Fallschirmjäger

Iron Annie: The Junkers Ju-52

By William E. Welsh

Shortly before dawn on May 20, 1941, a flight of 500 transport planes took off from seven airstrips on mainland Greece. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Battle of Aachen: Breaking Down the Door to Europe in WWII

By Flint Whitlock

By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule.  Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Invasion of Crete: Descent Into The Inferno

By William E. Welsh

By May 1941, the German Luftwaffe’s fortunes had risen to great heights and plummeted to equally startling depths in the course of a single year of blitzkrieg warfare in Western Europe. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

WWII: German Rations and Feeding the Troops of the Third Reich

By G. Paul Garson

It was Napoleon Bonaparte who purportedly said, “An army travels on its stomach.” Toward the goal of feeding his particular army’s stomach more efficiently, in 1795 the French general came up with an interesting solution to the problem. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Battle for Monte Cassino: Hell on a Mountaintop

By Joshua Shepherd

By the evening of January 22, 1944, it was increasingly apparent that a drastic shift in strategy was needed to break the bloody debacle that had developed in central Italy. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Captured! Belgium’s Mighty Fort Eben-Emael

By Roy Stevenson

At 4:25am in the predawn darkness of May 10, 1940, nine German gliders silently skidded to a stop on the hilltop of the most heavily defended fortress in Europe, disgorging 71 highly trained German Fallschirmjäger. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

D-Day Drama at the Klondike Aid Station

By Bill Warnock

Shellfire rocked the aid station. A ceiling beam cracked, raining down plaster. One explosion obliterated a window, hurling stone, wood, and glass shards into the room. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Heroes of Hill 192

By William G. Dennis

Today, on Hill 192, located between the Normandy cities of St. Lô and Bayeux, sleek horses graze the fields, and people in hacking gear travel the roads and bridle paths. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Fiery Fight for a Frozen Hell: Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg

 

By James G. Bilder

Described in one U.S. Army report as “the quiet paradise for weary troops,” the tiny nation of Luxembourg was viewed by American commanders in late 1944 much like Belgium—liberated, safe, and an ideal location for combat-worn troops to rest and for untested replacements to get exposed to outdoor living and military routine before being exposed to combat. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Lions of Carentan Part III: Operation Cobra

By Volker Griesser

Background: In this, the third and final installment of a three-part series excerpted from The Lions of Carentan, the 2011 book by a respected German military historian, Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6 (FJR 6) has been pushed out of Ste.-Mère-église, Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Lions of Carentan Part II: Defending Carentan

By Volker Griesser

Background: Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, under the command of Major Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, had the fortune (or misfortune) to be stationed in Normandy at the time of the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Lions of Carentan Part I: Paratrooper vs Paratrooper on D-Day

By Volker Griesser

Background: Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6 was organized in February 1943, under the command of Major Egon Liebach. It was part of the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division and was stationed in France, where it trained in parachute and glider operations. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

The Gothic Line: How the Allies Breached Germany’s Defenses in Italy

By Michael E. Haskew

The reason for it was unthinkable. The Gothic Line, the last line of defense in Italy, was necessary, but senior German commanders had not been concerned that it would ever be contested by Allied forces. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Operation Fustian: Airborne Assault on the Bridges to Catania

By Mark Simmons

‘‘As I floated down, the whole dropping zone seemed to be on fire; tracer bullets had set the tinder-dry stubble alight. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

101st in Operation Market-Garden: Taking the Bridge at Best

By Richard A. Beranty

On the veranda of his temporary headquarters in a Dutch country house outside Veghel, Holland, renowned Luftwaffe General Kurt Student played lunch host to an old comrade, the chief of staff of the German Seventh Army. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Max Schmeling: Sports Icon… Nazi Puppet?

by Michael Haskew

When athletes become pawns of politicians, their skills being touted as proof of their country’s ideological superiority over others, seldom are events played out as the demagogues would have scripted. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Key to the Normandy Breakout: The Hill Over St. Lo

By Cleve C. Barkley

The darkness held a terror of its own—any false movement or unwarranted sound could easily betray the presence of the 16-man patrol that crept ever closer to the enemy lines. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

ANZACs at Maleme

By David H. Lippman

“Maleme. 20th May, 1941. Usual Mediterranean summer day. Cloudless sky, no wind, extreme visibility; e.g., details on mountains 20 miles to the southeast easily discernible.” Read more

Fallschirmjäger

A Pyrrhic Parachute Victory in Crete

By Richard Rule

In May 1941, General Kurt Student’s elite paratrooper forces descended like an anvil on the British garrison defending Crete. Read more

Fallschirmjäger

Fallschirmjagers: The German Paratrooper Corps

By Richard Rule

Between 1940 and 1945, the outstanding fighting spirit and courage of the elite German paratroop forces earned the admiration of friend and foe alike. Read more