THE HIGH combat effectiveness of the air infantry of the Third Reich was not the result of " unique qualities the German soldier,” as Goebbels argued, but the German military’s receptiveness to new technological advances.

They were greatly impressed by the Kyiv maneuvers of the Red Army in 1935 with the parachute and glider landing of thousands of soldiers. The head of the delegation, Colonel Kurt Student, saw in this an unprecedented opportunity for effective action at strategically important points and immediately reported this to the Luftwaffe chief Goering. He watched with concern the strengthening of his rival Himmler with his elite guard - the SS troops. The Reichsmarshal needed such an elite unit.

General Student

But most importantly: the mobility of the Airborne Forces ideally corresponded to the nature of the planned new type of war - blitzkrieg. Of course, at first there were doubts about the effectiveness of “vertical envelopment of the enemy”: would lightly armed soldiers be able to hold out against enemy machine guns, artillery and tanks? In a real battle, will they have enough ammunition until reinforcements arrive? But in Germany in those years, ideas were quickly put into action, and the Germans began creating airborne troops. The driving force behind the matter was Goering, who received the Fuhrer’s consent to this. Parachute schools arose in Stendhal, Wittstock, Gardelegen, Braunschweig, and later 2 schools were added to them in France.

The germ of the Luftwaffe Airborne Forces was the Hermann Goering regiment, which had the same rules as the SS. The selection was extremely tough; Only smart, physically well-prepared volunteers who had proven themselves to be outstanding infantrymen were allowed to take part in the verification tests; preference was given to former soldiers of the Condor Legion with experience of the war in Spain. Aggression, initiative, and self-confidence were considered the most important things in candidates.

Two out of three could not withstand the load and returned to their previous units, but still there was no end to those interested. In the Third Reich, everything related to military affairs was valued (as in the USSR: “First of all, first of all, airplanes”), and this was a real business for brave guys, a magnet that attracted extraordinary people into the troops, predisposed precisely to such activities. The military-technical organization National Socialist Flying Corps, an analogue of the Soviet Osoaviakhim, also took care of replenishing the ranks of the Airborne Forces.

Selected soldiers of the Wehrmacht

REGIMENT "Hermann Goering" became the 1st Airborne Regiment. A formation appeared under the code designation “7th Aviation Division”. In 1941, it consisted of three airborne patrol units, one airborne assault unit and auxiliary units; later it became known as the 1st Airborne Division, followed by the 2nd Airborne Division, then more and more new formations.
In the ground forces, the 22nd Infantry Division was re-equipped and trained to land from aircraft or gliders to follow the parachute assault as a second wave; other similar divisions arose.

From the very beginning, the paratroopers were instilled with an elitist mindset. They did not yet have their own traditions, and in future battles they had to prove that they were worthy of their symbol (an attacking eagle) - the personification of courage and nobility. To develop a focus on success in the soldiers, General Student practiced a leadership style that was atypical for the German army (with its respect for rank and obedience): “Develop pride in the paratroopers... more mutual trust, than discipline and obedience... turn the airborne troops into a big family.”

He endowed his soldiers with the “Ten Commandments of a Hero”: “You are the chosen soldiers of the Wehrmacht; your calling is combat. Build camaraderie; be laconic and incorruptible, calm and prudent, strong and decisive. Do not surrender, it is a matter of your honor - victory or death. Understand the meaning of a military operation so that everyone can replace the commander. Be noble with the enemy, ruthless with the partisans. Be as swift as hounds, tough as tanned leather, hard as Krupp steel.” This attitude significantly contributed to the combat successes of the German paratroopers. The hardships and hardships endured together gave rise to a spirit of camaraderie, well conveyed in the words of the song “The Sun Shines Red,” which became the anthem of the paratroopers of the Third Reich.

Rigorous tactical training instilled in them best quality German infantry. Physical training was very tough, with an emphasis on parachute jumping, landing, developing endurance, body control, forced marches, hand-to-hand combat, light and weightlifting. At first the training was the same, but later the training of officers became much more complicated. Frequent cases of death during parachute jumps only strengthened the morale of the cadets.

Much attention was paid to uniforms taking into account the specifics of jumping. The edge of the standard German helmet, on which the parachute lines could get caught, was removed; introduced short lace-up boots with thick rubber soles, trousers, a loose wide jacket, leather gloves, a gas mask special form, protective knee pads. Compared to the strict and formidable uniform of the SS, the uniform of the paratroopers looked careless. Very different from other Wehrmacht soldiers in appearance, they were nicknamed “green devils” due to the camouflage colors of their overalls. The command used them both as saboteurs and as a striking force on the fronts.

Muscle test

THE DESCRIBED operation was conceived back in October 1939. At a secret meeting in a narrow circle, the Fuhrer proposed using paratroopers at the forefront of the attack on Western Europe. They were assigned the task of eliminating the core of the Belgian defense - Fort Eben-Emael, as well as capturing 3 bridges across the Albert Canal.

Airborne soldiers after the liberation of Mussolini. DFS 230 in the background

The generals, considering this plan an “acrobatic stunt,” insisted on a 4-week siege of the fort, but Hitler gave the paratroopers 1 hour! His confidence in their ability to accomplish the impossible is evidenced by the fact that the general offensive was to begin just 60 minutes after their estimated landing on the fort. The fate of the strategic operation (the capture of half the continent) depended on the success or failure of one company of saboteurs!
The test of the Reich's strengthened muscles - the occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia - took place without the use of military force. The paratroopers were also disappointed by the Polish campaign: the stupid resistance of the Poles was easily broken and without knockout air strikes.

The first combat experience for the German Airborne Forces was the operation against Denmark and Norway in April 1940 with the capture of important bridges and airfields. Something also happened that would be repeated many times later: Herbert Schmidt’s company landed in the middle of the Norwegian lines, ran out of ammunition, suffered heavy losses and surrendered. But in general, the value of paratroopers for the blitzkrieg strategy was confirmed. German plans almost collapsed in Narvik, from where the Reich came iron ore, "bread" military industry: The British fleet sank all 10 destroyers involved in the operation, and the Anglo-French invasion became a trap for the Germans. The matter was saved by the landing of Goering’s paratroopers: those surrounded (2,000 mountain riflemen and 2,500 “dismounted” sailors) recovered, put up effective resistance and held out until the enemy withdrew the troops due to the start of the German offensive on Europe.

Armament of the Airborne Forces

BEFORE 1942, the main weapons of the German Airborne Forces were the Mauser 98k carbine and the Czech 33/40 carbine with a folding wooden stock; only 25% of the personnel (mostly commanders) had an MP 38/40 submachine gun.

