#ww1 german air force

[deutschland-im-krieg]

The magnificent seven - (replica) Jasta 11 Fokker Dr.I triplanes on the prowl. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles Of The Reich

[theworldofwars]

A young Russian soldier serving with the Russian Women's "Battalion of Death", 1917. Women's Battalions (Russia) were all-female combat units formed after the February Revolution by the Russian Provisional Government, in a last-ditch effort to inspire the mass of war-weary soldiers to continue fighting in World War I.

[historyandarthijinks]

Historical People:  Red Baron

The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, was a famous ace pilot during WW1 who fought in the air force of the German Empire. Despite Richthofen fighting for the offensive military he is hailed a war hero, and good man to this day.

Manfred von Richthofen was born in Prussia, which was once it’s own nation, but then a unified part of the German Empire. Now a days this territory of land is in modern day Poland. He born into an aristocratic family making him a Freiherr which more loosely translates to what we would call a baron.

In his early life Richthofen showed a lot of talent in many different activities. This included hunting, horse back riding, school, and gymnastics. He’d enter military school at the age of 11.

Richtofen would write, and like a lot. He already wrote one of his own autobiographies before his death in war. In it he writes about his childhood disappointment about becoming a cadet in military school, stating that his father “wished it” of him. 

Richthofen was a fan of risky tricks. Most notably in his autobiography he wrote that a friend and him climbed the steeple of Wahlstatt using the lightning conductor. He had tied his handkerchief at the top, and was delighted to see 10 years later with his brother, it still flittering in the wind.

WW1 began, being known at the time as the great war, and the worst war that man had ever seen. It took the world by storm, and especially Europe. Millions of young of men, no matter how they felt, were forced to the front lines on all sides. That included the German Empire, who is credited as one of the major aggressors in the war.

Richthofen served on both western and eastern fronts as a cavalry reconnaissance officer. Trench warfare had made cavalry units mostly useless, so he’d find his regiment turned into dispatch runners and telephone field operators. This upset him greatly.

The baron became incredibly interested in the German Air Force after getting to behold one of their planes himself. He decided to transfer and apply to become part of the Imperial German Air Service. It’s reported that he wrote, “I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs.”. His transfer was granted.

His first time ever riding in a plane changed Richthofen’s life for both better and eventually worse. The feeling of being above the world in the flying machine, even as a passenger, was thrilling and breathtaking. Although very nervous to fly on his own, his first ever time as a pilot during training proved to himself that this was where he was meant to be. His own flying mentor, Boelcke would collide accidentally with another plane in battle and die.

Richthofen’s first ever confirmed kill happened to his rival, and British ace, Lanoe Hawker. Richthofen referred to Lanoe as the British Boelcke. This fight would cause Richthofen to begin searching for faster planes that suited his own flying style. From then on his victories skyrocketed. By the end of the war he would be credited with downing 80 planes. The most he ever took out in one day was 22.

Richthofen became the Red Baron, and his crew the flying circus, after he had added a red painting motif to the planes he flew. Most notably the Fokker Dr I. He went by many variations of the name Red Baron, including Der rote Kampflieeger, Le Petite Rouge, and Red Pilot. He became a commander of his own flight crew. His crew became known as the flying circus when they all followed in his footsteps painting their own planes a various amount of bright colors.

Richthofen became a propagandist for the Imperial German Military, a symbol of moral, and eventually part of the cult that was hero-worship during the world wars. However in his own writings and recorded behaviors, the war was certaintly something he didn’t enjoy or endorse. 

During the war his autobiography was published with heavy signs of temperament and censorship. Lines were often added to make him seem even more blood thirsty and pro-war than he actually was. English translations did the opposite as well, adding lines making him even more remorseful for the war. However he truly did show signs of both, more so a transition over time, from young war hero to equally young regretful soldier.

He even began to hate his own book before his death, stating that he’s changed. There was nothing he could do though, he was now a legend among both sides. Special rewards and calls to bring him down from Allied forces were spread around British and French Air Forces. It didn’t help that he himself shared a strong sense of honor towards his fellow pilots, calling the Englishmen his friends.

He even would even speak to two that he downed without killing. He found the situation comical as he had to land due to last minute engine problem. He said they landed perfectly despite being on fire, while he ended up in the barbwire of his own trenches and flipped his plane. The honor was shared among the Englishmen and other Allied pilots in return.

Richthofen was obsessed with downings. Originally he had a jeweler make him a silver cup per each person, which he would decorate his dashboard with. But the jeweler started to say no due a shortage of silver. After that the Red Baron would track down his downed opponents and pluck a souvenir from their plane. One his most notable being a plane engine he had turned into a chandelier.

