Oswald Boelcke

It drew his attention immediately. In the distance, he could clearly see the Nieuport attacking one of his side’s aircraft. He didn’t hesitate for a second. He was a Knight of the Sky, who two months earlier had been awarded Germany’s highest honour, the Merit Cross.

It was Monday, 13 March 1916 and the flying ace Oswald Boelcke, who already had ten victories to his name, sent his aircraft, a Fokker Eindecker, speeding across the sky above the Douaumont plateau where the French airman was stirring up trouble. But the enemy pilot had seen him and manoeuvred to avoid the burst of bullets spitting from his machine-guns. Now, the two airmen were ducking and diving above the battlefield to catch the best firing angles.

Suddenly the Nieuport succeeded in lining up directly behind the Fokker. For a moment, Boelcke thought his time was up, but the French aircraft whizzed past him, propelled by its excessive speed. As the Nieuport came into his sights for a moment, the German ace took advantage and opened fire. Lengths of canvas were coming loose from the Nieuport as it did its best to make a quick escape back towards the French lines. The French pilot, who was faster, streaked away, to the great relief of Boelcke who set a course for his own aerodrome at Sivry-sur-Meuse, north of Verdun.

Little did Boelcke know, the pilot he had been fighting was Georges Guynemer, the French fighter ace. He had injured him in the face and the left arm. For the Frenchman, the Battle of Verdun was over, but the war was not.

Boelcke was a genuine national hero. He chalked up nine victories on the front at Verdun and then reorganised the fighter planes on the Somme. He died on 28 October 1916 following a collision with one of his wingmen. On his tally were 40 victories.