke had come very near the first English machine but he did not yet
-shoot. I followed. Close to me were my comrades. The Englishman nearest
-to me was traveling in a large boat painted with dark colors. I did not
-reflect very long but took my aim and shot. He also fired and so did I,
-and both of us missed our aim. A struggle began and the great point for
-me was to get to the rear of the fellow because I could only shoot
-forward with my gun. He was differently placed for his machine gun was
-movable. It could fire in all directions.
-
-Apparently he was no beginner, for he knew exactly that his last hour
-had arrived at the moment when I got at the back of him. At that time I
-had not yet the conviction "He must fall!" which I have now on such
-occasions, but on the contrary, I was curious to see whether he would
-fall. There is a great difference between the two feelings. When one has
-shot down one's first, second or third opponent, then one begins to find
-out how the trick is done.
-
-My Englishman twisted and turned, going criss-cross. I did not think for
-a moment that the hostile squadron contained other Englishmen who
-conceivably might come to the aid of their comrade. I was animated by a
-single thought: "The man in front of me must come down, whatever
-happens." At last a favorable moment arrived. My opponent had apparently
-lost sight of me. Instead of twisting and turning he flew straight
-along. In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my excellent
-machine. I give a short series of shots with my machine gun. I had gone
-so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman. Suddenly, I
-nearly yelled with joy for the propeller of the enemy machine had
-stopped turning. I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy was
-compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own lines.
-The English machine was curiously swinging to and fro. Probably
-something had happened to the pilot. The observer was no longer visible.
-His machine gun was apparently deserted. Obviously I had hit the
-observer and he had fallen from his seat.
-
-The Englishman landed close to the flying ground of one of our
-squadrons. I was so excited that I landed also and my eagerness was so
-great that I nearly smashed up my machine. The English flying machine
-and my own stood close together. I rushed to the English machine and saw
-that a lot of soldiers were running towards my enemy. When I arrived I
-discovered that my assumption had been correct. I had shot the engine to
-pieces and both the pilot and observer were severely wounded. The
-observer died at once and the pilot while being transported to the
-nearest dressing station. I honored the fallen enemy by placing a stone
-on his beautiful grave.
-
-When I came home Boelcke and my other comrades were already at
-breakfast. They were surprised that I had not turned up. I reported
-proudly that I had shot down an Englishman. All were full of joy for I
-was not the only victor. As usual, Boelcke had shot down an opponent for
-breakfast and every one of the other men also had downed an enemy for
-the first time.
-
-I would mention that since that time no English squadron ventured as far
-as Cambrai as long as Boelcke's squadron was there.[19]
-
-
-    _The Battle of the Somme_
-
-DURING my whole life I have not found a happier hunting ground than in
-the course of the Somme Battle. In the morning, as soon as I had got up,
-the first Englishmen arrived, and the last did not disappear until long
-after sunset. Boelcke once said that this was the El Dorado of the
-flying men.
-
-There was a time when, within two months, Boelcke's bag of machines
-increased from twenty to forty. We beginners had not at that time the
-experience of our master and we were quite satisfied when we did not get
-a hiding. It was an exciting period. Every time we went up we had a
-fight. Frequently we fought really big battles in the air. There were
-sometimes from forty to sixty English machines, but unfortunately the
-Germans were often in the minority. With them quality was more important
-than quantity.
-
-Still the Englishman is a smart fellow. That we must allow. Sometimes
-the English came down to a very low altitude and visited Boelcke in his
-quarters, upon which they threw their bombs. They absolutely challenged
-us to battle and never refused fighting.
-
-We had a delightful time with our chasing squadron. The spirit of our
-leader animated all his pupils. We trusted him blindly. There was no
-possibility that one of us would be left behind. Such a thought was
-incomprehensible to us. Animated by that spirit we gaily diminished the
-number of our enemies.
-
-On the day when Boelcke fell the squadron had brought down forty
-opponents. By now the number has been increased by more than a hundred.
-Boelcke's spirit lives still among his capable successors.
-
-
-    _Boelcke's Death. (28th October, 1916)_
-
-ONE day we were flying, once more guided by Boelcke against the enemy.
-We always had a wonderful feeling of security when he was with us. After
-all he was the one and only. The weather was very gusty and there were
-many clouds. There were no aeroplanes about except fighting ones.
-
-From a long distance we saw two impertinent Englishmen in the air who
-actually seemed to enjoy the terrible weather. We were six and they were
-two. If they had been twenty and if Boelcke had given us the signal to
-attack we should not have been at all surprised.
-
-The struggle began in the usual way. Boelcke tackled the one and I the
-other. I had to let go because one of the German machines got in my way.
-I looked around and noticed Boelcke settling his victim about two
-hundred yards away from me.
-
-It was the usual thing. Boelcke would shoot down his opponent and I had
-to look on. Close to Boelcke flew a good friend of his. It was an
-interesting struggle. Both men were shooting. It was probable that the
-Englishman would fall at any moment. Suddenly I noticed an unnatural
-movement of the two German flying machines. Immediately I thought:
-Collision. I had not yet seen a collision in the air. I had imagined
-that it would look quite different. In reality, what happened was not a
-collision. The two machines merely touched one another. However, if two
-machines go at the tremendous pace of flying machines, the slightest
-contact has the effect of a violent concussion.
-
-Boelcke drew away from his victim and descended in large curves. He did
-not seem to be falling, but when I saw him descending below me I noticed
-that part of his planes had broken off. I could not see what happened
-afterwards, but in the clouds he lost an entire plane. Now his machine
-was no longer steerable. It fell accompanied all the time by Boelcke's
-faithful friend.
-
-When we reached home we found the report "Boelcke is dead!" had already
-arrived. We could scarcely realize it.
-
-The greatest pain was, of course, felt by the man who had the misfortune
-to be involved in the accident.
-
-It is a strange thing that everybody who met Boelcke imagined that he
-alone was his true friend. I have made the acquaintance of about forty
-men, each of whom imagined that he alone was Boelcke's intimate. Each
-imagined that he had the monopoly of Boelcke's affections. Men whose
-names were unknown to Boelcke believed that he was particularly fond of
-them. This is a curious phenomenon which I have never noticed in anyone
-else. Boelcke had not a personal enemy. He was equally polite to
-everybody, making no differences.
-
-The only one who was perhaps more intimate with him than the others was
-the very man who had the misfortune to be in the accident which caused
-his death.
-
-Nothing happens without God's will. That is the only consolation which
-any of us can put to our souls during this war.
-
-
-    _My Eighth Victim_
-
-IN Boelcke's time eight was quite a respectable number. Those who hear
-nowadays of the colossal bags made by certain aviators must feel
-convinced that it has become easier to shoot down a machine. I can
-assure those who hold that opinion that the flying business is becoming
-more difficult from month to month and even from week to week. Of
-course, with the increasing number of aeroplanes one gains increased
-opportunities for shooting down one's enemies, but at the same time, the
-possibility of being shot down one's self increases. The armament of our
-enemies is steadily improving and their number is increasing.[20] When
-Immelmann shot down his first victim he had the good fortune to find an
-opponent who carried not even a machine gun. Such little innocents one
-finds nowadays only at the training ground for beginners.
-
-On the ninth of November, 1916, I flew towards the enemy with my little
-comrade Immelmann,[21] who then was eighteen years old. We both were in
-Boelcke's squadron of chasing aeroplanes. We had previously met one
-another and had got on very well. Comradeship is a most important thing.
-We went to work. I had already bagged seven enemies and Immelmann five.
-At that time this was quite a lot.
-
-Soon after our arrival at the front we saw a squadron of bombing
-aeroplanes. They were coming along with impertinent assurance. They
-arrived in enormous numbers as was usual during the Somme Battle. I
-think there were about forty or fifty machines approaching. I cannot
-give the exact number. They had selected an object for their bombs not
-far from our aerodrome. I reached them when they had almost attained
-their objective. I approached the last machine. My first few shots
-incapacitated the hostile machine gunner. Possibly they had tickled the
-pilot, too. At any rate he resolved to land with his bombs. I fired a
-few more shots to accelerate his progress downwards. He fell close to
-our flying ground at Lagnicourt.
-
-While I was fighting my opponent, Immelmann had tackled another
-Englishman and had brought him down in the same locality. Both of us
-flew quickly home in order to have a look at the machines we had downed.
-We jumped into a motor car, drove in the direction where our victims lay
-and had to run along a distance through the fields. It was very hot,
-therefore I unbuttoned all my garments even the collar and the shirt. I
-took off my jacket, left my cap in the car but took with me a big stick.
-My boots were miry up to the knees. I looked like a tramp. I arrived in
-the vicinity of my victim. In the meantime, a lot of people had of
-course gathered around.
-
-At one spot there was a group of officers. I approached them, greeted
-them, and asked the first one whom I met whether he could tell me
-anything about the aspect of the aerial battle. It is always
-interesting to find out how a fight in the air looks to the people down
-below. I was told that the English machines had thrown bombs and that
-the aeroplane that had come down was still carrying its bombs.
-
-The officer who gave me this information took my arm, went with me to
-the other officers, asked my name and introduced me to them. I did not
-like it, for my attire was rather disarranged. On the other hand, all
-the officers looked as spic and span as on parade. I was introduced to a
-personage who impressed me rather strangely. I noticed a General's
-trousers, an Order at the neck, an unusually youthful face and
-undefinable epaulettes. In short, the personage seemed extraordinary to
-me. During our conversation I buttoned my trousers and collar and
-adopted a somewhat military attitude.
-
-I had no idea who the officer was. I took my leave and went home again.
-In the evening the telephone rang and I was told that the undefinable
-somebody with whom I had been talking had been His Royal Highness, the
-Grand-Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.
-
-I was ordered to go to him. It was known that the English had intended
-to throw bombs on his headquarters. Apparently I had helped to keep the
-aggressors away from him. Therefore I was given the Saxe-Coburg Gotha
-medal for bravery.
-
-I always enjoy this adventure when I look at the medal.
-
-
-    _Major Hawker_
-
-I WAS extremely proud when, one fine day, I was informed that the airman
-whom I had brought down on the twenty-third of November, 1916, was the
-English Immelmann.
-
-In view of the character of our fight it was clear to me that I had been
-tackling a flying champion.
-
-One day I was blithely flying to give chase when I noticed three
-Englishmen who also had apparently gone a-hunting. I noticed that they
-were ogling me and as I felt much inclination to have a fight I did not
-want to disappoint them.
-
-I was flying at a lower altitude. Consequently I had to wait until one
-of my English friends tried to drop on me. After a short while on the
-three came sailing along and attempted to tackle me in the rear. After
-firing five shots he had to stop for I had swerved in a sharp curve.
-
-The Englishman tried to catch me up in the rear while I tried to get
-behind him. So we circled round and round like madmen after one another
-at an altitude of about 10,000 feet.
-
-First we circled twenty times to the left, and then thirty times to the
-right. Each tried to get behind and above the other.
-
-Soon I discovered that I was not meeting a beginner. He had not the
-slightest intention of breaking off the fight. He was traveling in a
-machine which turned beautifully.[22] However, my own was better at
-rising than his, and I succeeded at last in getting above and beyond my
-English waltzing partner.
-
-When we had got down to about 6,000 feet without having achieved
-anything in particular, my opponent ought to have discovered that it was
-time for him to take his leave. The wind was favorable to me for it
-drove us more and more towards the German position. At last we were
-above Bapaume, about half a mile behind the German front. The
-impertinent fellow was full of cheek and when we had got down to about
-3,000 feet he merrily waved to me as if he would say, "Well, how do you
-do?"
-
-The circles which we made around one another were so narrow that their
-diameter was probably no more than 250 or 300 feet. I had time to take a
-good look at my opponent. I looked down into his carriage and could see
-every movement of his head. If he had not had his cap on I would have
-noticed what kind of a face he was making.
-
-My Englishman was a good sportsman, but by and by the thing became a
-little too hot for him. He had to decide whether he would land on German
-ground or whether he would fly back to the English lines. Of course he
-tried the latter, after having endeavored in vain to escape me by
-loopings and such like tricks. At that time his first bullets were
-flying around me, for hitherto neither of us had been able to do any
-shooting.
-
-When he had come down to about three hundred feet he tried to escape by
-flying in a zig-zag course during which, as is well known, it is
-difficult for an observer to shoot. That was my most favorable moment. I
-followed him at an altitude of from two hundred and fifty feet to one
-hundred and fifty feet, firing all the time. The Englishman could not
-help falling. But the jamming of my gun nearly robbed me of my success.
-
-My opponent fell, shot through the head, one hundred and fifty feet
-behind our line. His machine gun was dug out of the ground and it
-ornaments the entrance of my dwelling.[23]
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[18] This locates almost exactly the date of the formation of the first
-Boelcke Circus.
