Wolfram Richthofen and friendly fire

While inspecting Axis positions three days earlier, troops of the German 387th Infantry Division had mistakenly opened fire on his little aircraft, wounding his copilot, puncturing the fuel tank, and filling his plane with holes. After making an emergency landing, he sent the commander of the division involved a letter "thanking" his men for their efforts. "While it is a delight to see the fighting spirit of the German ground troops against aircraft," he sarcastically wrote, "may I request that these troops direct their fighting spirit against the Red Air Force." After pointing out that visibility was excellent and his aircraft was clearly marked, he added that "perhaps their gunfire was intended to be an ovation of greeting, in which case permit the commander of the VIII. Fliegerkorps to express his gratitude for it and, at the same time, encourage them that similar greetings should in future be carried out with blank cartridges." His diary entry for that day is far more blunt. Well aware that he had escaped death by the closest shave, he angrily scrawled: "Damned dogs! They don't fire at the Russians, but at our Storch!"




http://stonebooks.com/archives/980721.shtml


http://planeta.terra.com.br/educacao/luftwaffe3945/richthofen_wolfram.htm

 

*Bump*

 

Wow, it seems that he was enthusiatic in his letters to his men but on the other hand furious of their lack of mind.