![]() ![]() The Rise of the Red Baron The Red Baron during the war, via The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign In May of 1915, he would join with the German Army air service, just as the role of aircraft started to shift from one of pure reconnaissance to one of combat. Faced with a further move to the back as his unit was reassigned to a logistical role, Richthofen made the choice that he would not allow himself to be relegated to a non-combat role. With cavalry of no further use, aircraft were becoming increasingly common on both sides of the frontlines, used as scouting and spotting for artillery positions massed in ever-growing numbers. However, he also found a new opportunity to participate in an entirely different capacity. It was here that Richthofen would find himself, and his once mobile cavalry unit was forced to dismount to serve instead as message runners as horses found themselves entirely unable to operate in the increasingly muddy and cratered territory of no-man’s land. As each side had rushed to out-pace the other, they built defenses as they went, resulting in two lines of entrenched positions that stretched, unbroken, all the way from the Atlantic to the Swiss border in the Alps.Ĭommonwealth Trenches common to the Western front, via Britannica With the German assault into France and Belgium halted during the First Battle of the Marne, German and Entente forces had continuously tried to out-flank one another, only stopping when both armies had reached the sea itself. It would be here that the reality of this new war would make itself known. ![]() They were well suited to the open, flat terrain that Europe’s battlefields were typically composed of and were more reliable and easy to maintain than the relatively new motorized vehicles, which were confined to well-built roads and often suffered from suspension and engine issues, limiting their effectiveness and mobility.īecause of this, Richthofen initially was able to experience some of the war “as intended,” with his unit scouting on first the Russian front and then through France and Belgium. In the opening stages of World War I, almost every military in Europe had divisions of cavalry, typically intended to be used as shock troops and reconnaissance along with scouting roles. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you! However, it would soon become clear that this form of warfare would not stand the test of time as a new and horrific war loomed across the continent a mere three years later. It wouldn’t be until 1911 that he graduated at the age of nineteen and enlisted in a unit of lancer cavalry, still used in modern militaries throughout Europe at the time. Even his antics reflected his passion for physical activity as he was recorded as once climbing the highest steeple in Schweidnitz on a dare, going so far as to tie off a bolt of cloth to the lightning rod held at the very top.Īs with most German aristocrats, Manfred’s family had strong ties to Prussia’s militaristic institutions, and, as a result, he was enrolled in cadet training at the age of eleven in 1903. Likewise, many of Manfred’s hobbies outside of school were often physical in nature, such as enjoying hunting and horse riding with his brothers. While he was considered bright, he seldom pushed himself academically, passing most of his courses with the bare minimum of effort required to pass.ĭespite this rather laid-back approach to education, Manfred excelled in physical classes, winning several awards in gymnastics and other activities during his school years. Coming from a family of Junkers meant that the young Richthofen was afforded every luxury in regards to education during his upbringing. At the age of four, he and his family moved to the nearby city of Schweidnitz, now known as Świdnica, where he would spend the entirety of his youth and time in school. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was born in 1892 to the aristocratic family Richthofen in the city of Breslau, Prussia, which is now known as Wrocław in south-western Poland. The Red Baron Prior to War Breslau town hall, c.1930, via edsimoneit
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