-
-[19] Cambrai at that time was a long way behind the front, and Bapaume
-was a more important mark for the British squadrons. So it may not have
-been worth while for squadrons to go so far afield as Cambrai. Single
-machines on long reconnaissance visited Cambrai regularly.
-
-[20] This testimony to the improvement in the aerial equipment of the
-British Army is well worthy of note.
-
-[21] This is evidently a junior Immelmann of Boelcke's squadron, and not
-the famous Immelmann, who was already dead before the Boelcke squadron
-came into existence.
-
-[22] Major Hawker was flying a de Havilland II with a 100 h.p.
-Monosoupape Gnome engine, a species of "box-kite" single-seater biplane,
-albeit very fast and handy.
-
-[23] One gathers that this account is substantially correct. The other
-two British machines who were with Major Hawker became involved with von
-Richthofen's four followers and with five other German chasers which
-came into the fight from a higher altitude. These two, after a busy
-time, fought their way out, while Major Hawker was fighting von
-Richthofen. The only flaw in the story is that in fact one of the upper
-German machines dived onto Major Hawker, who, apparently, in avoiding
-it, came into action with von Richthofen.
-
-
-
-
-IX
-
-_I Get the Ordre Pour le Mérite_
-
-
-I HAD brought down my sixteenth victim, and I had come to the head of
-the list of all the flying chasers. I had obtained the aim which I had
-set myself. In the previous year my friend Lynker, with whom I was
-training, had asked me: "What is your object? What will you obtain by
-flying?" I replied, jokingly, "I would like to be the first of the
-chasers. That must be very fine." That I should succeed in this I did
-not believe myself. Other people also did not expect my success. Boelcke
-is supposed to have said, not to me personally--I have only heard the
-report--when asked: "Which of the fellows is likely to become a good
-chaser?"--"That is the man!" pointing his finger in my direction.
-
-[Illustration: THE FORTIETH RICHTHOFEN VICTIM]
-
-Boelcke and Immelmann were given the _Ordre pour le Mérite_ when they
-had brought down their eighth aeroplane. I had downed twice that number.
-The question was, what would happen to me? I was very curious. It was
-rumored that I was to be given command of a chasing squadron.
-
-One fine day a telegram arrived, which stated: "Lieutenant von
-Richthofen is appointed Commander of the Eleventh Chasing Squadron."
-
-I must say I was annoyed. I had learnt to work so well with my comrades
-of Boelcke's Squadron and now I had to begin all over again working hand
-in hand with different people. It was a beastly nuisance. Besides I
-should have preferred the _Ordre pour le Mérite_.
-
-Two days later, when we were sitting sociably together, we men of
-Boelcke's Squadron, celebrating my departure, a telegram from
-Headquarters arrived. It stated that His Majesty had graciously
-condescended to give me the _Ordre pour le Mérite_. Of course my joy was
-tremendous.
-
-I had never imagined that it would be so delightful to command a chasing
-squadron. Even in my dreams I had not imagined that there would ever be
-a Richthofen's squadron of aeroplanes.
-
-
-    _Le Petit Rouge_
-
-IT occurred to me to have my packing case painted all over in staring
-red. The result was that everyone got to know my red bird. My opponents
-also seemed to have heard of the color transformation.
-
-During a fight on quite a different section of the Front I had the good
-fortune to shoot into a Vickers' two-seater which peacefully
-photographed the German artillery position. My friend, the photographer,
-had not the time to defend himself. He had to make haste to get down
-upon firm ground for his machine began to give suspicious indications of
-fire. When we airmen notice that phenomenon in an enemy plane, we say:
-"He stinks!" As it turned out it was really so. When the machine was
-coming to earth it burst into flames.
-
-I felt some human pity for my opponent and had resolved not to cause him
-to fall down but merely to compel him to land. I did so particularly
-because I had the impression that my opponent was wounded for he did not
-fire a single shot.
-
-When I had got down to an altitude of about fifteen hundred feet engine
-trouble compelled me to land without making any curves. The result was
-very comical. My enemy with his burning machine landed smoothly while I,
-his victor, came down next to him in the barbed wire of our trenches and
-my machine overturned.[24]
-
-The two Englishmen who were not a little surprised at my collapse,
-greeted me like sportsmen. As mentioned before, they had not fired a
-shot and they could not understand why I had landed so clumsily. They
-were the first two Englishmen whom I had brought down alive.
-Consequently, it gave me particular pleasure to talk to them. I asked
-them whether they had previously seen my machine in the air, and one of
-them replied, "Oh, yes. I know your machine very well. We call it 'Le
-Petit Rouge'."
-
-
-    _English and French Flying.
-    (February, 1917)_
-
-I WAS trying to compete with Boelcke's squadron. Every evening we
-compared our bags. However, Boelcke's pupils are smart rascals. I cannot
-get ahead of them. The utmost one can do is to draw level with them. The
-Boelcke section has an advantage over my squadron of one hundred
-aeroplanes downed. I must allow them to retain it. Everything depends on
-whether we have for opponents those French tricksters or those daring
-rascals, the English. I prefer the English. Frequently their daring can
-only be described as stupidity. In their eyes it may be pluck and
-daring.
-
-The great thing in air fighting is that the decisive factor does not lie
-in trick flying but solely in the personal ability and energy of the
-aviator. A flying man may be able to loop and do all the stunts
-imaginable and yet he may not succeed in shooting down a single enemy.
-In my opinion the aggressive spirit is everything and that spirit is
-very strong in us Germans. Hence we shall always retain the domination
-of the air.[25]
-
-The French have a different character. They like to put traps and to
-attack their opponents unawares. That cannot easily be done in the air.
-Only a beginner can be caught and one cannot set traps because an
-aeroplane cannot hide itself. The invisible aeroplane has not yet been
-discovered. Sometimes, however, the Gaelic blood asserts itself. The
-Frenchmen will then attack. But the French attacking spirit is like
-bottled lemonade. It lacks tenacity.
-
-The Englishmen, on the other hand, one notices that they are of Germanic
-blood. Sportsmen easily take to flying, and Englishmen see in flying
-nothing but a sport. They take a perfect delight in looping the loop,
-flying on their back, and indulging in other stunts for the benefit of
-our soldiers in the trenches. All these tricks may impress people who
-attend a Sports Meeting, but the public at the battle-front is not as
-appreciative of these things. It demands higher qualifications than
-trick flying. Therefore, the blood of English pilots will have to flow
-in streams.
-
-
-    _I Am Shot Down.
-    (Middle of March, 1917)_
-
-I HAVE had an experience which might perhaps be described as being shot
-down. At the same time, I call shot down only when one falls down.
-To-day I got into trouble but I escaped with a whole skin.
-
-I was flying with the squadron and noticed an opponent who also was
-flying in a squadron. It happened above the German artillery position in
-the neighborhood of Lens. I had to fly quite a distance to get there. It
-tickles ones nerves to fly towards the enemy, especially when one can
-see him from a long distance and when several minutes must elapse
-before one can start fighting. I imagine that at such a moment my face
-turns a little pale, but unfortunately I have never had a mirror with
-me. I like that feeling for it is a wonderful nerve stimulant. One
-observes the enemy from afar. One has recognized that his squadron is
-really an enemy formation. One counts the number of the hostile machines
-and considers whether the conditions are favorable or unfavorable. A
-factor of enormous importance is whether the wind forces me away from or
-towards our Front. For instance, I once shot down an Englishman. I fired
-the fatal shot above the English position. However, the wind was so
-strong that his machine came down close to the German captive balloons.
-
-We Germans had five machines. Our opponents were three times as
-numerous. The English flew about like midges. It is not easy to disperse
-a swarm of machines which fly together in good order. It is impossible
-for a single machine to do it. It is extremely difficult for several
-aeroplanes, particularly if the difference in number is as great as it
-was in this case. However, one feels such a superiority over the enemy
-that one does not doubt of success for a moment.
-
-The aggressive spirit, the offensive, is the chief thing everywhere in
-war, and the air is no exception. However, the enemy had the same idea.
-I noticed that at once. As soon as they observed us they turned round
-and attacked us. Now we five had to look sharp. If one of them should
-fall there might be a lot of trouble for all of us. We went closer
-together and allowed the foreign gentlemen to approach us.
-
-I watched whether one of the fellows would hurriedly take leave of his
-colleagues. There! One of them is stupid enough to depart alone. I can
-reach him and I say to myself, "That man is lost." Shouting aloud, I am
-after him. I have come up to him or at least am getting very near him.
-He starts shooting prematurely, which shows that he is nervous. So I say
-to myself, "Go on shooting. You won't hit me." He shot with a kind of
-ammunition which ignites. So I could see his shots passing me. I felt as
-if I were sitting in front of a gigantic watering pot. The sensation
-was not pleasant. Still, the English usually shoot with their beastly
-stuff, and so we must try and get accustomed to it.[26] One can get
-accustomed to anything. At the moment I think I laughed aloud. But soon
-I got a lesson. When I had approached the Englishman quite closely, when
-I had come to a distance of about three hundred feet, I got ready for
-firing, aimed and gave a few trial shots. The machine guns were in
-order. The decision would be there before long. In my mind's eye I saw
-my enemy dropping.
-
-My former excitement was gone. In such a position one thinks quite
-calmly and collectedly and weighs the probabilities of hitting and of
-being hit. Altogether the fight itself is the least exciting part of the
-business as a rule. He who gets excited in fighting is sure to make
-mistakes. He will never get his enemy down. Besides calmness is, after
-all, a matter of habit. At any rate in this case I did not make a
-mistake. I approached my man up to fifty yards. Then I fired some well
-aimed shots and thought that I was bound to be successful. That was my
-idea. But suddenly I heard a tremendous bang, when I had scarcely fired
-ten cartridges. Presently again something hit my machine. It became
-clear to me that I had been hit or rather my machine. At the same time I
-noticed a fearful benzine stench and I observed that the motor was
-running slack. The Englishman noticed it, too, for he started shooting
-with redoubled energy while I had to stop it.
-
-I went right down. Instinctively I switched off the engine and indeed it
-was high time to do this. When a pilot's benzine tank has been
-perforated, and when the infernal liquid is squirting around his legs,
-the danger of fire is very great. In front is an explosion engine of
-more than 150 h. p. which is red hot. If a single drop of benzine
-should fall on it the whole machine would be in flames.[27]
-
-I left in the air a thin white cloud. I knew its meaning from my
-enemies. Its appearance is the first sign of a coming explosion. I was
-at an altitude of nine thousand feet and had to travel a long distance
-to get down. By the kindness of Providence my engine stopped running. I
-have no idea with what rapidity I went downward. At any rate the speed
-was so great that I could not put my head out of the machine without
-being pressed back by the rush of air.
-
-Soon I lost sight of my enemy. I had only time to see what my four
-comrades were doing while I was dropping to the ground. They were still
-fighting. Their machine-guns and those of their opponents could be
-heard. Suddenly I notice a rocket. Is it a signal of the enemy? No, it
-cannot be. The light is too great for a rocket. Evidently a machine is
-on fire. What machine? The burning machine looks exactly as if it were
-one of our own. No! Praise the Lord, it is one of the enemy's! Who can
-have shot him down? Immediately afterwards a second machine drops out
-and falls perpendicularly to the ground, turning, turning, turning
-exactly as I did, but suddenly it recovers its balance. It flies
-straight towards me. It also is an Albatros. No doubt it had the same
-experience as I had.
-
-I had fallen to an altitude of perhaps one thousand feet and had to look
-out for a landing. Now such a sudden landing usually leads to breakages
-and as these are occasionally serious it was time to look out. I found a
-meadow. It was not very large but it just sufficed if I used due
-caution. Besides it was favorably situated on the high road near
-Hénin-Liétard. There I meant to land.
-
-Everything went as desired and my first thought was, "What has become of
-the other fellow." He landed a few kilometers from the spot where I had
-come to the ground.
-
-I had ample time to inspect the damage. My machine had been hit a number
-of times. The shot which caused me to give up the fight had gone through
-both benzine tanks. I had not a drop of benzine left and the engine
-itself had also been damaged by shots. It was a pity for it had worked
-so well.
-
-I let my legs dangle out of the machine and probably made a very silly
-face. In a moment I was surrounded by a large crowd of soldiers. Then
-came an officer. He was quite out of breath. He was terribly excited! No
-doubt something fearful had happened to him. He rushed towards me,
-gasped for air and asked: "I hope that nothing has happened to you. I
-have followed the whole affair and am terribly excited! Good Lord, it
-looked awful!" I assured him that I felt quite well, jumped down from
-the side of my machine and introduced myself to him. Of course he did
-not understand a particle of my name. However, he invited me to go in
-his motor car to Hénin-Liétard where he was quartered. He was an
-Engineer Officer.
