Week 16: The Death of the Red Baron

uh from Australian history specifically. Um uh and uh and you'll understand why. We we've talked about all of these things uh on the podcast before. But uh of course, you know, we we love a bit of live bit of Aussie history, uh, on uh on this show and um highlighting some of these uh, you know, significant and important and

also quite amusing little chapters from uh from this Proud Nation's history is something I'm always happy to do. Uh as we go back uh now to episodes two hundred and fifty nine and two hundred and sixty to talk about James Cook, Lieutenant James Cook, as he was when he sighted the Australian coastline for the first time. That took place this week in history on the nineteenth.

of April in the year seventeen seventy. As you talked about in those episodes, Cook set off on a long voyage, uh, firstly with orders to observe the transit of Venus, Uh, but then to explore the Pacific Ocean, um, searching for Terra Ostratus Incognita, this supposed great big southern continent that uh had been hypothesized for for centuries. Um doesn't really exist in the way that people thought it did. Obviously there is Antarctica, but anyway.

In the end, uh Cook encountered the east coast of Australia, uh, produced the first detailed European maps of this region, uh, landed uh at Botany Bay, of course, uh, in the days after having first. sighted the um the coastline. Um and then ultimately after having sailed all the way up the east coast of uh of Australia, claimed the eastern part uh of this great big landmass for Britain and named it

New South Wales, for reasons that we still don't really understand. Um, it's very difficult to figure out how um Cook looked at, you know, the beautiful, pristine, sparkling beaches, the white sand, the you know, the the the trees, the the the beautiful I mean th th the sunshine, right, that is that is a a hallmark of of Australian weather. It's very difficult to see how he saw all of that and went, hmm, you know what this reminds me of?

Wales, and specifically the southern part. Very strange outcome indeed, but you know, that's why one of the Australian states to this day is called New South Wales because of this very strange uh decision made by Cook. Anyway.

His uh encounter with the um with the east east coast of Australia and and the fact that he claimed possession of it for for Britain obviously laid the groundwork for the eventual colonisation of Australia, um which uh of course we uh we also talked about uh we did a couple of episodes on the colonisation and the um and the and the federation uh of Australia which are which are well worth a listen if you're into that sort of thing.

um episodes two thirty nine and uh and two forty if you want to uh learn a little bit a little bit more about uh Australian history in that regard.

Anyway, move on now to episode two hundred and oh sorry, three hundred and four, episode three hundred four and um to all Australians and indeed Kiwis listening, uh it will come as no surprise uh that I'm mentioning The invasion of Gallipoli, which took place this week in history on the twenty fifth of april nineteen fifteen, the twenty fifth of April still s still celebrated to this day as Anzac Day.

The invasion of Gallipoli took place uh because the in the First World War the Allies uh had an objective. They wanted to capture or control a sea route to Russia via the the Bosporus through the Ottoman Empire, what is today, Turkey. Uh and furthermore they wanted to just knock the Ottomans out of the war altogether. This meant that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the Anzacs, were sent over to Gallipoli on the Dardanelles.

um along with British and French troops. Um they were sent there to try to capture this region. However, of course, as we all know, the Turks dug in, they defended uh this this this area very, very strongly indeed. It lent to led to a a stalemate. and an eventual withdrawal of Allied troops, including of course, uh the Anzacs. So in the broad scheme of things it has to be said, the the Gallipoli campaign was a it was it was an abject failure. It was it was a military failure.

But all the same, Gallipoli took on a a much higher meaning in particular in Australia and New Zealand. It led to this sort of heightened sense of national consciousness for these young colonial nations. Um and a lot of people uh point to the idea that um you know, our um our involvement in a in a global conflict uh like the First World War, fighting under our our own flags

you know, that that sort of thing. Um helped to contribute to uh a sense of nationhood for both Australia and New Zealand. Um whatever your thoughts are on this issue, um and how much, you know, the the Anzac legend has uh has contributed to to uh a sense of nationhood uh within this country.'Cause back then, I mean, we still very much were culturally politically even part of the the British Empire,

Um w whatever your your take on that, it it it's very clear to see that there is a long and lasting legacy um uh because of what happened on the twenty fifth of uh uh of April, all those years ago, back in nineteen fifteen. Uh and of course Anzac Anzac Day still So not ev not celebrated is the wrong word, still observed to this day. Um it'll uh th those those observations of course will be taking place later this week.