The soldier would have a major head injury which changed a lot about him in the war, most notably making flight very migraine inducing and difficult to focus on doing. The war itself was also taking a great toll on him, especially in both his physical and mental health. Other sighted his face as becoming sunken. His family noted he was growing very no-nonsense and quiet. He himself wrote of his growing hatred to the war.

His mother mother had a diary of her own in which she wrote about her son. She wrote, “I think he has seen death too often.”. One evening while he showed her pictures from his time in Russia, she began asking about the other men in the photo. She wrote he became harsh with her, stating that all where dead except him. She knew to stop asking. She wrote that his final visit with her before his death was like talking to a ghost.

Other of his revealed writings, including a diary unveiled that he began to hate himself truly. He wrote about depression, wanting to lock himself up in a room and never seeing another person ever again, about debating his future death. He talked frequently about how awful he felt after every battle now. There was no longer pride in his flight, the deaths began to weigh on him, and his head was truly hurting.

All of this lead to Richthofen’s death at age 25 in the war. Although being chased down by planes the Red Baron wasn’t knocked out of the sky by them, but AA instead, or at least that was most probably. There are several candidates about who dealt the killing blow, but no one truly knows for sure. Wilfred May was the pilot chasing after him that day, or really the Red Baron pursuing him. Arthur Brown, Cedric Popkin, and W.J. Evans were the AA on the ground that day trying to protect May. There are other variations of who killed him though, including pilots in the air.

Brown is overall credited with the kill, but to be honest as much the Englishmen wanted him dead, they were still disappointed to see him actually so. Richthofen had been shoot through the side, the .303 exited his chest, killing him within minutes. Richthofen managed to land his plane although very roughly, breaking his nose, fracturing his jaw, and beating up his face. Englishmen rushed to his plane to hear his apparent final words, “Kaput.”

There is still an air of mystery to his death has that following week, and especially that day Richthofen was flying out of character. The ground men reported him being unusually low and flying recklessly, going much farther into friendly air space than stratigically okay. This all even goes against his own words where he advocated for tactics and smoothness.

Richthofen is thought to have been suffering from CSR (Cumulative Combat Stres), and he wasn’t the only ace pilot at the time to have this problem. He also was suffering from his head trauma awfully, and was likely experiencing target fixation. Some even speculate, especially due to his writing and tone, he may have wanted to be shot down that day. He was noted to be flying extremely fast on top of everything.

Major David Blake organised Richthofen’s military funeral when the Allied forces found him. They could do nothing to stop souvenir scavengers from tearing the Red Baron’s plane apart though. He would have a few more funerals as his body was moved back home, and when he was held as a war hero. He received many awards. His grave is now in Südfriedhof in Wiesbaden.

The Red Baron became a pop culture icon among both sides, becoming the face of Ace pilots. Like most pilots or snipers his kill count and victories were questioned. This time however it’s more likely all his victories were true and that he more so had more unconfirmed kills under his belt.

[frukmerunning]

ok if I made my own Veraverse here’s what I’d write:

The White Cliffs of Dover - FrUK

Arthur swears that Francis escaped German occupation in a small fishing boat only to sit on his sofa and edit his (perfectly fine, thank you) poetry. 

Wishing (Will Make It So) - ItaPan

Feliciano Vargas dodges the draft in a small Japanese port town. He befriends his landlord’s nephew, a clerk for the Imperial Navy.  

I’ll Never Smile Again - GerMano

All of the Germans will end up in hell, that’s what Lovino thinks. Until a member of the German air force literally crashes into his life. 

White Christmas - RusAme

Alfred F. Jones gets shot down over the Pacific. He’s probably going to die, he can’t stand his only surviving crewmate, and he’s pretty sure Ivan is only pretending to not speak English. 

I’ll See You Again - PruAus 

As the Anschluss approaches and antisemetic sentiment grows, Roderich ignores Gilbert and Eliza’s pleas for him to get out of Austria. 

The Mem’ry of a Rose (WW1) - RomeChu 

Romulus reminisces on the Chinese-American ambulance driver who saved his life in 1917. 

[fuckyeahhistorycrushes]

Erich Loewenhardt. WW1 German Imperial Air Force, friend of the Red Baron and third most successful WW1 German pilot.

[mlmxreader]

What's So Great About War? | Alex Keller x m!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ I have a suggestion for a fanfic. How about a WW1 scenario. The reader can be German or allies. They’re a pilot who crashed into no man’s land. The character whether it be Gaz or Alex. Any character will do you can choose. The character will help them since if the reader is German the uniform is so badly mangled it’s hard to determine who’s side their on or if they’re allies/ on the same side as the character maybe the character has seen them on the air field while they were headed to the trenches. Hope you enjoy and have fun with that idea! ❞

: ̗̀➛ During the First World War, Alex is stationed with the American Shock Troops, and finds himself torn between loyalty and duty.

