Sachsenberg

Three Pour le Mérite fighter aces (Sachsenberg, Jacobs and Osterkamp) fought in Kurland in 1919 against the Soviets. Does anyone know what kind of missions they flew (strafing ground targets, bombing, fighter escort or recon)?
Did this Sachsenberg Squadron score any victories ?
Does anyone know the identities of other pilots in this squadron besides the three Pour le Mérite aces?

Phil.
Reinout
Amy

Dear Philippe, Reinout and Amy,

Yes there were a number of their pilots of the MFJ/SFS flying with them. I will try to find it out against the visit of Philippe on wednesday.
Ask also to Lothair Vanoverbeke this question, I think he also knows more about it.

Regards,

Johan

Hello All,

Information about the Freikorps is very obscure, but I have some things for you. The actual name of Sachsenberg's unit was Fliegerabteilung Ost and was under the command of the Eisernes Korps (Iron Division).

Commanded by Gotthard Sachsenberg, it was primarily formed of volunteers who formerly served with MFJ I & II and Jasta 7. These units had flown missions together and sometimes shared airfields in Flanders during WW1. No doubt there were others who joined as well.

There were some Allied pilots who served in the Baltics, including Raymond Collishaw. I doubt they were ever part of Sachsenberg's unit, but it would be interesting to know if any of these former enemies flew any missions together against the Soviets.

Before the end of WW1, Sachsenberg apparently was instrumental in the German Navy's decision to order the new metal-skinned Junkers J9 (also known as the D-1). A few of these aircraft were actually delivered to MFJ units, but no known successes are attributed to them. There was a thread on the Forum sometime ago about this. I suspect they arrived too late to become operational.

However, when Sachsenberg formed his Fl.Ab.Ost unit, they were equipped with (47)of these aircraft plus (44) Junkers J8's (CL-1) a slightly larger 2-seat version that could serve a variety of functions as it had both forward and rear mounted guns. I have seen no reference to other aircraft, but I am certain other types were used. Even so, based on the capabilities of the Junkers aircraft, it is reasonable to assume that Sachsenberg's unit could perform most any kind of mission deemed necessary.

It is said that it was a very successful unit, but I have seen no explanation of their results. However I would not have liked to be a Bolshevik pilot flying against the guns of those characters!

After Sachsenberg returned home, he joined the Junkers Aircraft Co., eventually becoming a director. He left in the early 30's after a falling out with Hugo Junkers.

His successor was Erhard Milch (who was also an MFJ pilot in WW1). Milch engineered the ouster of Junkers from his own company so that the Nazis could take it over. Later of course he was a prime figure in the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe.

In all, Sachsenberg was quite an interesting character who deserves more recognition than history has given him.

Sorry I can't give you more info on other personnel, but perhaps others can fill in the blanks....Hannes and Gunnar are two likely suspects who may have the answers.

Best Wishes,
Gary

Thank you very much Gary and Johan for reply and help !

Although I don't have any specific information, it's unlikely that any British pilots flew side by side with the Germans in Latvia. The situation there was one of the most confusing of the whole mess of chaos called the Russian Civil War. The Germans were allied with the local Baltic German barons, the descendants of the Teutonic Knights (the bad guys in Eisenstein's film "Alexander Nevsky"). The cast of charecters included nationalist Latvians, Red Latvians, the Russian Bolsheviks, the White Russians fighting the Reds (and also hostile to any nationalist movements including the Latvians) and the British who supported the Latvian government with their Navy and provided aircraft and pilots. Inasmuch as the British had a policy it was to defeat the Bolsheviks while preventing German expansion in the East after spending four years fighting it in the West. A good book on the Allied Intervention on this as well as many other theaters of the Russian Civil War is "The Victor's Dilemna" by John Silverlight, possibly one can find it in a library.

Dear Philippe,

I have some additional information for you from my sources and from a book I found: "Phoenix Triumphant-The Rise of the Luftwaffe" by E.R.Hooten. It is mostly about the Luftwaffe prior to WW2, but has some good background information on German air efforts before the rise of Hitler.

It states that Sachsenberg was in the process of demobilizing the Marine Jagdgeschwader in Dessau, when approached by Gen.Rudiger Graf von der Goltz (the commander of the Freikorps Baltiks)in Jan.1919 about forming a volunteer air force to serve with his unit.

Sachsenberg formed his new Geschwader at Juterbog (SW of Berlin), which by late Feb.1919 was mobilized and in Latvia to the east of Riga, where it served under the command of the 1.Garde Reserve Division (the actual name of the so-called Iron Division).

It consisted of three squadrons:

FFA 413 equipped with Rumpler C.IV aircraft, which were used in support missions--recon and for dropping supplies to the rapidly moving ground units.

FFA 416 (later known as Freiwilligen Jasta 416) equipped with the Junkers D.I and some Fokker D.VII fighters. There were few Bolshevik fighters to worry about, so this unit served mostly as scouts and attacking random ground targets.

FFA 417 (later known as Freiwilligen Schlasta 417) equipped with Junkers CL.I aircraft, which was used primarily for close ground support, often engaged in low level attacks on Bolshevik ground columns, armoured trains, and supply depots. This unit could also assist with missions similar to FFA 413 as described above.

Sachsenberg was said to be impressed with the all-metal Junkers because of the punishment those aircraft could take from anti-aircraft fire and still remain airworthy.

Other units served in this operation also. Schoenebeck commanded FFA 421 and Bruno Loerzer led FFA 427. Fliegergeschwader Weinschenk was comprised of FFA 424, 425, 426, and (later) 433.

When von der Goltz was forced to resign, he was replaced by Gen.Ltn. Walter von Eberhardt who had been the first Idflieg in 1913-1914. By that time, the political situation had worsened back home, no new supplies or reinforcements were forthcoming, so by Dec.1919, von Eberhardt was forced to withdraw into what was then the German territory of East Prussia. So ends the Baltic adventure of the Freikorps. Hope this was of help to you.

Best Wishes,

Gary

I ran across the name of another person of interest who served with the Iron Division: Heinz Guderian.

I wonder if his ideas of Blitzkrieg were first formed here, while watching Sachsenberg's aircraft drop supplies and reinforce the fighting of the ground units. Interesting speculation...

Source: Guderian's autobiography.

Best Wishes,
Gary