But finally, and on a more on a lighter note here, uh, we can turn our attention to Quarterass History episode 35 to talk. to talk about the establishment of the Principality of Hutt River. On the twenty first of april, in the year nineteen seventy, a W. A. farmer by the name of Leonard Casley, Um, he uh he wa he wasn't a big fan of the government's policy surrounding wheat production quotas. He also wasn't a big fan of apparently paying his taxes.

And so again, on the twenty first of uh of April nineteen seventy, he uh established what he said was an independent and sovereign state, based on a very optimistic reading of certain colonial laws and proclamations in Western Australia. Uh he essentially turned his farm into a country, as far as he was concerned anyway. Uh this country never had any sort of actual recognition, despite all the legal loopholes that the councillors very enthusiastically try to jump through.

Um and uh it's just another story of, you know, a um a micro nation. Uh like the like the Principality of Sea Land, which I think we we covered as well in a relatively recent episode from memory. Um I'm trying to remember where well I'm not I'm not trying to remember. I'm trying to s I'm trying to very sneakily type it into um

uh a control F search box in my in my spreadsheet here. Ah, here it is. Of course I remember. Yes. Episode one hundred and forty two of of Quarterized History. One of the last ones that I actually did before uh before I uh benched that segment. Um anyway, very very funny story, very very amusing tale indeed, um the the Principality of Hutt River. Uh although not a not a story that has a happy ending, unfortunately. Um the Kazleys ultimately uh abandoned their claims of sovereignty.

Um the ATO won that particular round, presenting the Casleys with a rather sizeable tax bill after years and years of non payment.

Anyway, we head now into the birthdays. Uh we've got a fair few birthdays to talk about this week. Uh some very notable ones as well, kicking things off with the birthday of Charlie Chaplin, who I'm sure you've heard of. born on the sixteenth of April in eighteen eighty nine, Chaplin, um, as you no doubt know, was a filmmaker, a British filmmaker, uh very important figure in the in the history of early cinema. He pioneered uh comedy within the silent film genre.

Uh he directed his own films. He was most famous for his character Letrampe. Um and uh his films they c they contain a lot of uh a lot of social commentary as well as the you know, the the slapstick comedy and and whatever else the chaplain was famous for. Um and I'm happy to say that the Chaplin was very richly rewarded for uh the the successes he had. He was he was wealthy, he was well known. Um, he was able to sort of produce his art on his own terms.

Although he was very slow in giving up on silent films. Uh he he clung to the silent film genre for a lot longer than most did, uh long after, you know, there were recorded voice lines included in films as a matter of course.

Uh but in any case it's a very happy birthday to Charlie Chaplin, um, whose uh perhaps perhaps his most famous film or his most enduring film uh as we remember it today, was that was actually I think it was the first one that he made that did have talking in it, that was th that that had recorded dialogue. Um it was called The Great Dictator, made in nineteen forty, and it was uh, as you may know, a satirical condemnation of

Adolf Hitler. Now, ordinarily, you know, this little historical birthday segment is all about wishing people a happy birthday, whether they're still with us or not, maybe they lived hundreds of years ago or even tens of years ago, whatever, you know, we're generally speaking

looking back at the at the most famous figures from history and, you know, saying happy birthday to them even if it is rather pointless. But um Yes, I think I think we'll make an exception to the well wishing uh that is generally part of this particular segment of the podcast, uh, when talking about Hitler, because, as you may know, Adolf Hitler was born this week in history, on the twentieth of April in eighteen eighty nine. I debated whether to include him as part of this

Uh segment as part of this series because obviously, again, this is supposed to be pretty, pretty light-hearted, right? Press supposed to be pretty frothy. We sort of chat about some of the accomplishments of some of the

most famous or most interesting people from history. But but I felt like it would be a little bit of an oversight to not include Hitler um a a as part of this segment. Although I do want to make it very clear that, you know, we We aren't necessarily wishing him or his memory a happy birthday, just more an acknowledgement that this was his birthday because, you know

