Wahlstatt, about 50 kilometers west of Breslau,

at the explicit wish of his father. While viewed

from todays´ perspective, this decision may

seem harsh. However, for the firstborn son of

a Prussian nobleman, this was a pretty common

start into a military career in Imperial Germany.

Young Manfred was, by his own accounts, not

overly keen on the strict discipline that was

demanded there from the young cadets. Moreover,

the Cadet Academy was located in a former

monastery, which must have been somewhat

intimidating on an 11-year old boy. Besides, being

a very small town with the total population

numbering just a few hundred, Wahlstatt was

not the most inviting of places. Manfred was

blessed with a very sturdy physical constitution

and generally good health Bolko recalled after

the war. Much to his dismay, this meant that he

never missed one day of school due to illness.

So, after having completed his six years there,

he was relieved to advance to the Prussian Main

Senior Cadet Academy at Gross-Lichterfelde,

just south-west of Berlin, in 1909. There he felt

much more like a human being, as he described

it himself. For example, the Royal Botanical

Garden was located there, and Berlin was just

a stone throw away. Two years later he graduated

as an officers candidate, and at Easter 1911 he

became a professional soldier, having joined the

Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 1 “Kaiser Alexander III. von

Russland”. There he was commissioned on 19

November 1912, and he described this event as

being the proudest moment of his life.

Manfred had enjoyed horse riding since his

childhood and had plenty of opportunity to

practice his skills during the holidays at his

much-beloved Grandmother´s estate. During the

summer holidays, which he and brother Lothar

usually spent there, they were greeted with the

words “here you are free to do whatever you

want”. Of course, this was a more than welcome

change from life at the Cadet Academy, and the

boys made the very best of their freedom while

they could. Besides riding, young Manfred also

developed a strong inclination for hunting, and

the combination of these two traits would serve

him well while later flying single-seater aircraft.

Photo: author's collection

HISTORY

Major Albrecht von Richthofen visited his sons at their unit on numerous occasions. Here he is enjoying

a cigar while speaking to Manfred.

425/17, Rtm. Manfred A. Freiherr von Richthofen,

CO of JG 1, Cappy, France, April 1918

This is the appearance of Richthofen’s Dr.I 425/17, in which

the Red Baron achieved his last two victories on April

20, 1918. The aircraft by that time already had the insignia

repainted in accordance with the order issued by the

Luftstreitkräfte on March 18, 1918. This called for a change

from “Iron” crosses to the “Balkenkreutz”. The day after the

final victory Germany’s most famous fighter was killed. The

aircraft depicted here did have the crosses repainted, but

the modification on bottom of the lowest wing was either

not yet completed or was done carelessly. Since red paint

must have been used in the modification of the crosses,

it is likely that the typically shaped scratches on the

port side of the cockpit were also painted over when the

crosses were changed.

May 2023

INFO Eduard

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