Bolle in Command
He was then promoted to Oberleutnant and transferred to command Jasta 2 on 20 February 1918 at Marcke, France. This was the squadron that Oswald Boelcke had commanded as he invented the first fighter tactics, strategy, and organization. It was being re-equipped with Fokker Dr.I triplanes as it was being incorporated into Jagdgeschwader 3. It was a dispirited squadron, having lost three consecutive Pour le Merite holding commanding officers killed in action. Bolle was destined to be Jasta 2's final commander.
Despite seemingly modest credentials, Bolle set his mark upon the squadron. The Fokker Dr.I triplane supplied was a plane of limited speed but great maneuverability and climb rate. Its slower speed made it more difficult to close to short distance for gunnery against faster fighters. Bolle's solution was the use of an Oigee telescopic sight for his guns. He also painted distinctive white stripes on his upper wings, to denote his leadership role, along with a yellow fuselage band edged by black and white to honor his old cavalry regiment.
Bolle's command of English turned out to be handy upon occasion, when he questioned downed British Empire fliers.
He opened his tally with Jasta 2 on 25 April 1918, as part of a huge air offensive launched to support ground assault on Kemmel Ridge. He then began a steady collection of single and double victories, with five in May, seven in June, nine in July, and three in August. In August, 1918, when he had scored 28 victories, he received the Military Merit Cross, and the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern; the Pour le Merite (commonly known as the Blue Max) was bestowed on the 28th.
Bolle did not score again until 1 November. On 4 November, he downed four British fighters. —two RAF SE.5as of 56 Squadron and two Sopwith Snipes of 4 AFC. The Snipes (claimed with Leut.Ernst Bormann) were flown by aces Captain Thomas Baker (12 victories) and Lt. A. J. Palliser (7). These were Bolle's final victories.
A week later, he and his pilots defiantly marked their Fokker D.VIIs with their names and victory scores before surrendering them into British hands at Nivelles, Belgium.
Bolle's final score of 36 victories included a preponderance of wins over enemy fighters; he downed 25. The other 11 victories were two-seater reconnaissance, ground attack, and bomber aircraft. More importantly, he led Jasta 2 through the intense battles of 1918 to the second highest victory total in the German Air Force, with a total of 336 victories to the Jasta.
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