Germany. A Cigarette Case To Max V. Mulzer For His First Aerial Victory From Oswald Boelcke; Plm Winners

A cigarette case presented to Max von Mulzer for his first aerial victory on 13.3.1916, by flight trainer Oswald Boelcke. It is constructed of an inner wooden box that is encased by a silver box. It is marked “800” on the bottom for silver content and “TF” for “Theodor Fahrner”, and is inscribed “Meinem lieben Max von Mulzer zu seinem 1. Luftsieg am 13. März 1916 gewidmet. Oswald Boelcke” (German - My dear Max von Mulzer dedicated to his 1st Aerial Victory on 13. March. 1916); measuring 101 mm (w) x 90 mm (h); in overall better than extremely fine condition.

Footnote:

Max Mulzer was born on July 9, 1893 in Kimratshofen (Bavaria) and grew up in Memmingen. After finishing school, he joined the Bavarian army. In July of 1913, Mulzer became a member of the 8th Royal Bavarian Chevau-légers Regiment, a light cavalry unit. He was promoted to Lieutenant shortly after the beginning of the First War, on December 13, 1914. In August of 1915, Mulzer began his training to become a pilot in the Bavarian army. Exactly one year after his promotion to officer, he joined the Feldflieger-Abteilung (Field Pilot Detachment) 4 on December 13, 1915. Soon after, Mulzer was appointed Commander of Feldflieger-Abteilung 5, and then 62, where he flew with Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann. On July 13, 1916 Mulzer was appointed leader of Flieger-Abteilung 32. He became one of the most successful Bavarian pilots, receiving the Pour le Mérite on July 9, 1916, awarded by Emperor Wilhelm II himself for achieving nine aerial victories. On September 6, 1916 Bavarian King Ludwig III awarded him the Military Max Joseph Order, knighting Mulzer at the same time, who from then on was called Max Ritter von Mulzer. Not even three weeks later, on September 26, Mulzer died in an accident flying an Albatros D I during a visit at Army Flight Park 6 in Valenciennes, France.

Oswald Boelcke was born on May 19, 1891 in Giebichenstein (Saxony Anhalt), growing up in Dessau. He joined the army in 1911, becoming a member of Telegraph Battalion No. 3. After becoming an officer, he switched to the newly established air force in May of 1914. After the beginning of the war, Boelcke initially flew reconnaissance missions on the Western Front with his older brother, Wilhelm. In April of 1915, Boelcke became a member of Feldflieger-Abteilung (Field Pilot Detachment) 62. On July 4, he achieved his first aerial victory, although technically the enemy plane was shot down by his observer von Wühlisch, since in this early stage of the war pilots did not yet use weapons themselves. Boelcke shot down his first plane himself on September 19, 1915. On January 12, 1916 Emperor Wilhelm II awarded him and Max Immelmann the Pour le Mérite. Both had achieved eight victories at the time and were the first pilots to receive the order. Immelmann died in an accident on June 18, 1916. Because of this, Boelcke was forbidden from flying, since his knowledge about aerial strategies was deemed too valuable to be lost. At the time, he had 19 confirmed victories. Boelcke was then instrumental in reforming the German air force, becoming Commander of Jagdstaffel (Fighter Wing) 2 in the rank of Hauptmann (Captain) on August 10, 1916. He was given the liberty to choose his own pilots to train. One of them was the “Red Baron”, Manfred von Richthofen. Boelcke taught the principles of the new aerial fighting techniques with the help of his “Dicta Boelcke”, a list of fundamental aerial maneuvers that remained an influential part of theoretical aerial warfare for decades to come. Boelcke took to the cockpit again in early September, achieving another twenty victories in under two months, becoming the leading pilot with 40 victories. On October 28, 1916 he collided with the plane of his comrade Böhme during a mission near Bapaume, France. Boehlcke was unable to prevent his plane from crashing, killing him on impact.