The trouble was that almost everything - carbines, machine guns, group weapons, ammunition, food - was dumped in containers separately from the soldiers. The design of the parachute did not allow taking long-barreled weapons with you; it was believed that this would be fraught with serious injuries; they left the plane with a Luger 08 pistol with two magazines, hand grenades and a knife, only occasionally an MP, a weapon that was not long-range at all.

Having landed, it was necessary to find a container under fire (the standard is 80 seconds!), unpack it, and only then enter into battle. The lack of firepower after landing was the reason for high losses, starting from the very first landing, and the soldiers went to any lengths to avoid jumping unarmed. Kurt Kraft, a former teacher at the Stendhal training center, says: “Having learned about the Cretan massacre, my friend began to jump in an embrace with his MG 34, securing it with a halyard on his belt and releasing it before touching the ground. The weapon was there a second before him, not preventing him from tumbling after landing. Having unfastened the parachute, he lay down and pulled the MG towards him - and was ready for battle.”
Options for various types of packaging and mounting weapons directly on paratroopers were developed, and soon they could jump in full combat equipment, quickly preparing for battle after landing.

Reich gunsmiths tried to help the cause by creating new weapons with the qualities of a rifle, submachine gun and machine gun. The technical specifications were as follows: it should be compact (100 cm), have a carbine weight of 98k (4 kg), automatic/single fire mode, folding bipod, massive butt for stability when firing in bursts; comfortable in hand-to-hand combat, resistant to impacts, insensitive to heavy contamination, capable of firing rifle grenades; when equipped with optics, perform sniper tasks.
In addition, it was to use the standard 7.92 57 Mauser rifle cartridge. The experience of Crete showed the weakness of the caliber 9 19 Parabelum submachine guns: the enemy, using .303 rifles and Bren machine guns, inflicted heavy losses on the Germans at a distance of up to 1.5 km, but they could not reach him.

The result was the “paratrooper rifle FG 42” by designer Louis Stange, 0.98 m long, weighing 4.2 kg, fed from a 20-round box magazine on the left, with a needle bayonet and a bipod in the middle of the barrel. In fact it was easy light machine gun. Acceptable stability when shooting was ensured by a muzzle brake and a shock-absorbing device in the butt; the strong deflection of the pistol grip prevented the parachute lines from being caught by the weapon.

In April 1942, Rheinmetall-Borsig produced the first prototype, but intrigues within the military department slowed down the release. The FG 42 was made in single batches, despite the fact that in comparative tests it shot better than the 98k carbine, the Walther G-41 self-loading rifle and the Mkb-42 automatic carbine. Only at the beginning of 1944, after Hitler’s personal intervention, the weapon went into production, but until the end of the war no more than 7,000 FG 42 units were produced; it was never able to replace the MG 34/42 machine guns. The paratroopers suffered a fiasco from their own bureaucrats.

The FG 42 was used mainly against the Western Allies; it was used by the best marksmen and senior officers. A number of improvements led to the appearance of Model II weighing 4.8 kg (photo 9). The heavy bolt reduced the rate of fire to 650 rounds/min, the bipod was attached to the front of the barrel, the tin stock was replaced by a wooden one, protection from dirt was improved, and the muzzle brake was changed. A 30-mm barrel-mounted grenade launcher was specially developed to fire fragmentation and cumulative grenades at a range of up to 250 m. In the summer of 1944, Model III appeared with an improved flash suppressor. True, the production of the FG 42 was technically complex and expensive; the cartridge turned out to be too powerful for the relatively short barrel, the weapon quickly overheated, the barrel flame blinded the shooter, the recoil was strong, and the initial bullet speed was only 760 m/sec. But overall the idea of ​​the FG 42 was good, and the Americans used it 20 years later in their M60 7.62 mm machine gun.

Heavy weapons

The sabotage units were few in number, but their firepower was impressive.

Thus, the Granit group carried the following arsenal with them to the operation: 56 cumulative devices, Bangalore torpedoes for making passages in wire barriers, 4 Flammwerfer 40 flamethrowers, 6 MG 34 machine guns, Polish UR anti-tank rifles, carbines, submachine guns, pistols, hand grenades; one explosive was 2.5 tons. And with this cargo it was necessary to quickly land and work under enemy fire.

But the Achilles heel of the front-line airborne units was their insufficient firepower; they required fire support means suitable for parachute landing. They were the 75-mm mountain howitzer, 20-mm mountain anti-aircraft gun, 37-mm Pak 36/37 anti-tank gun, 28-mm sPzB 41 heavy anti-tank rifle (since 1943 they were replaced by 75-mm/105-mm recoilless rifles, partially made of light alloys and firing cumulative grenades).


An effective anti-tank weapon was the RPzB 54 “Panzerschrek” (“Terror for a Tank”) grenade launcher, also known as “Ofenror”. This weapon, 88 mm caliber, 1.64 m long and weighing 9.5 kg, was developed in 1943 on the basis of the American Bazooka grenade launcher captured in Tunisia, significantly redesigned and improved: with the same firing range, armor penetration doubled.

Unlike the disposable "Panzerfaust" (faustpatron), the RPzB 54 was a purely reactive, reusable weapon; a grenade weighing 3.25 kg flew at a speed of 105 m/sec and penetrated 160 mm of armor at a distance of 150 m.

The new product could not have come at a better time: the T-34 tank was a big problem on the Eastern Front. A more powerful weapon was required to “effectively counter all types of Russian armored vehicles” and replace Faust cartridges of 30, 60, 100 and 150 mm caliber (however, they were also left in service to defeat the weak armor of the Anglo-Saxons).

While the Faustpatron could be used by any soldier, incl. a poorly trained Volkssturm soldier (teenagers, pensioners), the RPzB 54 was a weapon of specialists and was serviced by a shooter and loader, an experienced crew ensured a high rate of fire. True, the soldiers themselves were afraid of the RPzB 54: unlike the captured prototype, the propellant charge burned even after the grenade exited the pipe, causing dangerous burns at a distance of up to 2.5 m, so the shooter had to protect himself with a fireproof cape and a gas mask. A stream of hot toxic gases and smoke burst out from the breech at a distance of 4 m, visible to the enemy (hence the “Ofenrohr” = “stove pipe”); this excluded the use of weapons from premises, bunkers, etc.

The production of RPzB 54 cost only 70 Reichsmarks, and during 2 years of the war 315 thousand of them were produced plus 2 million 220 thousand grenades!
Improved options were the shortened RPzB 54/1 with a protective shield (length 1.35 m, weight 11.3 kg) and RPzB 54 /100 mm (2 m, 13.6 kg) for installation on armored personnel carriers and other equipment of anti-tank squads, mainly on the Eastern Front.
The paratroopers had mortars in their arsenal, for example the light leGrW 36 (“potato launcher”).


