1 May
(UTC+1)
Events on this day in the life of Manfred von Richthofen
MvR participates in a horse race.
Manfred von Richthofen, The man and the aircraft he flew, David Baker, 1990, Outline Press??p. 10??
“On becoming a Lieutenant in 1912, Manfred’s father gave him a fine mare which he called Santuzza. The life of a young officer in a regiment of Uhlans reqired him to excel on horseback and von Richthofen actively participated in jumps and races, gaining several prizes but collecting a broken collar bone in the Kaiser Prize Race of 1913.”
Kaiserpreisritt
Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1933, Eingeleitet und ergänzt von Bolko Freiherr von Richthofen, mit einem Vorwort von Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin??p. ??
“Manfred has won many great prizes in show jumping competitions and cross-country rides. Most recently in the Kaiserpreisritt in 1913.”
Cheese and eggs
The Red Knight of Germany, the story of Baron von Richthofen, Floyd Gibbons, 1927, 1959 Bantam Books??p. 21??
“So it was that toward the 1st of May, he received instructions to prepare himself for another duty in the service of supply, still farther back from the front lines. Strong as army discipline was in him, he exploded, and the day after that the Commanding General of his Division received one of the shocks of his life when he read the following unmilitary communication from the restless Uhlan: “My Dear Excellency, I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.”
The rest of the letter was an official application for his transfer to the Flying Service. Richthofen’s constructive work in either the infantry, the signal service, or the supply department seems to have been on par with his failure as a cavalryman, and it is not recorded that his departure from the old services was accompanied by any great regret on the part of his superiors. His uncivil letter gained his end and his wish. At the end of May, 1915, he was transferred to the flying service and sent to Cologne for training.”
MvR flies to Holck's funeral
Richthofen, Beyond the legend of the Red Baron, Peter Kilduff, Arms and Armour, 1993??p. 45??
“Richthofen flew to Sivry for the funeral [of Holck], just one of many such events, both modest and elaborate, that he would attend within the next two years.”
MvR flies to HQ to meet Kaiser Wilhelm II, Ludendorff and Hindenburg
Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1917, 351.000 - 400.000, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin-Wien??p. 154??
‘Flight home Fifty are shot down. I thought fifty-two was better. That’s why I shot down two more on the same day. It actually went against the agreement. I had actually only been allowed forty-one; anyone can guess why the number forty-one came out, but that’s precisely why I wanted to avoid it. I’m not a record-breaker; in fact, we don’t set any records in the flying squad. You just fulfil your duty. Boelcke would have shot down a hundred if the accident hadn’t happened to him. And many other of the good fallen comrades could have reached a completely different number if his sudden death had not prevented him from doing so. But half a hundred is fun after all. Now I had finally managed to get fifty before I went on leave. I hope I can still celebrate my second fifty. In the evening of the same day, the doorbell rang and nothing less than the ‘Grand Headquarters’ wanted to speak to me. I thought it was great fun to be connected to the ‘Big House’ in this way. Among other things, I received the pleasant news that His Majesty had expressed the wish to speak to me personally, and the day was immediately announced: 2 May. However, this took place on 30 April at nine o’clock in the evening. It would no longer have been possible to fulfil the Most High Warlord’s wish by train. So I preferred to make the journey by air, which is also much nicer. We took off the next morning, not in my single-seater ‘Le petit rouge’, but in a big, fat two-seater. I sat in the back, i.e. not at the ‘stick’. In this case, Lieutenant Krefft, also one of the gentlemen in my fighter squadron, had to work. He was about to go on leave, so it was a perfect fit. It also meant he got home more quickly. He didn’t dislike it. My departure was a bit of a headache. I couldn’t take anything but my toothbrush with me on the aeroplane, so I had to dress as I would have to present myself at headquarters. And a military soldier in the field doesn’t have much in the way of nice clothes, at least not a poor front-line pig like me. My brother took over the leadership of the squadron. I said goodbye briefly, as I hoped to be able to resume my duties soon in the company of these dear people. The flight now went over Liège, Namur to Aachen and Cologne. It was nice to sail through the sea of air without any thoughts of war. The weather was marvellous, something we hadn’t had for a long time. There was certainly a lot to do at the front today. Soon our own tethered balloons will no longer be visible. Further and further away from the thunder of the battles of Arras. Below us, images of peace. Travelling steamers. A D-train whizzes through the terrain, we overtake it with ease. The wind is in our favour. The earth seems as flat as a threshing floor. The beautiful Meuse mountains are unrecognisable as mountains. You can’t even recognise them by their shadows, because the sun is almost vertical. You only know that they are there, and with a little imagination you can even crawl into their cool gorges. It was getting a bit late, and so we arrived at midday. A layer of cloud gathered below us and completely covered the earth. Orientating ourselves by the sun and compass, we flew on. However, we were beginning to dislike the proximity of Holland, and so we preferred to make contact with the ground again. We go under the cloud and are currently over Namur. Now we continue on to Aachen. We skip Aachen and reach Cologne at lunchtime. The mood in our aircraft was buoyant. We