Available Formats
German Airborne Divisions: Blitzkrieg 194041
By (Author) Bruce Quarrie
Contributions by Pier Paolo Battistelli
Consultant editor Dr Duncan Anderson
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Osprey Publishing
30th April 2004
United Kingdom
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Second World War
Modern warfare
Air forces and warfare
Special and elite forces
940.544943
Paperback
96
Width 184mm, Height 248mm, Spine 8mm
346g
The German Army of World War II was the first to fully realise the benefits of using airborne troops alongside armoured formations. German Airborne Divisions became an integral part of the blitzkrieg operations that overran much of Western Europe during 1940 and 1941, from the historic raid on the Belgian fortress of Eben-Emael to the pyrrhic victory over British and Commonwealth forces on the island of Crete. This title looks at the creation, evolution, and early operational deployment of the German airborne forces (Fallschirmtruppe), through highly detailed orders of battle, TOEs and examinations of crucial aspects such as doctrine, training, command and control, and the concept of vertical envelopment.
Bruce Quarrie graduated with honours from Cambridge University in 1968 and started work as a journalist with the Financial Times. He wrote his first book, on wargaming, in 1974. Bruce's principal interest was in World War II, and his definitive Encyclopedia of the German Army was even translated and published in German. Bruce passed away on 4 September 2004.