Methods for landing artillery were developed in 1938 by the experimental department of Bruno Schram; using containers, pallets and multi-dome systems, it could be dropped from all types of German aircraft.

The cargo glider was adopted GO 242 for transporting heavy weapons. Innovations were tested in Crete, where everything was dropped after the soldiers, with the exception of howitzers delivered to the island by transport Junkers.

On the battlefield, the paratroopers chronically lacked transport, so they used captured ones, which had been studied before the war. To increase their mobility, Scar's department had to work hard. Attempts to use teams of dogs (Rottweilers), horses, and trained circus ponies as draft force failed because the animals did not tolerate transportation by plane.

The department began to be called "Scar's Circus Troupe", but it found a completely successful solution to the problem: the Luftwaffe airfield tractor - the SdKfz 2 half-track motorcycle with a power of 26-36 hp. In the Airborne Forces it was just right for transporting heavy weapons and proved itself well at the front .

To break through enemy armor and concrete, Goering's "green devils" had 2 types of cumulative mine weapons: a 12.5-kg bell-shaped device, carried and used by one soldier, and a two-block 50-kg charge, which was assembled and installed on the explosion point 2 soldiers.
In addition to transport aircraft, the German Airborne Forces used cargo gliders for their operations, which gave them tactical advantages.


Adopted before the start of the war DFS 230 flew over a distance of 60 km, delivering exactly 1 ton of cargo to the target. With the help of braking rockets, special anchors or simply barbed wire wound around the runners, the braking distance was reduced to 20 m! True, the paratroopers rejected the DFS 230 for psychological reasons, and it was replaced by the Gotha glider with a loading ramp, which could already carry vehicles and heavy weapons.
Very reliable automatic parachutes RZ (“forced opening back”) allowed jumping from heights of up to 80 m, so a reserve parachute was not included in the kit. However, the RZ was difficult to control; to turn around, you had to “row” with your arms and legs, but often the soldier landed far from both his comrades and the saving containers with weapons.

Losses

FIGHTING at the forefront of the Wehrmacht's attacks, fighting most often successfully, the German airborne forces suffered extremely high losses. If during the assault on Fort Eben-Emael in the Granite group there were only 6 killed and 20 wounded (for 58 killed and 300 wounded Belgians), then during the landing in Norway, out of 70 paratroopers, 28 were already killed, and 32 were captured by the British. In the operation against Holland, under the fire of anti-aircraft guns and fighter units, the 7th and 22nd divisions suffered terrible losses: in 8 days - 3,700 dead and 2,500 wounded.

An erroneous landing directly over enemy positions, an unfortunate direction of the wind, enemy fire while searching for containers with weapons - the life of the German paratrooper was short. The landing on Crete was a bloodbath: in 2 weeks, a quarter of the 15 thousand paratroopers died, and all the rest were wounded. Fearing anti-aircraft fire, the pilots dropped them from a great height, and they were shot while still in the air; companies dropped over the sea and reservoir drowned in full force. However, this operation deserves separate consideration.

On the Eastern Front, German airborne forces were used to strengthen weak areas of the front. Like most of the dead Wehrmacht soldiers, the USSR became the grave for the military elite of the Third Reich. So, in October 1943, the entire 1st Airborne Division - 6,000 soldiers with weapons, equipment and equipment - was redeployed to Russia on 75 trains. On June 1, 1944, the remnants of the once formidable formation, together with the reinforcements received already at the front, returned back to the Reich on 2 trains!
But large losses did not harm the reputation of the German Airborne Forces. The psychological effect of their actions was very great, and they instilled in their opponents a persistent “fear of airborne troops.” During the Ardennes operation, the mere rumor of a German landing of troops in an unknown quantity plunged the Anglo-Saxons into panic. The Americans dispatched 2 divisions to defend their headquarters, and other divisions combed the entire surrounding area.

Swan song
DURING the war, the Wehrmacht's mobile special forces grew to 50 thousand soldiers, united in 2 corps and 5 airborne divisions.
The more difficult it became for the Germans to fight, the more paratroopers fought as infantry. For example, the famous 6th infantry regiment (3,500 bayonets) fought in Normandy without heavy weapons and vehicles.

The military leadership of the Reich, having fallen into a quiet panic from the feeling of imminent defeat (the people continued to whip up hysteria of “inevitable victory”), feverishly shuffled the cards of the remaining forces, trying to increase the number of trump cards. The units were consolidated into corps, disbanded, reorganized, renamed, and reassigned.
By 1944, by order of the Fuhrer, the number of airborne divisions was increased to 25, only in the Luftwaffe there were 11. The number of “shock” units grew like an avalanche; separate battalions were withdrawn from existing ones, making them the core of new regiments, which never reached the prescribed strength and consisted only from career soldiers. This increase in fighting power on paper reflected the final loss of sense of reality in Hitler's bunker. And he demanded from one airborne battalion the striking force of three full infantry battalions and victories, victories, victories!


But rearranging the places of the terms did not change the sum of the forces. Moreover, there were fewer and fewer of them: losses were growing, training battalions and parachute schools did not supply enough shifts, the training course was shortened, and younger and younger recruits were being drafted into the army. To replenish combat units, headquarters, directorates, and support services were combed. Elderly soldiers, holding only a rifle in their hands, were faced with a choice: to join the paratroopers or to one of the field divisions. 16-year-old boys received an additional ration - half a liter of milk a day, because they were still growing; the majority had no parachute training; entire regiments were airborne in name only.

Since the summer of 1944, a company of 30 bayonets was considered fully combat-ready, and regiments often did not have even 200 fighters. The troops were losing the quality of the elite; they included only a few old-timers, the “green devils” themselves, while the bulk were now fanatics from the Hitler Youth. But even in 1945 they fought, not sparing themselves, making self-sacrifice. There was an attempt to use this mental state (kamikaze) for a massive assault on American Air Force bases in northern Italy, from where the carpet bombing of the Reich took place (Operation “Beehive”), but there was no time for this.

The landing units began to fight their way to the west, into American captivity. The Hermann Goering Corps, the elite of elites, a kind of SS Luftwaffe, failed. Near Dresden he was surrounded and surrendered to the Russians.

