Later, Heidemann confronts him because half his pilots were killed in the ensuing dogfight. Outraged, Heidemann officially accuses him of lying, but the Air Service backs Stachel.ĭuring a strafing mission covering the retreat of the Imperial German Army, Stachel disobeys orders and engages enemy fighters. Stachel impulsively claims them even though he fired only 40 bullets before his guns jammed. When Stachel reports his death, Heidemann assumes that the verified victories were Willi's. Willi clips the top of a tower and crashes. While returning to base, Willi challenges Stachel to a flying contest. When British fighters attack, Stachel's guns jam, but Willi downs three enemy planes. Soon afterward, Stachel and Willi volunteer to escort a reconnaissance aircraft. With Stachel temporarily grounded by a minor injury, General von Klugemann orders him to Berlin to help shore up the crumbling public morale. Stachel declines by explaining his desire to "prove himself" with his current squadron. Richthofen offers Stachel a place in his squadron. When he returns to the airfield, he is stunned when he is introduced to the man he saved, Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Soon afterward, Stachel is shot down after rescuing a red Fokker Dr.I from two British fighters. Meanwhile, Kaeti, the general's wife, is carrying on a discreet affair with her husband's nephew. As Stachel is a commoner, the general sees great propaganda value in him. When the general visits the base, he meets Stachel. The incident brings Stachel to the attention of General Count von Klugemann, Willi's uncle. A disgusted Heidemann later believes that Stachel has committed a war crime just for a confirmed kill. Stachel is forced to shoot the aircraft down. As they near the airfield, the rear gunner revives and reaches for his machine-gun, unseen by the observers on the ground. Instead of downing the defenseless aircraft, he signals the pilot to fly to the German base. Soon afterward, he attacks an Allied two-man observation aircraft and incapacitates the rear gunner. Stachel searches the countryside for the wreckage, which gives the impression that he cares more about himself than the death of his wingman. On his first mission, Stachel shoots down a British S.E.5, but does not receive credit for it because there were no witnesses (Stachel's wingman was shot down). Their commanding officer, Hauptmann Otto Heidemann, is an aristocratic officer whose belief in chivalry and the laws and customs of war conflict with Stachel's disregard for them. Willi von Klugemann resents having a commoner as his rival. Of humble origins (his father ran a small hotel), Lieutenant Bruno Stachel sets out to prove himself. In spring 1918, he sets his sights on winning Germany's highest medal for valour, the Blue Max, for which he must shoot down 20 aircraft. German Corporal Bruno Stachel leaves the fighting in the trenches to become a fighter pilot in the German Army Air Service. A Caudron C.270 Luciole and a Pfalz D.III from Lynn Garrison’s collection in flight over Weston Aerodrome, Ireland
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