Yes, one of the most awful and reviled and evil figures in in human history, but also one of the most important in in twentieth century history at least, and uh and and and there's no there's no getting around that. Um, Hitler of course, I mean I don't need to tell you this, he was he was the Austrian born leader of of Nazi Germany, seized power as a fascist dictator after harnessing the grievances of of post war post First World War Germany.

triggered the Second World War through uh his aggressive expansionism, um, and of course was responsible for the Holocaust, the uh the murder of six million Jews, in addition to millions of other people who are also deemed by the Nazis as unfit for inclusion in their society. And as I say, he is remembered as one of the most evil and abhorrent people in in human history.

Um and born the day after him, on the twenty first of April, although in nineteen twenty six, uh Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Lizzie. Uh we all remember her, of course, only died a couple of years ago. She was the longest serving British British monarch with uh around seventy years under her belt. Uh she oversaw a period of enormous change, of course, ruling from nineteen fifty-two all the way through to two thousand and two.

Uh she was queen during the post war decolonization process of the British Empire. She became a an icon of stability. across decades and decades where, you know, nothing stayed the same. Consider how different life was in the fifties. uh compared to these days, in in the twenties, uh in the twenty first century. Um but she remained at the helm for a very, very long time indeed. Um and and also in doing so, you know, what are your thoughts on monarchy and and

Queen Elizabeth uh in particular. W whatever those thoughts may be, you cannot deny the enormous impact. that Elizabeth has had on monarchy in the modern world. She redefined the role of the modern monarch. She created a blueprint that other kings and queens have have followed. Um, one of the reasons I believe that that monarchy is so enduring, and this is coming from someone who, you know, broadly speaking, is not particularly into the idea of kings and queens.

Um, one of the reasons that monarchy is so enduring in the twenty first century is because of the example set by Elizabeth. Um, all across Europe there are these, you know, old royal houses that that still s still have Scion sitting atop the throne, um, even in, you know, these Western liberalized democracies. Um, because of I think the example that that Elizabeth set as a as as a national icon rather than, you know, a uh a a political figure, necessarily.

Anyway, from the historical birthdays now to the listener birthdays and I got some absolutely brilliant uh birthday messages uh this week. There are a fair few of them, but we're gonna we're gonna whip through'em because they are some of them are very, very entertaining indeed.

Uh for instance firstly we are we're kicking things off with a bang here I got an email from alert listener Michael, who wrote in um you know with a a lovely and very heartfelt and quite soppy uh message that I'm not gonna read out here because, you know, we all wanna hold on to our lunches, Mike.

Um but in this email, uh Michael wishing w wanting to wish his his fiance happy birthday, described her as a silly goose. Now Michael, I don't know if that is an appellation you should be giving to her. Or whether it's one that's more appropriate to be d to to be applied to you, my friend, because in writing this beautiful heartfelt email wishing your fiance happy birthday, you didn't include her name. So happy birthday, Michael's fiance, I guess, born on the sixteenth of of April.

Gr I happy birthday to you. I mean we you know, we're singing you the the happy birthday song, we're all gonna have that awkward thing in the third line where none of us know what to say. Or I don't know, maybe she's just very conscious about privacy and and Michael's doing the right thing there. In any case, um I thought it was quite amusing that I got this beautiful, heartfelt uh birthday message that

didn't include someone's name, but you know, again, happy birthday, Michael's fiance. Uh also born on the sixteenth of April is Sophie, a listener James Tate, uh wrote in saying, I'd love to wish my partner Sophie a very happy birthday.

Uh, while we were holidaying in France, we ended up travelling through all the places you mentioned in your Joan of Arc episode one four ten Get Across It. Right as we were listening to it, it made the moment feel pretty special. Thank you very much, uh, for listening to the show and a very happy birthday to Sophie, James Tate, remembering to include the name of the person to whom he's wishing a happy birthday. Well done, James.