: ̗̀➛ graphic depictions of death, graphic depictions of injury, graphic descriptions, toxic gas, plane crashes, swearing, smoking, gun violence

↳ PROSHIP/PROFIC/ETC DO NOT INTERACT

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

The war had been raging for all too long, it seemed as if it had been going on since the dawn of time and would never end. Leaving fields that were once green and bursting with life empty and barren and grey.

Desolate of everything except rotten pikes that held up the barbed wire and the scattered limbs and bones that were gnawed on by rats and mice.

It was easy to hear their cries, begging and pleading for a bullet in the head so they didn’t have to feel the rats burrow and chew through their stomachs and intestines throughout the night.

Many of the politicians called it the war to end all wars, and kept pushing for more and more needless and senseless death.

Yet they would not fight themselves and nor would they send their own sons to war either.

Sun Tzu would have wept if he saw what was happening.

On the Eastern Front, men were being gassed as they protected fortresses; rising and gargling on their blood and vomit as they tried to march forward.

On the Western Front, it was so much worse. The bodies of men and horses stunk as they rotted, torn apart and frayed from shells, grenades, and heavy machine gun fire.

It had been so long that Alex had forgotten how much of his time had been spent fighting; he at least still remembered who he fought with.

It was the Devil Dogs - the U.S Marines - at first.

They soon transferred him to the 141st British Regiment - which Alex absolutely despised due to MacTavish’s constant preaching of propaganda and talking about how the Welsh were “bugger all except sheep shagging scum who speak gibberish.”

Then at last, he was sent to the American Shock Troops - who were often called the Ghosts.

There, he was still stationed.

Several men made up the force of the Ghosts, as well as their mercy dog Riley.

But Alex was thankful, as he never really spent much time with them except during raids, so he never got to find out if they were as bad as MacTavish or not.

Quite often, though, Alex would find himself sitting at the edge of the trench and smoking too many cigarettes, his gaze turned to the sky as he thought about the man he used to know so well.

You were dragged into the war before he was, and he could still remember the feel of your hands in his as he begged you to stay alive and to make it through the war so he could see you again.

The last time he told you that he loved you, quickly kissing you before you were shoved onto the train; he chased after it until he fell over, calling your name and promising that he would see you again.

He would make it home to you.

You wrote to one another very often, though - Alex knew all about your dark green and white Albatross and how you had painted it the same pattern as an orca, just as he knew all about your time with the Flying Circus under the command of the infamous Manfred Von Richthofen, The Red Baron.

You were credited with sixty victories and the newspapers in your home country even gave you a dashing new nickname fit for your reputation - The Green Shark.

But that did not stop you from seeing the truth behind the war.

All the wasted lives and broken dreams. All the mothers mourning children they could never bury.

All the men who would not go home. There was no enemy - only men and boys, sons and fathers, brothers and uncles and nephews, turned to ash for nothing.

There would never be victory - only decay and death. There would never be glory - only blood.

None of it was ever going to be justified, it was a pointless and horrific war.

Alex could never disagree with you on that, he never would believe in such a vile and heinous thing, such an apocalyptic event. And all for what?

What was it all for?

Why did millions have to die?

Why did so many have to give their lives?

Why?

Two shots had changed the world, and millions were going to pay for it.

One man’s death was paid for by the suffering and deaths of millions more - coins made of blood and skin.

So what was so fucking great about it?

Swiping a hand down his face, Alex tried to push it from his mind, knowing that thoughts of such a calibre would get him killed.

He tossed the end of his cigarette away, but just as he was about to stand, he was thrust forward into the muddy waters face-first.

A great orange light was flying over him.

He kept his head low for a moment before scrambling over the top of the trench. Immediately, he charged across the barren wasteland as fast as he could, his lip quivering when he saw the dark green plane.

It was all a blur as he grabbed the limp pilot and dragged him back to the trench, putting him down on a cot and screaming for Elias. Alex was soon dragged away by Ajax and Kick.

He spent hours trying to get to the pilot, desperate and on the verge of starting a war on his own, but it wasn’t until dawn that he was allowed.

“Do you know this man?” Elias asked sternly, glaring at Alex.

He nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good,” Elias nodded back curtly as he cleared his throat. “Is he friend or foe? His uniform’s torn and burnt, so I can’t tell - but you know him, so you must know.”

“Friendly,” Alex answered quietly, chewing the inside of his lip, “he’s on our side, Sir.”

Such a lie could get him shot and killed, Alex was all too aware of that - but what was he meant to do?

Your life was not suddenly worth less than his because of the fact that your country was fighting on the opposite side of a pointless war.

He had to lie to keep you alive and safe, even if it meant risking his own in the process.

