The Eagle of Lille

[rammjaeger]

I had not enough spare time to visit the cemetary today but just 90 years ago - in the last minutes of daylight - Max Immelmann fell to his death after air combat.
His monument is still existing on the cemetary but caused the death of another famous pilot: Curt-Erwin Wüsthoff.

VBR
Hannes

[StephenLawson]

The first in a long line of courageous men. Combat aviators from all nations have learned from his tactics.

Max Immelmann - the pure symbol of Fokker scourge era, which was strated when Max shot down BE2c on 1.st August 1915 - the first victory for that Fokker type. And as this era ended sometime in spring/summer 1916, the date of that June day marks for me the end of Fokker scourge era.

Originally Posted by rammjaeger

...His monument is still existing on the cemetary but caused the death of another famous pilot: Curt-Erwin Wüsthoff.
VBR
Hannes

Rammjaeger, I did not comprehend...Could you explain more please?
Honza.

[rammjaeger]

Honza,

in 1926 the Dresden section of the association „Deutscher Luftfahrtverband“ planned a flight show to raise money for a worthy monument for Immelmann.

On 18 July 1926 thousands of visitors observed the show. Sadly, Wüsthoff crashed after two loopings with his 80 PS Udet-Flamingo (a machine of the Chlorodont-Werke in Dresden, Chlorodont was/is a fluid against bad breath) and died some days later because of his heavy injuries. So the building of the Immelmann monument was paid with Wüsthoffs death.

If your ways are leading you to Dresden then do not miss to visit the Johannesfriedhof in Dresden-Tolkewitz. Enter the entry which is the farest from the city (most southeastern) and after ca 50 m you will see the monument on the left side.

VBR
Rammjaeger

Thank you very much Rammjaeger,
Very interesting for me! I did not know this. Now its clear. And thanks a lot for that trip tip. That must be done, as I have it only about 120 km to Dresden
Honza.

[Roadhog]

Dear Ramjaeger, My mother's family came out of Saxony to the USA in the 1880s. They hailed from Leipzig and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, that had a huge German community. How far is Leipzig from Dresden anyway? I know Boelcke was a Saxon was Immelmann one also? VR, Roadhog, "Memento mori."

Originally Posted by Roadhog

I know Boelcke was a Saxon was Immelmann one also? VR, Roadhog, "Memento mori."

Hello Roadhog,
Of course. Look at Rammjaeger's post message under line . Another great Saxon star was Franz Buechner who came from Leipzig.
Honza

[Executioner128]

Originally Posted by Honza

Hello Roadhog,
Of course. Look at Rammjaeger's post message under line . Another great Saxon star was Franz Buechner who came from Leipzig.
Honza

and sadly, all saxon stars died too young

Immelmann & Boelcke (1916), Büchner (1920) , ...

[rammjaeger]

Hi Roadhog,

as Honza said - Max Immelmann was a citizen of the Kingdom of Saxony and born in Dresden. I think I recall his mother and sister moved to Leipzig late in 1914 or in 1915.
The distance between Dresden and Leipzig is 111 km.

Franz Büchner was the most successful (Royal) Saxon with 40 victories and was born and died in Leipzig.

Oswald "Ossi" Boelcke was born in the "Provinz Sachsen" which became a part of Prussia already centuries ago when a Saxon ruler sold the land. Nevertheless the (Royal) Saxons insisted that Boelcke would be a Saxon. In fact he moved from the "Provinz Sachsen" to Dessau and lived in the Duchy of Anhalt. Therefore he was not a "real" (means a citizen of the kingdom of Saxony) Saxon but he lived in an area with upper-saxon dialect.
The latter had an important influence on the creation of the modern German language (Martin Luther comes to mind in this connection).

The whole matter becomes even more difficult if we consider the very little states in Thuringia with names like "Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha".

Today we have three "Länder" with the term "Sachsen" inside their names:
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, created by the Britons), Sachsen-Anhalt (SIC!, with the main towns Magdeburg and Halle) and the Freistaat Saxony (with Dresden and Leipzig).

I will not report here about Saxons in Sussex. Essex, Wessex etc. pp. or the relatives of all the afore mentioned tribes in the USA and other places of the world.

I read about the many German settler in St. Louis in the novels by Karl May (1842-1912) - our local heroe who wrote many works about adventures among Indians, bandits and European settlers in the Wild West and other corners of the world. Therefore you can find an "Indian Museum" in Dresden-Radebeul and every year "real" Indians and other Americans present their skills and culture (dances, paintings etc.) in great Shows here and make friendship with our "Spare time-Indians".

VBR
Rammjaeger

PS: Wüsthoff was born in Aachen but moved with his parents to Dresden. He lived and died in Dresden.

[Cigogne]

The character Karl May wrote about was Winnetou, the Native American warrior They have every year the "wild west" re-anactments of the Winnetou stories at Bad Segeberg up in Schleswig-Holstein at a natural rock formation and natural amphitheater.