Arthur Laumann Leutnant Arthur Laumann was a German World War I flying ace who scored 28 victories in just over three months . He rose to become Air Attache to Greece and Yugoslavia during World War II , raising to a final rank of " Luftwaffe " " Generalmajor " . Service in World War I artillery . Arthur Laumann joined Field Artillery Regiment Number 83 on 2 August 1914 , and was assigned to 40th Artillery Ranging Troop . He was promoted to " Gefreiter " ( Private first class ) on 15 February 1915 , and to " Unteroffizier " ( Noncommissioned officer ) on 1 August 1915 . He won an Iron Cross Second Class on 8 February 1916 . On 13 January 1917 , he became an " Offizier - Stellvertreter " ( Officer candidate ) . He was commissioned " Leutnant de Reserves " on 19 May 1917 . On 14 August 1917 , he transferred to the " Luftstreitkräfte " for pilot training . Aerial service in World War I . He took pilot training with the 13th Flying Replacement Battalion until 26 February 1918 . By 6 March 1918 , he was assigned to FA ( A ) 265 , which was an artillery spotting squadron flying two seated airplanes . After only two months , on 19 May , he was assigned to fly Fokker D . VII fighter planes while commanding " Jagdstaffel " 66 . Eight days after joining " Jagdstaffel " 66 , on 27 May 1918 , he scored his first triumph in the same dogfight in which his commanding officer , Rudolf Windisch , was shot down and disappeared . Laumann scored three victories in June , and became an ace on 1 July . He ran up 12 wins in July , including a triple on the 18th . He also was awarded the Iron Cross First Class on the 17th . He ended the month as a triple ace . He shot down another dozen enemy planes in August , including another triple on the 9th . Also during July and August , he briefly commanded " Jasta " 66 . In mid August , he was transferred to command " Jagdstaffel " 10 in " Jagdgeschwader " 1 ( JG 1 ) , the " Jagdgeschwader " von Richthofen . The JG 1 commander was Hermann Göring . Laumann scored his last four victories with " Jasta " 10 , including his final one on 4 September . On 7 September , he was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern . The " Pour le Merite " , or Blue Max followed on 25 October , and was the final one awarded to any member of JG I . Service after World War I . After the armistice , he was transferred to the Signals Battalion of Military District Command VI until August 1919 . From there he was returned to the 83rd Field Artillery Regiment and placed on indefinite leave . He was mustered out on 31 December 1920 . In 1932 and 1933 , he became an advisor to an aviation group . He was appointed " SA - Standartenführer " , a paramilitary field officer ' s rank , on 24 August 1932 . From there , he moved to leading a formation of the German Air Sport Formation until 31 March 1935 . This led to his entry into the " Luftwaffe " as a Major on 1 April 1935 as commander of Air Region Reserve 12 in Cologne . Also during 1935 , he was appointed to squadron command in II Group of JG 132 . He held that post until 1 February 1939 , when he moved up to command of II Group . On 4 September 1939 , he left his command to become the Air Attache for Yugoslavia and Greece , with his home base being the German Embassy in Belgrade , Yugoslavia . Laumann held this post until 29 May 1941 . After that , he held a series of administrative posts until his retirement on 1 March 1945 . He had been promoted to " Oberst " ( Colonel ) on 1 January 1940 ; he was given a final promotion to " Generalmajor " ( Major General ) as he retired .