Albrecht Von Richthofen
Major Albrecht Phillip Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen, Manfred’s father. Born on November 13, 1859 in Romburg Silesia died 1920 Schweidnitz. He served in the cavalry in the Leibkürassieren-Regiment Nr 1 in Breslau Silesia, until going deaf in one ear after jumping into a frozen river to save one of his men. Medically retired as a major, he supplemented his pension by training horses for the army–but his taste for high-living often exceeded his income. During the war, he was reactivated and served in various administrative roles near the front. Most prominently, he became Ortskommandant of Kortrijk (Courtrai) from 20.11.1917 until the end of the occupation. Albrecht was the garrison commander near Lille, 30 km away. He was able to watch Manfred shoot down four planes on 29 April, 1917. He visited his son Manfred when he was at the Lazarett St Nikolas at Courtrai, recovering of his wound after having been downed on 6/7/1917
from november 1916 Albrecht has been made military commander of Linselles , a small town in the province of Nord Pas de Calais around 12 kilometers from Lillé and very close to the border to Belgium. By oktober 1917 he ends up in Kortrijk
Commander Albrecht von Richthofen arranged all kinds of demands and regulations via posters. He really interfered with everything.
he conficated all the wine for the German troops in time for Christmas 1917
It is striking that Kortrijk, a city where an ortskommandant was running the service with a tougher hand than the rural municipalities in the area. There was, except as a Ortskommandant had been appointed, less direct control. In the end, much depended on the personality of the German occupants. Any Kommandantur had its own particularities with regard to the central army command in Tielt and the Etappen-Inspektion in Ghent. The local Kommandant interpreted the orders and implemented them. He was in control and as long as he coloured within the lines set out by the Supreme Command, he was the ‘omnipotent’.
Images : Albrecht
Karl – Bolko, Lothar and Manfred
Left to right: Manfred, Kunigunde, Lothar, Albrecht (seated) Karl-Bolko, and Ilse.
source
thearodrome.com
kortrijkbezet14-18