The
French are magnificent fliers, and so are the English, but we Germans
have the training. Especially in trained observers we have a big
advantage."
I saw one of the German flier heroes in a base hospital. To the nurse's
chart over his cot were pinned the Iron Cross of the second and first
class and a bunch of flowers, and the Surgeon General coaxed him to give
the details of the winning of his decorations.
Sergt. Luchs and his observer were returning from an aerial
reconnoissance when they were overtaken and attacked by a fast French
aeroplane. The effectiveness of the French machine gun fire was later
shown by seventy holes in the wings of the German aeroplane. For
forty-five minutes the battle in the air lasted--6,000 feet up--revolver
against machine gun, ending only when Luchs was shot through the lungs
and liver. He was able to guide his machine safely to the ground within
the German lines before he lost consciousness. But one of his revolver
bullets had gone home, probably puncturing the gasoline tank, for the
French aeroplane was also seen making a forced landing.
Gen. von Heeringen, Commander in Chief of the Nth Army, told me a
similar story about two officers who fought with revolver against
machine gun until their motor and tank were shot to pieces, forcing them
to glide to earth. The General said he had learned about their bravery
only by accident, as they had reported only the results of their
reconnoissance.
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