But the Ghosts soon left, letting Alex stay with you; you were in bad shape.

Burns and gashes all over your face, some of them so deep that he could see where the flames from your downed plane had scorched the fat layer of your wounds.

Rendering the flesh blistered and weeping openly.

Deep wounds covered your hands and arms and legs; with ease, Alex could see the particularly gnarly laceration on your left leg.

It was open, the bone pressing against what little flesh was left; cracked and dried blood crackled when it spasmed upon feeling the soft winds.

Alex wanted to look away, but when he saw the scorch marks on the bone, he frowned.

What was left of your uniform was black from the burns, and stained with dark splodges that smelled like iron.

But you were awake, groaning and trying to move until he gently pushed you down, shaking his head. 

“You’re still alive,” you coughed weakly.

Alex nodded, letting his hand rest on your chest as he did his best to smile reassuringly. “For now… I had to tell them you were one of ours, they haven’t seen your plane yet.”

“I can pretend,” you agreed softly. “It’s alright.”

“We are going to see the end of this war,” he promised, licking his lips and clearing his throat. “And I will keep you safe. I promise.”

“I don’t want to fight,” you grumbled softly, shaking your head and coughing again. “I don’t want to be part of this war.”

“Darling,” Alex whispered. “You don’t have to any more. I promise. When this war is over, you’re coming home with me.”

“So demanding,” your laugh sounded more like a death rattle than anything else. “But I will always go where you do…”

“I promised you when you left on that train, I would find you again… didn’t think it’d be in such a fucking shitty predicament,” he sighed, gently patting your chest. “Sleep now. You need your rest and I need to convince Elias to let me stay with you while you heal… but I love you, you know, and I’m going to get us both home. I promise.”

“Keller,” you mumbled, holding his hand as tightly as you could, although your grip was still all too limp. “I love you, too… don’t go… please?”

Alex leaned back a little, taking a look behind him before lighting up a cigarette. “I’ll stay for as long as I can.”

He couldn’t have known, neither of you could have ever known, that the end of the war would not come for a long time, and that you would both watch the Ghosts die; you would see Hesh clinging onto Logan’s body as he screamed for their mother, begging for her to come and save them.

You would see Elias torn apart by rats as he did his best to usher the others back to the trenches.

You would see Ajax and Kick choke on toxic gas as they howled and rasped as their lungs collapsed.

You would see Merrick spread across No Man’s Land during heavy shelling.

The only one to make it out would be Riley. 

So, what would ever be so fucking great about the war?

“Come on,” Alex murmured as he gently shoved you over so he could lie down next to you, offering you his cigarette. “If I’m staying, I want some space.”

You shuffled and groaned, sharp pains shooting through you until you wept and nearly begged for death. Through choked up tears, you managed to say, “you always did hog the bed.”

[tintenspion]

Der rote Kampfflieger

publication history, propaganda value, and different versions

by @tintenspion, December 2022

Der rote Kampfflieger (The Red Air Fighter), published in 1917 and translated in 1918 is regarded to be the autobiography of Manfred von Richthofen. It was, and still is, the best selling german book about the first world war. In this post I will talk about how it was written and published, adress some personally selected instances of propaganda found in the book and explain the changes other publications of the book have made (focusing on the versions of 1920 and 1933).

This post is incredibly simplified and I can recommend reading the sources that I have listed, as they cover the topic in a lot more depth (but they're almost all in german)

Der Rote Kampfflieger, 1917

The publication history

Manfred von Richthofen began writing his biography in May 1917. He had rejected requests writing a book multiple times before, because he did not feel that he had the talent nor the time to write. However, he was asked by the command of the aerial forces to write one and since that was essentially an order he accepted a request by the publisher Ullstein. (1)

Most historians agree that the book was essentially ghostwritten by Hauptmann Erich von Salzmann, who based it on acconts given in stenography by MvR. Salzmann was not credited for the book, however in the contract with Ullstein (the publisher) MvR gave Salzmann full authority over what parts of the stenography he adapts into the finished book, without having to get MvRs consent. (2)

Due to a lack of an original draft, is not reconstructable what parts of the book are actually written by him, which parts were ghostwritten and which parts were edited for propaganda purposes.

