Eduard-Maria Joseph
Ritter
Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above " Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles a ...
von Schleich (9 August 1888 – 15 November 1947), born Schleich, was a high scoring
Bavarian flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was credited with 35 aerial victories at the end of the war. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
he served in the ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' as a general.
Early life
Born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
,
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...
, his father,
Eduard
Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories.
Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the succ ...
, was a landscape painter; as was his grandfather. His family soon moved to the
spa city of
Bad Tölz. After he left school Schleich decided to enroll in the
Royal Bavarian Army's cadet program and in 1909 was commissioned into the
11th Bavarian Infantry Regiment. Before the outbreak of the First World War, Schleich was plagued by medical problems and was released from active duty. He volunteered again, and on 25 August 1914 was badly wounded in the
Battle of Lorraine
The Battle of Lorraine (14 August – 7 September 1914) was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. The armies of France and Germany had completed their mobilisation, the French with Plan XVII, to conduct an offensive through L ...
.
First World War
While Schleich was recovering from his wounds of August 1914 he decided to volunteer for the
Royal Bavarian Air Service and was accepted for training as an observer. After service with FEA 1 on two-seaters, he applied for pilot training and qualified. In December 1915 he joined FA 2b, and in January 1916, during an observation flight, Schleich was wounded in the arm by an exploding anti-aircraft shell. Instead of returning to base, while still in the air he had his crewman bandage his wound and then completed his assignment. On 1 September, he assumed command of ''Fliegerschule 1''. He joined ''
Jagdstaffel 21
Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 21 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 148 verified a ...
'' (Fighter Squadron 21) in May 1917 and commanded the unit from June onwards. He emblazoned his new
Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...
with a rampant lion insignia representing Bavaria.
When Leutnant
Erich Limpert, his best friend on the Jasta, was killed in a dogfight, Schleich ordered his plane to be painted all black. This black plane soon led to Schleich being dubbed 'The Black Knight'.
![Schleich Albatros](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Schleich_Albatros.jpg)
In October 1917, the
Imperial German Air Service
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas ...
reorganized, with the respective fighter squadrons being designated as Prussian, Saxon, or Bavarian. The squadrons were then stocked only with subjects from their respective provinces. ''Jagdstaffel 21'' thus became a Saxon squadron, and Schleich being Bavarian, was transferred to command a Bavarian squadron, ''
Jagdstaffel 32'', with his tally of victories then at 25.
He was awarded the
Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...
on 4 December 1917, and after a spell commanding ''Militaerfliegerschule 1'', on 15 March 1918 he took command of ''Jagdgruppe Nr. 8'', an
ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.)
C ...
group consisting of Jastas 23, 34 and 35. By the war's end his score was 35. Having scored 29 of his 35 victories in the
Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...
, he's the most successful pilot in the type.
Interbellum
Schleich was briefly hospitalised in
Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall ( Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...
, regaining his strength after years of combat. In 1919, he was posted as an Inspector with the
Bavarian Air Service Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria.
Bavarian may also refer to:
* Bavarii, a Germanic tribe
* Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans
* Bavarian, Iran, a villa ...
, an aviation unit of the
Bavarian State Police
The Bavarian State Police (german: Bayerische Staatliche Polizei) is the state police force of the German state of Bavaria under the umbrella of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. It has approximately 33,500 armed officers and roughly 8,500 o ...
.
In April 1919, the
German Communist Party
The German Communist Party (german: Deutsche Kommunistische Partei, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports left positions and was an observer member of the European Left. At the end of February 2016 it left the European party.
His ...
forcibly gained control of Munich, and Schleich was marked for immediate arrest and trial. Government troops were able to oust the Communists the following month, returning Bavaria once again to the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
.
After a short stint as a pilot with the Bavarian Police, Schleich became a liaison officer with the
Army Peace Commission, responsible for the implementation of the Armistice terms.
Demobilised in December 1921, Schleich worked as a peat farmer, and later as an airline pilot. In 1922, he helped start the
Bavarian Flying Club. In mid-October 1929, Schleich quit his pilot's position with
Lufthansa. At about the same time, he founded the
Light Airplane Club in Munich.
He joined the Nazi Party on 1 April 1931, and at the same time became a member of the ''
SS-Fliegerstaffel'', a paramilitary flying organization. He was given control of the
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
flying programmes, and promoted to General.
With the creation of the Luftwaffe in 1935, Schleich returned to military service with the rank of a Major, overseeing the training of air reserve units and of dive-bombing pilots. He was then assigned to command the new ''
Jagdgeschwader 234'' in 1937. There, he was appointed ''
Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) on 1 November 1938.
Schleich was promoted to ''Oberst'' and assigned to ''Jagdgeschwader 132'' ‘Schlageter’, tasked with defending the western frontier of Germany. Re-designated in 1939 as Jagdgeschwader 26, the wing saw only limited service during the initial phases of the Second World War.
Second World War
As a ''Generalmajor'', Schleich became the commander of the fighter pilot school (''
Jagdfliegerschule 5'') at
Vienna-Schwechat,
Nazi occupied Austria, in December 1939. In late 1940 he was sent to
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
as part of the Luftwaffe Mission, assisting in the organization and training of the
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...
.
In mid-1941, Schleich became Commander of the Occupation Forces in Denmark, remaining nearly two and a half years there. On 29 August 1943, as the Germans launched
Operation Safari
Operation Safari (german: Unternehmen Safari) was a German military operation during World War II aimed at disarming the Danish military. It led to the scuttling of the Royal Danish Navy and the internment of all Danish soldiers. Danish forces s ...
to disarm the Danish military, von Schleich commanded the attack on
Sorgenfri Palace
Sorgenfri Palace ( da, Sorgenfri Slot; lit. "Sorrow free", a direct calque of Sans Souci) is a royal residence of the Danish monarch, located in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, on the east side of Lyngby Kongevej, in the northern suburbs of Copenhag ...
, a royal residence in the
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
suburbs, resulting in a firefight and the death of seven Germans.
Schleich’s final assignment was Luftwaffe Ground Forces Commander in Norway, a post he held until late 1944. The regional command was disbanded in September, nine months after he arrived. Placed onto the reserve list in mid-November, Schleich eventually retired as a
Generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...
.
Eduard Ritter von Schleich died on 15 November 1947, aged 59 years, from a heart condition. Schleich was buried in
Diessen am Ammersee
Diessen is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Hilvarenbeek.
History
The village was first mentioned in 380 as Deusone, and relates to the Dieze River. The etymology is unclear. Diessen develo ...
, near Munich.
Decorations
* Prussian
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...
of 1914
** 2nd Class: 25 October 1914
** 1st Class: 1 April 1916
* Bavarian
Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords: 28 March 1916
* Prussian
Order Pour le Mérite: 5 December 1917
*
Bavarian Military Merit Order Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria.
Bavarian may also refer to:
* Bavarii, a Germanic tribe
* Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans
* Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...
with Crown and Swords: 9 December 1917
* Bavarian Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in th ...
: 7 July 1918
* Saxony's
Order of Albert
The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone w ...
2nd Class with Swords: 29 July 1918
*
The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...
*
Pilot's Badge German Empire
Endnotes
References
*
*
External links
Eduard Ritter von Schleich page at the aerodrome.comRitter von Schleich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schleich, Eduard
1888 births
1947 deaths
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
Military personnel from Munich
German World War I flying aces
Condor Legion personnel
Luftwaffe World War II generals
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
Prisoners who died in British military detention
Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
SS officers
Military personnel of Bavaria
Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe
Luftstreitkräfte personnel
Commercial aviators