The death of Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay

dixie · 12 August 2006, 11:59 PM

I am very interested in the circumstances of Oliver von Beaulieu-Marconnay's [ Olivier von Beaulieu-Marconnay] fatal injury and his death.

1) Is it true that he was subject to friendly fire when fatally wounded?

2) What exactly were his injuries like? I read somewhere that he was hit in his thigh (or thighs?) which would not be an obvious explanation for why he died from these wounds.

CodyPaul · 13 August 2006, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dixie

What exactly were his injuries like? I read somewhere that he was hit in his thigh (or thighs?) which would not be an obvious explanation for why he died from these wounds.

If he was fatally hit in the thigh, then most likely he was hit in the femoral artery (the main artery to the legs) This would have caused him to bleed to death VERY quickly.

13 August 2006, 01:43 AM

Hi Dixie and welcome to the forum,
See this thread for more details: Olivier Beaulieu Marconnay
Regards Honza.

Romani · 13 August 2006, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dixie

I am very interested in the circumstances of this pilot's fatal injury and his death.

2) What exactly were his injuries like? I read somewhere that he was hit in his thigh (or thighs?) which would not be an obvious explanation for why he died from these wounds.

Probably he died from blood poisoning, before penicilin was invented, infections from foreign objects in the wound (like a piece from the flying suit) were often fatal. Given that aviators could keep them reasonably clean when compared to the filthy conditions in the trenches, a very likely culprit could have been gangrene caused by an incendiary bullet. The phosphorus used in them had that nasty effect.

dixie · 13 August 2006, 03:48 AM

Quote:

If he was fatally hit in the thigh, then most likely he was hit in the femoral artery (the main artery to the legs) This would have caused him to bleed to death VERY quickly.

Well, he was wounded on 18 October and he died on 26 October, so this can't have been the cause of his death!

dixie · 13 August 2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honza

Hi Dixie and welcome to the forum,
See this thread for more details: Oliver Beaulieu Marconnay
Regards Honza.

Hi Honza, thanks for the nice welcome and the interesting link!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romani

Probably he died from blood poisoning, before penicilin was invented, infections from foreign objects in the wound (like a piece from the flying suit) were often fatal. Given that aviators could keep them reasonably clean when compared to the filthy conditions in the trenches, a very likely culprit could have been gangrene caused by an incendiary bullet. The phosphorus used in them had that nasty effect.

Hi Romani, I think your explanation is very plausible. It seems that we can only speculate on the real cause, but, of course, one would like to know the real facts ...

CodyPaul · 15 August 2006, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dixie

Well, he was wounded on 18 October and he died on 26 October, so this can't have been the cause of his death!

Whoops, sorry I didn't know it had taken him several days to die. I was just answering the thought that a wound in the leg wouldn't have been fatal and failed to do the proper research.

In this event I would have to say an infection of some sort. Or maybe I should keep my big trap shut instead...

dixie · 15 August 2006, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodyPaul

Whoops, sorry I didn't know it had taken him several days to die. I was just answering the thought that a wound in the leg wouldn't have been fatal and failed to do the proper research.

In this event I would have to say an infection of some sort. Or maybe I should keep my big trap shut instead...

I would go for this explanation, too!

hauptmann · 4 November 2006, 06:14 AM

The headstone does not give many clues as i can't read it. This one was taken on a snowy morning in March this year. Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin where MvR was burried. Also Schlieffen and von Arnauld de la Perriere rest here.

Picture is a bit large so i post it as a link only. I kept it large so maybe someone could read the text.
http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/5246/dsc12029vu.jpg

StephenLawson · 5 November 2006, 01:46 AM

Greetings all;
Sorry to start off with a correction but it is Ltn. Olivier von Beaulieu-Marconnay cmdr. of Jasta 19. He evidently had a lingering hideous death. His older brother Ltn. Heinz von Beaulieu-Marconnay of Jasta 65 was highly distraught by it. "Olivier" was shot down by friendly fire on Oct. 18, 1918. Supposedly by an unknown Jasta 74 pilot. Due to his lingering death it is thought that it was the result of a post-operative infection.