Rudolf Berthold
Hauptmann Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold was a German flying ace of World War I. Between 1916 and 1918, he shot down 44 enemy planes—16 of them while flying one-handed.
In postwar Germany, Berthold organized a Freikorps and fought in the Latvian War of Independence. Upon return in 1920, Berthold refused to disarm and together with his Freikorps joined the Kapp Putsch with the goal to overthrow the German national government in Berlin and establish an autocratic government in its place. Berthold died of gunshot wounds during fighting in Harburg on 15 March 1920.
Early life and entry into military
Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold was born on 24 March 1891, in Ditterswind, Kingdom of Bavaria in the German Empire. He was the sixth child of Oberförster Oskar Berthold. The young child, familiarly known as Rudolf, was the first born to Helene Stief Berthold, Oskar's second wife. Oskar's first wife, Ida Anne Hoffmann Berthold, died in childbirth, leaving as survivors a daughter and three sons. Rudolf was followed by three younger brothers, two of whom survived to adulthood.Rudolf's father was employed by a local nobleman, Oskar Freiherr von Deuster; Rudolf grew up roving the baron's great estate. Early in September 1897, Rudolf began his education. By the time he had completed his studies at the Neues Gymnasium Bamberg in nearby Bamberg at age 14, he had adopted a personal motto from Horace: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's Fatherland." Rudolf moved to Schweinfurt's Königliches Humanistische Gymnasium for sixth level classes. In late 1909, he transferred to the Altes Gymnasium in Bamberg to better fit himself for military service. He graduated on 14 July 1910, with a reputation for being fearless, cheerful, and studious.
Berthold's military career began when he joined the 3rd Brandenberg Infantry Regiment in Wittenberg. He served a year and a half's training as a Fähnrich before being accepted by its officers for commissioning as a leutnant.
Der Fliegertruppe became an official part of the German Imperial Army on 1 October 1912. Berthold learned to fly at his own expense in 1913, qualifying as a pilot in September. He trained at the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke on dual-control Bristol types; one of his fellow students was Oswald Boelcke. After informing his family he had a "special assignment" to a flying school, Berthold underwent military flight training during July 1914.
World War I
1914
The outbreak of World War I disrupted the young aviator's progress. On 1 July, Berthold was recalled from his schooling to rejoin his infantry regiment. After a fortnight's refresher course in soldierly skills, he was returned to flying training. On 17 July 1914, he was officially transferred out of the 3rd Brandenbergers to aerial service. His infantry refresher course had aborted his pilot training, and he had to settle for duty as an aerial observer. On 1 August, he entrained for the Royal Saxon Air Base at Grossenhain.By 7 August, Berthold was assigned to Feldflieger-Abteilung 23, supporting the German 2nd Army. By 9 August, FFA 23 was encamped at Monschau near the Belgian border. On 15 August, Berthold was chosen for the unit's first reconnaissance mission. Two days later, his pilot strayed off-course; Bertholdt and his pilot landed, lost. They evaded French cavalry, to direct retrieval of their DFW biplane. In his diary, Berthold noted his decision to complete pilot's training.
Berthold was also the observer on flights on 1 and 3 September. He saw panicked French troops retreating across the Marne River. Later in the month, he discovered the French counter-thrust between the German 1st and 2nd Armies. German staff officers' disbelief led to Berthold personally briefing Generaloberst Karl von Bülow on the situation. Bülow moved his troops to higher ground; the First Battle of the Aisne began. General Bülow had received the initial Second Class Iron Cross for the 2nd Army; he personally awarded the second one to Berthold on 13 September.
On 4 October, Berthold was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class by General Bülow. Again, Berthold received his award second only to Bülow. As November's winter weather limited combat flying, Berthold arranged to continue his pilot's training at a nearby flight park. He became friends with a fellow student, Hans Joachim Buddecke.
1915
Berthold finally qualified as a military pilot on 18 January 1915. He arranged Buddecke's transfer into FFA 223. Berthold was assigned an observer, Leutnant Josef Grüner, for flying reconnaissance sorties; they quickly became friends. In June, they were finally supplied with machine guns for their aircraft; Berthold could cease futile assaults on the enemy with his pistol. At about the same time, Berthold was laid up for a fortnight with dysentery. FFA 223 was re-equipped with AEG G.II bombers in August. The twin-engine giant was armed with two swiveling machine guns and manned by a pilot and two gunners. The unit also received its first single-seat fighter with a synchronized gun, a Fokker Eindekker.Berthold knew he could cross the lines searching for opponents in the AEG G.II, while the Eindekker was restricted to patrolling behind German lines. Berthold took command of the big bomber, and left the Eindekker to Buddecke. This decision sped Buddecke on his way to being a member of the first wave of German aces that included Oswald Boelcke, Max Immelmann, and Kurt Wintgens. Meanwhile, Berthold damaged his original G.II in a landing accident on 15 September, and had to return to piloting an old two-seater.
