Francois Cochet - Fallschirmjäger. Volume 2: German Paratroopers, 1942-1945

IMAGES OF WAR

GERMAN PARATROOPERS

19421945

RARE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM WARTIME ARCHIVES

FRANOIS COCHET

Originally published in Belgium by Editions de Krijger as Fallschirmjger: Les

Parachutistes Allemands (Tome 2: 1942-1945)

First published in Great Britain in 2019 by

Pen & Sword Military

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire - Philadelphia

Copyright Franois Cochet, 2019

ISBN 978 1 52674 070 0

eISBN 978 1 52674 071 7

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52674 072 4

The right of Franois Cochet to be identified as Author of this work has been

asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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T he bloody fighting of the German Fallschirmjger (paratroopers) of the Second World War has inspired a variety of books due to the fact that, assimilated to elite troops, airborne units of the Third Reich were regularly engaged at the forefront of the fighting. Famous victories, including the raid on the Belgian fort of Eben-Emael in May 1940 and the battles for control of the big island of Crete just a year later, remained in the collective unconscious, granting the paratroopers a kind of aura (sometimes a little exaggerated) and building an excellent esprit de corps amongst the troops.

In any case, however, the great age of the Fallschirmtruppen (parachute units) was to end in 1941. From 1942 until the end of the conflict, German paratroopers were most often deployed in a more classical way, although some battles (like Cassino or Leros) allowed them to reconnect with their recent and glorious past.

Image Credits - The majority of photographs in this book are from the authors collection, as well as those of several other people: Bernd Bosshammer, Jean-Pierre Chantrain, Jean-Louis Roba and Peter Taghon. Documents also come from Der Adler magazine and from various contemporary books on the Fallschirmjger . Thanks must go to all those who helped to make this book.

: code name for the Allied landing at Anzio.

: unit of German commandos.

: German code name for the liberation of Mussolini.

: German code name for the invasion of the Italian-held Dodecanese islands (Battle of Kos).

: Iron Cross ( Eiserne Kreuz ).

: German machine which sent encrypted messages.

: German paratrooper.

: German code name for the planned invasion of Gibralter.

: fortress .

: German paratroop division.

: German paratroop regiment.

Frhr : Freiherr (German title of nobility).

GI : American soldier (Government Issue) .

: German Army.

: German code name for the planned invasion of Malta.

HJ or Hitlerjugend : Hitler Youth.

: combat group.

KB : war correspondent.

: cauldron (designating a circled area).

: a light military vehicle (the German jeep).

: German Air Force.

: German code name for the invasion of Crete in May 1941.

Oberbefehlshaber : commander in chief.

: colonel.

: code name for the Allied landings in Normandy.

(Panzer Army Africa) : armoured African unit combining forces from Afrika Korps and Italian units.

: Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.

: German code name for the final airborne operation in the Ardennes.

: assault regiment.

: British military intelligence that decrypted the Enigma messages.

: German code name for the final offensive in the Ardennes, December 1944.

: collective name for the three branches of Germanys armed forces: Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy).

Useful dates for this volume

17 November 1941 : German airborne assault on the River Neva .

2 December 1941 : fighting on the Mus Front.

7 January 1942 : arrival of Kampfgruppe Burckhardt in Africa.

21 March 1942 : KG Burckhardt departs from Africa.

20 April 1942 : paratrooper assault on the Volchov Front.

21 June 1942 : fall of Tobruk.

19 August 1942 : aborted Canadian landing at Dieppe.

23 October 1942 : Allied offensive at El Alamein.

7 November 1942 : the Ramcke Brigade succeeds in breaking the encirclement and regaining its lines.

8 November 1942 : Allied invasion of North Africa.

13 May 1943 : surrender of Axis forces in Tunisia.

10 July 1943 : Operation Husky, the Allied landings in Sicily.

12 July 1943 : paratroopers from 1. FJD arrive in Sicily as reinforcements.

26 July 1943 : transfer of 2. FJD from France to Italy.

3 September : British troops invade Italian mainland.

8 September 1943 : Italy surrenders.

9 September 1943 : Allied landings at the Gulf of Salerno.

12 September 1943 : Operation Eiche , the liberation of Benito Mussolini.

1 October 1943 : fall of Foggia.

13 October 1943 : Allied Army crosses the River Volturno.

12 November 1943 : German paratroopers jump on Leros.

1 December 1943 : Allied forces attack along the Liri Valley.

6 December 1943 : 2. FJD in combat at Zhytomyr (present-day Ukraine).

22 January 1944 : Allied landings at Anzio.

29 February 1944 : 1. FJD relieves 90. Pz. Gr. Div. at Monte Cassino.

7 March 1944 : 2.FJD retreats in Ukraine.

15 March 1944 : Allied bombing of Monte Cassino and the destruction of the monastery.

10 May 1944 : fighting on the Dnjerst.

18 May 1944 : fall of Monte Cassino.

5 June 1944 : fall of Rome.

6 June 1944 : Allied landings begin in Normandy.

12 June 1944 : 2. FJD retreats from the Eastern Front.

28 June 1944 : German paratroopers fight in Lithuania.

20 July 1944 : attempted assassination of the Fhrer.

25 July 1944 : Operation Cobra (Allies) is launched in Normandy.

15 August 1944 : Allied landings in Provence.

24 August 1944 : liberation of Paris.

25 August 1944 : start of the Battle for Brest, defended by men from Ramcke Brigade.

3 September 1944 : fighting in the Mons Pocket.

20 September 1944 : surrender of Brest.

17 September 1944 : launch of Operation Market Garden.

21 September 1944 : fall of Rimini.

17 October 1944 : German paratroopers in action in East Prussia (Nemmersdorf).

16 December 1944 : launch of Wacht am Rhein , the Battle of the Ardennes. failure of Operation Stsser .

28 February 1945 : a battalion of Fallschirmjger leave to reinforce Breslau Fortress.

20 March 1945 : German paratroopers in action on the River Oder.