An Albatros C.III, much like the one Schröder probably flew in as an observer in Russia.
A unique take on the air war
"A German Airman Remembers" by Hans Schröder is an unfiltered, diverse, and often surprisingly-philosophical look at the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I. The book opens with an account of the author's tenure of service as an observer on the Eastern Front in 1916. He and his pilot flew Albatroses (probably the venerable Albatros C.III) on bombing and recon missions during the Brusilov Offensive of 1916. Afterwards, he was transferred back to the Fatherland for further training and subsequent reassignment on the Western Front.
Once there, Schröder led an extremely varied career as an air defense officer, a liaison officer, and an air intelligence officer. This last position saw Schröder involved with interrogating captured Allied pilots. In his memoirs, he lays out in fascinating detail how he could glean information from the prisoners just by conversing with them and leave them thinking they had told him nothing:
"[The British pilot] appeared to have been completely taken in by my bluff and crowned his tale by saying [to another prisoner] he had been warned in the squadron that they would try to pump him if he was taken prisoner. 'Well, let them try it on,' he declared. 'They won't get a word out of me.'" ...I could not help laughing, but I knew my system was a good one." (Schröder 164)
During his career, he experienced many memorable moments, including personally tending to Manfred von Richthofen after his crash landing on July 6, 1917:
"...Richthofen's red machine went suddenly on to its nose and shot down out of throng of combatants. ...Nothing seemed to check his downward rush - he was finished - in a moment he could not help hitting the ground!
Then - 200 metres [sic] above the ground - he caught the machine and flew straight in my direction. ...then it landed and taxied. I looked through my Zeiss glasses and saw Richthofen climb out, stagger and fall.
'He's wounded!' I shouted. 'Bring along a packet of bandages!'" (Schröder 123-124)
Humor
One thing that readers will immediately pick up on is Schröder's keen sense of humor. Every couple of pages or so, he relates hilarious incidents such as accidentally bombing several huts at his own aerodrome while training as an observer, dealing with the idiosyncrasies of his superior officers, and participating in mess hall antics such as the following:
"The climax of such evenings was always the funnel trick, with which we invariably took one of our guests in. First we gave them a demonstration.
A funnel was fixed in the belt round the demonstrator's trousers. Then he bent his head back, and a coin was placed on his forehead. He was told to manipulate his head until he could cause the coin to slide into the funnel. He always did it without much difficulty, whereupon the guests would opine that it was perfectly easy.
'All right! You try it!' we would challenge them. Then when the victim bent his head back to receive the coin, all the conspirators poured the contents of beer and wine bottles into the funnel." (Schröder 82-83)
Faith
During World War I, faith in God was very much in vogue with the German Empire. So much so that editors to the autobiographies of more well-known pilots (such as Manfred von Richthofen) may have put in references to faith that may or may not have really been expressed by the original authors.
However, such is not the case with Herr Schröder. He references his faith multiple times in his memoirs and inserts it in places where political editors would not have found it convenient to insert it:
"Optimists believe in progress. I hope they are right, but since the beginning of the world there have always been wars. ...When we consider the vast empires of Rameses, Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon, we see that they all vanished, some scarcely surviving their founders. ...Only one has attained real power - a power which has grown in the world for over two thousand years. He is the One Who said: 'My kingdom is not of this world.'" (Schröder 158)
Whether one shares his beliefs or not, the raw authenticity Schröder exhibits with this area is yet another thing that makes this book a unique read.
Opinions about observers and aerial reconnaissance
Schröder offers a unique take on the WW1 aviation as opposed to the usual fighter pilot literature. He is more than willing to defend the cause of the observer against that of the pilot, as this humorous anecdote demonstrates:
"Everyone knows the celebrated question of the small girl who addressed one of two flying officers: 'I say, do you fly yourself or do you just look on in the back seat?' and the contemptuous answer: 'I am the observer, and other fellow is my chauffeur.'" (Schröder 167)
He also argues that German observers were, on the whole, better trained than their Allied contemporaries and subsequently brought back better results. Because of this, Schröder makes a compelling case as to why the Luftstreitkräfte habitually only sent single reconnaissance machines at 5 - 6,000 meters and still got very useful results. (170)
This German stratagem of operating a single recon plane at high altitude has its pros and cons when compared to the British tactic of dispatching a whole flight of recon planes escorted by a flight of fighters. (Schröder 170-171) Admittedly, a single aircraft is bound to attract far less attention and is more likely to be undisturbed during its mission.
However, the elephant in the room that Schröder fails to mention is that if such a machine was intercepted by a flight of Allied scouts, the chances of the reconnaissance craft returning alive were far from likely. In this case, the Germans would receive no information back, whereas even if a British recon flight was badly mauled, some information was likely to get back to headquarters. Regardless of which strategy proved to be ultimately better, Schröder's thoughts are intriguing to read.
Conclusion
"A German Airman Remembers" is a rarer book regarding the air war in World War I and has been out of print (at least in English) for a number of years. As such, it is generally more difficult to find and can be pricey. Nonetheless, I am heartily glad I was able to pick up a copy of this! Schröder's personality is fresh and he writes with literary command that is at times almost Dickensesque.
His varied career presents a slice of life throughout the entire Luftstreitkräfte in a way that few other resources do. Although at times he exhibits an understandable bias towards his own side, he does an admirable job depicting his Entente foes as fellow human beings.
In the end, Schröder's closing words sum up the one lesson he learned above all else during the war:
"It is not age but experience which brings wisdom. Behind [us] follows the inexperienced generation which knows as yet nothing of death. In the middle are we who have experience, and we bear the responsibility.
Oh generation that has known the butchery of 1914 to 1918, go once more to the graves of your brethren. ...They died in the flower of life, and they died in vain if you fail to realize that it is your duty to shout to your dying breath in the ears of this deaf and often forgetful civilization: 'War is murder! War is senseless, deluded fratricide!'" (Schröder 214)
This call was especially timely, given that Schröder first published the book in Germany during 1935. Sadly, within four short years, an Austrian-born dictator would once again plunge Germany into war and the "inexperienced generation" would experience their fill of bloodshed.
NOTE: As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made with this link. It doesn't add to the purchase price, gets you a quality book you'll love, and helps support this blog. Win-win!
References:
Schröder, Hans. A German Airman Remembers. Greenhill Books and Aeolus Publishing, 1986.
Comments