The bird-like Rumpler Taube sailed over Paris for nearly an hour with a load of three small bombs and three message containers. When the bombs were dropped that August 30, 1914, surprised Frenchmen thought a gas explosion had struck the heart of the city. With each bomb came a weighted message attached to a seven-foot banner in German colors. The pilot's message: “The German Army stands before the gates of Paris. You have no choice but to surrender.” –von Hiddessen.

Following von Hiddessen's dramatic assault on the French capital, the city was bombed repeatedly by the Taubes. After their initial panic, Parisians came to accept the somewhat regular appearance of German planes over the city. In fact, business boomed at sidewalk cafes as patrons became more and more curious to get a look at what they called "the five o'clock Taube."

The Rumpler type 4C Taube first appeared in January 1914. In July it set a world's altitude record of nearly 20,000 feet. It featured rudimentary ailerons instead of the wing-warping of earlier models. Its 100-hp Benz or Mercedes engine gave it a top speed of 75 mph, and a 45-foot wingspan helped it climb to staggering heights.

Von Hiddessen received the Iron Cross for his bombing of Paris and continued his observation missions, which most military men of the time considered the airplane's most important role in war. Early in 1915 von Hiddessen was shot down by the French. Wounded slightly in one arm, he was sent to a prison camp for the duration of the war.