The intentions

Ullstein Kriegsbücher, the series Der rote Kampfflieger was published in was a series that focused on "firsthand accounts" of front soldiers, which explains why the book still uses an easy and "uneducated" language despite being mostly written by a ghostwriter. (3) This was done on purpose to make the reader identify more with MvR, since the divide between him and the average reader was already there due to him being an aristocrat. The books also focuses a lot on the fallibility of its main character, Manfred von Richthofen. He is portrayed as a little naive; someone who has no idea how war works and therefore makes a lot of mistakes. Examples include: Capturing french soldiers in a house and letting them escape on accident, giving wrong hand signs that almost get his division killed, failing his piloting exam and hitting his finger on a propeller. This is also done to make him more relatable to the average reader. (4)

The second part of the book focuses then on his life as a pilot and a squadron leader. The book goes out of its way to portray Richthofen as very humble. It is for example described how "in the flying corps we dont think about records. We only do our duty." [DRK p.154]. This is obviously an instance of propaganda, as records and victory numbers were contrary to this statement very important to the individual pilots. To portray MvR's "chivalry", they use a very interesting stylistic device. MvR calls himself a "Weidmann" (hunter) in comparison to his brother, whom he denounces as a "Schießer" (shooter). The word Weidmann, in contrast to Jäger, implies an unofficial hunters code on how to hunt in an honorable way. (5) In modern times, this comparison seems kind of grotesque, as MvR views his enemies as prey to be hunted. Downplaying the death enemy pilots and comparing the dogfights to a hunting situation is a reaccuring theme in iterature written by and about german ww1 pilots and is not exclusive to Manfred von Richthofen. (6)

The most infamous example of editation for propaganda regarding the "honorable fight" is probably the discription of MvR's 33rd victory: In the book it is described that MvR flew low over the downed plane to check if the pilots were dead, they are not and shoot back at him, however he decides to just fly away and not retaliate. (7) In his combat report for that victory however, he described that he did retaliate and killed one of the occupants. (It is notable that, according to Algernon Peter Warren, the pilot that survived, they actually didn't shoot back at Richthofens plane. Warren notes that there was ground fire coming from the trenches, and Richthofen probably mistook that for the downed plane firing at him). (8) Due to the fact that MvR seems to have been truthful in his combat report, it is to assume that the change in the book was most likely done by the censorship and not by Richthofen himself.

Richthofens view on his own book

MvR didn't really care about his autobiography. I believe this for multiple reasons: He says that he is not a good writer (9) and that he rejected writing an autobiography multiple times (as mentioned before). Also I believe if he really cared about how he was portrayed in his autobiography he wouldn’t have given Salzmann the rights to change things without him checking them first.

Ein Heldenleben, 1920

Published under the name "Ein Heldenleben", this was the version that had the worst sale numbers, however it is also the one that includes the most material. It was also edited by Salzmann. (10) It includes the original biography, shortened, and adds about 200 extra pages. Those extra pages include:

"Hinterlassene Papiere" (leftover papers): Excerpts from either letters to his family, his diary or rejected chapters of the autobiography (historically unclear)

A selection of letters to his mother

Excerpts from his brother Lothar

An account about Manfred as a child written by his mother

German, english and french articles about his last flight, death and funeral

Obituaries

Memories of Richthofen: Articles and anecdotes from other people who knew or met him

This book is regarded as the most detailed versions and is free from government censorship. Salzmann in this case only worked together with the Richthofen family, who probably decided what will go into the book and what won't. I need to point out however that some of the articles in "Memories of Richthofen" were already published in newspapers during the war, so those definetly had to pass a censorship comittee. I would still regard this version as the most trustworthy one out of the tree I am presenting.

Der Rote Kampfflieger, 1933

This version of the book is the one that had the most copies sold. It was edited by Hans Rudolf Berndorff. (11) Differences, aside from a couple of chapters having different titles and some chapters having been combined, include the removal of the first two chapters, and the inclusion of four extra chapters, with three of them having not been published beforehand. The book starts with a foreword by Hermann Göring an introduction written by MvR's brother Bolko. It also includes some chapters from his brother Lothar (the same as in the 1920 version, however a couple have been removed). The book also uses some of the letters that were published in Ein Heldenleben and add them to the autobiography (mostly) chronologically.

Especially notable is the often referenced chapter Gedanken im Unterstand (Thoughts in the shelter), where MvR talks about how his feelings towards the war have changed since his autobiography came out in may. The chapter was a letter to his mother, however it has been cut a lot, so we don't exactly know when and why it was written.

This book, in contrast to Ein Heldenleben, focuses more on the military aspects of MvR's life, as it is a part of Nazi propaganda.

Other publications of the book:

There was a version published in 1977, that included the full autobiography written by Friedrich Wilhelm Korff. In 1990 another version was published with a foreword written by Manfred Wörner, a former NATO secretary. I have not included an analysis of these two books, as they “only” evaluate the morals of the latter three. This is an entirely different topic, and a very complicated one, that deserves its own post.

The first english translation was published in 1918. I already made a post about a few translation mistakes, that you can see here.