The paratrooper non-commissioned officer gives the signal to attack. This photograph was probably taken at the end of the war, as the soldier shown is wearing a camouflaged Luftwaffe field jacket rather than a paratrooper's jump jacket. The helmet is covered with a camouflage net - another characteristic feature of the last period of the war. The photograph clearly shows gloves with elastic cuffs, a holster for an automatic pistol, one pouch for three magazines for an MP40 submachine gun, binoculars and a rod grenade. (Bundesarchiv, 576/1848/32. All photographs used in this book, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the collections of the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz. Storage numbers are given to facilitate reference to photographic materials; but it should be noted that the Bundesarchiv does not give permission for use of photographs by private individuals.)

“Airborne operations are usually called vertical deployment, and this is the best description of their purpose. The essence of deployment is to pin down the enemy, thereby preparing for his further destruction. A strong group behind enemy lines separates soldiers and disrupts communications, increasing vulnerability to attack from the front. This also has a strong psychological impact. The soldier is accustomed to the fact that everyone who is on that front line is enemies, and in his rear are friends. This allows you to figure out where to shoot and where to wait for reinforcements.

Airborne operations destroy this stereotype. They also force the withdrawal of some troops from the front line, first of all, in order to cover key points from possible landings, as well as to localize pockets of resistance when the landing is carried out. In some situations it is impossible to fight against the landing force. Contrary to the usual rule (and plans developed based on it), an attacker can concentrate more strength on the ground at an assembly point than the defender2 is able to muster to defend against an airborne assault. Only by the intervention of fate ... paratroopers can be scattered at the moment of release, before they equip defensive positions."

The above quote is probably one of the most concise, yet informative descriptions of airborne operations I have ever encountered. The advantages of the type of attack that interests us are outlined here briefly, but the need for using throws is completely clear. Surprise is key, but it relies on factors such as suitable weather and wind conditions, terrain, accurate intelligence about the enemy's strength, disposition and ability to concentrate for an effective counterattack - and, of course, luck.

Hitler congratulates the parachute officers awarded after the operation to capture Fort Eben-Emael. From left to right: Lieutenant Meissner, Oberleutnant Zirach and Captain Walter Koch. The paratroopers wear slightly different cut versions of the grey-green "first design" jump jackets - with two slanted chest pockets, one chest pocket, and pockets on the chest and flaps (Gavin Gadden).

For the aggressor, the role of airborne troops, when used correctly, is much greater than it might seem if we focus only on the number of paratroopers. Of course, it would be a mistake to say that the German invasion of France, Belgium and Holland in 1940 would not have been successful without the participation of paratroopers and their fellow glider pilots in these operations. But there is no doubt that otherwise this invasion would have encountered great difficulties.

Germany was late in creating airborne troops, but still found itself ahead of Great Britain, America and its eastern ally, Japan. Surprisingly, the capabilities of this new type of military were first appreciated by two relatively militarily backward states: Italy and the Soviet Union. The first effective self-deploying parachute was developed in Italy in the 1920s, and Soviet Russia demonstrated success with its airborne units in the early 1930s.

Paratroopers from the crew of an MG34 heavy machine gun during an exercise. Note the removable red cloth bands on the helmets, covered with greyish-green covers (540/419/19).

Initially, Soviet methods of dropping troops were imperfect. The paratroopers left the low-speed ANT-6 through holes in the fuselage ceiling, carefully crawled along the wings and then left the vehicle in groups and pulled out the lanyards at once. With this method it was difficult to maintain order, but it still made it possible to achieve high accuracy in the landing zone, especially if the plane could reduce its speed to almost 100 km/h! At such a flight speed, surprise was difficult to achieve, and the air vehicle itself became vulnerable to enemy fire, even armed only with hand weapons.

The main vehicle used during parachute operations was the three-engine Junkers Ju. 52/3m - old universal?workhorse? Luftwaffe. These aircraft were produced in various modifications. They were used both for transporting paratroopers, accommodating from 12 to 18 paratroopers, and for towing gliders. With a cruising speed of 200 km/h, these aircraft had a flight range of up to 1000 kilometers at an altitude of 5500 meters (Hans Obert).

Nevertheless, German military theorists appreciated the possibilities provided by the paratroop attack and began to think about how to introduce this type of military force into their own country. Although Germany was prohibited from developing new types of weapons under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, during the Weimar Republic and at the beginning of Hitler's reign the Germans actively took advantage of the training opportunities provided by the Soviet Union.

It is quite possible that German military specialists were made to think by the mocking phrase dropped by Soviet Air Marshal Mikhail Shcherbakov, talking with French Marshal Petain during a visit to the fortifications of the Maginot Line: “Such a fortress may soon become unnecessary if a potential enemy... drops a parachute landing on it.” .

The DFS-230 glider was used for landing. It had a wingspan of 20.9 m with a fuselage length of 11.3 m. The glider could accommodate eight people with full equipment. In the roof of the passenger cabin there was a hatch adapted for installing an MG15 turret machine gun. When descending, such a glider represented a large and easily vulnerable target; In addition, possible accidents during landing, in which paratroopers were injured and even died, posed a significant danger. The advantage of using gliders was that each of them could immediately deliver an entire squad of soldiers with the necessary equipment and weapons to the landing point (Hans Obert).

One way or another, German military observers at the Red Army maneuvers of 1935 and 1936 were very impressed by the spectacle of the precise drop of an entire parachute regiment consisting of a thousand people and the quick arrival of five thousand reinforcements to it, air-dropped. Goering was among those who appreciated what he saw, and in March-April 1935 he ordered the reorganization of his land police group “Hermann Goering” into the first airborne regiment. On October 1 of the same year, the regiment became part of the Luftwaffe and began training in Altengrabow. Most likely, for the first six hundred soldiers and officers of the regiment, the demonstration jump, during which the paratrooper was seriously injured and left the landing site on a stretcher, was a difficult lesson. However, the soldiers of the 1st Jäger Battalion of the Hermann Goering Regiment, under the command of Major Bruno Breuer, formed in January 1936, soon began training.

Parachutist in Russia. He is wearing a thin fabric camouflage suit over his combat uniform. The steel helmet is painted white. In addition to a pistol in a holster and an MP40 submachine gun, he is armed with a three-kilogram Haft-Hohllandung magnetic anti-tank mine (555/902/12).

At that time, Goering and his Luftwaffe were not the only ones interested in the capabilities of the airborne forces: the German army, the SS, and the SA assault troops (Brown Shirts) paid attention to them. The latter, after the unsuccessful “Röhm Putsch,” practically lost their influence, but the SS eventually managed to create small parachute units. It was the 500th SS Parachute Jaeger Battalion (500. SS Fallschirmjagerbataillon), punitive unit under the command of SS Hauptsturmführer Rybka. The battalion took part in the parachute and glider landings in June 1944, the purpose of which was to destroy the headquarters of the leader of the Yugoslav partisans, Joseph Broz Tito, located in a mountainous area. Attempts at command ground army the creation of their own parachute units was stopped by Goering, who achieved the transfer of all army paratroopers to the subordination of the Luftwaffe.

