Rall Guenther - Guenther Rall : a memoir : Luftwaffe ace and NATO general

1. Rall, Gnther. 2. Fighter pilotsGermanyBiography. 3. World War,1939-1945Aerial operations, German. 4. GeneralsGermanyBiography.5. North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationArmed ForcesGermany. I. Title.

Copyright 2002 by Jill Amadio
Copyright 2003 by Jill Amadio
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted inany form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without permission inwriting.

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Dedicated to my father
Pilot Officer John Philp, B.E.M., Royal Air Force149 Squadron
Bomber Command

Part I

Part II
First Summons to Hitler ................................................ 183

Part III
Commander of II./JG 11 in the Western Theater......... 213

Part IV
Civilian Life ................................................................... 287

Part V
Reflections on the War on the Eastern Front ................. 365

have lived, it seems, several lifetimes. I have packed intoeighty-odd years so many careers, both military and civilian, and realized so many dreams I cannot count them.First and foremost is my life as a husband to a perfect wife,

Hertha, sadly no longer with me, and father to two exceptionaldaughters, Franziska and Felizitas. I continue to be blessed withtheir presence.

I have also had the honor to serve my country as best I could,flawed as it was with the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. My generation and the idealism we cherished was cheated and misusedby the hypocrisy and fanaticism of one man and his system foran unrealistic and unreachable goal. The question of how thiscould happen is still unanswered. The fact that we did not explore the essence of the Nazi regime when it came to power is, ofcourse, one of our great failings and what we learned piece bypiece after the war of Hitlers atrocious crimes makes it still worse.So in this biography are included a few insights into the politicalsituation that inspired me to become an officer, and that is oneof my reasons for wanting my story told.

After World War II I served with the North Atlantic TreatyOrganization, a gift to me in the aftermath of World War II thatI would never have believed possible. To be invited to join thisnoble NATO alliance almost from its birth and to be able tocontribute whatever I could has been a privilege that I fullyappreciate.

I am also grateful to those who promote aviation, such as theNational Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institutionin Washington, DC , the Gathering of Eagles symposiums andto those who have invited me to the United States on many occasions to participate in talks and debates with former opponents whom I have come to respect. It is gratifying to know thatyesterdays enemies are now friends. I would also like to pay tribute to historian and military author Colonel Raymond F. Toliver(Ret.) for the books he has written with Trevor Constable thatoffer a permanent record of my fellow pilots of the Luftwaffe sothat they not only be remembered but also accepted. I met RayToliver, a career officer and pilot, in 1956 while he was still onactive duty. We in Germany are grateful to these two authorsbecause they wrote in great detail about Germanys World WarII fighter pilots, recording their stories so that they shall neverbe forgotten.

In the mid-1970s Virginia Bader also made a significant contribution to the aces of the air by pioneering and promotingaviation art in America. She also contributed to the bringingtogether of pilots from opposing World War II forces at hersymposiums, particularly the first meeting, fifty years later, between the Russians and Germans since the end of the war. WhatToliver and Constable did with their books, Virginia did withher fine arts gallery. For that, and her symposiums, we are allappreciative because the paintings and prints she sells are permanent records of that era, and both sides are able to meet andshare experiences.

Telling my story through this biography affords me an evengreater opportunity to consider what went before, to gather mythoughts, and in later chapters to present my honest assessment

Working with the author, Jill Amadio, who has respected mywishes to have my recollections written from my own personalviewpoint, may go against the premise of a scholarly biographybut I am grateful for her understanding that I had a lot to say asshe researched the book and I wanted it said my way. I believe shehas captured the essence of the man who is Gnther Rall, enabling readers to catch a rare glimpse into who I truly am.

Although this is the first time I have poured out my soul publicly, so to speak, my children and my four grandchildren havelong known the many parts of my life and love me for all of them.This book is for my family and for those brave pilots on all sideswho died during World War II and for those who survived.

n 1999, fifty-four years after World War II ended, I satwith Lt. General Gnther Rall in the salon of his countrymansion high in the Bavarian Alps. At ease opposite me on

a 17th century straight-backed chair was the 81-year old pilotof two hundred and seventy-five confirmed victories who wasassured by his doctor, after shooting down thirty-six enemy aircraft, that he would never fly again. Yet he went on to becomeone of a very small group of renowned and remarkable Germanaces and marksmen who survived the lethal skies of aerial combat and were among the legends of their day despite Germanysultimate defeat.

The Rall estate, established as a German hunting preserveduring the 1600s, is extensive and the architecture of the mainthree-story residence, built in 1683 and classic Bavarian, is unusual. In 1890 it was fashionable to add onion-shaped cupolasand several of them adorn Ralls house. A tower crowns the steep,ribbed roof and the massive, arched oak front door, medieval indesign, creaks on huge iron hinges.

Farther up the road is Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg, thecomplex where Adolf Hitler had his headquarters and underground bunkers at the Berghof that nestles at the foot ofKehlstein Mountain. Higher up, at the crest, is the site of theEagles Nest with its panoramic view across hundreds of miles,where Hitler once took tea and socialized. Built by Martin