Editing Manfred von Richthofen (section)

==Flying Circus==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2004-0430-501, Jagdstaffel 11, Manfred v. Richthofen.jpg|thumb|right|Richthofen in the cockpit of his famous ''Rotes Flugzeug'' ("Red Aircraft") with other members of ''Jasta 11'', including his brother Lothar (sitting, front), 23 April 1917]]

Richthofen received the [[Pour le Mérite]] in January 1917 after his 16th confirmed kill, the highest military honour in Germany at the time and informally known as "The Blue Max".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XDA_AQAAIAAJ&q=The+Pour+le+Merite+%28the+%34h0022%29%2C+instituted+in+1740%2C+was+better+known+by+its+nickname%2C+the+%22Blue+Max%22+%28%22Blauer+Max%2C%22+in+German%29. "The Blue Max."] ''American History'', Volume 38, No. 1, April 2003, p. 9. {{ISSN|1076-8866}}.</ref> That same month, he assumed command of ''Jasta 11'', which ultimately included some of the elite German pilots, many of whom he trained himself, and several of whom later became leaders of their own squadrons. [[Ernst Udet]] belonged to Richthofen's group and later became [[Generaloberst]] Udet. When Lothar joined, the German high command appreciated the propaganda value of two Richthofens fighting together to defeat the enemy in the air.<ref name="Richthofen164-165">Richthofen, The Red Knight of the Air, (n.d.) pp. 164–165.</ref>

Richthofen took the flamboyant step of having his Albatros painted red when he became a squadron commander. His autobiography states: "For whatever reasons, one fine day I came upon the idea of having my crate painted glaring red. The result was that absolutely everyone could not help but notice my red bird. In fact, my opponents also seemed to be not entirely unaware [of it]".<ref name="Richthofen120">Der rote Kampfflieger, open.cit., (n.d.) p. 120.</ref> Thereafter he usually flew in red-painted aircraft, although not all of them were entirely red, nor was the "red" necessarily the brilliant scarlet beloved of model- and replica-builders.

Other members of ''Jasta 11'' soon took to painting parts of their aircraft red. Their official reason seems to have been to make their leader less conspicuous, to avoid having him singled out in a fight. In practice, red colouration became a unit identification. Other units soon adopted their own squadron colours, and [[Jagdstaffel#Personal colour schemes|decoration of fighters]] became general throughout the {{lang|de|Luftstreitkräfte}}. The German high command permitted this practice (in spite of obvious drawbacks from the point of view of [[military intelligence|intelligence]]), and German propaganda made much of it by referring to Richthofen as {{lang|de|Der Rote Kampfflieger}}—"the Red Fighter Pilot".

[[File:Thomsen, von Richthofen and von Hoeppner.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Richthofen (centre) with [[Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen|Hermann Thomsen]], German Air Service Chief of Staff (left) and [[Ernst von Hoeppner]], Commanding General of the Air Service (right) at Imperial Headquarters in Bad Kreuznach]]

During a visit to her home, the Baron's mother asked him why he risked his life every day, and he said: "For the man in the trenches. I want to ease his hard lot in life by keeping the enemy flyers away from him."<ref name="Kilduff73">Kilduff 1994, p. 73.</ref>

Richthofen led his new unit to unparallelled success, peaking during "[[Bloody April]]" 1917. In that month alone, he shot down 22 British aircraft, including four in a single day,<ref name="McAllister 59">McAllister 1982, p. 59.</ref> raising his official tally to 52. By June, he had become the commander of the first of the new larger "fighter wing" formations; these were highly mobile, combined tactical units that could move at short notice to different parts of the front as required. Richthofen's new command, [[Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War I)|Jagdgeschwader&nbsp;1]], was composed of fighter squadrons No.&nbsp;4, 6, 10, and 11. J.G.&nbsp;1 became widely known as "The Flying Circus" due to the unit's brightly coloured aircraft and its mobility, including the use of tents, trains, and caravans, where appropriate.

Richthofen was a brilliant tactician, building on Boelcke's tactics. Unlike Boelcke, however, he led by example and force of will rather than by inspiration. He was often described as distant, unemotional, and rather humorless, though some colleagues contended otherwise.<ref>Bodenschatz 1998</ref> He was cordial to officers and enlisted men alike; indeed, he urged his pilots to remain on good terms with the mechanics who maintained their aircraft.<ref name="Kilduff77">Kilduff, p. 77.</ref> He taught his pilots the basic rule which he wanted them to fight by: "Aim for the man and don't miss him. If you are fighting a two-seater, get the observer first; until you have silenced the gun, don't bother about the pilot."<ref name="McAllister 61">McAllister 1982, p. 61.</ref>

Although Richthofen was now performing the duties of a lieutenant colonel (a wing commander in modern [[Royal Air Force]] terms), he was never promoted past the relatively junior rank of [[Rittmeister]], equivalent to [[Captain (armed forces)|captain]] in the British army.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1918/04/21/Germanys-Red-Baron-dies/7371524069657/ |title=Germany's 'Red Baron' dies |website=UPI |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref> The system in the British army was for an officer to hold the rank appropriate to his level of command, if only on a temporary basis, even if he had not been formally promoted. In the German army, it was not unusual for a wartime officer to hold a lower rank than his duties implied; German officers were promoted according to a schedule and not by battlefield promotion. It was also the custom for a son not to hold a higher rank than his father, and Richthofen's father was a reserve major.
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===Wounded in combat===
[[File:DVa2.jpg|thumb|right|Richthofen's Albatros D.V after forced landing near [[Wervik]]. This machine is not an all-red one.]]

Richthofen sustained a serious head wound on 6 July 1917, during combat near [[Wervik]], Belgium against a formation of [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2|F.E.2d two-seat fighters]] of [[No. 20 Squadron RAF|No.&nbsp;20 Squadron RFC]], causing instant disorientation and temporary partial blindness.<ref name="McAllister 59"/> He regained his vision in time to ease the aircraft out of a spin and execute a forced landing in a field in friendly territory. The injury required multiple operations to remove bone splinters from the impact area.<ref name="McAllister 60">McAllister 1982, p. 60.</ref>{{efn|The air victory was credited to Captain [[Donald Cunnell]] of No. 20,<ref>Guttman, 2009 pp. 86–88</ref> who was killed by German anti-aircraft fire a few days later (12 July 1917) near Wervik. Cunnell's observer Lt. A. G. Bill successfully flew the aircraft back to base.<ref>Guttman & Dempsey (2009), pp. 88–89.</ref>}}

The Red Baron returned to active service against doctor's orders on 25 July,<ref>Burrows 1970, p. 154.</ref> but took convalescent leave from 5 September to 23 October.<ref>Burrows 1970, pp. 160–163.</ref> His wound is thought to have caused lasting damage; he later often suffered from post-flight nausea and headaches, as well as a change in temperament. There is a theory (see below) linking this injury with his eventual death.