1: Try to secure advantages before attacking. If possible keep the sun behind you.

2: Allways carry through an attack when you started it.

3: Fire only at close range and only when your opponent is properly in your sights.

4: Allways keep your eye on your opponent and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.

5: In any form of attack it is essential to assail your opponent from behind.

6: If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught but fly to meet him.

7: When over the enemy's line never forget your own line of retreat.

8: For the Squadron: Attack on principle in groups of four or six. When the fight breaks up into a series of single combats take care that several do not go for one opponent.

Did he know back then that he had written the rules that thousands of pilots would learn? How many survived thanks to these rules and how died because they didn't know them?

Greetings all;

As our intrpid Jan has pointed out the words of Boelcke are even taught to fighter pilots today. Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen even went a bit further and wrote the rules "Dicta" for fighter wing operations that are as well, taught today.

Boelcke was a natural for draughting a set of rules such as this. Before the war he was after all - a teacher.