-
-We were sitting in the motor and were commencing our ride. My host was
-still extraordinarily excited. Suddenly he jumped up and asked: "Good
-Lord, but where is your chauffeur?" At first I did not quite understand
-what he meant. Probably I looked puzzled. Then it dawned upon me that he
-thought that I was the observer of a two-seater and that he asked after
-the fate of my pilot. I pulled myself together and said in the dryest
-tones: "I always drive myself." Of course the word "drive" is absolutely
-taboo among the flying men.
-
-An aviator does not drive, he flies. In the eyes of the kind gentleman I
-had obviously lost caste when he discovered that I "drove" my own
-aeroplane. The conversation began to slacken.
-
-We arrived in his quarters. I was still dressed in my dirty and oily
-leather jacket and had round my neck a thick wrap. On our journey he had
-of course asked me a tremendous number of questions. Altogether he was
-far more excited than I was.
-
-When we got to his diggings he forced me to lie down on the sofa, or at
-least he tried to force me because, he argued, I was bound to be
-terribly done up through my fight. I assured him that this was not my
-first aerial battle but he did not, apparently, give me much credence.
-Probably I did not look very martial.
-
-After we had been talking for some time he asked me of course the
-celebrated question: "Have you ever brought down a machine?" As I said
-before he had probably not understood my name. So I answered
-nonchalantly: "Oh, yes! I have done so now and then." He replied:
-"Indeed! Perhaps you have shot down two?" I answered: "No. Not two but
-twenty-four." He smiled, repeated his question and gave me to understand
-that, when he was speaking about shooting down an aeroplane, he meant
-not shooting _at_ an aeroplane but shooting _into_ an aeroplane in such
-a manner that it would fall to the ground and remain there. I
-immediately assured him that I entirely shared his conception of the
-meaning of the words "shooting down."
-
-Now I had completely lost caste with him. He was convinced that I was a
-fearful liar. He left me sitting where I was and told me that a meal
-would be served in an hour. If I liked I could join in. I accepted his
-invitation and slept soundly for an hour. Then we went to the Officers'
-Club. Arrived at the club I was glad to find that I was wearing the
-_Ordre pour le Mérite_.
-
-Unfortunately I had no uniform jacket underneath my greasy leather coat
-but only a waistcoat. I apologized for being so badly dressed. Suddenly
-my good chief discovered on me the _Ordre pour le Mérite_. He was
-speechless with surprise and assured me that he did not know my name. I
-gave him my name once more. Now it seemed to dawn upon him that he had
-heard my name before. He feasted me with oysters and champagne and I did
-gloriously until at last my orderly arrived and fetched me with my car.
-I learned from him that comrade Lubbert had once more justified his
-nickname. He was generally called "The bullet-catcher" for his machine
-suffered badly in every fight. Once it was hit sixty-four times. Yet he
-had not been wounded. This time he had received a glancing shot on the
-chest and he was by this time in hospital. I flew his machine to port.
-Unfortunately this excellent officer, who promised to become another
-Boelcke, died a few weeks later--a hero's death for the Fatherland.
-
-In the evening I could assure my kind host of Hénin-Liétard that I had
-increased my "bag" to twenty-five.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[24] This incident confirms the impression that the small Albatros
-biplanes are difficult to land except in a properly prepared aerodrome.
-
-[25] Except when faced by pilots in approximately equal numbers and
-equally mounted. It is interesting here to recall the dictum of General
-von Hoppner, the chief of the German Flying Service, who said that the
-English are dangerous opponents and show by their fighting spirit that
-they are of Germanic race. It will be noticed that von Richthofen
-repeats the sentiment later on.
-
-[26] The reference is to what are called "tracer" bullets. The hind end
-of the bullet contains a phosphorous mixture which leaves a trail of
-smoke and so indicates to the gunner where his bullets are going. If
-such a bullet penetrates a petrol tank or passes through escaping
-petrol--due to a perforated tank or a cut petrol-pipe--it sets the
-petrol on fire, but the prime reason is to trace the course of the shot.
-The Germans use similar bullets as largely as do the Allies.
-
-[27] This is a mistaken idea, common to many pilots who are not motor
-engineers. Fire in such cases is caused by petrol or petrol vapor being
-set alight by a spark from the magneto, which because the air-screw is
-still revolving continues to generate sparks internally even when
-switched off. A mere red-hot pipe in an engine would not cause petrol
-fire.
-
-
-
-
-X
-
-_A Flying-Man's Adventure. (End of March, 1917)_
-
-
-THE name "Siegfried position" is probably known to every young man in
-Germany. During the time when we withdrew towards the Siegfried line the
-activity in the air was of course very great. We allowed our enemies to
-occupy the territory which we had evacuated but we did not allow them to
-occupy the air as well. The chaser squadron which Boelcke had trained
-looked after the English flying men. The English had hitherto fought a
-war of position in the air and they ventured to abandon it for a war of
-movement only with the utmost caution.
-
-That was the time when Prince Frederick Charles gave his life for the
-Fatherland.
-
-In the course of a hunting expedition of the Boelcke Chaser Squadron,
-Lieutenant Voss[28] had defeated an Englishman in an aerial duel. He was
-forced to go down to the ground and landed in neutral territory between
-the lines, in No Man's Land. In this particular case we had abandoned a
-stretch of territory but the enemy had not yet occupied it. Only English
-and German patrols were about in the unoccupied zone. The English flying
-machine was standing between the two lines. Our good Englishman probably
-believed that the ground was already in English possession and he was
-justified in thinking so.
-
-Lieutenant Voss was of a different opinion. Without a moment's
-hesitation he landed close to his victim. With great rapidity he
-transferred the Englishman's machine-guns and other useful things to
-his own aeroplane, took a match and in a few minutes the English machine
-stood in flames. Then he waved smilingly from his victorious aeroplane
-to the English who were rushing along from all sides and was off.
-
-
-    _My First Double Event_
-
-THE second of April, 1917, was a very warm day for my Squadron. From my
-quarters I could clearly hear the drum-fire of the guns which was again
-particularly violent.
-
-I was still in bed when my orderly rushed into the room and exclaimed:
-"Sir, the English are here!" Sleepy as I was, I looked out of the window
-and, really, there were my dear friends circling over the flying ground.
-I jumped out of my bed and into my clothes in a jiffy. My Red Bird had
-been pulled out and was ready for starting. My mechanics knew that I
-should probably not allow such a favorable moment to go by unutilized.
-Everything was ready. I snatched up my furs and then went off.
-
-I was the last to start. My comrades were much nearer to the enemy. I
-feared that my prey would escape me, that I should have to look on from
-a distance while the others were fighting. Suddenly one of the
-impertinent fellows tried to drop down upon me. I allowed him to come
-near and then we started a merry quadrille. Sometimes my opponent flew
-on his back and sometimes he did other tricks. He had a double-seated
-chaser. I was his master and very soon I recognized that he could not
-escape me.
-
-During an interval in the fighting I convinced myself that we were
-alone. It followed that the victory would accrue to him who was calmest,
-who shot best and who had the clearest brain in a moment of danger.
-After a short time I got him beneath me without seriously hurting him
-with my gun. We were at least two kilometers from the front. I thought
-he intended to land but there I had made a mistake. Suddenly, when he
-was only a few yards above the ground, he once more went off on a
-straight course. He tried to escape me. That was too bad. I attacked
-him again and I went so low that I feared I should touch the roofs of
-the houses of the village beneath me. The Englishman defended himself up
-to the last moment. At the very end I felt that my engine had been hit.
-Still I did not let go. He had to fall. He rushed at full speed right
-into a block of houses.
-
-There was little left to be done. This was once more a case of splendid
-daring. He defended himself to the last. However, in my opinion he
-showed more foolhardiness than courage. This was one of the cases where
-one must differentiate between energy and idiocy. He had to come down in
-any case but he paid for his stupidity with his life.
-
-I was delighted with the performance of my red machine during its
-morning work and returned to our quarters. My comrades were still in the
-air and they were very surprised, when, as we met at breakfast, I told
-them that I had scored my thirty-second machine.
-
-A very young Lieutenant had "bagged" his first aeroplane. We were all
-very merry and prepared everything for further battles.
-
-I then went and groomed myself. I had not had time to do it previously.
-I was visited by a dear friend, Lieutenant Voss of Boelcke's Squadron.
-We chatted. Voss had downed on the previous day his twenty-third
-machine. He was next to me on the list and is at present my most
-redoubtable competitor.
-
-When he started to fly home I offered to accompany him part of the way.
-We went on a roundabout way over the Fronts. The weather had turned so
-bad that we could not hope to find any more game.
-
-Beneath us there were dense clouds. Voss did not know the country and he
-began to feel uncomfortable. When we passed above Arras I met my brother
-who also is in my squadron and who had lost his way. He joined us. Of
-course he recognized me at once by the color of my machine.
-
-Suddenly we saw a squadron approaching from the other side. Immediately
-the thought occurred to me: "Now comes number thirty-three." Although
-there were nine Englishmen and although they were on their own
-territory they preferred to avoid battle. I thought that perhaps it
-would be better for me to re-paint my machine. Nevertheless we caught
-them up. The important thing in aeroplanes is that they are speedy.
-
-I was nearest to the enemy and attacked the man to the rear. To my
-greatest delight I noticed that he accepted battle and my pleasure was
-increased when I discovered that his comrades deserted him. So I had
-once more a single fight.
-
-It was a fight similar to the one which I had had in the morning. My
-opponent did not make matters easy for me. He knew the fighting business
-and it was particularly awkward for me that he was a good shot. To my
-great regret that was quite clear to me.
-
-A favorable wind came to my aid. It drove both of us into the German
-lines.[29] My opponent discovered that the matter was not so simple as
-he had imagined. So he plunged and disappeared in a cloud. He had nearly
-saved himself.
-
-I plunged after him and dropped out of the cloud and, as luck would have
-it, found myself close behind him. I fired and he fired without any
-tangible result. At last I hit him. I noticed a ribbon of white benzine
-vapor. He had to land for his engine had come to a stop.
-
-He was a stubborn fellow. He was bound to recognize that he had lost the
-game. If he continued shooting I could kill him, for meanwhile we had
-dropped to an altitude of about nine hundred feet. However, the
-Englishman defended himself exactly as did his countryman in the
-morning. He fought until he landed. When he had come to the ground I
-flew over him at an altitude of about thirty feet in order to ascertain
-whether I had killed him or not. What did the rascal do? He took his
-machine-gun and shot holes into my machine.
-
-Afterwards Voss told me if that had happened to him he would have shot
-the airman on the ground. As a matter of fact I ought to have done so
-for he had not surrendered. He was one of the few fortunate fellows who
-escaped with their lives.
-
-I felt very merry, flew home and celebrated my thirty-third aeroplane.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[28] Voss was afterwards shot in a fight by the late Lieut. Rhys-Davids,
-D. C. O., M. C. In this fight, which is said to have been one of the
-most gallant actions in the war, Voss was flying a Fokker triplane with
-a French le Rhone engine, taken out of a captured machine. He was
-attacked by six British S. E.'s, all faster than he was. His solitary
-companion, on an Albatros, was shot down at the first onset, but Voss,
-instead of getting away, as he could have done, stayed and fought the
-crowd. His manoeuvering and shooting are said to have been wonderful.
-Every British machine was hit, but none was brought down, and Voss
-himself finally fell to a direct attack by Rhys-Davids.
-
-[29] It is well to note how often von Richthofen refers to the wind
-being in his favor. A west wind means that while the machines are
-fighting they are driven steadily over the German lines. Then, if the
-British machine happens to be inferior in speed or manoeuverability to
-the German, and is forced down low, the pilot has the choice only of
-fighting to a finish and being killed, or of landing and being made
-prisoner. The prevalence of west winds has, for this reason, cost the R.
-F. C. a very great number of casualties in killed and missing, who, if
-the fight had occurred over territory held by the British, would merely
-have landed till the attacking machine had taken itself off. For similar
-reasons, the fact that the R. F. C. has always been on the offensive,
-and so has always been flying over the German lines has caused many
-casualties. Under all the circumstances it is surprising that the R. F.
-C. casualties have not been a great deal heavier.
-
-
-
-
-XI
-
-_My Record-Day_
-
-
-THE weather was glorious. We were ready for starting. I had as a visitor
-a gentleman who had never seen a fight in the air or anything resembling
-it and he had just assured me that it would tremendously interest him to
-witness an aerial battle.
