MarshalBraginsky
Banned
Prologue: It All Started with a Busted Engine
Like all nations currently at war, the German Empire has its own set of heroes to boast. This was true for a man who became a legendary figure, due to his actions in the skies. He wasn’t called the Red Baron for nothing, because he used red as his custom color scheme for his Fokker biplane. It was a normal day in the town of Wervicq when Manfred von Richthofen’s squadron was scheduled to go on a reconnaissance mission. Just as Richthofen’s Fokker plane was about to take off, a loud explosion broke out in front of him. Three mechanics yelled out for him to get off the biplane, which he did albeit slowly. One of the mechanics examined the busted engine and cursed under his breath. The Red Baron grew curious as to how would he sortie with a broken biplane, but a second mechanic told him that it will take up to a week for a brand new engine to arrive on the airfield. Finally, the Red Baron’s younger brother Lothar von Richthofen arrived at the airfield with his own Fokker D.VII unit, offering to take up command instead. Older brother Manfred refused to let Lothar command his squadron, knowing his reckless nature. Instead, he delegated the task of commanding the recon squadron to Kurt Wolff and assigned a few more pilots under his command, including a brash pilot named Hermann Goering. Three hours later, Wolff’s hastily built squadron took off from the German airfield and on their way to confront the British RFC squadron approaching Wervicq. On the ground, British anti-aircraft gunfire erupted, forcing Wolff’s squadron to scatter. Even as the German Jasta squadrons continued to shoot down several British aircraft, a British biplane piloted by one Donald Cunnel opened fire on the German squadron. After he spent twenty minutes dodging German Fokker biplanes, he came across a lone biplane which developed engine problems while airborne. Cunnel aimed his machine gun at the defective Fokker and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the Fokker biplane caught fire and plummeted into the ground, exploding once it made contact on the ground. By the time the recon mission was over, Kurt Wolff was notified that Hermann Goering succumbed to his injuries five minutes after his plane crashed into the ground. On another battlefield, a young messenger from Bavaria was killed in an artillery shell while attempting to deliver a telegraph message to a German colonel inside the trenches.
Manfred von Richthofen's unlikely survival due to a busted engine ensured his survival in the Great War. Because of his survival, the Red Baron will have another role to play in the turbulent inter-war period.
Like all nations currently at war, the German Empire has its own set of heroes to boast. This was true for a man who became a legendary figure, due to his actions in the skies. He wasn’t called the Red Baron for nothing, because he used red as his custom color scheme for his Fokker biplane. It was a normal day in the town of Wervicq when Manfred von Richthofen’s squadron was scheduled to go on a reconnaissance mission. Just as Richthofen’s Fokker plane was about to take off, a loud explosion broke out in front of him. Three mechanics yelled out for him to get off the biplane, which he did albeit slowly. One of the mechanics examined the busted engine and cursed under his breath. The Red Baron grew curious as to how would he sortie with a broken biplane, but a second mechanic told him that it will take up to a week for a brand new engine to arrive on the airfield. Finally, the Red Baron’s younger brother Lothar von Richthofen arrived at the airfield with his own Fokker D.VII unit, offering to take up command instead. Older brother Manfred refused to let Lothar command his squadron, knowing his reckless nature. Instead, he delegated the task of commanding the recon squadron to Kurt Wolff and assigned a few more pilots under his command, including a brash pilot named Hermann Goering. Three hours later, Wolff’s hastily built squadron took off from the German airfield and on their way to confront the British RFC squadron approaching Wervicq. On the ground, British anti-aircraft gunfire erupted, forcing Wolff’s squadron to scatter. Even as the German Jasta squadrons continued to shoot down several British aircraft, a British biplane piloted by one Donald Cunnel opened fire on the German squadron. After he spent twenty minutes dodging German Fokker biplanes, he came across a lone biplane which developed engine problems while airborne. Cunnel aimed his machine gun at the defective Fokker and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the Fokker biplane caught fire and plummeted into the ground, exploding once it made contact on the ground. By the time the recon mission was over, Kurt Wolff was notified that Hermann Goering succumbed to his injuries five minutes after his plane crashed into the ground. On another battlefield, a young messenger from Bavaria was killed in an artillery shell while attempting to deliver a telegraph message to a German colonel inside the trenches.
Manfred von Richthofen's unlikely survival due to a busted engine ensured his survival in the Great War. Because of his survival, the Red Baron will have another role to play in the turbulent inter-war period.