German Paratroops 1939-45: The Fallschirmjager

by Bob Carruthers

Overview

"One cannot even imagine the panic which was caused by rumors of the appearance of parachutists." Field Marshal Kesselring The Fallschirmjäger were the German paratroopers, the elite troops frequently deployed as the vanguard of attacks and as the bulwark of a difficult defense. In 1940, they spearheaded the campaigns Belgium, Holland and France. They also saw action in the battle for Norway and in the next year took part in major actions in the Balkans and Crete. Airborne operations were curtailed following heavy losses in Crete after which the Fallschirmjäger took part in the final battles for Tunisia and were prominent on both the Eastern Front and most famously in Italy. In 1944, they appeared on the Western Front serving in Normandy, Holland, the Ardennes and Berlin. This fascinating overview compiled by Emmy Award winning author Bob Carruthers draws on rare primary sources, photographs and combat reports to produce a comprehensive overview of the Fallschirmjäger in action. This book is part of 'The Hitler's War Machine' series, a new military history range compiled and edited by Emmy Award winning author and historian Bob Carruthers. The series draws on primary sources and contemporary documents to provide a new insight into the true nature of Hitler's Wehrmacht. The series consultant is David Mcwhinnie creator of the award winning PBS series 'Battlefield'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781591123
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	02/19/2013
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Bob Carruthers is an Emmy Award winning author and historian, who has written extensively on the Great War. A graduate of Edinburgh University, Bob is the author of a number of military history titles including the Amazon best seller The Wehrmacht in Russia.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Enemy Air-Borne Forces 10

Section I Introduction 10

Section II Air-Borne Operations In The Present War 23

Section III German Parachute Troops 36

Section IV German Glider-Borne Developments 47

Section V German Air-Borne Transport 60

Section VI Conclusions: Enemy Air-Borne Tactics 68

Appendixes 77

The German Air Attack on Crete 87

The Massacre of Kondomari 102

Testimony Against Goering, Nuremberg Trials 107

Lessons from Crete in Anti-Parachutist Tactics 112

Airborne Operations: A German Appraisal 118

Preface 118

The Contributors 120

Foreword 123

Chapter 1 German Airborne Operations In World War II 125

Chapter 2 Allied Airborne Operations In World War II 158

Chapter 3 Conclusions 178

Appendix: Notes On German Airborne Operations 187

German Gliders and Glider-Borne Troops 204

German Motorcycle Tractor 210

Airborne Recoilless Guns 220

More from the Same Series 224