-
-We climbed into our machines and laughed heartily at our visitor's
-eagerness. Friend Schäfer[30] thought that we might give him some fun.
-We placed him before a telescope and off we went.
-
-The day began well. We had scarcely flown to an altitude of six thousand
-feet when an English squadron of five machines was seen coming our way.
-We attacked them by a rush as if we were cavalry and the hostile
-squadron lay destroyed on the ground. None of our men was even wounded.
-Of our enemies three had plunged to the ground and two had come down in
-flames.
-
-The good fellow down below was not a little surprised. He had imagined
-that the affair would look quite different, that it would be far more
-dramatic. He thought the whole encounter had looked quite harmless until
-suddenly some machines came falling down looking like rockets. I have
-gradually become accustomed to seeing machines falling down, but I must
-say it impressed me very deeply when I saw the first Englishman fall and
-I have often seen the event again in my dreams.
-
-As the day had begun so propitiously we sat down and had a decent
-breakfast. All of us were as hungry as wolves. In the meantime our
-machines were again made ready for starting. Fresh cartridges were got
-and then we went off again.
-
-In the evening we could send off the proud report: "Six German machines
-have destroyed thirteen hostile aeroplanes."[31]
-
-Boelcke's Squadron had only once been able to make a similar report. At
-that time we had shot down eight machines. To-day one of us had brought
-low four of his opponents. The hero was a Lieutenant Wolff, a
-delicate-looking little fellow in whom nobody could have suspected a
-redoubtable hero. My brother had destroyed two, Schäfer two, Festner two
-and I three.
-
-We went to bed in the evening tremendously proud but also terribly
-tired. On the following day we read with noisy approval about our deeds
-of the previous day in the official communiqué. On the next day we
-downed eight hostile machines.
-
-A very amusing thing occurred. One of the Englishmen whom we had shot
-down and whom we had made a prisoner was talking with us. Of course he
-inquired after the Red Aeroplane. It is not unknown even among the
-troops in the trenches and is called by them "le diable rouge." In the
-Squadron to which he belonged there was a rumor that the Red Machine was
-occupied by a girl, by a kind of Jeanne d'Arc. He was intensely
-surprised when I assured him that the supposed girl was standing in
-front of him. He did not intend to make a joke. He was actually
-convinced that only a girl could sit in the extravagantly painted
-machine.
-
-
-    _"Moritz"_
-
-THE most beautiful being in all creation is the genuine Danish hound, my
-little lap-dog, my Moritz. I bought him in Ostend from a brave Belgian
-for five marks. His mother was a beautiful animal and one of his fathers
-also was pure-bred. I am convinced of that. I could select one of the
-litter and I chose the prettiest. Zeumer took another puppy and called
-it Max.
-
-Max came to a sudden end. He was run over by a motor car. Moritz
-flourished exceedingly. He slept with me in my bed and received a most
-excellent education. He never left me while I was in Ostend and obtained
-my entire affection. Month by month Moritz grew, and gradually my tender
-little lap-dog became a colossal, big beast.
-
-Once I even took him with me. He was my first observer. He behaved very
-sensibly. He seemed much interested in everything and looked at the
-world from above. Only my mechanics were dissatisfied when they had to
-clean the machine. Afterwards Moritz was very merry.
-
-Moritz is more than a year old and he is still as child-like as if he
-were still in his teens. He is very fond of playing billiards. In doing
-this he has destroyed many billiard balls and particularly many a
-billiard cloth. He has a great passion for the chase. My mechanics are
-highly satisfied with his sporting inclinations for he has caught for
-them many a nice hare. I do not much approve of his hunting
-proclivities. Consequently he gets a whacking if I catch him at it.
-
-He has a silly peculiarity. He likes to accompany the flying machines
-at the start. Frequently the normal death of a flying-man's dog is death
-from the propeller. One day he rushed in front of a flying-machine which
-had been started. The aeroplane caught him up and a beautiful propeller
-was smashed to bits. Moritz howled terribly and a measure which I had
-hitherto omitted was taken. I had always refused to have his ears cut.
-One of his ears was cut off by the propeller. A long ear and a short ear
-do not go well together.
-
-Moritz has taken a very sensible view of the world-war and of our
-enemies. When in the summer of 1916 he saw for the first time Russian
-natives--the train had stopped and Moritz was being taken for a walk--he
-chased the Russian crowd with loud barking. He has no great opinion of
-Frenchmen although he is, after all, a Belgian. Once, when I had settled
-in new quarters, I ordered the people to clean the house. When I came
-back in the evening nothing had been done. I got angry and asked the
-Frenchman to come and see me. When he opened the door Moritz greeted him
-rather brusquely. Immediately I understood why no cleaning had been
-done.
-
-
-    _The English Attack Our Aerodrome_
-
-NIGHTS in which the full moon is shining are most suitable for night
-flying.
-
-During the full moon nights of the month of April our English friends
-were particularly industrious. This was during the Battle of Arras.
-Probably they had found out that we had comfortably installed ourselves
-on a beautiful large flying ground at Douai.
-
-One night when we were in the Officers' Mess the telephone started
-ringing and we were told: "The English are coming." There was a great
-hullabaloo. We had bomb-proof shelters. They had been got ready by our
-excellent Simon. Simon is our architect, surveyor and builder.
-
-We dived down into shelter and we heard actually, at first a very gentle
-humming and then the noise of engines. The searchlights had apparently
-got notice at the same time as we, for they started getting ready.
-
-The nearest enemy was still too far away to be attacked. We were
-colossally merry. The only thing we feared was that the English would
-not succeed in finding our aerodrome. To find some fixed spot at night
-is by no means easy. It was particularly difficult to find us because
-our aerodrome was not situated on an important highway or near water or
-a railway, by which one can be guided during one's flight at night.[32]
-The Englishmen were apparently flying at a great altitude. At first they
-circled around our entire establishment. We began to think that they had
-given up and were looking for another objective. Suddenly we noticed
-that the nearest one had switched off his engine. So he was coming
-lower. Wolff said: "Now the matter is becoming serious."
-
-We had two carbines and began shooting at the Englishman. We could not
-see him. Still the noise of our shooting was a sedative to our nerves.
-
-Suddenly he was taken up by the searchlights. There was shouting all
-over the flying ground. Our friend was sitting in a prehistoric packing
-case.[33] We could clearly recognize the type. He was half a mile away
-from us and was flying straight towards us.
-
-He went lower and lower. At last he had come down to an altitude of
-about three hundred feet. Then he started his engine again and came
-straight towards the spot where we were standing.
-
-Wolff thought that he took an interest in the other side of our
-establishment and before long the first bomb fell and it was followed by
-a number of other missiles.
-
-Our friend amused us with very pretty fireworks. They could have
-frightened only a coward. Broadly speaking, I find that bomb-throwing
-at night has only a moral effect. Those who are easily frightened are
-strongly affected when bombs fall at night. The others don't care.
-
-We were much amused at the Englishman's performance and thought the
-English would come quite often on a visit. The flying piano dropped its
-bombs at last from an altitude of one hundred and fifty feet. That was
-rather impertinent for in a moonlit night I think I can hit a wild pig
-at one hundred and fifty feet with a rifle. Why then should I not
-succeed in hitting the Englishman? It would have been a novelty to down
-an English airman from the ground.
-
-From above I had already had the honor of downing a number of
-Englishmen, but I had never tried to tackle an aviator from below.
-
-When the Englishman had gone we went back to mess and discussed among
-ourselves how we should receive the English should they pay us another
-visit on the following night. In the course of the next day our
-orderlies and other fellows were made to work with great energy. They
-had to ram into the ground piles which were to be used as a foundation
-for machine guns during the coming night.
-
-We went to the butts and tried the English machine guns which we had
-taken from the enemy, arranged the sights for night shooting and were
-very curious as to what was going to happen. I will not betray the
-number of our machine guns. Anyhow, they were to be sufficient for the
-purpose. Every one of my officers was armed with one.
-
-We were again sitting at mess. Of course we were discussing the problem
-of night fliers. Suddenly an orderly rushed in shouting: "They are
-there! They are there!" and disappeared in the next bomb-proof in his
-scanty attire. We all rushed to our machine guns. Some of the men who
-were known to be good shots, had also been given a machine gun. All the
-rest were provided with carbines. The whole squadron was armed to the
-teeth to give a warm reception to our kindly visitors.
-
-The first Englishman arrived, exactly as on the previous evening, at a
-very great altitude. He went then down to one hundred and fifty feet and
-to our greatest joy began making for the place where our barracks were.
-He got into the glare of the searchlight.
-
-When he was only three hundred yards away someone fired the first shot
-and all the rest of us joined in. A rush of cavalry or of storming
-troops could not have been met more efficiently than the attack of that
-single impertinent individual flying at one hundred and fifty feet.
-
-Quick firing from many guns received him. Of course he could not hear
-the noise of the machine guns. The roar of his motor prevented that.
-However, he must have seen the flashes of our guns. Therefore I thought
-it tremendously plucky that our man did not swerve, but continued going
-straight ahead in accordance with his plan.[34]
-
-At the moment he was perpendicularly above us we jumped quickly into our
-bomb-proof. It would have been too silly for flying men to die by a
-rotten bomb.
-
-As soon as he had passed over our heads we rushed out again and fired
-after him with our machine guns and rifles.
-
-Friend Schäfer asserted that he had hit the man. Schäfer is quite a good
-shot. Still, in this case I did not believe him. Besides, everyone of us
-had as good a chance at making a hit as he had.
-
-We had achieved something, for the enemy had dropped his bombs rather
-aimlessly owing to our shooting. One of them, it is true, had exploded
-only a few yards from the "petit rouge," but had not hurt him.
-
-During the night the fun recommenced several times. I was already in
-bed, fast asleep, when I heard in a dream anti-aircraft firing. I woke
-up and discovered that the dream was reality. One of the Englishmen flew
-at so low an altitude over my habitation that in my fright I pulled the
-blanket over my head. The next moment I heard an incredible bang just
-outside my window. The panes had fallen a victim to the bomb. I rushed
-out of my room in my shirt in order to fire a few shots after him. They
-were firing from everywhere. Unfortunately, I had overslept my
-opportunity.
-
-The next morning we were extremely surprised and delighted to discover
-that we had shot down from the ground no fewer than three Englishmen.
-They had landed not far from our aerodrome and had been made prisoners.
-
-As a rule we had hit the engines and had forced the airmen to come down
-on our side of the Front. After all, Schäfer was possibly right in his
-assertion. At any rate, we were very well satisfied with our success.
-The English were distinctly less satisfied for they preferred avoiding
-our base. It was a pity that they gave us a wide berth, for they gave us
-lots of fun. Let us hope that they come back to us next month.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[30] Schäfer was also shot by Lieut. Rhys-Davids, R. F. C., later in
-1917.
-
-[31] It is possible that the figures are correct. Early in 1917, before
-the advent of the British fighters and de Havillands in quantities, the
-R. F. C. was having a very bad time. On April 7, for example, it was
-reported in the G. H. Q. Communiqué that twenty-eight English machines
-were missing.
-
-[32] This might be a useful hint to some people who like to build repair
-depots, or big bombing aerodromes, right alongside the sea a few miles
-behind the firing line, so that they may be easily located after the
-shortest possible flight by the most inexperienced bombing pilot.
-
-[33] One assumes that the reference is to the ancient F. E. 2b. "pusher"
-biplane, which, though produced in 1915, was still used for night
-bombing up till well on in 1918.
-
-[34] This description is typical of what these extraordinary
-night-flying pilots do with their ancient "flying pianos" night after
-night, when the weather is reasonable. Von Richthofen's generous
-admiration is thoroughly well deserved.
-
-
-
-
-XII
-
-_Schäfer Lands Between the Lines_
-
-
-WE went on a shooting expedition on the twentieth of April. We came home
-very late and lost Schäfer on the way.
-
-Of course everyone hoped that he would come to hand before dark. It
-struck nine, it struck ten, but no Schäfer was visible. His benzine
-could not last so long. Consequently, he had landed somewhere, for no
-one was willing to admit that he had been shot down. No one dared to
-mention the possibility. Still, everyone was afraid for him.
-
-The ubiquitous telephone was set in motion in order to find out whether
-a flying man had come down anywhere. Nobody could give us information.
-No Division and no Brigade had seen anything of him. We felt very
-uncomfortable. At last we went to bed. All of us were perfectly
-convinced that he would turn up in the end.
-
-At two o'clock, after midnight, I was suddenly awakened. The telephone
-orderly, beaming with pleasure, reported to me: "Schäfer is in the
-Village of Y. and would like to be fetched home."