Shortly thereafter, he returned to Germany to pick up a replacement G.II. By 1 October, he was using it as a gunship for air defense missions, as well as for bombing. On 6 November, one of those missions turned deadly; a British Vickers F.B.5 gunner mortally wounded Grüner. Berthold was depressed by his friend's death, and sent on home leave. In early December, Buddecke was seconded to the Turkish Air Force and Berthold fell heir to his Eindekker. He accompanied Ernst Freiherr von Althaus when the latter shot down enemy planes on both 5 and 28 December 1915.
1916
As the Germans pioneered use of aircraft with synchronized guns, they began to group the new aerial weapons into ad hoc units to protect reconnaissance and bombing aircraft. These new units were dubbed Kampfseinsitzer Kommando. On 11 January, Kampfseinsitzer Kommando Vaux formed near FFA 223; Berthold was placed in charge. Even as the pioneering fighter units formed, on 14 January, the British Royal Flying Corps Headquarters directed that any reconnaissance craft crossing into German-held territory be escorted by at least three protective aircraft.On 2 February, Berthold and Althaus shot down a French Voisin LA apiece. It was Berthold's first aerial victory. He scored another three days later. Then, on 10 February, Berthold was himself downed, with a punctured fuel tank and a slightly wounded left hand. He was rewarded with one of the 12 Military Merit Orders awarded to aviators during the war.
Berthold continued flying a bomber on missions as well as to patrol in his fighter. After he scored another victory, he was again honored by his native Kingdom of Bavaria, this time with the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Saint Henry on 15 April.
On 25 April, Berthold made an emergency landing after enemy bullets crippled his Fokker's engine. He took off again in a Pfalz E.IV. He reawakened two days later in Kriegslazarett 7 in Saint-Quentin. Besides a badly broken left leg, Berthold had suffered a broken nose and upper jaw, with attendant damage to his optic nerves. He was prescribed narcotic painkillers for chronic pain. At that time, German military doctors used three narcotics as remedies—opium, morphine, and codeine. Doctors prescribed cocaine to counteract the somnolence of these three depressant drugs. Berthold's exact prescription is unknown.
Eventually, although Berthold's eyesight returned, he was unable to fly for four months, but nevertheless remained in command of KEK Vaux. Between the message traffic brought to him, and the accounts of his visiting subordinates, he learned of ongoing casualties. His brother Wolfram had been killed in action as an infantryman on 29 April. Max Immelmann perished in battle on 18 June. After Immelmann's death, Germany's highest scoring ace, Oswald Boelcke, was grounded for fear that his loss would be disastrous to morale. In the meantime, Berthold was scheduled to be evacuated back to Germany. Instead, in late July, he commandeered a car and returned to his unit. Unable to fly, he could still command. He made his orderly help him bend his knee and flex strength back into his withered leg.
On 24 August, Berthold scored his sixth victory, although he had to be helped into his fighter. The next day, KEK Vaux became Jagdstaffel 4 under Berthold's command; the new unit started with a starred roster—Wilhelm Frankl, Walter Höhndorf, and Ernst Freiherr von Althaus were early members—all fated to become prominent aces. On 27 August, Berthold received the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. Berthold was very near attaining the Prussian Pour le Merite for eight victories. After disallowed claims on two occasions, on 26 September, Berthold was finally credited with his eighth victory. He received his Blue Max, considered Imperial Germany's supreme award for valor, on 12 October 1916. His was only the tenth award for aviators. Five of the other living recipients attended the 16 October celebration of the award, including Buddecke, Althaus, Frankl, Höhndorf, and Kurt Wintgens. The following day, Berthold's was assigned as Staffelführer of Jagdstaffel 14.
Jagdstaffel 14 was newly formed when Berthold took command at Sarrebourg, France. Its motley assortment of fighters included two Fokker E.IIIs, a Halberstadt D.II, and seven Fokker D.IIs. It had had no success when it was still the ad hoc Fokker Kampstaffel Falkenhausen. Berthold took advantage of being in a quiet sector, and trained his troops hard. He brought in new Albatros D.I and Albatros D.II replacement fighter aircraft, and renovated the officers' mess. In mid-December, following the unit's first victory, they were inspected by Kaiser Wilhelm II and Crown Prince Wilhelm.