Alert listener Allison Rogers also wrote in, wanting to wish Paul a very happy birthday, uh celebrating his birthday on the eighteenth of uh of April. Alison writes his sense of humour and thirst for knowledge are the things that draw him to your podcaster. Well, I'm very pleased to hear that I can not only

Slake that thirst for knowledge, but also there is at least one listener out there that appreciates all my dumb gags. A very happy birthday to you, Paul. Naomi Coffee also wrote in as an alert listener wishing a happy birthday to Caleb. Uh Caleb turns forty on the eighteenth of April this year. Um and uh Look, I'm not throwing Naomi under the bus with this one. She included in the email. I'm gonna read it out as part of this birthday message uh to Caleb, she wrote.

I'm hoping that by getting Riley to read this out, I don't forget, like I did last time, I am so very sorry. So There you go. Hopefully a bit of redemption on offer for Naomi this year, Caleb. At least she at least the one she forgot was the thirty ninth, right? Not as important as as the fortieth, but um Yeah, gnomes I reckon make this one uh twice as special, I'd say, for the big four O, also to make up for uh the indiscretion last year. Anyway, happy birthday, Caleb, and also

Happy birthday to John Joyce. Alert listener, Sean Joyce, uh wrote in uh to wish happy birthday to his dad, who he got on board with the podcasts. Uh says he he enjoys being able to uh chat with his old man about and listen, As someone who, you know, loves hanging out and and chatting with uh with his dad, I recognise that sometimes it's very important to have stuff prepared to talk to about your dad.

Um, you know, you'll something will happen, you'll be like, right, yep. I'll use th I'll use that as a topic of conversation for the old man. No worries, we'll we'll we can have a good chat about that because yeah, otherwise you end up listening to them talk about

whatever it is they like to talk about. And you know, I love listening to my dad talk about the architectural elements of of certain buildings and you know, the the way that modern architecture's gone to the dogs and all the rest of that, but it is nice to sometimes have something in the chamber ready to go, Oh, did you hear about this, Dad, we can talk about that instead of going back to the

The usual suspects. In any case, sorry. Happy birthday, John. I'm sure you're not as boring and as dull as my dad. Um, and uh thank you very much, Sean, uh, for for writing in. A little listener, Chris Rose also wrote in here and uh this has got to be one of the best birthday messages. I I get a lot like a lot of the birthday emails are very long and I'm not gonna read'em out verbatim and a lot of them very flowery and mushy and I'm just like we're not I'm I'm not into that.

But I really like Chris's email because it was short, it was very punchy, it was to the point, um, and was also pretty uh pretty pretty mu well I'll let you I'll let you decide how amusing it is, but I'll I'll read it out from beginning to end here. Chris writes, Could you say happy birthday to my mum gay or gazy on the twentieth of April? Same day as little Austrian fella with similar anger and height issues, which is how I remember it every year.

P. S. I share my birthday with Osama bin Laden. So it seems like there's been a uh there's been some bad luck uh in the uh i i in Chris's family when it comes to um the the happenstance of various birthdays, Hitler and then Bin Laden. Uh not the people you want to be share your birthdays with. But all the same, Chris, it's it's good you've got a way to remember uh your mum's birthday every year, uh and a very happy birthday to you, Gazy.

Um uh alert listener Fred Keel wrote in. Now longtime listeners of the podcast may remember Fred. Uh he's right he's right in to wish his h his his brother a happy birthday here, but but I I I I wanna I wanna share the the beginning of of Fred's emo,'cause it's simply terrific.

Fred writes, It's Fred here again, the guy who gently steered you away from the folly of buying an old Volvo d by describing the restoration of an old Land Rover. There will be some people uh who remember when I was thinking about I I was thinking about buying a nineteen eighty nine um uh Volvo two forty. I didn't in the end. Uh Fred did play a role in in talking me out of that by reminding me that, you know, old cars are a lot of work.

Uh I I remember the brilliant Lani had when talking about his Land Rover. He said Land Rovers are off road vehicles and his has been off the road for years. But it seems like this has changed. Uh we've got a workshop update from Fred Keel here. He writes, I'm in the workshop again installing a new bench now that the Land Rover is back on the road. I can proudly report my upgrades.

