Hitler's Sky Warriors : German Paratroopers in Action, 1939-1945

by Ailsby, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9781574882827
• ISBN10: 1574882821
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc

Summary

-- Fills an important niche in the literature of World War II

-- Features more than 200 photographs, many of them from private collections and previously unpublished

-- Extensively researched and written by a leading expert on the armed forces of the Third Reich

Drawing together hundreds of images, Hitler's Sky Warriors presents a unique examination of the German airborne soldier in World War II. Comprehensive and authoritative, it includes chapters on the fallschirmjager arm's recruitment and training, its specialized equipment, its operations in the Low Countries in 1940, its seizure of Crete in 1941, and its role as a ground combat force on the Eastern Front and in Italy. With biographical details on all the main parachute commanders, this exciting book is an extensive account of an elite formation of military history.

Author Biography

Christopher Ailsby is an expert on the Third Reich, the military awards of the Third Reich and the German armed forces in World War II.

Table of Contents

Origins of the Fallschirmjager	6	(14)
Organisation and Training	20	(16)
Vindication	36	(12)
The Invasion of Crete	48	(16)
Russia: A Force Bled White	64	(18)
North Africa	82	(12)
Italy I - Blunting the Allied Spearhead	94	(14)
Blood Bath at Cassino	108	(10)
Italy II - The Fighting Withdrawal	118	(12)
Campaign in the West, 1944-45	130	(28)
Specialist Actions	158	(13)
Appendix 1 Divisional Organisation	171	(1)
Appendix 2 Fallschirmjager Knight's Cross Holders	172	(3)
Index	175