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Das Auge der Armee - Kampf und Sieg eines Fernaufklärers (The Eyes of the Army - Battle and Victory of a Reconnaissance Flier) was written using entries from the war time dairy of Oberleutnant M. von Menge-Genser who died while serving Germany at age 26. According to the foreword, First Lieutenant Menge-Genser was one of the many of young German soldiers and officers who served to preserve the future of Germany. He did his duty, his service and sacrificed his life for the Fatherland and the Führer.

He was a Fernaufklärer, surveying and photographing enemy targets and territory from the air at low altitude in a Dornier Do 17 Luftwaffe reconnaissance airplane, in advance of Luftwaffe bombing raids and army attacks in Poland and France.

The chapters cover his service experiences during the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, becoming a Mess Officer at the Fliegerhorst where he was stationed after the Polenfeldzug, going home on leave and waiting with some anxiety about the uncertainty of the next operation. Spitfires of the RAF were his next enemy as the Oberleutnant flew dangerous reconnaissance missions to and over the British Isles. There he encountered a much stronger and experienced enemy in the air than the one encountered in Poland, he noted.

His descriptions of life as a Luftwaffe Aufklärer in September 1939 and April/May 1940 are quite lively. Menge-Genser describes reconnaissance flights above pretty countryside and enemy territory, onboard equipment and crew members, successful missions, encountering and being shot at by enemy planes, supporting Stukas in their missions, observing enemy movements while trying to avoid enemy fire and flak, the bond with his comrades on board, nearly running out of ammunition during flight, dealing with the likelihood of dying at the start of every mission, as well as ending up with a head and arm wound in a German field hospital, feeling grateful he survived and proud that the film from the mission had been saved and safely delivered to be used for the next army offensive or Luftwaffe bombing raid.

The last three photo pages show the site of the crash that killed the young First Lieutenant and his two fellow crew members on 19 May 1940, the Ehrenfriedhof or German soldier cemetery at Foret de Mormal near the Belgian border in northeastern France and three crosses, the graves of the “Three Heroes”.

Das Auge der Armee - Kampf und Sieg eines Fernaufklärers was published by Heinz Menge Verlag in 1943 and comes with its original 80+ year old dust jacket. The 5-5/8 x 8-3/8 inch, 162-page blue hardcover book has silver blocking on the front cover and spine. The spine shows wear but the interior pages are in fine condition and there is a small handwritten dedication on the front flyleaf

The book looks unread and has no odor. Exactly as shown.

Before the May 1940 German invasion of France started, First Lieutenant M. von Menge-Genser must have been stationed in southwestern Germany near the French border as he describes interactions with Organisation Todt men building the Westwall or Siegfried Line.

On 19 May 1940 Oberleutnant von Menge-Genser’s Dornier Do 17 was shot down by the French hidden under camouflage netting. The wreckage of the plane with the remains of the three-man crew were found three days later in a wooded area by advancing German troops. The onboard instruments showed the exact time of 26 year old Oberleutnant von Menge-Genser’s death as 19:21 on 19 May 1940. His diary was found in the wreckage as well as a goodbye note he had written on 15 April 1940, “in the Field”. The last sentence in the handwritten note translates as, “With the Führer towards a Great Germany!”

Das Auge der Armee has 148 pages and the 31 interesting pictures are printed on 15 glossy paper pages for a total of 163 pages. The photos include installing high-quality optical equipment in Luftwaffe reconnaissance planes, Aufklärer in the classroom and studying aerial photos, loading film prior to a mission, at work high in the air manning huge reconnaissance cameras.

There are photos of young Aufklärer during leisure time with his comrades, crew pictures, the squadron insignia, photos taken from reconnaissance planes (including the estuary of the Forth river in Scotland), wrecked airplanes, etc.