At first, the German parachute units experienced a series of failures. Partly the reason for this was intrigue among the highest hierarchs of the Nazi party, and partly it was simple bad luck. But soon, after the appearance in their ranks of surviving (and gaining combat experience) volunteers from the Condor Legion that fought in Spain, things gradually began to improve. Dramatic changes followed when command of the paratroopers was entrusted to Major General Kurt Student. If Guderian is called the father of German tank forces, then Kurt Student should be given the same title for the paratroopers.

This chief lieutenant wears the sleeve insignia that paratroopers began to use, following the example of their colleagues from the Luftwaffe aircrew. For a detailed description, see the comments to the color illustrations (555/839/27).

The official birth of the German airborne forces took place on January 29, 1936, when the corresponding order by order of Goering was signed by the Secretary of State of the Reich Air Ministry, Erhard Milch. According to this document, a recruitment of volunteers was announced to participate in parachute training in Stendal. The harsh training methods corresponded to the “ten commandments” that Hitler himself gave to the paratroopers: “You are the chosen soldiers of the Wehrmacht. You must strive for battle and be able to endure all hardships. War must become your need." These instructions say a lot more, but we would like to cite one more statement, in accordance with which the German parachute troops acted during the war: “Against an open enemy, fight chivalrously, but brutally suppress partisan actions.”

The Second Airborne Battalion, also formed in 1936, was an army unit under the command of Major Richard Heydrich. It was organized along the lines of a support battalion, with heavy machine guns and mortars. The battalion showed itself excellently during the Wehrmacht maneuvers held in the fall of 1937 in Mecklenburg. His speech gave a powerful impetus to the creation of German airborne troops. And again, due to disagreements between the army and the air force regarding the ownership of the paratroopers, the issue was resolved in favor of the Luftwaffe: the paratrooper jägers transferred to Goering's department. At that time, the Luftwaffe believed that paratroopers should act in small groups as saboteurs behind the enemy’s front line: their task was to destroy communications and undermine the enemy’s morale. The army, on the contrary, believed that paratroopers should be used en masse, like regular infantry. In the end, supporters of both points of view were able to test their views in practice and make sure that paratroopers could successfully solve both problems.

Parachutist sentry railway in Russia. He is wearing a "second pattern" Luftwaffe jump jacket - still green, but with the tails buttoned up like trousers. Note the details of the switchblade pocket on the right pant leg (541/432/15).

The next stage in the development of the Luftwaffe parachute forces began in July 1938, when, on the basis of the Breuer battalion from the Hermann Goering regiment, it was decided to form a new 7th Air Division ( 7. Flieger-Division) under the command of Kurt Student, who was successfully assisted in this by Majors Gerhard Bassenge and Heinrich Trettner. The student (he was born on May 12) perfectly suited his new position. He started out in the infantry and then was a fighter pilot and squadron commander in World War I; Later, even before Hitler came to power, Student was one of the staff officers directly involved in the construction of the new German air force. Unlike many of his colleagues, the Student absolutely believed in the Nazi leaders and served with pleasure under them. In addition, Student, a Luftwaffe general, managed to establish good relations with the army authorities: he shared the views of the Wehrmacht that paratroopers should not be used as saboteurs operating in small groups.

Although the occupation of the Sudetenland in the fall of 1938 did not require the use of large military forces, Student's new "division" used this chance to undergo training in field conditions. Goering was full of enthusiasm, he managed to break the resistance of the army authorities, and Heydrich’s 2nd Parachute Battalion became part of the Luftwaffe. At the same time (January 1939) instructions were issued regarding the creation of a second regiment, and Heydrich's ambitions were satisfied: he was appointed commander of the new unit. Both regiments took part in the Norwegian Campaign in the spring of the following year. The regular organization of the regiments fully corresponded to the infantry: a three-battalion composition (in 1940, the 2nd regiment actually had only two battalions), each battalion had four companies. In addition, a sapper company was created, and the beginning was made of the creation of support units - anti-tank, light field and anti-aircraft artillery, reconnaissance, engineering, medical, communications and other units.

OPERATIONS OF GERMAN PARACHUTE FORCES

The photo allows you to clearly see the details of the cut of the jumping jacket, sewn from camouflage-colored fabric. These soldiers lined up for a parade somewhere in the Mediterranean. Their helmets are sand-colored with gray or green spots on top. The paratrooper in the foreground wears the Spanish Cross with Swords, signifying his service in the Condor Legion (580/1995/29).

The paratroopers were not included in any of the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe groups that ensured the capture of Poland. It is known, however, that soldiers of the 7th Aviation Division, for training purposes, were involved in a reconnaissance raid across the Vistula, during which they suffered serious losses near Wola Gulovskaya. General Student informed Hitler that the paratroopers were disappointed that they had not taken part in the Polish campaign. The answer to this was: “They will, without a doubt, enter into battle in the West!”

Norway and Denmark, 1940

The first parachute operations in Denmark and Norway involved the 1st Battalion of the 1st Parachute Regiment (I/FJR1) under the command of Major Erich Walter. The four companies of the battalion were assigned various tasks. The headquarters and 2nd companies were tasked with capturing Forneby airport in Oslo and holding it until the landing of units of the 163rd Infantry Division, which was supposed to land by landing. The 3rd company, under the command of Lieutenant Baron von Brandis, was supposed to capture and hold the Sola airfield in Stavanger in the same way. At this time, one of the platoons of the 4th company of Captain Walter Guericke captured two airfields in Aalborg, and the rest of the company's forces captured the dam connecting the islands of Falster and Zeeland. The 1st company of Lieutenant Herbert Schmidt remained in reserve, but was later sent out to reinforce the troops of General Dietl in the Narvik area.

Major Walter suffered a setback: Forneby was hidden by fog, and the paratroopers had to turn back. However, Ju.52 transport aircraft of the second wave, carrying soldiers of the 163rd division, found a gap in the clouds and were able to land. The paratroopers suffered serious losses, but the airfield was captured. Lieutenant von Brandis was luckier: his soldiers landed safely on the edge of Sola's airfield and quickly suppressed scattered pockets of resistance from the guards, so that the second wave of troops could land without interference. Everything went well for Captain Guericke too: the Danish soldiers guarding the dam were so stunned by the appearance of enemy paratroopers that they did not even offer resistance and surrendered. A separate platoon sent to capture two airfields in Aalborg also did not involve bloodshed. Lieutenant Schmidt's company in the morning twilight was thrown into the snow-covered Gudbrandsdal valley about 140 km from Oslo. The company's rangers suffered losses from the fire of Norwegian soldiers even during the drop, but then defended themselves for four whole days until the lack of ammunition forced them to surrender. Schmidt himself was seriously wounded in the thigh and stomach, but did not surrender command throughout the entire operation: he was later awarded the Knight's Cross.

