WAR

Eindecker which had driven the French observation machines from the sky, and
the German two-seaters flew their photography and artillery-spotting missions
free
from interference.
The success of the Eindecker is attributable to the fact that it was armed, of
course, but there had also been a major advance in organization which was to
have a considerable effect on the subsequent course of the war in the air. A
year earlier, at the time of the spring offensive at Arras in 1915, the French
had gained the upper hand in the air and it was only by sheer luck that the Germans
were able to complete any long reconnaissance flights. This crisis continued
on into the summer until a remedy was suggested by Stofl. 6, the Staff Officer
for aviation troops of the German Sixth Army, a Bavarian Major named Stempel.
Following Major Stempel's suggestion, all German single-seaters on the whole
Western Front were combined into three units called Single-Seat Combat Detachments
(Kampfeinsitzer-Kommandos, or KEK). By December 1915 there were
86 Fokker and 21 Pfalz Eindeckers at the Front. (The Pfalz was almost identical
to the Fokker in layout, but was a trifle better in speed and climb.) The Eindeckers
were sent up in small groups to patrol a beat along the German lines,
forming a "barrage" which prevented the French machines from crossing over into
German air. When aggressive pilots went hunting over the French lines, the
Germans acquired, without having defined the concept, aerial supremacy.
For the French, the defense of Verdun depended on the flow of supplies
from Bar-le-Duc, 35 miles south. Clearly, the Voie sacree, the "Sacred Way"
connecting Verdun and Bar-le-Duc, could not be kept open if the Germans could
send over bombers and artillery-spotters at will.
The development of fighter aviation was thus thrust upon the French as a
defensive necessity. General Petain demanded, and got, a rapid concentration of
all available machines, facilities for servicing them, and somebody to organize
and lead them offensively, as fighters. No better choice could have been made
than the choice that was made—the great
walrus moustache, Tricornot de Rose.
Tricornot de Rose