Peter Kilduff also translated both the 1917 and the 1933 version.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the book is mostly interesting because you can see how the myth of Manfred von Richthofen was reshaped to fit different narratives and propaganda purposes over the course of 80 years. I wouldn't take it as a trustworthy source, especially regarding MvR's feelings towards the war, but I do believe it is a good guideline. Something to be weary of while reading biographies about Manfred von Richthofen or watching video essays about him is when people take the autobiography a little too much at face value and automatically assume that the propagada in it was edited by him personally and not by the editor.

Sources:

(1) CASTAN, Joachim: Der Rote Baron: Die ganze Geschichte des Manfred von Richthofen (2008) ISBN 9783608944617, p. 148f [AN: currently looking for a primary source; this book does exactly what I described in "conclusion"]

(2) SCHILLING, René: Der Körper des “Helden”. Deutschland 1813–1945 In: Bielefelder Graduiertenkolleg Sozialgeschichte: Körper Macht Geschichte – Geschichte Macht Körper. Körpergeschichte als Sozialgeschichte (1999) ISBN 9783895342806, p. 132

(3) SEIDEL, Nadine: Wie man Helden ediert. Ein Ausgabenvergleich von Manfred von Richthofens Der rote Kampfflieger. In: GLUNZ, Claudia; SCHNEIDER, Thomas F. : Dichtung und Wahrheit. Literarische Kriegsverarbeitung vom 17. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (2015) ISBN 9783847104872, p. 69f

(4) SEIDEL, Nadine: “Nicht 'Schießer' sondern 'Weidmann': Wie ein missverstandenes Ethikkonstrukt Manfred von Richthofen zum Helden werden ließ. In: SEYBERT, Gislinde: Heroisches Elend - Misères de l’héroïsme - Heroic Misery: Der Erste Weltkrieg im intellektuellen, literarischen und bildnerischen Gedächtnis der europäischen Kulturen - Teil 1 und 2 - La Première Guerre mondiale dans la mémoire intellectuelle, littéraire et artistique des cultures européennes- 1 ère 2 (2014) ISBN 9783631636626, p. 748-753

(5) ibid, p.744ff

(6) VOIGT, Immanuel: Stars des Krieges: Eine biografische und erinnerungskulturelle Studie zu den deutschen Luftstreitkräften des Ersten Weltkrieges (Zeitalter der Weltkriege, 20, Band 20) (2019) ISBN 9783110605020 p. 176-183

(7) RICHTHOFEN, Manfred von: Der rote Kampfflieger (1917) p. 126

(8) FRANKS, Norman; GIBLIN, Hal; McCRERY, Nigel: Under the Guns of the Red Baron: The Complete Record of Von Richthofens Victories and Victims Fully Illustrated (1998) ISBN 9781898697961, p.91f

(9) RICHTHOFEN, Manfred von: Ein Heldenleben (1920), p. 330

(10) SCHILLING, René: Der Körper des “Helden”. Deutschland 1813–1945 In: Bielefelder Graduiertenkolleg Sozialgeschichte: Körper Macht Geschichte – Geschichte Macht Körper. Körpergeschichte als Sozialgeschichte (1999) ISBN 9783895342806, p. 132

(11) SEIDEL, Nadine: Wie man Helden ediert. Ein Ausgabenvergleich von Manfred von Richthofens Der rote Kampfflieger. In: GLUNZ: Dichtung und Wahrheit. Literarische Kriegsverarbeitung vom 17. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (2015) ISBN 9783847104872, p. 72

[just-barrow]

How close are the cast of SAS: Rogue Heroes to their real life counterparts? Next up, Dudley Clarke played by the chameleon Dominic West.

Whilst many millions of people played a small part in the Allies winning the war, it is difficult to overstate how important Clarke was. Born in South Africa in 1899 he signed up to fight in WW1, but was too young, instead joining the Royal Flying Corps and trained to be a pilot. Between the wars he became involved in military intelligence in the Middle East.

As the disaster at Dunkirk was unfolding, Clarke created the concept of the 'Kommando' Force, named after the irregular Boer war troops that were able to keep the British at bay 40 years earlier. The Commandos were the grandfather of the modern special forces, and were the breeding ground for the SAS, SBS and many other clandestine units such as the US Rangers.

After this, Clarke became head of Strategic Deception in the Middle East. Almost single-handedly he created entire battalions, even brigades out of thin air, that existed only on paper. Trucks disguised as tanks, tanks disguised as trucks, fake airfields made from scrap wood. This lead Rommel to overestimate the strength of British Troops in N.Africa by an unbelievable 30%.

Later in the war he masterminded Operation Copperhead or 'Monty's Double', a scheme to convince the Germans that Gen Montgomery was still in Africa, and not in Britain planning the invasion, as well as Operation Bodyguard the crucial and highly successful deception scheme for the invasion of mainland Europe on D-day. It is hard to imagine how the war would have progressed without the genius of a man like Clarke. His deception plans were incredibly creative and permanently a step ahead of anyone else in the field of intelligence.

