• a black and white photo of a man in uniform
    Fähnrich (Officer Candidate) Manfred von Richthofen, 1912 (picture source: Red Baron, The Life and Death of an Ace, Peter Kilduff, A David & Charles book, 2007)
  • MvR with fellow cadets in infantry Waffenrock. MvR is third one down in centre. (picture source: The Red Baron, a photographic album of the first world war's greatest ace, Manfred von Richthofen, Terry C Treadwell, Pen and Sword Books, 2021)

First period as an officer

Event ID: 90

Categories: 

Relocation & trips
Deutsch
Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1917, 351.000 - 400.000, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin-Wien

19 November 1912

Herbst 1912
51.64914584218983, 17.81639327607872
Ostrowo
Ostrowo

Source ID: 4

Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1917, 351.000 - 400.000, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin-Wien p.  16 

‘I finally got the epaulettes. It was about the proudest feeling I’ve ever had to be called ‘Mr Lieutenant’ all at once. My father bought me a very beautiful mare called ‘Santuzza’. She was a marvellous animal and indestructible. Walked like a lamb in front of the train. I gradually discovered that she had great jumping ability. I immediately decided to make a show jumper out of this good mare. She jumped marvellously. I jumped a paddock trick of one metre sixty centimetres with her myself. I found a great deal of support and understanding from my mate von Wedel, who had won many a nice prize with his chargen horse ‘Fandango’. So we both trained for a show jumping competition and a cross-country ride in Breslau. ‘Fandango’ did brilliantly, ‘Santuzza’ tried hard and also did well. I had the prospect of doing something with her. The day before she was loaded, I couldn’t resist taking her over all the obstacles in our jumping garden again. We slipped and slid. Santuzza’ bruised her shoulder a little and I banged my collarbone. I also demanded speed from my good fat mare ‘Santuzza’ in training and was very surprised when von Wedel’s thoroughbred beat her. Another time I was lucky enough to ride a very nice chestnut at the Olympics in Wroclaw. The cross-country started and my gelding was still alive and kicking in the second third, so I had a chance of success. Then came the last obstacle. I could see from a distance that this must be something very special, as a huge amount of people had gathered there. I thought to myself: ‘Take courage, things will go wrong!’ and came hurtling up the embankment, on which stood a paddock trick. The crowd kept waving at me to stop riding so fast, but I couldn’t see or hear anything. My chestnut takes the paddock trick at the top of the dam and, to my utter amazement, it goes into the Weistritz on the other side. Before I knew it, the animal jumped down the slope in one giant leap and horse and rider disappeared into the water. Of course we went ‘overhead’. ‘Felix’ came out on this side and Manfred on the other. When they weighed me back at the end of the cross-country ride, they were astonished to see that I hadn’t lost the usual two pounds, but had gained ten pounds. Thank goodness you couldn’t tell that I was soaking wet. I also had a very good Charger and this unfortunate animal had to do everything. Running races, cross-country riding, jumping competitions, walking in front of the train, in short, there was no exercise in which the good animal was not trained. That was my well-behaved ‘Blume’. I had very nice successes on her. My last was in the Kaiserpreis-Ritt in 1913, when I was the only one to complete the cross-country course without making a mistake. One thing happened to me that won’t be repeated so easily. I galloped over a heath and was suddenly upside down. The horse had stepped into a hole in the harness and I had broken my collarbone in the fall. I’d ridden another seventy kilometres, hadn’t made a mistake and had kept time.’

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