Army report of April 26, 1916

‘In the army report of 26 April 1916 I am mentioned for the first time, if not personally, at least by one of my deeds. I had mounted a gun on top of my machine between the carrying decks in the style of the Nieuport and was very proud of this construction alone. People probably laughed at it a bit, because it looked very primitive. I swore by it, of course, and soon had the opportunity to put it to practical use. I met a Nieuport who was apparently also a [73]beginner, for he behaved terribly foolishly. I flew at him, whereupon he bolted. Apparently he had a jam. I didn't feel like I was fighting, but rather: ‘What will happen now if you shoot at him?’ I fly over, for the first time at a very, very close range, press the button on the machine gun, a short series of well-aimed shots, my Nieuport rears up and rolls over. At first, my observer and I thought it was one of the many tricks that the French tend to pull on us. But this trick wouldn't stop, it went lower and lower and lower; then my ‘Franz’ tapped me on the head and called out to me: ‘Congratulations, he's falling!’ Indeed, it fell into a forest behind Fort Douaumont and disappeared between the trees. ‘You shot him down,’ I realised. But - beyond! I flew home and reported nothing more than: ‘A dogfight, a Nieuport shot down.’ The next day I read about my heroic deed in the army report. I wasn't too proud of it, but this Nieuport doesn't count as one of my fifty-two. * Army report of 26 April 1916 Two enemy aircraft were shot down in aerial combat over Fleury, south of Douaumont and west of it.’