Raynal Bolling - Death

Death

On the morning of March 26, 1918, during the opening phase of the offensive, Bolling and his driver, Private Paul L. Holder of the 22nd Aero Squadron, left their hotel in Amiens, headed for the British aerodrome at Harbonnières. They found it deserted and continued driving east toward the front lines, where they encountered three British Army officers in Estrées-Deniécourt, including a major with whom Bolling had an acquaintance. The officers indicated that to the best of their knowledge the oncoming German forces were still five kilometers distant. With this assurance, they headed towards a hill about 2.5 km away from which they might be able to observe the battlefield. Only Bolling was armed, and that an officer's service revolver.

After driving only 300 meters, their car was ambushed by hidden German machine guns on both sides of the Amiens-Saint-Quentin Road (49°52′30″N 2°46′48″E / 49.875°N 2.780°E / 49.875; 2.780 (Amiens-Saint Quentin Road)). Before Holder could turn the car around, German fire disabled its motor. Holder and Bolling took cover in separate shell holes, which were connected by a ditch that enabled Bolling to see Holder. The fire of the machine guns lasted fifteen minutes, after which two German soldiers approached Holder's position. When one of them fired twice at the unarmed Holder crouching in his hole, Bolling shot and killed the German with his revolver. The other soldier killed Bolling with two shots, one to the chest and the other to the head.

The German troops continued west, and while Holder pretended to be dead in hope of escaping through the lines after dark, he was captured a half hour later by follow-on troops and made a prisoner of war. Bolling was the first high-ranking air service officer killed on the battlefield in World War I.