Despite the losses, the operations of April 1940 in Scandinavia showed the validity of the use of paratroopers against an unprepared enemy, when the surprise factor contributes to the attackers. But it was only a few months later that paratroopers earned a serious reputation.

West, 1940

Most likely, this is a staged photograph taken in Crete after the end of the fighting in May 1941. Here you can clearly see the sand-colored helmets and gray-green jumping jackets. The sergeant-major (left) has the collar of his flight blouse extended over his jacket to show his non-commissioned officer rank, but he does not have sleeve insignia. This combination was rare (569/1579/15).

To participate in the invasion of France, Belgium and Holland, Student's 7th Air Division was combined into one group with the 22nd Airborne Division (22. Luftland-Division), which was ordinary infantry transported by aircraft. Organizationally, the group was part of the 2nd Air Fleet of Albert Kesselring. The group's most important target was the Belgian fort of Eben-Emael, one of the key fortifications in the fortification chain along the Albert Canal. The fort had 18 artillery installations located in casemates with walls almost two meters thick, as well as a number of anti-tank and machine gun nests. Eben-Emael was practically dug into one of the banks of the canal and could seriously slow down the advance of the Wehrmacht - and the entire German concept of blitzkrieg was built precisely on quick maneuver.

After discussing the problem with Breuer, Student decided to form a special assault group led by 29-year-old Captain Walter Koch, who had previously served in the Prussian secret police and the Hermann Goering regiment. To accomplish this task, Koch was allocated his own company from the 1st battalion of the 1st parachute regiment, and in addition, the engineer company of Lieutenant Witzig from the 2nd battalion, a total of 11 officers and 427 soldiers. At Heidelsheim the soldiers began training in earnest; all personnel were divided into four assault groups. Only one of them was supposed to carry out a direct attack on Eben-Emael: the Granite group (Granite) of 85 men under the command of Lieutenant Witzig. Assault group "Steel" (Steel) Lieutenant Altmann had the Feldweselt Bridge as the target of the attack. Assault group "Beton" (Concrete) Lieutenant Schacht was entrusted with the Froenhoven bridge; finally, the assault group "Iron" (Iron) Lieutenant Shakhtar was to ensure the capture of the Cannes Bridge. After capturing the objects, the assault groups had to hold them until the approach of the advancing columns of the Wehrmacht, namely the 4th Panzer Division. The delivery of all groups was to be carried out by gliders, in contrast to the paratroopers involved in operations in Holland that same month: they were supposed to be dropped out with parachutes.

From the same series: a machine gunner with an MG15 in the hatch on the roof of the DFS-230 airframe (568/1529/28).

The Beton assault group was the first to land. This happened at 5.15 on May 10, 1940. At the moment of landing, the gliders were under heavy fire from the Belgians, and the paratroopers remained pinned to the ground all day: they were able to retreat only at 21.40, when a Wehrmacht infantry battalion came to their aid.

The assault groups "Steel" and "Granit" landed almost simultaneously, at 5.20. During the attack on the Feldweselt Bridge, Lieutenant Altmann discovered that the Belgians had removed demolition charges from the bridge, and at 15.30 he reported that the object had been captured. This message was somewhat premature: Altmann’s paratroopers had to fight off several heavy counterattacks, but by the end of the day, at 21.30, reinforcements arrived to the Germans.

The garrison of Eben-Emael was alerted at 00.30: the Belgians received a message about the movements of German troops near the border; however, the fort was located in the interior of the country, and its defenders believed themselves to be safe. Meanwhile, at 3.30 am, Witzig's Granite attack group was lined up at the German airfield, and exactly an hour later their gliders were hooked up with tow ropes, and the sappers took their places with bags full of explosives. At 5.20 they reached the target of attack and began their descent. The Belgians did not expect an air attack so much that they opened fire only when the German DFS-230 landing gliders were almost on the ground.

The landing was successful; only two gliders did not reach the target (Lieutenant Witzig himself was in one of them). Chief Sergeant Wenzel took command, and the attack was carried out without delay. While the gliders were still landing, the paratroopers opened the landing hatches of the fuselage and began disembarking, and then immediately rushed to the attack, using flamethrowers and hollow charges under the cover of machine-gun fire, which was conducted by their comrades through hatches in the roofs of the gliders. A few minutes later, seven casemates and 14 Belgian guns were disabled, and the attackers entered the fort. At 5.40 Wenzel radioed Kokha: “The object has been reached. Everything is according to plan." Meanwhile, most of the fort still remained in Belgian hands.

Bearded parachutist in the desert. He is dressed in a tropical Luftwaffe jacket, a steel helmet covered with a cover with a splintered camouflage pattern, and a bluish-gray ammunition belt. Dust glasses with dark lenses (550/761/4a) hang around his neck.

At 0830, Lieutenant Witzig's group, which had meanwhile replaced the towing cable on their glider and also reached the fort, landed next to their comrades. The lieutenant on the spot assessed the situation. Despite the initial success of the Germans, the Belgians clearly recovered from the shock: the attackers were forced to take up defensive positions in the casemates they had captured, where they remained the night of May 10–11. In the morning, an engineering battalion arrived to help them. This help was decisive, and soon a white flag was raised over the fort - the main stronghold of the Belgian defense was captured.

The capture of Fort Eben-Emael was undoubtedly an impressive victory for the Germans. Of the 85 people in Witzig's group, only six were killed (though 20 were injured). The surprise of the attack broke the morale of the Belgians - and the fort was garrisoned at more than 1,000 men - and, as Kurt Student later noted, it was "an enterprise carried out with exemplary courage and determination."

The last group, "Iron", was unlucky. The German mechanized column carried out the advance ahead of schedule, and the Belgian defenders of Cannes detonated the explosives, destroying the bridge. German gliders landed under fierce fire. The miner was killed and command was taken over by Lieutenant Joachim Meissner, who had to fight off two major counterattacks until German reinforcements arrived.

