It’s the 2nd of September 1916.
Over the battlefields of northern France.
A British B.E.2 light bomber makes its way over the front line
escorted by three DH2 single seater fighters.
A pilot of one of the DH2’s takes a look below,
witnessing the dreadful scar of no man’s land carving its way across the continent.
Relegating his thoughts to the back of his mind the pilot prepares to fulfill their mission
when something prompts him to look up.
A gray bird emerges from the clouds above, coming down upon the formation.
In the time before radios he can’t warn his fellows,
so the pilot bravely steers to meet his opponent’s assault on his own.
The two machines exchange a volley of gunfire across the heavens,
the German aviator is forced to pull away from the DH2’s deadly barrage.
The two become locked in combat as the rest of the British aircraft fly away,
completely unaware of the battle.
Below soldiers can do nothing but watch the mesmerizing display,
2 man-made warbirds clashing in a duel to the death.
The skillful German evades all the fire
and returns for home
but the British airman won’t let him go that easily.
DH2 chases after the nimble German fighter,
pursuing the enemy beyond no-man’s land.
The German pilot skillfully evades the rain of lead headed his way,
but the British fighter remains undeterred,
he can feel victory at his fingertips.
But little does he know, his playing right into the German’s hands.
Deep in enemy territory and led astray from his compatriots, his Lewis gun jams.
Noticing the sudden end to the gunfire,
the gray bird makes a loop in the air and pulls up behind the DH2.
His barrage is deadly and precise.
The British pilot fights hard to evade but there is nothing he can do;
the engine is torn to pieces behind him and the aircraft falls from the sky.
The victorious pilot watches as his opponent makes a rough landing in the field below.
He can’t help but smirk, for he had just claimed his 20th victory.
His name is Oswald Boelcke.
He became interested in flying from an early age,
and applied for aviation duty right away after joining the army.
He impressed in his exam and successfully lobbied to be assigned alongside his brother
who had also become a pilot shortly before him.
On the 1st of September the Boelcke-Boelcke aircrew
would take off for their first of many sorties.
With Oswald at the controls the duo proved a force to be reckoned with.
The brothers flew more often and for longer than anyone else in the detachment,
braving weather that no other crew dared.
Their skills were quickly noticed, particularly Oswald’s.
Meanwhile at the Fokker factories a new aircraft was rolling off the line.
The Fokker E.I Eindecker, featuring one of the first gun synchronizers
that allowed the machine guns to fire through the propellers.
However, this aircraft proved very difficult to fly,
so high command decided that it would only be assigned to the very best pilots
of the young air corps.
Oswald would be chosen as one of those elites.
He and the rest of the Eindecker pilots were given a very quick introduction to the aircraft
before they were sent out on their first missions.
In August 1915
Boelcke ambushed a British observation biplane,
he swept in from behind and opened fire.
His shocked opponent attempted to flee
but Boelcke was too close to miss.
He chased after the British aircraft firing away until a volley struck the engine
and it seized in the air.
Ever chivalrous,
Boelcke ceased his assault and the British pilot made an emergency landing inside allied lines.
It was his first victory in a single seater, and the start of a legend.
Victories racked up fast for Boelcke and for the entire Eindecker forces,
and their fame grew to match.
Soon he couldn’t go anywhere without civilians and soldiers gathering to meet him.
It was this fame that brought about a particular incident
on the 1st of October 1915.
Boelcke was on a train to a new post
when he was approached by a then-unknown struggling pilot by the name of
Manfred von Richthofen.
Just a year younger than Boelcke
he quickly struck a conversation heading straight to the point of aerial combat,
and more specifically, how to be good at it.
With 4 victories under his belt Boelcke was still evolving his tactics,
so he couldn’t give any advice beyond
“aim well.”
Still, Richthofen made a good impression on Boelcke,
and the two remained in touch.
In the air Boelcke’s victories kept racking up,
trading the title of the deadliest ace in the world back and forth with his friend
Max Immelmann.
Both of their twin tallies rocketed into double digits.
They were both awarded the Blue Max.
But the ace race would have an abrupt end when Immelmann was killed in a dogfight
in mid-June 1916.
The news shocked the nation,
and the German government grounded Boelcke,
fearful to lose their second great ace shortly after the other.
By this time Boelcke had 19 victories under his belt.
With this experience he would put pen to paper
and write what he considered to be the most fundamental rules of air combat,
named the Dicta Boelcke.
Try to secure advantages before attacking.
If possible, keep the sun behind you.
Always carry through an attack when you’ve started it.
Fire only at close range,
and only when your opponent is properly in your sights.
Always keep your eye on your opponent,
and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.
In any form of attack it is essential to assail your enemy from behind.
If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught,
but fly to meet it.
When over the enemy's lines never forget your own line of retreat.
For the squadron:
Attack on principle in groups of four or six.
When the fight breaks up into a series of single combats,
take care that several don't go for the same opponent.
These would go on to form the groundwork of dogfight strategy throughout both world wars
and earn him the nickname,
“The father of air combat.”
He spent over a month grounded, but his skills were far from forgotten.
With the war intensifying, the government brought Boelcke back into the fray
and was given a command of a new squadron,
the Jagdstaffel 2.
Boelcke took up the position eagerly,
using his fame to recruit the most promising talent.
Among them a certain Manfred Von Richthofen.
He would teach everything he knew to the pilots of the Jasta,
especially the Dicta Boelcke,
and success quickly materialized.
In just two and a half months of existence the squadron claimed 50 victories with only 6 casualties.
A large part of those victories were contributed by Richtoffen,
the man he had met in passing on a train proved himself to be one of Boelcke’s most skilled pupils
and would later go on to immortalize his name in the pages of history as
The Red Baron.
Boelcke himself would see his personal number of victories double,
reaching 40 by the end of October 1916.
The Jasta grew a reputation and the members became tight knit.
Boelcke taught by example, instilling respect, and developing a friendship with all of his men.
On the 28th of October 1916
Boelcke and 5 of his best pilots threw themselves into a dogfight against a pair of British fighters.
In the chaos Boelcke and his best friend Erwin Böhme
chased after the same target in breach of his own dicta.
The two flew close to each other but had the awareness to give space.
As they’re pursuing they don’t notice the second enemy comes in from the side
and cuts across their nose,
both evade the last second,
with Böhme dodging upwards and Boelcke downwards,
but in the process the pair lose sight of each other.
Blocked by his own wings,
Böhme is unable to see Boelcke coming up from underneath him.
The two realize in the last moment and try to pull away,
but it’s too late.
From a distance,
the Red Baron watches as the tip of Boelcke’s wing hits the underside of Böhme’s aircraft,
and its fragile cloth covering rips.
Initially the two aircraft separate well,
but the wind rips the tear on Boelcke’s wing ever wider.
He wrestles for control as his wing shreds off, but it’s inevitable.
The aircraft enters an unrecoverable spin.
Richthofen follows his mentor and friend all the way down until
he crashes into the earth.
A continent mourned his passing.
A funeral procession brought his coffin to his home city of Dassau
where he would be put to rest.
Today a grand monument stands atop his grave, fitting of his legacy.
2 days after the funeral a lone British fighter would fly over the German lines and drop a wreath.
With it was a note that read.
“From the English Air Corps to the officers of the German Air Corps.
We hope that you will find this wreath…
We sympathize with his relatives and friends.
And we pay tribute to his bravery.
In commemoration of Captain Boelcke, our brave and chivalrous opponent.”
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