-
-The next morning when we were sitting at breakfast the door opened and
-my dear pilot stood before me. His clothes were as filthy as those of an
-infantryman who has fought at Arras for a fortnight. He was greeted with
-a general Hurrah! Schäfer was tremendously happy and elated and
-tremendously excited about his adventure. When he had finished his
-breakfast he told us the following tale:
-
-"I was flying along the front intending to return home. Suddenly I
-noticed far below me something that looked like an infantry flier. I
-attacked him, shot him down, and meant to fly back. However, the English
-in the trenches did not mean me to get away and started peppering me
-like anything. My salvation lay in the rapidity of my machine, for
-those rascals, of course, would forget that they had to aim far in front
-of me if they wished to hit me.
-
-"I was at an altitude of perhaps six hundred feet. Suddenly, I heard a
-smash and my engine stopped running. There was nothing to do but to
-land. I asked myself whether I should be able to get away from the
-English position. It seemed very questionable. The English noticed my
-predicament and started shooting like mad.
-
-"As my engine was no longer running I could hear every single shot. The
-position became awkward. I came down and landed. Before my machine had
-come to a standstill they squirted upon me heaps of bullets from machine
-guns in the hedge of the village of Monchy near Arras. My machine became
-splashed with bullets.
-
-"I jumped out of it and down into the first shell hole. Squatting there
-I reflected and tried to realize exactly where I was. Gradually it
-became clear to me that I had landed outside the English lines, but
-cursedly near them. Happily it was rather late in the evening and that
-was my salvation.
-
-"Before long the first shell came along. Of course they were gas shells
-and I had no mask with me. My eyes started watering like anything.
-Before darkness set in the English ascertained the distance of the spot
-where I had landed with machine guns. Part of them aimed at my machine
-and part at my shell crater. The bullets constantly hit its rim.
-
-"In order to quiet my nerves I lit a cigarette. Then I took off my heavy
-fur coat and prepared everything for a leap and a run. Every minute
-seemed to me an hour.
-
-"Gradually it became dark, but only very gradually. Around me I heard
-partridges giving a concert. As an experienced shot I recognized from
-their voices that they felt quite happy and contented, that there was no
-danger of my being surprised in my hiding place.
-
-"At last it became quite dark. Suddenly and quite close to me a couple
-of partridges flew up. A second couple followed. It was obvious that
-danger was approaching. No doubt a patrol was on the way to wish me a
-happy evening.
-
-"I had no time to lose. Now or never. First I crept very cautiously on
-my chest from shell hole to shell hole. After creeping industriously for
-about an hour and a half I noticed I was nearing humans. Were they
-English or were they Germans? They came nearer and I could almost have
-fallen round their necks, when I discovered our own musketeers. They
-were a German patrol who were nosing about in No Man's Land.
-
-"One of the men conducted me to the Commander of his Company. I was told
-that in the evening I had landed about fifty yards in front of the enemy
-lines and that our infantry had given me up for lost. I had a good
-supper and then I started on my way home. Behind me there was far more
-shooting than in front of me. Every path, every trench, every bush,
-every hollow, was under enemy fire. The English attacked on the next
-morning, and consequently, they had to begin their artillery preparation
-the evening before. So I had chosen an unfavorable day for my
-enterprise. I reached the first telephone only at two o'clock in the
-morning when I 'phoned to the Squadron."
-
-We were all very happy to have our Schäfer again with us. He went to
-bed. Any other man would have taken a rest from flying for twenty-four
-hours. But on the afternoon of this very day friend Schäfer attacked a
-low flying B. E. above Monchy.
-
-
-    _The Anti-Richthofen Squadron_
-
-THE English had hit upon a splendid joke. They intended to catch me or
-to bring me down. For that purpose they had actually organized a special
-squadron which flew about in that part which we frequented as a rule. We
-discovered its particular aim by the fact that its aggressive activity
-was principally directed against our red machines.
-
-I would say that all the machines of the squadron had been painted red
-because our English friends had by-and-by perceived that I was sitting
-in a blood-red band-box. Suddenly there were quite a lot of red
-machines and the English opened their eyes wide when one fine day they
-saw a dozen red barges steaming along instead of a single one. Our new
-trick did not prevent them from making an attempt at attacking us. I
-preferred their new tactics. It is better that one's customers come to
-one's shop than to have to look for them abroad.
-
-We flew to the front hoping to find our enemy. After about twenty
-minutes the first arrived and attacked us. That had not happened to us
-for a long time. The English had abandoned their celebrated offensive
-tactics to some extent. They had found them somewhat too expensive.
-
-Our aggressors were three Spad one-seater machines. Their occupants
-thought themselves very superior to us because of the excellence of
-their apparatus. Wolff, my brother and I, were flying together. We were
-three against three. That was as it ought to be.
-
-Immediately at the beginning of the encounter the aggressive became a
-defensive. Our superiority became clear. I tackled my opponent and
-could see how my brother and Wolff handled each his own enemy. The usual
-waltzing began. We were circling around one another. A favorable wind
-came to our aid. It drove us, fighting, away from the front in the
-direction of Germany.
-
-My man was the first who fell down. I suppose I had smashed up his
-engine. At any rate, he made up his mind to land. I no longer gave
-pardon to him. Therefore, I attacked him a second time and the
-consequence was that his whole machine went to pieces. His planes
-dropped off like pieces of paper and the body of the machine fell like a
-stone, burning fiercely. It dropped into a morass. It was impossible to
-dig it out and I have never discovered the name of my opponent. He had
-disappeared. Only the end of the tail was visible and marked the place
-where he had dug his own grave.
-
-Simultaneously with me, Wolff and my brother had attacked their
-opponents and had forced them to land not far from my victim.
-
-We were very happy and flew home and hoped that the anti-Richthofen
-Squadron would often return to the fray.[35]
-
-
-    _We Are Visited By My Father_
-
-MY father had announced that he would visit his two sons on the
-twenty-ninth of April. My father is commander of a little town in the
-vicinity of Lille. Therefore he does not live very far away from us. I
-have occasionally seen him on my flights.
-
-He intended to arrive by train at nine o'clock. At half past nine he
-came to our aerodrome. We just happened to have returned from an
-expedition. My brother was the first to climb out of his machine, and he
-greeted the old gentleman with the words: "Good day, Father. I have just
-shot down an Englishman." Immediately after, I also climbed out of my
-machine and greeted him "Good day, Father, I have just shot down an
-Englishman." The old gentleman felt very happy and he was delighted.
-That was obvious. He is not one of those fathers who are afraid for
-their sons. I think he would like best to get into a machine himself and
-help us shoot. We breakfasted with him and then we went flying again.
-
-In the meantime, an aerial fight took place above our aerodrome. My
-father looked on and was greatly interested. We did not take a hand in
-the fight for we were standing on the ground and looked on ourselves.
-
-An English squadron had broken through and was being attacked above our
-aerodrome by some of our own reconnoitering aeroplanes. Suddenly one of
-the machines started turning over and over. Then it recovered itself and
-came gliding down normally. We saw, with regret this time, that it was a
-German machine.
-
-The Englishman flew on. The German aeroplane had apparently been
-damaged. It was quite correctly handled. It came down and tried to land
-on our flying ground. The room was rather narrow for the large machine.
-Besides, the ground was unfamiliar to the pilot. Hence, the landing was
-not quite smooth. We ran towards the aeroplane and discovered with
-regret that one of the occupants of the machine, the machine gunner, had
-been killed. The spectacle was new to my father. It made him serious.
-
-The day promised to be a favorable one for us. The weather was
-wonderfully clear. The anti-aircraft guns were constantly audible.
-Obviously, there was much aircraft about.
-
-Towards mid-day we flew once more. This time, I was again lucky and shot
-down my second Englishman of the day. The Governor recovered his good
-spirits.
-
-After the mid-day dinner I slept a little. I was again quite fresh.
-Wolff had fought the enemy in the meantime with his group of machines
-and had himself bagged an enemy. Schäfer also had eaten one. In the
-afternoon my brother and I accompanied by Schäfer, Festner and
-Allmenröder flew twice more.
-
-The first afternoon flight was a failure. The second was all the better.
-Soon after we had come to the front a hostile squadron met us.
-Unfortunately they occupied a higher altitude so we could not do
-anything. We tried to climb to their level but did not succeed. We had
-to let them go.[36]
-
-We flew along the front. My brother was next to me, in front of the
-others. Suddenly I noticed two hostile artillery fliers approaching our
-front in the most impertinent and provocative manner. I waved to my
-brother and he understood my meaning. We flew side by side increasing
-our speed. Each of us felt certain that he was superior to the enemy. It
-was a great thing that we could absolutely rely on one another and that
-was the principal thing. One has to know one's flying partner.
-
-My brother was the first to approach his enemy. He attacked the first
-and I took care of the second. At the last moment I quickly looked round
-in order to feel sure that there was no third aeroplane about. We were
-alone and could see eye to eye. Soon I had got on the favorable side of
-my opponent. A short spell of quick firing and the enemy machine went to
-pieces. I never had a more rapid success.
-
-While I was still looking where my enemy's fragments were falling, I
-noticed my brother. He was scarcely five hundred yards away from me and
-was still fighting his opponent.
-
-I had time to study the struggle and must say that I myself could not
-have done any better than he did. He had rushed his man and both were
-turning around one another. Suddenly, the enemy machine reared. That is
-a certain indication of a hit. Probably the pilot was shot in the head.
-The machine fell and the planes of the enemy apparatus went to pieces.
-They fell quite close to my victim. I flew towards my brother and we
-congratulated one another by waving. We were highly satisfied with our
-performance and flew off. It is a splendid thing when one can fly
-together with one's brother and do so well.
-
-In the meantime, the other fellows of the squadron had drawn near and
-were watching the spectacle of the fight of the two brothers. Of course
-they could not help us, for only one man can shoot down an opponent. If
-one airman has tackled his enemy the others cannot assist. They can only
-look on and protect his back. Otherwise, he might be attacked in the
-rear.
-
-We flew on and went to a higher altitude, for there was apparently a
-meeting somewhere in the air for the members of the Anti-Richthofen
-Club. They could recognize us from far away. In the powerful sunlight,
-the beautiful red color of our machines could be seen at a long
-distance.
-
-We closed our ranks for we knew that our English friends pursued the
-same business as we. Unfortunately, they were again too high. So we had
-to wait for their attack. The celebrated triplanes and Spads were
-perfectly new machines. However, the quality of the box matters little.
-Success depends upon the man who sits in it. The English airmen played a
-cautious game but would not bite. We offered to fight them, either on
-one side of the front or on the other. But they said: No, thank you.
-What is the good of bringing out a squadron against us and then turning
-tail?[37]
-
-At last, one of the men plucked up courage and dropped down upon our
-rear machine. Naturally battle was accepted although our position was
-unfavorable. If you wish to do business you must, after all, adapt
-yourself to the desires of your customers. Therefore we all turned
-round. The Englishman noticed what was going on and got away. The battle
-had begun.
-
-Another Englishman tried a similar trick on me and I greeted him at once
-with quick fire from my two machine guns. He tried to escape me by
-dropping down. That was fatal to him. When he got beneath me I remained
-on top of him. Everything in the air that is beneath me, especially if
-it is a one-seater, a chaser, is lost, for it cannot shoot to the rear.
-
-My opponent had a very good and very fast machine. However, he did not
-succeed in reaching the English lines. I began to fire at him when we
-were above Lens. I started shooting when I was much too far away. That
-was merely a trick of mine. I did not mean so much to hit him as to
-frighten him, and I succeeded in catching him. He began flying curves
-and this enabled me to draw near. I tried the same manoeuver a second
-and a third time. Everytime my foolish friend started making his curves
-I gradually edged quite close to him.
-
-I approached him almost to touching distance. I aimed very carefully. I
-waited a moment and when I was at most at a distance of fifty yards from
-him I started with both the machine guns at the same time. I heard a
-slight hissing noise, a certain sign that the benzine tanks had been
-hit. Then I saw a bright flame and my lord disappeared below.
-
-This was the fourth victim of the day. My brother had bagged two.
-Apparently, we had invited our father to a treat. His joy was
-wonderful.
-
-I had invited several gentlemen for the evening. Among these was my dear
-Wedel who happened to be in the neighborhood. We had a great treat. The
-two brothers had bagged six Englishmen in a single day. That is a whole
-flying squadron.[38]
-
-I believe the English cease to feel any sympathy for us.[39]
-
-
-    _I Fly Home_
-
-I HAD shot down fifty aeroplanes. That was a good number but I would
-have preferred fifty-two. So I went up one day and had another two,
-although it was against orders.