They include electronic ignition, lots of fuses, full LED lighting. It has now render it's now been rendered reliable and drivable. Just in time for petrol to be too expensive to use it. The secret of great comedy is timing. Well, condolences to you, Fred, but a happy birthday to your brother John, uh who, according to Fred is another Land Rover tragic, uh back on the farm in Leicestershire,

Um, and has been one of the f uh one of the followers of the podcast since uh Fred recommended him, Half Us History. Uh, he'll be chuffed a bits if you mentioned him. So good on you, John. Uh hope you're having fun. I guess not cruising around in the Land Rover given the price of petrol, but all the same, hopefully, you know it's Nice to look at, being in the garage.

And finally, a very special birthday uh message here from a listener, Andy Zierin. Uh this is a history podcast, uh after all, and we talk a lot about Famous figures from history, people who are well known, people who, you know, had a had a great influence on steering world history in one direction or another. But I was very interested to read this email from Andy, um, which told a story of just

An ordinary bloke who had a very, very interesting life all the same, um uh he his old man, Art. So I'll read this email out. Um fascinating story. On april twenty second, nineteen twenty five, so happy birthday, Art, this week in history, Art Siren was born in the Dutch city of The Hague, the second youngest of six children. He grew into a teenager during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

He joined the Dutch Resistance at the age of sixteen, and he and his older brother Gerrit were captured by the Nazis, but Art managed to escape, he fled to England, lied about his age, and joined the US Army, driving trucks in Malaya until the end of the war. He assisted in returning uh uh Japanese uh to the bomb city of Hiroshima.

before returning to England, became a plumber, emigrated to New Zealand. In his early fifties he met Margaret, and at the age of fifty four he became a father. The Zeruns moved to Australia in nineteen ninety five. Good call. When Art and Margaret both retired, and Art peacefully passed away at the age of eighty one in two thousand six. And he writes.

My dad lived through some incredible times, and it's him who inspired me to be fascinated by history. Well, Andy, I'm so glad you're here listening to this Tinpot History Podcast, and a very happy birthday to your late father. Sounds like he had a hell of a life. Um and quite seriously, I you know, I know again this is supposed to be a sort of frothy and light entertainment podcast, but

I I find it so interesting to hear about the the stories of again, the ordinary people who aren't necessarily gonna make it to the history books, but nonetheless lived through the stuff that we're all so fascinated by today. So quite sincerely, thank you very much, Andy, for for for sharing the story of your old man. And uh and a very happy birthday to uh to him, to John, to gay, to John Joyce, to Caleb, to Paul, to to to Sophie, and to, of course, Michael's fiancee.

Anyway, we turn our attention now to today's main topic, uh because I want to talk to you about the Red Baron, someone you may have heard of. Uh a very famous First World War fighter pilot, the most famous I would say. I don't I don't think it's particularly close. I I don't know there are any other first World War pilots that I could name in the first place off the top of my head, so he probably just takes the, you know, number one spot by default.

But yes, the Red Baron, born Manfred von Richthoven, was a flying ace. He was the most successful combat pilot in the entire First World War, based on the number of victories he scored against enemy aircraft. His official tally stands at eighty, making him the ace of aces for the First World War. In second position was Francis Rene Fonc, with seventy five official victories, although he did claim a lot more, like over a hundred from what I saw. In any case

The Red Baron, um, officially speaking, is uh is the most successful fighter pilot from the First World War. Um and also from for the record Um, because I know some listeners may be interested, the highest scoring Australian ace in the First World War was a bloke whose name was Robert A. Little. He managed forty seven aerial victories.

a little behind the pace, it may seem, although, as we will come to before this episode is out, Australians weren't left with nothing to crow about. When it comes to the Red Baron in particular, as we will come to, we did end up having the last laugh. Anyway,

Von Richtoven, he was born on the second of may eighteen ninety two in Lower Silesia, in what is now Poland, but back then was part of the German Empire. He was born into an aristocratic Prussian family. He was a minor noble. entitled to the use of the title Freiherr, Freelord. This was uh one of the reasons he became known as the Red Baron. We'll get into the other reason in due course. Anyway, at the age of eleven he went off to military school, he initially served as a cavalry officer,