At its core, the operation in Belgium was a variant of exactly the use of paratroopers that the Luftwaffe insisted on - small groups operated here, as opposed to how paratrooper units were used in Holland. Koch's group included barely 500 people; against Fortress Holland, four times as many were deployed. In addition, the 22nd Airborne Division under the command of Major General Count von Sponeck operated here in full force.

The campaign plan envisaged the use of paratroopers to capture the most important crossings and airfields in the interior of Holland in the early stages of the operation; success was to be developed by the paratroopers together with the infantrymen of the 22nd Airborne Division, who were ordered to get involved in street fighting, capture The Hague and neutralize the Dutch high military command. The main targets of the paratroopers were the Moerdeck and Dordrecht bridges and the airports in Waalhaven and Falkenburg. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 1st Parachute Regiment were to capture the first two objectives; 3rd - third. Six companies of the 2nd Parachute Regiment in cooperation with the 47th Infantry - Falkenburg (the 47th Infantry Regiment, together with the 16th and 65th, was part of von Sponeck's 22nd Division).

General Ramke (his exact rank cannot be determined in this photograph) awards a non-commissioned officer paratrooper somewhere in the Mediterranean theater of operations. Both are dressed in tropical uniforms, the non-commissioned officer in a shirt with rolled up sleeves and shorts. Framed - in a tunic and wide trousers. The general's cap is light blue with gold edging (166/52/19).

On May 10, 1940, the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Parachute (III/FJR1), commanded by Captain Karl-Lothar Schulz, was the first to enter the battle. The paratroopers began operations to capture the airfield at Waalhaven, which was extremely important for the arrival of reinforcements from von Sponeck's division. The airfield, like other important Dutch sites,

was subjected to severe bombing, but nevertheless the paratroopers were met by dense machine-gun fire. Immediately after landing, the Germans decisively rushed to storm the airport building (in which the commandant was giving a protracted banquet on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his service) and captured it. Messerschmitts Bf.109 drove away the British Hurricanes, which tried to prevent the landing of transport Ju.52s of the 22nd division. The only Dutch anti-aircraft battery bravely continued to fire, but German paratroopers soon captured it too. After the completion of this short but bloody battle, the paratroopers and the reinforcements that arrived to them were ready to cover the approaches to Rotterdam.

The drop of six companies of paratroopers of the 2nd regiment in the area of ​​Falkenburg airport was successful; They were already expecting the arrival of von Sponeck's 47th Infantry Regiment, but an unforeseen complication arose. The field around the runways turned out to be too muddy, and the first Ju.52s to arrive literally clogged the airfield. The Dutch, meanwhile, recovered from the surprise and launched a counterattack, forcing the German troops to take up defensive positions. Thus, this stage of the plan to capture The Hague remained unfinished.

The battalions, intended to capture the vital bridges at Moerdeck and Dordrecht, landed north and south of their targets and quickly surrounded them. At the same time, however, Lieutenant Baron von Brandis (the same one who captured the Sola airfield during the Norwegian operation) died. The bridge at Moerdek was captured quickly and without complications. Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Parachute Jaeger Regiment, under the command of Captain Prager, guarded the bridge until three days later the vehicles of the 9th Panzer Division approached them. The next day at 17.30, the Student, who arrived in Waalhaven immediately after its capture, received a message about another success of his rangers, this time in Dordrecht. Although the Dutch units generally fought much better than the Belgians, even here the factor of surprise and the creation of a numerical superiority at the right point ensured the success of the German paratroopers. On May 14, the Netherlands capitulated. In the last hours of the operation, however, Student was seriously wounded in the head by an SS soldier from the detachment disarming the Dutch units.

Motorcyclists of the reconnaissance detachment of the parachute-jaeger unit in Tunisia, winter 1942–1943. Everyone wears standard oilskin motorcycle raincoats (549/742/17).

While the doctors in the hospital were fighting for Student’s life, General Richard Putzier, who was responsible for the operation in Belgium and Holland during the operation in Belgium and Holland, took command of the 7th Air Division. transport aviation. Meanwhile, the division, which had actually demonstrated its combat capabilities, was strengthened by receiving a third regiment - FJR3. In addition, Koch's assault group was also deployed into an assault regiment ( Fallschirmjager-Sturmregiment) of four battalions under the command of Colonel Eugen Meindl. All these transformations took place in preparation for Operation Sea Lion, the planned landing in Britain.

Colonel General Stumpf in the white summer uniform of a Luftwaffe officer inspects a 37-mm anti-tank gun, which was in service with parachute units. The officer on the left is wearing a flight blouse and grayish-green jump trousers. Stumpf's adjutant in full service uniform (543/562/20).

In the end, this operation was abandoned, and the paratroopers had to conduct their next battles in the much more pleasant climatic conditions of the Mediterranean. In January 1941, the Student, having recovered from his wound, returned to duty, taking command of all German airborne forces: the 7th Airborne Division, the 22nd Airborne Division and the Assault Regiment (FJStR). These units were consolidated into the XI Aviation Corps.

Greece, 1941

Depienne, Tunisia, November 1943. Chaplain Gavin Cadden (right) was one of those who came to the defense of the British wounded during the incident described in the text of the book. On the left is Captain Hans Jungwirth from the 1st Battalion of the 5th Parachute Regiment. He wears a Hermann Meyer cap with the cords rearranged (Gavin Gadden).

During the Greek Campaign, the 2nd Parachute Regiment, stationed in Bulgaria, was ordered to prepare to attack the British Imperial Expeditionary Force, commanded by General Maitland Wilson. Greek troops in the north of the country, which initially successfully resisted the attacks of the Italians, were eventually forced to capitulate to the Duce's German allies. Wilson's forces retreated to the Peloponnese. The only escape route for the British and Greeks was a narrow isthmus west of Athens, cut by the deep Corinth Canal. Paratroopers of the 2nd Regiment received orders to block this passage. Unfortunately for them, they received orders to act a couple of days later than necessary. As a result, although the operation achieved significant tactical success (and captured more than 2,000 British and Greek soldiers), the victory was not as complete as it might have been: most of the Expeditionary Force was evacuated by sea.

The operation began at 5.00 on April 26, 1941, when a platoon of the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Hans Toysen, took place in the gliders at the Larissa airfield. The goal of the paratroopers was to capture the most important bridge across the canal. Two hours later the gliders landed, and although they landed under heavy enemy fire, the paratroopers were able to quickly make their way to the bridge and defuse most of the explosives planted by the British. Here, however, an accident intervened: a stray shell from a British Bofors hit a stack of ammunition boxes; The explosion destroyed the bridge, and many of Toysen's paratroopers were killed. Soon, however, the gliders delivered the main forces of the 2nd battalion of paratroopers, who cut off the retreating British from the bridge. Toisen, whose forces were incomparably smaller than those of the enemy, called a senior officer of the British troops for negotiations and told him that his detachment was the first wave of an advancing division supported by dive bombers. The trick was a success: the British surrendered. For this battle, Toisen, who did not surrender command after being wounded, was presented with the Knight's Cross.

