First World War
On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany, and three RNAS squadrons were soon deployed to Belgium and France primarily to fly reconnaissance missions, but also found themselves operating armoured cars. In early September an RNAS unit, comprising six aircraft from three squadrons was sent to Wilrijk aerodrome in Antwerp. Under the orders of Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, it was tasked with mounting the first long-distance bombing raids on Germany. Their targets were the airship sheds at Düsseldorf and Cologne, in order to forestall Zeppelin raids on England. For the first mission on 22 September, Baron Pierre de Caters provided a force of Belgian armoured cars which was sent out to create and defend a forward landing strip west of the Meuse, as the British aircraft did not have sufficient range to fly directly to their targets and back. The raid was commanded by Squadron Commander Eugene Gerrard, who with Flight Lieutenant Marix, headed for Cologne, while Squadron Commander Spenser Grey and Lieutenant Charles Collet flew to Düsseldorf. Their Sopwith aircraft had no fixed machine-guns, the pilots being armed only with revolvers, and carried only two or four 20-pound (9 kg) Hales bombs. By the time the four aircraft crossed the River Roer, fog obscured the ground and Collet was the only pilot to find his target, the airship shed at Düsseldorf. He dropped his bombs from a low level, but only one hit the shed, and it failed to explode.
On 28 September Antwerp came under attack by German heavy guns, and the RNAS aircraft assisted the Belgian defenders by flying artillery spotting missions. However, by early October, with the fall of the city seemingly inevitable, most of the RNAS unit was evacuated. On 8 October Grey and Marix took off in two Sopwith Tabloids which had been fitted with additional fuel tanks to attempt another raid. (Contemporary despatches and accounts state that Flight Lieutenant Sydney Vincent Sippe also took part in the raid, but was forced down before reaching German territory by a mechanical failure.) Grey arrived over Cologne to find it obscured by mist, and was again unable to find his target, so dropped his two bombs on the railway station. Marix had more luck, finding his target at Düsseldorf and dived from 3,000 to 500 feet before releasing his bombs, in the face of heavy rifle and machine fire from the ground. As he pulled away a fireball 500 feet high erupted from the shed, which contained the fully inflated airship LZ 25. Marix's aircraft sustained some damage from anti-aircraft fire, but he managed to fly to within 20 miles of Antwerp before having to land, and travelled by train and a borrowed bicycle to the aerodrome, which he found deserted apart from Grey, Sippe, and a party of Royal Marines. They promptly left the city by truck. Antwerp fell to the Germans the following day. Marix subsequently received a mention in despatches, and on 21 October, Grey, Marix and Collett were awarded the Distinguished Service Order. On 31 October Marix was promoted to flight commander.
In late 1914 Marix was flying reconnaissance near Ypres, but a mechanical fault forced him to land. He walked to the British lines and returned to his aircraft with a party of four Marines, only to find five German Uhlans inspecting his aircraft. The Marines opened fire, and four Germans promptly mounted their horses and fled. The fifth Uhlan's horse was wounded, so he ran off, pursued by Marix, who eventually took him prisoner at gunpoint. The two men returned to the aircraft where Marix courteously lent his captive a revolver to administer the coup de grâce to his suffering mount, before taking him back to the British lines.
Marix served in the Gallipoli Campaign during through most of 1915, flying reconnaissance and bombing missions. On 17 May Marix spotted unusual activity at the small port of Ak Bashi Liman. With Samson as his observer he returned that afternoon, flying a Breguet aircraft armed with one 100-pound (45 kg) and fourteen 20-pound (9 kg) bombs. Marix attacked the port, stopping work there for two days. A further reconnaissance flight led the British to conclude that the Turks were preparing an attack on Anzac Cove, and as a result their assault of 19 May was effectively repulsed with great loss of life. Marix later received a mention in despatches from the Vice-Admiral Commanding the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron.
Marix was promoted to squadron commander on 1 January 1916, and in February formed a new squadron of Sopwith 1½ Strutters based at RNAS Detling, with the intention of mounting bombing raids on factories in the Essen and Düsseldorf areas, though it proved that the aircraft lacked the range to make these attacks successfully. However, in May 1916, a new Anglo-French strategic bombing force was created, under the command of Wing Captain William Leslie Elder, of which Marix's squadron formed the nucleus. Designated No. 3 Wing RNAS, the British aircraft were based at Luxeuil-les-Bains, close to France's eastern frontier, and comprised Sopwith 1½ Strutters and Breguet Bre.5 bombers. The first raid was mounted on 30 July when a mixed force of nine French and British aircraft attacked Mülheim. In September Marix and another pilot stopped at Paris while ferrying two Strutters to Luxeuil. They were invited to test fly a Nieuport, but Marix's aircraft broke up in mid-air, and he was seriously injured, having his left leg amputated, thus bringing his combat flying career to an abrupt end. Marix recovered from his accident, returning to serve as a staff officer. In August 1917 he was made a Chevalier of the Order of the Crown by the King of the Belgians. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, and Marix transferred into the new service.
