It was not, however, until September 17, 1915, when he was a member
of the newly organized Boelcke flying squadron that came to be known
as the Circus, that he scored his “first English victim.” It was “a
gloriously fine day, and therefore only to be expected that the English
would be very active,” so under the leadership of Boelcke the squadron
took the air. As they approached the front, Boelcke discovered an
Allied squadron going in the direction of Cambrai. There were seven
of the Allies to five of the Germans. They came within range. Here is
a sample of that “cockiness” with which von Richthofen described his
various and manifold encounters:
“The Englishman nearest to me was traveling in a large boat painted
with dark colors. I did not reflect very long but took my aim and
shot. He also fired and so did I, and both of us missed our aim. A
struggle began and the great point for me was to get to the rear of
the fellow because I could only shoot forward with my gun. He was
differently placed, for his machine gun was movable. It could fire in
all directions.
“Apparently he was no beginner, for he knew exactly that his last hour
had arrived at the moment when I get at the back of him. At that time
I had not yet the conviction ‘He must fall!’ which I have now on such
occasions, but, on the contrary, I was curious to see whether he would
fall. There is a great difference between the two feelings. When one
has shot down one’s first, second or third opponent, then one begins to
find out how the trick is done.
“My Englishman twisted and turned, going criss-cross. I did not think
for a moment that the hostile squadron contained other Englishmen who
conceivably might come to the aid of their comrade. I was animated by
a single thought: ‘The man in front of me must come down, whatever
happens.’ At last a favorable moment arrived. My opponent had
apparently lost sight of me. Instead of twisting and turning he flew
straight along. In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my
excellent machine. I gave a short series of shots with my machine gun.
I had gone so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman.
Suddenly, I nearly yelled with joy, for the propeller of the enemy
machine had stopped turning. I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy
was compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own
lines. The English machine was curiously swinging to and fro. Probably
something had happened to the pilot. The observer was no longer
visible. His machine gun was apparently deserted. Obviously I had hit
the observer and he had fallen from his seat.