Can not remember the name of the story or the title of the anthology it was a part of and as I read it years ago don't remember all the details, but MMs Red Baron piece reminded me of it.
Far distant future humanity has moved throughout the galaxy and has encountered a race of intelligent machines.
For whatever reason the machines decide to wipe out humanity.
The machines capture a human historian who conducts his research through developing highly accurate, almost, or possibly actually, sentient computer based simulations of people from different periods of history.
The machines want these simulations installed in starfighters to form the vanguard against humanities last stand as they will be less predictable than the machine AIs, as well as being disposable.
The machines insist on weak non warlike personalities that can be easily driven / herded to they deaths.
Those selected were a violin playing pacifist who hated war, a man who was blind in one eye, a young man with tuberculosis, an aristocrat who had been unsuccessful as a cavalry officer and others I can't remember.
The ships are launched and the machines begin to drive them towards the human fleet when they turn and engage the machine fleet, obliterating it.
The machine that coerced the historian to provide the simulations returns, critically damaged, and the historian explains his speciality was fighter aces of the First World War and each of the sentient simulations was a leading fighter ace, none of whom react well to being threatened or bullied. Manfred von Ricthoffen returns, the sole survivor, speaking of the bravery of his comrades and wanting his craft painted red.