had a long holiday ahead of us, as well as the beautiful weather, the success of having at least reached Cologne, and the certainty that, even if something happened to us now, we could still reach the Grand Headquarters. We had been announced in Cologne by telegraph, so we were expected there. The day before, my fifty-second aerial victory had appeared in the newspaper. The reception was the same afterwards. The three-hour flight left me with a bit of a headache, so I preferred to take a little nap before arriving at the Grand Headquarters. We now flew a long way along the Rhine from Cologne. I knew the route. I’d travelled it many times, by steamer, car and train, and now by plane. What was the best part? It’s difficult to say. Of course, you can see certain details better from the steamer. But the overall view from the aeroplane is not to be sneezed at either. The Rhine has a special charm, even from above. We didn’t fly too high so as not to completely lose the feeling of the mountains, because that’s probably the most beautiful thing about the Rhine, the huge, wooded heights, the castles, etc. We couldn’t see the individual houses, of course. Of course we couldn’t see the individual houses. It’s a pity that you can’t fly fast or slow. I would certainly have chosen the slowest gear. One beautiful picture after another disappeared all too quickly. When you fly higher, you don’t have the feeling that you’re travelling very fast. In a car or a D-train, for example, the speed seems tremendous, whereas in an aeroplane it always feels slow once you have reached a certain altitude. You only really notice it when you haven’t looked out for five minutes and then suddenly regain your bearings. The image you had in your head just a moment before is suddenly completely changed. What you saw below you, you suddenly see at an angle that is completely unrecognisable. That’s why you can get disorientated so quickly if you don’t pay attention for a moment. So we arrived at the big headquarters in the afternoon and were warmly welcomed by a few comrades I knew who had to work there in the ‘big room’. I feel really sorry for them, the ink spies. They only have half the fun of war. First I reported to the commanding general of the air force. The next morning was the big moment when I was to be introduced to Hindenburg and Ludendorff. I had to wait quite a while. I can’t really describe the details of the greeting. First I reported to Hindenburg, then to Ludendorff. It is an eerie feeling in the room where the fate of the world is decided. So I was quite happy when I had the ‘Große Bude’ behind me again and was ordered to breakfast with His Majesty at noon. It was my birthday today, and someone had probably told His Majesty, so he congratulated me. Firstly on my success and then on my twenty-fifth birthday. I was also surprised by a small birthday present. In the past I would never have dreamed that on my twenty-fifth birthday I would be sitting to the right of Hindenburg and be mentioned in a speech by the Field Marshal.’
MvR is asked to write his memoirs
The dramatic true story of the Red Baron, Wiliam E Burrows, 1972, Mayflower Books??p. 139??
“After the meeting with Hoeppner, Richthofen toured almost every department in the building, including ‘Airplanes’, which recorded air victories, kept track of personnel, systematized the structure of all units, handled supply requirements, and dealt with technical problems, such as the Albatros’s weak wing. One way or another, Richthofen touched on the interests and responsibilities of almost everyone in the building, and all of the ‘ink-spillers’, as he called them, were anxious to meet or at least see him. The small staff of Department B of the Adjutant General’s branch was particularly interested in meeting him, because they were responsible for intelligence and press, and they had a project for him. He was going to write his memoirs. A publisher had made the suggestion, and the Air Service thought it was a fine idea. Richthofen, by his own admission, had never been a good student, much less a man of letters. But he was assured that he would not have to produce a masterpiece, that his fellow countrymen simply wanted to know more about him, and that he could complete the small book at Schweidnitz before his six-weeks’ leave was over. He would, in addition, be given a stenographer to speed along the manuscript. It would be sent to Department B in small sections for editing and censoring, and would then be published in magazine installments. Finally, it would all be put together in book form, a small paperback, to be sure, but it would nonetheless be his book – the memoirs of the world’s greatest air fighter. Richthofen liked the idea because, among other reasons, proceeds would go to his family in case he was killed. If the war turned out badly, they would need that money.”
Visit to headquarters
Ein Heldenleben, Ullstein & Co, 1920??p. 143??
“It was on 1 May 1917 when I said goodbye to my squadron in the morning and flew to Gr. H.-Qu. I sat in the back as Franz. Our first stop was Cologne.
This is the first holiday I am taking armed with the Pour le Mérite, and the first time I have returned home after making a name for myself. That is why it was still very strange to me that people were looking at me like that. We got off in Cologne; our plane was treated like a miracle. But I soon got used to it and realised that it was meant for me. After an hour’s break, we flew on to Kreuznach. There I was warmly welcomed by all the pilots who were sitting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, the ‘Kogen’. I knew most of them already from the B.A.D. and the B.A.N. I also got to know the others better. I was greeted with flowers and a thunderous cheer. I immediately had the feeling that up here in the big tin workshop, people really care about each individual and their successes, and that you’re not just pushed around like a number in a calculating machine.”
