21 April 1918
Source ID: 55
“Letter from Lieutenant Hans Joachim Wolff to Lieutenant Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen Airport, 25 April 1918
Dear Richthofen!
I still can’t believe it’s true. It feels like I’ve had a bad dream that will pass. But it must be true, because everyone is talking about it. I just can’t think about it, otherwise I’ll cry. I can understand your pain, because nothing could hit you harder than the loss of your big brother. The greatest pain that can befall a person. But we all mourn, even the youngest mechanic. We mourn a man who was everything to us, for whom we would have gladly given everything. But unfortunately, we were not granted the opportunity to prove our unwavering loyalty to him. I am particularly unhappy. I have lost more than just the great role model he was to everyone. I loved him like a father. I was happy when I was allowed to be with him. This was especially the case recently. We talked about a flight to Freiburg and Speyer. It was supposed to take place on 24 April. Mr. Rittmeister wanted to spend a few days in the Black Forest watching the capercaillie mating ritual and then visit the Pfalzwerke. And now none of that will happen. How different everything will be now. Anything could have happened, except that. Fate was too cruel. On the evening of 20 April, he shot his seventy-ninth and eightieth birds. Late in the evening, around half past seven, we took off again. A division stationed near Villers-Bretonneux had requested protection. We had barely arrived when we encountered a whole bunch of Sopwith Camels, which we immediately attacked, of course. Barely a second later, the first one was on fire, followed by the second, and not long after that, the third. Unfortunately, I didn’t get mine. – By the way, I now have nine kills. Captain Rittmeister had two, and Lieutenant Weiß, who now leads our squadron and has eighteen kills, had one. Captain Rittmeister must have been terribly pleased about these two kills. After the dogfight, he flew down low so that everyone could see his red plane, and waved to the infantrymen and the columns. Everyone knew who was in the plane, and everyone had seen the burning Englishmen shortly before. Everyone waved enthusiastically and waved their caps. When the cavalry captain landed, he clapped his hands and was extremely pleased, saying, ‘Good heavens, eighty is a respectable number.’ And we were all happy for him and looked up at him enthusiastically.
That was the evening before, then came the fateful morning. We took off at around quarter to twelve in two planes. The first chain: Captain Rittmeister, Lieutenant Freiherr von Richthofen (a cousin of Manfred’s), First Lieutenant Karjus, Sergeant Scholtz and me. No sooner had we reached the front than we saw about seven Sopwith Camels below us, on this side in the Samel area. Apart from the five of us, Jasta 5 was also nearby, but much further away on this side in the Sailly le Sec area. Above us were another seven Sopwith Camels, some of which attacked Jafta 5, while others remained above. One or two flew towards us. We began to fight. During the battle, I saw Mr. Rittmeister near me several times, but he had not yet shot anyone down. Of our chain, only Oberleutnant Karjus was with me. Vizefeldwebel Scholtz was fighting with the Albatrosses in the Sailly le Sec area. Lieutenant von Richthofen was apparently not yet fully up to speed, as it was roughly his first air battle. While I was fighting two or three Camels with First Lieutenant Karjus, I suddenly saw the red machine next to me as he shot at a Camel, which first went into a spin, then pushed away in a steep dive towards the west.
This battle was already taking place beyond Hamelet. We had a fairly strong east wind, which Mr. Rittmeister had probably not considered. Since I now had some free air, I engaged more intimately with a Camel and shot it down. As the Camel crashed, I looked around for Mr. Rittmeister and saw him still pursuing the Englishman at an extremely low altitude, approximately above the Somme near Corbie. I shook my head unconsciously and wondered why the cavalry captain was pursuing an enemy so far away. While I was still trying to see where my shot had landed, I suddenly heard M. G. behind me and was attacked by a fresh Camel. In addition, there was a cannon that hit my aircraft about twenty times. When I had successfully dodged this, I looked around for Mr Rittmeister, but saw no one except First Lieutenant Karjus, who was near me but also not quite sure of the situation. This made me feel a little uneasy, as I should definitely have seen Mr Rittmeister. We circled the area for a while, were spotted again by an Englishman, whom we pursued to about nine hundred metres above Corbie, but there was no sign of the cavalry captain. I came home with a bad feeling. There were already reports. A red triplane had landed smoothly northwest of Corbie. It was out of the question that another Englishman could have shot him down from behind; I could vouch for that. That would have been the worst thing for me, as I considered myself Captain Rittmeister’s personal protection. Apparently, Captain Rittmeister shot down the Englishman, then wanted to pull up, but suddenly went into a steep glide and landed smoothly. So now there were two possibilities. The engine was overworked, some valve had popped out, and the engine had stopped. The other possibility was that the engine had been hit from the ground. But he had to be alive, and that eased our pain somewhat. Yes, we were happy for his parents, who would be able to see their eldest son again after the war. And then, the next day, Major Hähnelt came and told us that the cavalry captain had been killed. That was impossible, it couldn’t be true. And then a terrible suspicion came to me. A rumour that had been circulating for a while. With a fatal shot from the ground, you can’t land a triplane smoothly. But there are Australians there who saw the Englishman being shot down, and suddenly the triplane has to land there. No, it’s unthinkable. Have all people really become so brutal? You will probably receive detailed information about this as well. And if it is true, then the German people will demand a full accounting. And we, the Richthofen fighter wing, especially its 11th squadron, will prove to the English that even if Richthofen is dead, his spirit will live on forever with us. You will be surprised. I wish you a speedy recovery. Hopefully you will soon be able to lead us from victory to victory at our helm. For we are inspired by only one thought, and that is to avenge your great heroic brother. Once again, my most sincere condolences.
With the most sincere regards
Yours, Hans Joachim Wolff.”
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