-
-As a matter of fact I had been allowed to bag only forty-one. Anyone
-will be able to guess why the number was fixed at forty-one. Just for
-that reason I wanted to avoid that figure. I am not out for breaking
-records. Besides, generally speaking, we of the Flying Corps do not
-think of records at all. We merely think of our duty. Boelcke might have
-shot down a hundred aeroplanes but for his accident, and many others of
-our dear dead comrades might have vastly increased their bag but for
-their sudden death. Still, it is some fun to have downed half a hundred
-aeroplanes. After all, I had succeeded in obtaining permission to bring
-down fifty machines before going on leave.
-
-I hope that I may live to celebrate a second lot of fifty.
-
-In the evening of that particular day the telephone bell was ringing.
-Headquarters wished to speak to me. It seemed to me the height of fun to
-be connected with the holy of holies.
-
-Over the wire they gave me the cheerful news that His Majesty had
-expressed the wish to make my personal acquaintance and had fixed the
-date for me. I had to make an appearance on the second of May. The
-notification reached me on the thirtieth of April at nine o'clock in the
-evening. I should not have been able to fulfil the wish of our
-All-Highest War-Lord by taking the train. I therefore thought I would
-travel by air, especially as that mode of locomotion is far pleasanter.
-I started the next morning, not in my single-seater "le petit rouge" but
-in a big fat double-seater.
-
-I took a seat at the rear, not at the sticks. The man who had to do the
-flying was Lieut. Krefft, one of the officers of my squadron. He was
-just going on furlough to recover his strength, so that it suited him
-admirably to act as my pilot. He reached home more quickly traveling by
-air and he preferred the trip by aeroplane.
-
-I started on the journey rather hastily. The only luggage which I took
-with me was my tooth-brush. Therefore, I had to dress for the journey in
-the clothes in which I was to appear at Headquarters. Now, a soldier
-does not carry with him many beautiful uniforms when he goes to war and
-the scarcity of nice clothes is particularly great in the case of such
-a poor front hog as myself.
-
-My brother undertook the command of the aeroplane squadron in my
-absence. I took leave with a few words for I hoped soon to recommence my
-work among those dear fellows.
-
-The flight went via Namur, Liège, Aix la Chapelle and Cologne. It was
-lovely for once to sail through the air without any thoughts of war. The
-weather was wonderful. We had rarely had such a perfect time. Probably
-the men at the front would be extremely busy.
-
-Soon our own captive balloons were lost to sight. The thunder of the
-Battle of Arras was only heard in the distance. Beneath us all was
-peace. We saw steamers on the rivers and fast trains on the railways. We
-easily overtook everything below. The wind was in our favor. The earth
-seemed as flat as a threshing floor. The beautiful mountains of the
-Meuse were not recognizable as mountains. One could not even trace them
-by their shadows, for the sun was right above us. We only knew that
-they were there and with a little imagination we could hide ourselves in
-the cool glades of that delightful country.
-
-It had become late. Clouds were gathering below and hid from us the
-earth. We flew on, taking our direction by means of the sun and the
-compass. The vicinity of Holland was disagreeable to us. We decided to
-go lower in order to find out where we were. We went beneath the cloud
-and discovered that we were above Namur.
-
-We then went on to Aix la Chapelle. We left that town to our left and
-about mid-day we reached Cologne. We both were in high spirits. We had
-before us a long leave of absence. The weather was beautiful. We had
-succeeded in all our undertakings. We had reached Cologne. We could be
-certain to get to Headquarters in time, whatever might happen.
-
-Our coming had been announced in Cologne by telegram. People were
-looking out for us. On the previous day the newspapers had reported my
-fifty-second aerial victory. One can imagine what kind of a reception
-they had prepared for us.
-
-Having been flying for three hours I had a slight headache. Therefore, I
-thought I would take forty winks, before going to Headquarters. From
-Cologne we flew along the Rhine for some distance. I knew the country
-well. I had often journeyed that way by steamer, by motor car, and by
-railway, and now I was traveling by aeroplane. It is difficult to say
-which of these is the most pleasant form of locomotion. Of course, one
-can see the details of the landscape better from the steamer. However,
-the commanding view one gets from an aeroplane has also its attractions.
-The Rhine is a very beautiful river, from above as well as from any
-other viewpoint.
-
-We flew rather low in order not to lose the sensation that we were
-traveling among mountains, for after all the most beautiful part of the
-Rhine are the tree clad hills and castles. Of course we could not make
-out individual houses. It is a pity that one cannot fly slowly and
-quickly. If it had been possible I would have flown quite slowly.
-
-The beautiful views which we saw vanished only too quickly.
-Nevertheless, when one flies high in the air one never has the sensation
-that one is proceeding at a fast pace. If you are sitting in a motor car
-or in a fast train you have the impression of tremendous speed. On the
-other hand, you seem to be advancing slowly when you fly in an aeroplane
-at a considerable speed. You notice the celerity of your progress only
-when you have not looked out of your machine for four or five minutes
-and then try to find out where you are. Then the aspect of the country
-appears suddenly completely changed. The terrain which you passed over a
-little while ago looks quite different under a different angle, and you
-do not recognize the scenery you have passed. Herein lies the reason
-that an airman can easily lose his way if he forgets for a moment to
-examine the territory.
-
-In the afternoon we arrived at Headquarters and were cordially received
-by some comrades with whom I was acquainted and who worked at the
-holiest of holies. I absolutely pitied those poor ink-spillers. They get
-only half the fun in war.
-
-First of all I went to the General commanding the Air Forces.
-
-On the next morning came the great moment when I was to meet Hindenburg
-and Ludendorf. I had to wait for quite a while.
-
-I should find it difficult to describe my encounter with these Generals.
-I saw Hindenburg first and then Ludendorf.
-
-It is a weird feeling to be in the room where the fate of the world is
-decided. I was quite glad when I was again outside the holiest of holies
-and when I had been commanded to lunch with His Majesty. The day was the
-day of my birth and somebody had apparently told His Majesty. He
-congratulated me in the first place on my success, and in the second, on
-my twenty-fifth birthday. At the same time he handed me a small birthday
-present.
-
-Formerly I would never have believed it possible that on my twenty-fifth
-birthday I would be sitting at the right of General Field Marshal von
-Hindenburg and that I would be mentioned by him in a speech.
-
-On the day following I was to take mid-day dinner with Her Majesty. And
-so I went to Homburg. Her Majesty also gave me a birthday present and I
-had the great pleasure to show her how to start an aeroplane. In the
-evening I was again invited by General Field Marshal von Hindenburg. The
-day following I flew to Freiburg to do some shooting. At Freiburg I made
-use of the flying machine which was going to Berlin by air. In Nuremberg
-I replenished my tanks with benzine. A thunderstorm was coming on. I was
-in a great hurry to get to Berlin. Various more or less interesting
-things awaited me there. So I flew on, the thunderstorm notwithstanding.
-I enjoyed the clouds and the beastly weather. The rain fell in streams.
-Sometimes it hailed. Afterwards the propeller had the most extraordinary
-aspect. The hail stones had damaged it considerably. The blades looked
-like saws.
-
-Unfortunately I enjoyed the bad weather so much that I quite forgot to
-look about me. When I remembered that one has to look out it was too
-late. I had no longer any idea where I was. That was a nice position to
-be in! I had lost my way in my own country! My people at home would
-laugh when they knew it! However, there it was and couldn't be helped. I
-had no idea where I was. Owing to a powerful wind I had been driven out
-of my course and off my map. Guided by sun and compass I tried to get
-the direction of Berlin.
-
-Towns, villages, hills and forests were slipping away below me. I did
-not recognize a thing. I tried in vain to compare the picture beneath my
-map. Everything was different. I found it impossible to recognize the
-country. Later on I discovered the impossibility of finding my way for I
-was flying about sixty miles outside my map.
-
-After having flown for a couple of hours my guide and I resolved to land
-somewhere in the open. That is always unpleasant. One cannot tell how
-the surface of the ground is in reality. If one of the wheels gets into
-a hole one's box is converted into matchwood.
-
-[Illustration: LIEUT. SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE
-SQUADRON]
-
-[Illustration: CAPTAIN RICHTHOFEN WITH HIS MASCOT DOG "MORITZ"]
-
-We tried to read the name written upon a station, but of course that was
-impossible, it was too small. So we had to land. We did it with a heavy
-heart for nothing else could be done. We looked for a meadow which
-appeared suitable from above and tried our luck. Close inspection
-unfortunately showed that the meadow was not as pleasant as it seemed.
-The fact was obviously proved by the slightly bent frame of our machine.
-We had made ourselves gloriously ridiculous. We had first lost our way
-and then smashed the machine. So we had to continue our journey with the
-commonplace conveyance, by railway train. Slowly but surely, we reached
-Berlin. We had landed in the neighborhood of Leipzig. If we had not
-landed so stupidly, we would certainly have reached Berlin. But
-sometimes you make a mistake whatever you do.
-
-Some days later I arrived in Schweidnitz, my own town. Although I got
-there at seven o'clock in the morning, there was a large crowd at
-the station. I was very cordially received. In the afternoon various
-demonstrations took place to honor me, among others, one of the local
-Boy Scouts.
-
-It became clear to me that the people at home took a vivid interest in
-their fighting soldiers after all.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[35] One can find no trace of any deliberate attempt to organize an
-anti-Richthofen Circus in the R. F. C., and therefore one assumes that
-these were merely three gallant lads on new type Spads who went out
-deliberately on their own account to look for trouble, and found more
-than they expected.
-
-[36] This appears to be the first admission that the newer British
-machines could out-climb the famous Albatros chasers.
-
-[37] The probability is that the British machines being high up, and
-watching the sky all round, did not notice the little red machines
-against the dark ground below them for some time.
-
-[38] A whole squadron is eighteen machines, divided into three "flights"
-of six machines each. The word squadron does not, apparently, translate
-exactly into German.
-
-[39] Nevertheless, some months after this, a young British pilot was
-being entertained one evening by his squadron in celebration of his
-having been awarded the D. S. O., and when called upon for a speech
-proposed the health of von Richthofen. And the squadron duly honored the
-toast.
-
-
-
-
-XIII
-
-_My Brother_
-
-
-I HAD not yet passed eight days of my leave when I received the
-telegram: "Lothar is wounded but not mortally." That was all. Inquiries
-showed that he had been very rash. He flew against the enemy, together
-with Allmenröder. Beneath him and a good distance on the other side of
-the front, he saw in the air a lonely Englishman crawling about. He was
-one of those hostile infantry fliers who make themselves particularly
-disagreeable to our troops. We molest them a great deal. Whether they
-really achieve anything in crawling along the ground is very
-problematical.[40]
-
-My brother was at an altitude of about six thousand feet, while the
-Englishman was at about three thousand feet. He quietly approached the
-Englishman, prepared to plunge and in a few seconds was upon him. The
-Englishman thought he would avoid a duel and he disappeared likewise by
-a plunge. My brother, without hesitation, plunged after. He didn't care
-at all whether he was on one side of the front or the other. He was
-animated by a single thought: I must down that fellow. That is, of
-course, the correct way of managing things. Now and then I myself have
-acted that way. However, if my brother does not have at least one
-success on every flight he gets tired of the whole thing.
-
-Only a little above the ground my brother obtained a favorable position
-towards the English flier and could shoot into his shop windows. The
-Englishman fell. There was nothing more to be done.
-
-After such a struggle, especially at a low altitude, in the course of
-which one has so often been twisting and turning, and circling to the
-right and to the left, the average mortal has no longer the slightest
-notion of his position. On that day it happened that the air was
-somewhat misty. The weather was particularly unfavorable. My brother
-quickly took his bearings and discovered only then that he was a long
-distance behind the front. He was behind the ridge of Vimy. The top of
-that hill is about three hundred feet higher than the country around. My
-brother, so the observers on the ground reported, had disappeared behind
-the Vimy height.
-
-It is not a particularly pleasant feeling to fly home over enemy
-country. One is shot at and cannot shoot back. It is true, however, that
-a hit is rare. My brother approached the line. At a low altitude one can
-hear every shot that is fired, and firing sounds then very much like the
-noise made by chestnuts which are being roasted. Suddenly, he felt that
-he had been hit. That was queer to him.
-
-My brother is one of those men who cannot see their own blood. If
-somebody else was bleeding it would not impress him very greatly, but
-the sight of his own blood upsets him. He felt his blood running down
-his right leg in a warm stream. At the same time, he noticed a pain in
-his hip. Below the shooting continued. It followed that he was still
-over hostile ground.
-
-At last the firing gradually ceased. He had crossed the front. Now he
-must be nimble for his strength was rapidly ebbing away. He saw a wood
-and next to the wood a meadow. Straight for the meadow he flew and
-mechanically, almost unconsciously, he switched off the engine. At the
-same moment he lost consciousness.
