"Fallschirmjager": Elite German Paratroops in World War II by Jon Sutherland

Images of War

by Jon Sutherland, Jonathan Sutherland (Aka), Diane Canwell

The photos in this book are taken from an unpublished album that belonged to a member of the elite German Paratroopers. First Sgt Wilhelm Plieschen served with Fallschirmjager Machine Gun Battalion 7, which suffered very heavy losses in the invasion of Crete, then saw bloody conflict as Hitler s "Fire-fighters" on the Russian Front and later put up fierce resistance in places such as Monte Casino. The revealing images that Jon Sutherland has compiled for us depict these struggles in dramatic detail, ranging from photographs taken en route to Crete of the paratroopers in a JU52 to 20 May 1941, when Plieschen was dropped over Crete. Some show other paratroopers drifting down and others feature formations of German aircraft amidst flak.Additionally, Sutherland has included amazing images depicting Germans on the deck of the badly damaged and abandoned HMS York in Souda Bay. There are photographs showing Major Erich Schulz decorating paratroopers on Crete and the then Commander of the Fallschirmjager, General Kurt Student inspecting the troops. We later pay witness to Plieschen in Russia, where outstanding rare photos of paratroopers in heavy winter camouflage clothing portray the men enduring the heavy fighting that occurred in the region."

Genres: History, Military Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

AKA Jonathan Sutherland

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Almost all of the photos in this book came from a scrapbook kept by one German paratrooper and follow his unit through much of the war.

I think this reinforces an opinion I have had that having paratroopers is useful as 'more elite,' soldiers, but that airborne operations themselves might not be that useful. The Germans seem to have put a fair amount of time and effort into developing and equipping their paratroopers and glider units, but outside of the disaster on Crete do not seem to have employed airborne operations. Why didn't they drop more paratroops behind Russian lines? It seems like there were some opportunities to block Russian retreats and capture more troops and materiel.

Things I didn't know:
-Germany wanted small(er) paratroops. There was a weight limit.
- Weapons were dropped separate from troops with their own casings and chutes. This seems impractical and the book does not explain why this method was chosen.

[Luis Arturo Mantilla Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great personal account of one paratrooper in Second World War

This is the first time that I encountered typos on this family of books, need to be careful. The story was indeed interesting as it conveys a personal touch of historical events of an elite group. Veryeasy to read and easy to place in the greater picture of events, in Greece, Crete and Rusia. Recommended.

[Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating photos!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book by any means. Lots of interesting photos from a Fallschirmjagers experience.
I've seen better World War II photo books, but this one's not bad like I said. If I could I'd give it a 3.5