In the show he is portrayed as vainglorious and envious of Stirling, however that is an invention for the purpose of the story. In reality after the war he led a life of relative obscurity, despite the belief that "he did as much to win the war as any other single officer". He wrote books about his work during the war, but none were published as the information was deemed classified until the turn of the century.

Also for those people who are outraged that the BBC had a cross dressing spy... do some research. One of Dudley Clarke's less successful missions involved him being arrested in Madrid whilst being in disguise and wearing a dress! Remember "The events depicted, which seem most unbelievable, are mostly true."

source

[hannianssg]

WW1 (1914-1918)

1. Causes of WW1 ★Militarism: European powers built up large militaries and were prepared for war. ★Alliances: The two main alliances were: Triple Entente: France, Britain, Russia Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (Italy switched sides in 1915). ★Imperialism: Competition for colonies fueled tensions among European powers. ★Nationalism: Intense national pride and desires for independence in multi-ethnic empires (especially in the Balkans) heightened tensions. ★Immediate Cause: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, in June 1914.

2. Key Events and Phases ✧1914: War begins after Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Soon, Germany declares war on Russia and France. Britain enters the war after Germany invades Belgium (a neutral country). ✧1915: Italy joins the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers. ✧1917: U.S. enters the war after Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram / Russia exits the war following the Bolshevik Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. ✧1918: Germany launches a last offensive in the spring, but it fails. By November, the Central Powers collapse, leading to an armistice on November 11, 1918.

3. Key Leaders: ◆Kaiser Wilhelm II: Emperor of Germany, whose aggressive foreign policy contributed to the war. ◆Woodrow Wilson: U.S. president during the war; proposed the Fourteen Points for peace.

4. Technological and Strategic Changes ·Trench Warfare. ·Poison gas. ·Trench Warfare. ·Tanks. ·Air warfare: Planes were used for reconnaissance and eventually combat. ·Submarines.

5. End of the War •Armistice Day: The fighting ended on November 11, 1918, with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany. The war did not officially end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. •Treaty of Versailles (1919): - Blamed Germany for the war and imposed heavy reparations. - Germany was forced to disarm, give up territory, and accept responsibility for the war. The treaty also redrew national boundaries, creating new nations in Europe, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia.

7. Consequences and Aftermath Consequences: -The Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, and German empires collapsed. -The League of Nations was formed to prevent future conflicts. Economic Impact: The war devastated economies, particularly in Europe, and set the stage for global economic instability, contributing to the Great Depression.

[ilhoonftw]

pólish law is very ??? bc after the 100+ years of partitions were over, in 1920s you had a specially created group of lawyers and other experts who were supposedly to create ~new unified law~. basically as połand was partitioned between 3 foreign forces, the area under control of germany had to use german laws etc. so when ww1 ended you had a large country and no idea what law to adhere to. divorces, abortions, property law, everything was up in the air. worst part when ww2 broke out the ~new laws for independent poląnd~ wasn't exactly a finalized project and tbh 100 years later we are still fucked because of that. the only reason piracy is semi-legal is the law is outdated and open for interpretation TBH

[handcalfieetherington]

I genuinely have no idea what this has to do with either theme but it’s on the list of things to research and I’m almost done anyways so let’s just get this done with.

animals have always been utilised in war in some degree even pretty small and unassuming creatures like the rat can be intentionally given diseases, I was genuinely curious if this was still allowed today and went on a small tangent on what is considered a war crime and somewhat got an answer with chemical weaponry and diseases being banned, as well as that flamethrowers were used so much in ww1 and ww2 that the Geneva Convention convention stepped in and stopped major military use of it in 1980. 

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/ihl-rules-of-war-faq-geneva-conventions#:~:text=These%20include%20prohibition%20on%20exploding,%2C%20cluster%20munitions%20(2008)%2C

https://housedems.com/roberts-wants-flamethrowers-banned/#:~:text=Modern%20flamethrowers%20were%20first%20used,the%20Use%20of%20Incendiary%20Weapons.

ok so back on the topic at hand before the government comes knocking at my door, there exists a site linked that goes about 10 animals used in military warfare so let’s go over them 

https://www.historyhit.com/animals-used-for-military-purposes/

1. Napalm bats

The US military’s Project X-Ray planned on releasing thousands of bats equipped with napalm charges in Japan. However, the plan was scrapped when some bats escaped in New Mexico, destroying an aircraft hanger and a general’s car.

Errant bats from the experimental bat bomb set fire to the Carlsbad Army Airfield Auxiliary Air Base in New Mexico.

2. Camels: walking water fountains

In the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), Sunni Mujahideen fighters used camel ‘suicide bombers’ against Soviet occupying forces.

