Machine guns and rifles on the ground came into action against Captain von Richthofen, who was also being fired at by at least one of his adversaries in the air. Suddenly his machine turned its nose downward and crashed to the earth. Examination later showed that the German pilot had a bullet through his heart. Von Richthofen was apparently killed while trying to break through the British aerial defenses in the Ancre region in order that enemy reconnoissance machines might cross the lines to make observations on the defenses. A document captured by the British revealed the reason for his presence there. It was a communication from the "group commander of aviation" to the First Pursuit Squadron, of which von Richthofen's eleventh pursuit flight was part, saying: "It is not possible to fly over the Ancre in a westerly direction on account of strong enemy opposition. I request that this aerial barrage be forced to break in order that a reconnoissance up to the line of Marieux-Puchevillers (ten miles from the front) may be carried out." Richthofen was buried with military honors behind the British lines. A large number of British fighting men and aviation officers, as well as Americans stationed at a neighboring airdrome, were in attendance. Mechanics of an aviation squadron had constructed a coffin, on which they placed a plate giving the aviator's name, rank, and other data. The body was carried on a motor car, with which marched a firing squad many officers and men. Six British air service officers acted as pallbearers. As the procession moved to the burial place, scores of busy aviation mechanics paused and stood at attention as a tribute to the dead aviator. The Baron was buried under a hemlock tree, and the squad fired the last shots across the grave. LIST OF GERMANS KILLED A list printed in the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag on April 24 showed that of the forty-one German aviators who had brought down fifteen or more opponents since the beginning of the war, nineteen had fallen in action and two had been reported missing. The list of the fallen German fliers, together with the alleged number of their victims and the year of their death, follows: Captain von Richthofen 80 1918 Lieutenant Boss 50 1917 Captain Bölcke 40 1916 Lieutenant Gontermann 39 1917 Lieutenant Max Müller 38 1918 Lieutenant Kurt Wolff 34 1917 Lieutenant Schaefer 30 1917 Lieutenant Allmenroeder 30 1917 First Lieut. von Tutschek 27 1918 Lieutenant Böhme 24 1917 First Lieut. Bethge 20 1918 Lieutenant von Eschwege 20 1917 Lieutenant Frankl 19 1917 Lieutenant Wintgens 18 1916 Lieutenant Baldamus 18 1917 Lieutenant Hess 17 1917 First Lieut. Immelmann 15 1916 Lieutenant Dossenbach 15 1917 Lieutenant Schneider 15 1917