When the war began, Anslinger was already a licensed pilot (#566) serving with the Fliegertruppe. Posted to the Eastern Front, he was commissioned on 22 March 1915 and scored his first four victories in 1916. Reassigned to FA 24 and 242, he scored the remainder of his victories in 1917. In the last months of the war, he was stationed in Mainz with Kest 9 on homeland defence. When the war ended, Anslinger became a commercial pilot with Lufthansa and enjoyed sketching and building motorcycles and automobiles.