-
-My brother was in a single-seater. No one could help him. It is a
-miracle that he came to the ground, for no flying machine lands or
-starts automatically. There is a rumor that they have at Cologne an old
-Taube which will start by itself as soon as the pilot takes his seat,
-which makes the regulation curve and which lands again after exactly
-five minutes.[41] Many men pretend to have seen that miraculous machine.
-I have not seen it. But still I am convinced that the tale is true.
-Now, my brother was not in such a miraculous automatic machine.
-Nevertheless he had not hurt himself in landing. He recovered
-consciousness only in hospital, and was sent to Douai.
-
-It is a curious feeling to see one's brother fighting with an
-Englishman. Once I saw that Lothar, who was lagging behind the squadron,
-was being attacked by an English aviator. It would have been easy for
-him to avoid battle. He need only plunge. But he would not do that. That
-would not even occur to him. He does not know how to run away. Happily I
-had observed what was going on and was looking for my chance.
-
-I noticed that the Englishman went for my brother and shot at him. My
-brother tried to reach the Englishman's altitude disregarding the shots.
-Suddenly his machine turned a somersault and plunged perpendicularly,
-turning round and round. It was not an intended plunge, but a regular
-fall. That is not a nice thing to look at, especially if the falling
-airman is one's own brother. Gradually I had to accustom myself to that
-sight for it was one of my brother's tricks. As soon as he felt sure
-that the Englishman was his superior he acted as if he had been shot.
-
-The Englishman rushed after him. My brother recovered his balance and in
-a moment had got above his enemy. The hostile aeroplane could not
-equally quickly get ready for what was to come. My brother caught it at
-a favorable angle and a few seconds after it went down in flames. When a
-machine is burning all is lost for it falls to the ground burning.
-
-Once I was on the ground next to a benzine tank. It contained one
-hundred litres of benzine which exploded and burnt. The heat was so
-great that I could not bear to be within ten yards of it. One can
-therefore imagine what it means if a tank containing a large quantity of
-this devilish liquid explodes a few inches in front of one while the
-blast from the propeller blows the flame into one's face. I believe a
-man must lose consciousness at the very first moment.
-
-Sometimes miracles do happen. For instance, I once saw an English
-aeroplane falling down in flames. The flames burst out only at an
-altitude of fifteen hundred feet. The whole machine was burning. When we
-had flown home we were told that one of the occupants of the machine had
-jumped from an altitude of one hundred and fifty feet. It was the
-observer. One hundred and fifty feet is the height of a good sized
-steeple. Supposing somebody should jump from its top to the ground, what
-would be his condition? Most men would break their bones in jumping from
-a first floor window. At any rate, this good fellow jumped from a
-burning machine at an altitude of one hundred and fifty feet, from a
-machine which had been burning for over a minute, and nothing happened
-to him except a simple fracture of the leg. Soon after his adventure he
-made a statement from which it appears that his nerve had not
-suffered.[42]
-
-Another time, I shot down an Englishman. The pilot had been fatally
-wounded in the head. The machine fell perpendicularly to earth from an
-altitude of nine thousand feet. Some time later I came gliding down and
-saw on the ground nothing but a heap of twisted debris. To my surprise I
-was told that the observer had only damaged his skull and that his
-condition was not dangerous. Some people have luck indeed.
-
-Once upon a time, Boelcke shot down a Nieuport machine. I was present.
-The aeroplane fell like a stone. When we inspected it we found that it
-had been driven up to the middle into the loamy soil. The occupant had
-been shot in the abdomen and had lost consciousness and had wrenched his
-arm out of its socket on striking the ground. He did not die of his
-fall.
-
-On the other hand, it has happened that a good friend of mine in landing
-had a slight accident. One of the wheels of his machine got into a
-rabbit hole. The aeroplane was traveling at no speed and quite slowly
-went on its head. It seemed to reflect whether it should fall to the one
-side or to the other, turned over and the poor fellow's back was
-broken.
-
-My brother Lothar is Lieutenant in the 4th Dragoons. Before the war he
-was at the War Academy. He was made an officer at the outbreak and began
-the war as a cavalry man exactly as I did. I know nothing about his
-actions for he never speaks of himself. However, I have been told the
-following story:
-
-In the winter of 1914 Lothar's regiment was on the Warthe. The Russians
-were on the other side of the river. Nobody knew whether they intended
-to stay there or to go back. The water was frozen partly along the
-shore. So it was difficult to ride through the river. There were, of
-course, no bridges, for the Russians had destroyed them. So my brother
-swam across, ascertained the position of the Russians and swam back
-again. He did that during a severe Russian winter when the thermometer
-was very low. After a few minutes his clothes were frozen solid. Yet he
-asserted that he had felt quite warm notwithstanding. He kept on his
-horse all day long until he got to his quarters in the evening, yet he
-did not catch a chill.
-
-In winter, 1915, he followed my urgent advice and went into the flying
-service. He also became an observer and became a pilot only a year
-later. Acting as an observer is certainly not a bad training,
-particularly for a chasing airman. In March, 1917, he passed his third
-examination and came at once to my squadron.
-
-When he arrived he was a very young and innocent pilot who never thought
-of looping and such like tricks. He was quite satisfied if he succeeded
-in starting his machine and in landing successfully. A fortnight later I
-took him with me against the enemy for the first time. I asked him to
-fly close behind me in order that he might see exactly how the fighting
-was done.
-
-After the third flight with him I suddenly noticed he parted company
-with me. He rushed at an Englishman and killed him. My heart leapt with
-joy when I saw it. The event proved once more that there is no art in
-shooting down an aeroplane. The thing is done by the personality or by
-the fighting determination of the airman.[43] I am not a Pegoud and I do
-not wish to be a Pegoud. I am only a soldier who does his duty.
-
-Four weeks later my brother had shot down a total of twenty Englishmen.
-His record as a flier is probably unique. It has probably not happened
-in any other case that a pilot, a fortnight after his third examination,
-has shot down his first enemy and that he has shot down twenty during
-the first four weeks of his fighting life.
-
-My brother's twenty-second opponent was the celebrated Captain Ball. He
-was by far the best English flier. Major Hawker, who in his time was as
-renowned as Captain Ball, I had pressed to my bosom some months
-previously. It was a particular pleasure to me that it fell to my
-brother to settle England's second flying champion.
-
-Captain Ball flew a triplane and encountered my brother flying by
-himself at the Front. Each tried to catch the other. Neither gave his
-opponent a chance. Every encounter was a short one. They were constantly
-dashing at one another. Neither succeeded in getting behind the other.
-Suddenly both resolved to fire a few well aimed shots during the few
-moments of the encounter. Both rushed at one another, and fired. Both
-had before them their engine. The probability of a hit was very small
-for their speed was twice as great as normally. It was improbable that
-either should succeed. My brother, who was a little lower, had pulled
-his machine around too hard and the result was that it overturned. For a
-moment his aeroplane became unsteerable. But presently he recovered
-control and found out that his opponent had smashed both his benzine
-tanks. Therefore, he had to stop the engine and land quickly. Otherwise,
-his machine might burst into flames.
-
-His next idea was: What has become of my opponent? At the moment when
-his machine turned its somersault he had seen that the enemy's machine
-was rearing up in the air and had also turned a somersault. He therefore
-could not be very far. His whole thought was: Is he above me or beneath
-me? He was not above but he saw the triplane falling down in a series of
-somersaults. It fell, fell, fell until it came to the ground where it
-was smashed to pieces. This happened on German territory. Both opponents
-had hit one another with their machine guns. My brother's machine had
-had both benzine tanks smashed and at the same moment Captain Ball had
-been shot through the head. He carried with him some photographs and
-cuttings from the newspapers of his town where he had been greatly
-feted. In Boelcke's time Captain Ball destroyed thirty-six German
-machines. He, too, had found his master. Was it by chance that a
-prominent man such as he also should die an ordinary soldier's
-death?[44]
-
-Captain Ball was certainly the commander of the Anti-Richthofen
-Squadron. I believe that the Englishmen will now give up their attempt
-to catch me. I should regret it, for in that case, I should miss many
-opportunities to make myself beloved by them.
-
-Had my brother not been wounded on the fifth of May he would probably on
-my return from furlough, also have been given a leave of absence with
-fifty-two hostile machines to his credit.
-
-My father discriminates between a sportsman and a butcher. The former
-shoots for fun. When I have shot down an Englishman my hunting passion
-is satisfied for a quarter of an hour. Therefore I do not succeed in
-shooting two Englishmen in succession. If one of them comes down I have
-the feeling of complete satisfaction. Only much, much later I have
-overcome my instinct and have become a butcher.
-
-My brother is differently constituted. I had an opportunity of observing
-him when he was shooting down his fourth and fifth opponents. We were
-attacking in a squadron. I started the dance. I had settled my opponent
-very quickly. When I looked around I noticed my brother rushing after an
-English machine which was bursting into flames, and exploded. Next to it
-was another Englishman. My brother, though following number one,
-immediately directed his machine gun against number two, although his
-first opponent was still in the air and had not yet fallen. His second
-victim also fell after a short struggle.
-
-When we met at home he asked me proudly, "How many have you shot down?"
-I said quite modestly, "One." He turned his back upon me and said, "I
-did two." Thereupon I sent him forward to make inquiries. He was to find
-out the names of his victims, etc. He returned late in the afternoon
-having been able to find only a single Englishman.
-
-He had looked carelessly, as is usual amongst such butchers. Only on the
-following day I received a report as to the place where the second had
-come down.
-
-We all had seen his fall.
-
-
-    _I Shoot a Bison_
-
-WHEN visiting Headquarters I met the Prince von Pless. He permitted me
-to shoot a bison on his estate. The bison has died out. On the whole
-earth there are only two spots where bisons may be found. These are the
-Pless Estate and in the Bialowicz estate of the ex-Czar. The Bialowicz
-forest has, of course, suffered terribly through the war. Many a
-magnificent bison which ought to have been shot either by the Czar or by
-some other monarch has been eaten by German musketeers.
-
-Through the kindness of the Prince I was permitted to shoot so rare an
-animal. In a few decades none will be left.
-
-I arrived at Pless on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of May and had
-to start immediately from the station if I wished to kill a bull the
-same evening. We drove along the celebrated road, through the giant
-preserves of the Prince, which has been frequented by many crowned
-heads. After about an hour, we got out and had to walk half an hour to
-come to the shooting place. The drivers had already been placed in
-position. The signal was given to them and they began the drive.
-
-I stood at an elevated spot which had been occupied, according to the
-head forester, by His Majesty, who from thence had shot many a bison. We
-waited some considerable time. Suddenly I saw among the timber a
-gigantic black monster, rolling along. It came straight in my direction.
-I noticed it before the head forester had. I got ready for firing and
-must say that I felt somewhat feverish.
-
-It was a mighty bull. When he was at a distance of two hundred yards
-there was still some hope for him. I thought it was too far for a shot.
-Of course I could have hit the monster because it was impossible to miss
-such a huge beast. However, it would have been unpleasant to search for
-him. Besides it would have been ridiculous had I missed him, so I
-thought I would wait until he came nearer.
-
-Probably he noticed the drivers for he suddenly turned and came rushing
-towards me at a sharp angle and at a speed which seemed to me
-incredible. It was a bad position for a shot, and in a moment he
-disappeared behind a group of stout trees.
-
-I heard him snorting and stamping. I lost sight of him. I have no idea
-whether he smelt me or not. At any rate, he had disappeared. I caught
-another glimpse of him at a long distance and he was gone.
-
-I do not know whether it was the unaccustomed aspect of the animal or
-whether something else affected me. At any rate, at the moment when the
-bull came near I had the same feeling, the same feverishness which
-seizes me when I am sitting in my aeroplane and notice an Englishman at
-so great a distance that I have to fly perhaps five minutes in order to
-get near him. The only difference is that the Englishman defends
-himself. Possibly, different feelings would have moved me had I been
-standing on level ground and not on an elevated position.
-
-Before long, a second bison came near. He was also a huge fellow. He
-made it easier for me to fire my shot. At a distance of eighty yards I
-fired at him but I had missed my opportunity to shoot him in the
-shoulder. A month before, Hindenburg had told me when talking of bison:
-"You must take a lot of cartridges with you. I have spent on such a
-fellow half a dozen for he does not die easily. His heart lies so deep
-that one misses it as a rule." That was really so. Although I knew
-exactly where the bison's heart was I had missed it. I fired a second
-shot and a third. Hit for the third time the bull stopped perhaps fifty
-yards from me.
-
-Five minutes later the beast was dead. The shooting was finished. All
-three bullets had hit him close above the heart.