Uh at the at the beginning of the First World War he was working in uh in reconnaissance. But then with the stalemate that was brought on by trench warfare, there were actually there wasn't a lot of work for mounted recon units, and so von Riechthoven, uh at one point he was actually facing down a transfer to a non combat supply unit. Absolutely not, he says. He's got no intention of serving in uh in a unit like that. He was ready to fight for the fatherland, and so he applied

to be transferred uh to the Air Force. Instead, apparently on his transfer application he wrote, I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs Uh, whatever the case, his transfer was approved, and so he began training as an airman. First as an observer, he would go up and do recon in the second seat of a plane while someone else uh flew the plane itself. But then ultimately he did become a pilot himself.

Um, but interestingly, wasn't a very good one initially. He actually crashed his first uh attempt at a flight. Um he was generally Pretty ordinary when it came to flying planes, uh to begin with. Although of course, you know, this changed. I mean, na naturally it did, right? He he he didn't

accidentally become the the most famous uh fighter pilot of the of the first world war. Um he uh he know, he he developed a uh a real knack for flying as the weeks and the months passed as he continued his training.

Now, it's worth remembering at this point, however, um aerial combat is very, very new indeed. Uh heavier than air flight, in aeroplanes is, you know, it's barely a decade old, right? History of flight episodes two hundred forty seven, two forty eight, two forty nine get across them. So this whole area of of taking to the skies and and dog fighting with uh with with enemy pilots, uh i it's it's brand new. Uh and as a result, when von Richthoven was called up to join a

uh a properly organized uh squadron of of other fighter pilots in the back half of nineteen sixteen. He was amongst the the very first to to do such a thing. There had been skirmishes and dog fights and the like here and there. But both sides of the war, uh at this point were they were scrambling to properly organise their air forces, to, you know, regiment their pilots and planes, put together squadrons with with proper plans of attack.

And there was von Richthoven, at twenty four years of age, amongst all these other young, fresh faced men, ready to take to the skies for the Deutsche Luftzeitkräfer, and shoot down those blasted British and French.

Uh and it wasn't long before he had the chance either. Uh again he he had a few he'd he'd had a few scraps here and there already, but it was on the seventeenth of September nineteen sixteen that Von Richthoven won his first officially recognized victory over an enemy aircraft, when he shot down a British plane piloted by second Lieutenant Lionel Morris in the skies above France, and he was uh

Evidently pretty pleased with himself at having done this, um, because to celebrate the victory, Von Richthoven ordered a custom made silver cup that had the name of the enemy pilot engraved into it, and what's more, This was something he did with every other victory he scored in the skies, until he was no longer allowed to, when Germany essentially just

ran out of silver due to wartime blockades. Despite eighty victories in the end, um he only managed to have sixty cups made uh commemorating uh commemorating them. Um the bloke was maybe, yeah, a little full of himself. Um uh th there's certainly evidence to suggest that he um he did maybe have tickets on himself and and you know, he He knew he was good at what he did and a and wasn't afraid to hide it. Um anyway.

As Von Rechtoven continued to fly, as the victories continued to come in thick and fast, uh his reputation uh began to to to swell. This bloke uh became very, very well known indeed. He was enthusiastically used by propagandists on the home front to uh Uh, you know, t to give people a hero they could they could get behind and cheer for, the to to keep people's morale up during the war.

After his 16th aerial victory in January 1917, von Richthofen was awarded with uh Imperial Germany's highest military award, a medal called the Puller Merit. Uh this was an award actually established by none other than friend of the show, Frederick the Great. Episodes one and three fifty get across uh get a not get across, but g get across episode three fifty, I'd say. But yes, as I say, tales of his exploits in the air, though uh sorry, tales of the exploits of

Von Richthoven, not Frederick the Great. He'd he didn't get much flying done in his day. Uh but no tales of of of von Richthoven's exploits were were used to uh to boost morale on the home front. They were used in propaganda to reinforce the idea that a German victory was assured, with aces like von Richthoven prowling the skies.