Camels were also used as mobile water tanks during the Muslim conquest of Syria (634–638 AD). First forced to drink as much as they could, the camels’ mouths were then bound to prevent cud chewing. They were slaughtered en route from Iraq to Syria for the water in their stomachs.

3. Dolphin bomb squad

Highly intelligent, trainable and mobile in marine environments, military dolphins have been used to locate mines by both Soviet and US navies.

Dolphins have also been trained by the US Navy Mammal Marine Program to attach flotation devices to the air tanks of enemy divers.

A dolphin equipped with locator. US Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Brien Aho

4. Infectious fleas and flies

Japan used insects as weapons in World War Two in order to infect China with cholera and plague. Japanese air planes sprayed fleas and flies or dropped them inside bombs over heavily populated areas. In 2002 an international symposium of historians found that these operations resulted in around 440,000 Chinese deaths.

5. Pyromaniac Macaques

Though it is difficult to confirm, Indian sources from the 4th century BC describe trained monkeys carrying incendiary devices over the walls of fortifications in order to set fire to them.

6. Dragon Oxen

Records describing the Siege of Jimo in 279 BC in eastern China tell of a commander frightening and subsequently defeating invaders by dressing up 1,000 oxen as dragons. The ‘dragons’ were released at the enemy camp in the middle of the night, causing panic among the surprised soldiers.

7. Warning Parrots

In World War One, trained parrots were positioned on the Eiffel Tower in order to warn against incoming aircraft. A problem arose when it was found that the parrots couldn’t tell German planes from Allied ones.

8. Missile flying pigeons

BF Skinner’s Project Pigeon

In the Second World War, American behaviourist BF Skinner devised a plan to train pigeons to ride in missiles and guide them to enemy ships. Though Project Pigeon was never realised, it was resurrected from 1948 to 1953 as Project Orcon for a second, last-ditch effort.

9. Explosive rats

Trench rats were a common horror of the First World War and so a common sight. In World War Two, however, British Special Forces used explosive dummy rats in order to disable munitions factories in Germany.

A Belgian NGO has also used rats to detect land mines through smell.

10. Sea Lions

Along with dolphins, the United States Marine Mammal Program trains sea lions to detect enemy divers. The sea lion spots a diver and attaches a tracking device, shaped like a handcuff, to one of the enemy’s limbs.

They are also trained to locate and recover military hardware as well as crash victims at sea.

Land, G. (2018) 10 animals used for military purposes, History Hit. History Hit. Available at: https://www.historyhit.com/animals-used-for-military-purposes/ (Accessed: February 19, 2023).

International Committee of the Red Cross (2022) Frequently asked questions on the rules of war, International Committee of the Red Cross. Available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/ihl-rules-of-war-faq-geneva-conventions#:~:text=These%20include%20prohibition%20on%20exploding,%2C%20cluster%20munitions%20(2008)%2C (Accessed: February 19, 2023).

Roberts wants Flamethrowers banned (2022) housedems.com. Available at: https://housedems.com/roberts-wants-flamethrowers-banned/#:~:text=Modern%20flamethrowers%20were%20first%20used,the%20Use%20of%20Incendiary%20Weapons. (Accessed: February 19, 2023).

[deutschland-im-krieg]

80 victory ace and Pour le Mérite (Blue Max) holder Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, 1917. He's in an Albatros D.III. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles Of The Reich

[scrapironflotilla]

German pilot Lieutenant Meyer and his co-pilot in their Gotha LE.2 Taube monoplane at the start of the first sortie against the French, 22 August 1914.

[theworldofwars]

Written on reverse -

To Alice with Love

From Frank xxx

The Holy Land 23/9/17

Unable to identify the regiment from the 'patch' on the helmet.

[ironcites]

[aviationgeek71]

USAAS 2nd Lt. Frank Luke Jr. was shot down in his SPAD XIII by ground fire on September 29, 1918. He survived the crash landing; however, as German soldiers approached, he refused to surrender and engaged in a firefight. Out numbered, he was finally killed in the gun battle.

He is credited with 19 aerial victories, ranking him as an ace, second after Captain Eddie Rickenbacker during WW1. Luke was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor and first USAAS ace in the day. Luke Field in Hawaii and Luke Air Force Base near Glendale, Arizona are named in his honor.

Harold Hartney, Commanding Officer, 1st Pursuit Group once said...

"Man, how that kid could fly! No one, mind you, no one, had the sheer contemptuous courage that boy possessed."

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker also commented on Luke...

“He was the most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war. His life is one of the brightest glories of our Air Service. He went on a rampage and shot down fourteen enemy aircraft, including ten balloons, in eight days. No other ace, even the dreaded Richthofen, had ever come close to that.”