Richthofen was a Freiherr (literally "Free Lord"), a title of nobility often translated as "baron". This is not a given name nor strictly a hereditary title, since all male members of the family were entitled to it, even during the lifetime of

When World War I began, Richthofen served as a cavalry reconnaissance officer on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, seeing action in Russia, France, and Belgium; with the advent of trench warfare, which made traditional cavalry operations outdated and inefficient,

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". That same month, he assumed command of Jasta 11, which ultimately included some of the elite

Richthofen was born in Kleinburg, near Breslau, Lower Silesia (now part of the city of Wrocław, Poland), on 2 May 1892 into a prominent Prussian aristocratic family. His father was Major Albrecht Philipp Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen and his mother was Kunigunde

Manfred von Richthofen had a chance meeting with German ace fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke which led him to enter training as a pilot in October 1915. In February 1916, Manfred "rescued" his brother Lothar from the boredom of training new troops in

During his convalescent leave, Richthofen completed an autobiographic sketch, Der rote Kampfflieger (The Red Battle Flyer, 1917). Written on the

Richthofen received a fatal wound just after 11:00 am on 21 April 1918 while flying over Morlancourt Ridge near the Somme River, 49°56′0.60″N 2°32′43.71″E / 49.9335000°N 2.5454750°E . At the time, he had been pursuing, at very low altitude, a