Uh, although I will say, despite his great many victories, he didn't go unscathed. Uh in March nineteen seventeen he was shot down. Uh although he survived, of course, he survived a uh a force landing, he he lived to tell the tale. Um and uh and continue to fly thereafter. He was obviously, you know, he's a very skilled pilot, um, although interestingly not one given over to to fancy flying or, you know, aerobatic tricks, nothing like that.

No, he was uh he was very tactical in how he flew. He would usually look to gain height on his enemies and then dive down at them from above with the the sun behind him. using his uh lethal accuracy while firing to score victory after victory. And with these victories his talents were were further recognized as time went on. In January nineteen seventeen, not only did he receive this this medal, the poor merit that I mentioned,

Um around this time he was also given command of his own squadron, and not just any squadron, An elite cadre of some of Germany's very best pilots. This squadron was called Yasta 11, Yasta Esch. Um and uh his his promotion to squadron leader actually resulted in the other half of his nickname, the Red Baron. So the Baron part's pretty obvious, right? His aristocratic background, his his noble title, that is sort of pretty self explanatory as to why he was called the Baron.

Uh, although it is thought that he wasn't actually called anything like that during the war. This nickname only came along afterwards. Uh during the war in Germany, uh he was called De Ruther Kampfflieger, the red battle flyer, a very literal name given to him. Of course I mean, they're Germans, what do you expect?

Um but uh from what I read his his nickname in English at the time during the war uh wasn't the Red Baron, it was actually the Red Devil, which, you know, is appropriate given that he's taking the skies and shooting endless allied uh Allied planes out of them. Um, but why red, you may wonder? Why the red battlefire, the red devil, the red baron? Well This is something that comes back to, as I say, his his promotion to squadron leader.

Because after he received this uh this this new position, Von Richthoven decided again, this bloke does seem to have had some tickets on himself. He decided that he was going to paint his plane bright red.

Now he did this because he wanted to stand out to his squad mates. He wanted his squadmates to be able to see him easily when up in the air, to be you know to be able to pick him out. Even if that made him more of a target for the enemy, that was something that he was quite happy to to to deal with. He just wanted his plane to be uh you know, to be notable. Although in the end, um

other pilots in Yastaev uh also painted their planes red as well. And then other pilots in other squadrons painted their planes different colours too. So the idea of like Squadron markings on different planes was something that the Red Baron helped to help to bring about. Um and uh these brightly coloured German planes, they led not just to von Richthoven being nicknamed the Red Baron in the end, but also

led to a nickname that was given to the fighter wing that he was given command of in June nineteen seventeen. So he went from being a squadron leader, leading a squadron of some of the best pilots in Germany, to leading a wing of four different squadrons, again all staffed by some of the best pilots that uh that Germany had access to. Now the official name of this wing was the Yadgeschwader Iinz. Um and his wing, Yaster Ev, that was that was part of it, along with uh three other squadrons.

Um but this name wasn't the one uh that the the wing was usually referred to. Instead it was referred to as the Fliegandercus, the flying circus, and this was, as you may have already guessed,

due to the bright colours of all the planes, um th them taking off flying around, all that sort of stuff. It, you know, had all the the the bright colours and excitement of the circus. But also because his wing, like a circus travelled all over the place, setting up in makeshift tents and what have you, uh being sent hither and yon by the top brass wherever these flying aces were needed to deliver maximum impact and and and bolster the German war effort.

And uh and I will say the role that Von Riefthoven's flying circus had on on the war was it was pretty significant. Uh initially the the higher-ups didn't like, you know, there's fancy coloured plain nonsense, but then when they realized the effect that it was having on morale,

they let it slide. Uh because again, the r the the Red Baron he was just as important away from the battlefields, helping to keep the mood up, uh, amongst other soldiers. On on the home front, you know, with with tales of this dashing, daring young pilot, his bright red plane, and his seemingly limitless victories over the Allied forces,

Um and and his numbers only went up and up. Uh by the time he was given command of the Juggers Vander Eins, he had shot down over fifty Allied planes. He's buddy shooting'em down all over the place, mate. Blap black blap. However There would be a uh a road bump in uh in the path of uh of the Red Baron because in July nineteen seventeen, disaster.