-
-We drove now, past the beautiful hunting box of the Prince through the
-forest, in which the guests of Prince Pless shoot every year, deer, and
-other animals. Then we looked at the interior of the house in Promnitz.
-It is situated on a peninsula. It commands beautiful views and for
-three miles around there is no human being. One has no longer the
-feeling that one is in a preserve of the ordinary kind when one visits
-the estate of Prince Pless, for the preserve extends to a million acres.
-It contains glorious stags which have never been seen by man. No
-forester knows them. Occasionally they are shot. One can tramp about for
-weeks without seeing a bison. During certain times of the year it is
-impossible to find one. They like quietude and they can hide themselves
-in the gigantic forests and tangled woods. We saw many beautiful deer.
-
-After about two hours we arrived at Pless, just before it became dark.
-
-
-    _Infantry Fliers, Artillery Fliers
-    and Reconnoitering Machines_
-
-HAD I not become a professional chaser I should have turned an infantry
-flier. After all, it must be a very satisfactory feeling to be able to
-aid those troops whose work is hardest. The infantry flier can do a
-great deal to assist the man on foot. For that reason his is a very
-grateful task.[45]
-
-In the course of the Battle of Arras I observed many of these splendid
-fellows. They flew in any weather and at any time at a low altitude over
-the enemy and tried to act as connecting links with our hard-pressed
-troops. I can understand that one can fight with enthusiasm when one is
-given such a task. I dare say many an airman has shouted Hurrah! when,
-after an assault he saw the hostile masses stream back or when our smart
-infantry leaped from the trenches and fought the aggressors eye to eye.
-Many a time, after a chasing expedition, I have fired my remaining
-cartridges into the enemy trenches. Although I may have done little
-practical good, such firing affects the enemy's morale.
-
-I have also been an artillery flier. In my time it was a novelty to
-regulate the firing of one's own artillery by wireless telegraphy. To do
-this well an airman requires special talent. I could not do the work for
-long. I prefer fighting. Very likely, artillery officers make the best
-artillery fliers. At least, they have the necessary knowledge of the arm
-which they serve.
-
-I have done a lot of reconnoitering by aeroplane, particularly in Russia
-during the war of movement. Then I acted once more as a cavalryman. The
-only difference was that I rode a Pegasus made of steel. My days spent
-with friend Holck among the Russians were among the finest in my life.
-
-In the Western theater the eye of the reconnaissance flier sees things
-which are very different from those to which the cavalrymen get
-accustomed. Villages and towns, railways and roads seem lifeless and
-dead. Yet there is a colossal traffic going on all the time, but it is
-hidden from the flying men with great skill. Only a wonderfully trained
-practised and observant eye can see anything definite when one is
-traveling at a great height and at a terrific speed. I have excellent
-eyes but it seems doubtful to me whether there is anyone who can see
-anything definite when he looks down upon a road from an altitude of
-fifteen thousand feet. As the eye is an imperfect object for observation
-one replaces it by the photographic apparatus. Everything that seems
-important to one must be photographed. Besides, one must photograph
-those things which one is told to photograph. If one comes home and if
-the plates have gone wrong, the whole flight has been for nothing.
-
-It often happens to flying men who do reconnoitering that they get
-involved in a fight. However, their task is more important than
-fighting. Frequently a photographic plate is more valuable than the
-shooting down of a squadron. Hence the flying photographer should, as a
-rule, not take a hand in fighting.
-
-Nowadays it is a difficult task to reconnoiter efficiently in the
-West.[46]
-
-
-    _The German Flying Machines_
-
-IN the course of the War the German flying machines have experienced
-great changes. That is probably generally known. There is a colossal
-difference between a giant plane and a chaser plane.
-
-The chaser plane is small, fast, quick at turning. It carries nothing
-apart from the pilot except machine guns and cartridges.
-
-The giant plane is a colossus. Its only duty is to carry as much weight
-as possible and it is able to do this owing to the huge surface of its
-planes. It is worth while to look at the gigantic English plane which
-landed smoothly on the German side of the front.[47] The giant plane can
-carry an unbelievable weight. It will easily fly away dragging from
-three to five tons. Its benzine tanks look as large as railroad cars. In
-going about in such a colossus one has no longer the sensation that one
-is flying. One is driving. In going about in a giant plane the direction
-depends no longer on one's instinct but on the technical instruments
-which one carries.
-
-A giant plane has a huge number of horse powers. I do not know exactly
-how many, but they are many thousand. The greater the horse power is,
-the better. It seems not impossible that the day may come when a whole
-division will be transported in such a thing. In its body one can go for
-a walk. In one of its corners there is an indescribable something. It
-contains an apparatus for wireless telephony by means of which one can
-converse with the people down below. In another corner are hanging the
-most attractive liver sausages which one can imagine. They are the
-famous bombs which cause such a fright to the good people down below. At
-every corner is a gun. The whole thing is a flying fortress, and the
-planes with their stays and supports look like arcades. I have never
-been able to feel enthusiasm for these giant barges. I find them
-horrible, unsportsmanlike, boring and clumsy. I rather like a machine of
-the type of "le petit rouge."
-
-If one is in a small chaser-plane it is quite immaterial whether one
-flies on one's back, whether one flies up or down, stands on one's head,
-etc. One can play any tricks one likes, for in such a machine one can
-fly like a bird. The only difference is that one does not fly with
-wings, as does the bird albatros. The thing is, after all, merely a
-flying engine. I think things will come to this, that we shall be able
-to buy a flying suit for half-a-crown. One gets into it. On the one end
-there is a little engine, and a little propeller. You stick your arms
-into planes and your legs into the tail. Then you will do a few leaps in
-order to start and away you will go up into the air like a bird.
-
-My dear reader, I hear you laughing at my story. But we do not know yet
-whether our children will laugh at it. Everyone would have laughed fifty
-years ago if somebody had spoken about flying above Berlin. I remember
-the sensation which was caused, when, in 1910, Zeppelin came for the
-first time to Berlin. Now no Berlin street man looks up into the air
-when an airship is coming along.
-
-Besides giant planes and little chaser-planes, there are innumerable
-other types of flying machines and they are of all sizes. Inventiveness
-has not yet come to an end. Who can tell what machine we shall employ a
-year hence in order to perforate the atmosphere?
-
-
-THE END
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[40] Probably the fighting to the east of Amiens in March and April,
-1918, has demonstrated to the German Army at large that quite a great
-deal is achieved by this "crawling along the ground." The use of
-aeroplanes against infantry and cavalry has been developed very greatly
-since von Richthofen wrote his notes in 1917.
-
-[41] Curiously enough there is a very similar legend concerning an aged
-school machine at one of the British flying schools.
-
-[42] On two or three occasions pilots have gallantly stuck to their
-controls and have managed to land safely in blazing machines from fully
-1,000 feet. There is a general opinion that it is possible to fit a
-parachute so that in the event of an aeroplane catching fire the pilot
-and passenger can quit it at once and descend safely.
-
-[43] This may be the propagandist editor at work, or it may be a
-deliberate attempt to mislead, because, as a matter of fact, a man
-cannot survive long as a fighting pilot unless he is a perfect master of
-his machine.
-
-[44] There is some curious error here, for Captain Ball was not flying a
-triplane at the time of his death. It seems probable that someone else
-shot Captain Ball on the same day, and that, as the younger von
-Richthofen was disabled, and so could not go and identify the wreckage
-of Captain Ball's machine, the credit was given to von Richthofen in
-default of anyone else making a claim.
-
-[45] This was evidently written some time after von Richthofen's
-previous disparaging note on Infantry Contact fliers.
-
-[46] This is really a high testimony to the effective work of the R. F.
-C.
-
-[47] A Handley Page which landed near Laon early in 1917.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Transcriber's Notes:
-
-Text uses both giant plane and giant-plane. This was retained.
-Frequently, the commas in the original text were moved up half-way to
-land at the middle of the line instead of the bottom of the line. These
-were all moved down.
-
-Page v, "SHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER". Word "the" also added to match
-actual title of chapter. (SCHÄFER LANDS BETWEEN THE LINES)
-
-Page vii, "SHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER" (LIEUT. SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH)
-
-Page 5, "Feldfliegartruppen" changed to "Feldfliegertruppen" (the German
-Feldfliegertruppen)
-
-Page 8, extra single quotation mark removed from the front of
-("Wong-wong,")
-
-Page 12, "Richtofen" changed to "Richthofen" (fighting, von Richthofen
-should)
-
-Page 19, comma added (first Richthofen, his cousin)
-
-Page 20, "Shickfuss" changed to "Schickfuss" (great-grandfather
-Schickfuss fell)
-
-Page 28, period changed to a comma (the breakage, I rode)
-
-Page 37, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (first official
-communiqué.)
-
-Page 38, "prisoner. He told" changed to "prisoner, he told".
-
-Page 42, the text for the sub-chapter has 1915 in the date. As two
-chapters away he is in June 1915, this "21-22nd August, 1915" has been
-changed to "21-22nd August, 1914".
-
-Page 58, repeated word "a" removed from text. Original read (like a a
-little toy)
-
-Page 63, "particulary" changed to "particularity" (talent and particularity)
-
-Page 68, repeated line "gradually to a stop and suddenly I was" was
-deleted. The original read:
-
-    THE German enterprise in Russia came
-    gradually to a stop and suddenly I was
-    gradually to a stop and suddenly I was
-    transferred to a large battle-plane at Ostend
-
-Page 68, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (The
-Grossflugzeug, or "G" class)
-
-Page 69, "siezed" changed to "seized" (seized a hotel on the)
-
-Page 70-71, a line from page 45 "imagine the confusion which followed.
-The" was placed at the bottom of page 70. It was removed. The original
-read:
-
-    only a single motor working.[A] When we
-    imagine the confusion which followed. The
-    were fairly far out I saw beneath us, not
-
-Page 72, "we" changed to "they" (waited until they found it)
-
-Page 73, footnote, "analagous" changed to "analogous" (German slang,
-analogous more)
-
-Page 79, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (the
-Grossflugzeug in the air)
-
-Page 84, footnote, "Riesenfleugzeug" changed to "Riesenflugzeug"
-(example of the Riesenflugzeug)
-
-Page 84, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (to the
-Grossflugzeug type)
-
-Page 85, "Doberitz" changed to "Döberitz" (my examinations in Döberitz)
-
-Page 87, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (official communiqué of)
-
-Page 100, footnote, "reconnaisance" changed to "reconnaissance" (the
-two-seater reconnaissance)
-
-Page 101, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (communiqué. Of course)
-
-Page 113, "everyone" changed to "every one" (and every one of the)
-
-Page 114, footnote, "reconnaisance" changed to "reconnaissance" (on long
-reconnaissance)
-
-Page 127, chapter title, "Merite" changed to "Mérite" (Pour le Mérite)
-
-Page 128, "Immelman" changed to "Immelmann" (Boelcke and Immelmann were
-given)
-
-Page 135, "wont" changed to "won't" (You won't hit me)
-
-Page 140, "Henin-Lietard" changed to "Hénin-Liétard" (road near
-Hénin-Liétard)
-
-Page 140, "Henin-Lietard" changed to "Hénin-Liétard" (motor car to
-Hénin-Liétard)
-
-Page 146, footnote, "cut" changed to "but" (was hit, but none was)
-
-Page 147, footote, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (Schäfer was also shot
-by)
-
-Page 154, word "air" added to text after comparison to a different
-edition of the same book (a fight in the air)
-
-Page 156, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (official communiqué. On)
-
-Page 156, footnote, "Havilands" changed to "Havillands" (fighters and de
-Havillands)
-
-Page 156, footnote, "Communique" changed to "Communiqué" (the G. H. Q.
-Communiqué)
-
-Page 159, four lines of repeated text were removed. Original read:
-
-    which had been started. The aeroplane
-    caught him up and a beautiful propeller
-    was smashed to bits. Moritz howled
-    terribly and a measure which I had hitherto
-    omitted was taken. I had always
-    The aeroplane caught him up and a beautiful
-    propeller was smashed to bits. Moritz
-    howled terribly and a measure which I had
-    hitherto omitted was taken. I had always
-    refused to have his ears cut. One of his
-
-Page 164, "Everyone" changed to "Every one" (Every one of my officers)
-
-Page 167, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (After all, Schäfer was)
-
-Page 168, chapter title, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (Schäfer Lands
-Between the Lines)
-
-Page 195, illustration caption, "SCHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER" (LIEUT.
-SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH)
-
-Page 209, "latter" changed to "former" (The former shoots for)
-
-Page 213, "Englihman" changed to "Englishman" (notice an Englishman).
-
-Page 216, "Reconnoitring" changed to "Reconnoitering" (and Reconnoitering Machines)
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Battle Flyer, by 
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