Read "The Red Knight of Germany" by Floyd Gibbons online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
It was May 1, 1917, when Richthofen said goodbye to his flying mates at Douai and retired from the front on a leave of absence that the High Command had insisted that he take. His superiors had even ordered that he confine himself to the ground during his vacation away from the battle lines, but this did not prevent the Red Knight of Germany from making the trip by air.
The cheers and congratulations of his pilots and mechanics rang in his ears as he flew away, this time a passenger in a two-seater observation plane, much slower and safer than the speedy little red Albatross in which he had sent so many men to their death.