He was up in the air one day when he suffered a bad head injury. Now I wasn't able to I wasn't able to find out exactly what happened here, interestingly. Uh all the stuff that I read was was kind of vague on the exact nature of of the wound he suffered. Um I don't know if he himself was maybe hit by a bullet if that you know, got a glancing blow to the head from from from enemy fire.

Or if his plane was shot and then, um, after suffering damage and, you know, falling out of the sky he smacked his head against something, like the controls. I I don't know. I actually couldn't find a conclusive answer to this. Whatever the case. Um, he once again had to make a forced landing. He did survive, but uh he wasn't he wasn't a good nick. He underwent several operations. He was ordered to rest and recuperate by the doctors.

Um, and these were orders he promptly ignored because before the end of July, less than a month after receiving this very serious head injury up in the air, He was flying once again. Now, this just wasn't sustainable. Uh after returning to the skies, he often landed with very severe headaches, terrible nausea. He just he just hadn't recovered from his injury properly.

So he was forced, therefore, he was forced to actually take some time off to rest and recuperate, uh, during which time he wrote a short autobiography, which was appropriately entitled Dear Water Kampflieger the the Red Battle Flyer.

But the Red Baron wouldn't allow himself to stay grounded for long. As soon as he was able to, before the end of the year, he was once again back up in the air, his reputation preceding him as he continued to score victory after victory, still Fated as a hero to the broad German public, uh still used for wartime propaganda, even as, you know, the tides of war began to turn against Germany, they were telling stories about how

the British had put together specialized squadrons that had been that were that were sent off specifically to try to shoot the Red Baron down. They told stories about how anyone who who shot down von Riechthoven would uh uh w had been promised an automatic Victoria Cross. They they really made it seem like this bloke was larger than life and uh

Again, I've sort of alluded to this before, it does it does seem like the the the Red Baron began to believe in his own hype. Uh he he did seem to think a fair bit of himself. However, in the end

His legend would not last forever. And on the twenty first of april nineteen eighteen, this week in history, Manfred von Riechthoven, the Red Baron, was finally shot down once and for all. The day previous, on the twentieth of April, he had brought his official tally uh to eighty. Eighty aerial victories. He shot down two more enemies.

And on the twenty first he was up in the air again, uh, chasing down yet another potential victim, a Canadian pilot this time by the name of Wilfred Reed Wop May. He saw May shoot at his cousin, another pilot, Wolfram von Richthoven, uh and began to chase May down. However, while doing so, Von Richthoven then became the target uh of May's commander and his old friend, another Canadian pilot, Arthur Roy Brown.

And while Brown was pursuing the Red Baron in this way, Von Richthoven was shot through the chest. He was killed almost straight away. His plane, of course, fell out of the sky, and crashed to the ground near a uh a little French village, Vosessom. Ah this was in an area that was under the control of, interestingly, the Australian Imperial Force. Our boys over there fighting half a world away,

Uh they they investigated the crash. They went through the wreckage and found uh they found von Riechthoven's corpse. Uh he was confirmed to have been killed by the bullet and not by the the crash landing. And the AIF, after recovering his corpse, um, they they gave it a burial with with full military honours. He was described even by his foes, uh, in in very positive terms. The AIF buried him describing him as a gallant and worthy foe.

And of course you still remember today, his iconic red triplane, the Fokka DR-1, uh th that's the aircraft most commonly associated with him. Although I will say most of his victories were actually scored in a different plane, in a biplane called the Albatross.

But with his eighty confirmed aerial victories, with his reputation as a hero of the skies, with the dramatic end that his career and indeed his life came to, age just twenty five, We still remember Manfred von Riechthoven, um all the same. The end came for the Red Baron, the the final aerial victory over him officially awarded to the tally of that Canadian pilot I mentioned before, Roy Brown.

The Australian Twenty-Fourth Machine Gun Company. Now, some historians disagree, some claim that it wasn't Popkins, some claim it was a gunner whose name was Snowy Evans, some say it was another bloke bloke whose name was Robert Buey. But even so, all these men have something in common. They are all Australian mate. It was the AIF, of course, who was set up beneath where the Red Baron fought his very last so. Whoever it was, it is all

Australian. I told you we'd have the last laugh here, didn't I?