Bert Hall

En l'air! (In the Air): the Experiences of an American Foreign Legionnaire as a Pilot With the Lafayette Escadrille on the Western Front and in the East During the First World War Bert Hall

Legionnaire and Fighter Pilot

American soldier of fortune Bert Hall enlisted in the French Foreign Legion-Deuxieme Regiment Étranger-which was on its way to the front from Morocco, signing on for the duration of hostilities just two days after the Great War broke out in 1914. He served in the legion infantry, one of several welcome replacements from the United States of America who filled the gaps in the Legion's ranks created by the 1,800 German legionnaires who remained in North Africa so they would not oppose their fellow countrymen. The regiment was 4,000 strong and most of its number were killed during the first 18 months of the conflict. Hall fought in the trenches until the end of the first year of the war and the transferred to the air service where he was trained as pilot. After a period of reconnaissance flying, his first taste of action came in 1915 during the allied offensive around Champagne. Hall was well known as one of the renowned cadre of American pilots who formed the core in the legendary Lafayette Escadrille-the fighter squadron with the Indian head insignia. He experienced the air war of the Western Front in full measure before a transfer in late 1916 to the Eastern theatre to assist the Russians and Rumanians with their own war in the air. There he took part in the bombing of Sophia and found himself caught up in the Russian revolution. Hall tells his story compellingly and it is full of first hand account reportage. This book, written in 1918 before the end of hostilities, was not his only foray into authorship but it is particularly immediate since wartime events were still unfolding at the time of its original publication and he expected to return to action.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.