Crete, 1941

Major Walter Koch after being wounded in the head shortly after saving two wounded British paratroopers from being shot. He is wearing a service uniform with two breast and two side pockets. Early Luftwaffe breast eagle: distinguished by its drooping tail (Gavin Cadden).

The next battle truly became a legend of the airborne troops: it was the battle for Crete. Although Student's plans for operations against the northern tip of the Suez Canal, Alexandria and Malta were never carried out (like the earlier plan to capture Gibraltar from the air as part of Operation Sea Lion), the Battle of Crete was itself unique.

April 20, 1941 The student presented his views to the Luftwaffe High Command. According to the general, the capture of Crete was a necessary continuation of the Balkan campaign, since British airfields on the island provided enemy bombers with the opportunity to raid the oil wells of Ploesti. Goering agreed with these arguments, then they convinced Hitler, although the Wehrmacht command insisted that the paratroopers first be used to capture Malta.

Meanwhile, the XI Air Corps was hastily reorganized. The 22nd Airborne Division was assigned to guard the oil areas of Ploiesti; Instead, Student received the 5th Mountain Division under Major General Ringel. As of May 20, 1941, Student forces allocated to Operation Mercury included:

firstly, an air landing assault regiment (Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment, LLStR, former paratrooper) under the command of Major General Meindl (battalion commanders: I/LLStR - Major Koch, II/LLStR - Major Stenzler, III/LLStR - Major Scherber, IV/LLStR - Captain Gericke);

secondly, the 7th Aviation Division of Lieutenant General Wilhelm Sussmann, which included the 1st Parachute Regiment of Colonel Breuer (battalion commanders: I/FJR1 - Major Walter, II/FJR1 - Captain Burckhardt, III/FJR1 - Major Schultz); 2nd Parachute Regiment, Colonel Alfred Sturm (I/FJR2 - Major Kroch,

Paratroopers with a PaK-36 anti-tank gun. The crew is wearing jackets with?fragmentation? camouflage patterns and jump trousers, but the shoes are regular infantry boots (544/588/20A).

II/FJR2 - captain Pietzonka, III/FJR2 - captain Wiedemann); and the 3rd Parachute Regiment of Colonel Heydrich (I/FJR3 - Captain Baron von der Heydte, II/FJR3 - Major Derpa, III/FJR3 - Major Heilmann);

thirdly, the 5th Mountain Rifle Division under Major General Ringel, consisting of: 85th Mountain Rifle Regiment (GebirgsjagerRegiment 85) Colonel Krakau (battalion commanders: I/GJR85 - Major Dr. Trek, II/GJR85 - Major Eskh, III/GJR85 - Major Fett); 100th Mountain Regiment of Colonel Utz (I/GJR100 - Major Schrank, II/GJR100 - Major Friedman, III/GJR100 - Major Ehall); 95th Mountain Artillery Regiment ( Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment) Lieutenant Colonel Wittmann (division commanders: I/GartR95 - Major von Sternbach, II/GartR95 - Major Reitel). In addition, the division included the 95th mountain motorcycle, pioneer, anti-tank and reconnaissance battalions under the command of Majors Nolte, Schatte, Bindermann and Count Kastel zu Kastel, respectively.

In addition to these units, the forces of the XI Air Corps would include a light anti-aircraft division, and the 7th Aviation Division included pioneer, artillery, machine gun and anti-tank battalions.

According to the plans for the capture of the island, all these forces were supposed to fall in two waves on four main targets, three of which were airfields. Meindl's assault regiment captured the airfield at Malemes and, with the support of Heydrich's 3rd Parachute Regiment, also captured roads, bridges and air defense positions in the area of ​​Kania, the island's capital. This completed the first phase of the operation. In the second wave of landings, Sturm's 2nd Regiment captured the airfield and the city of Rethymnon, while Breuer's 1st Regiment dropped a few miles closer to the coast and attacked the airfield and the city of Heraklion. Ringel's 5th Mountain Division was airlifted to support the operation after the airfields were captured.

However, these plans were based on German intelligence data, which turned out to be extremely inaccurate.

To begin with, the Abwehr of Admiral Canaris mistakenly concluded that the British transported more than 50,000 troops evacuated from Greece to Egypt. It was a mistake - the troops were left in Crete. Secondly, the British garrison of the island was not only actively preparing for defense, but also based its plans on the fact that the most likely attack option was an airborne assault. And finally, thirdly, the Abwehr did not know that New Zealander General Bernard Freyberg, the highest-ranking British military officer of the Allied forces in Crete and a very active military leader, had accurately guessed the main landing sites of the Germans.

paratroopers and strengthened them well, even preparing “wolf pits” in the zone of possible landing of gliders and paratroopers.

And that's not all. The Germans expected to meet on the island only British and Greek troops demoralized by the defeat on the Greek mainland - and this was a serious miscalculation.

Due to a military intelligence error, the main part of the invasion plan included the capture of airfields at Malemes and Heraklion, the landing of a limited contingent of paratroopers at Rethymno, and an operation against the headquarters and main forces of General Freyberg, which were expected to be found in Cania.

105-mm LG-40 recoilless rifle with a crew of ranger-paratroopers. The paratroopers wear gray-green jackets. Please note that the chief corporal (on the right) wears chevrons from his service uniform (546/668/7) on the sleeve of his jacket.

A paratrooper fires from an FG-42 automatic rifle, mounted on a bipod. Over his jacket, to protect him from the rain, he put on a raincoat: two of these raincoats could be zipped together, turning them into a shelter from the rain for several people (738/289/16).

Malemes, surrounded by terraces of olive trees, is located on the northwestern tip of the island. Today it is a famous tourist center, but on May 20, 1941, both the British and the Germans saw it only as a dusty province scorched by the sun. Although the airfield's landing strip was only 600 meters long, its capture was vital to the progress of the entire operation. And the prelude to the assault on the airfield was supposed to be the destruction of a well-camouflaged British air defense battery dug into the ground. After a raid by dive bombers, at approximately 7.00 the vanguard of the airborne assault regiment (a company of 90 people under the command of Lieutenant Gentz) successfully landed its DFS-230 gliders under heavy fire from the defenders. Despite serious losses, the paratroopers were able to capture anti-aircraft gunner positions south of the airfield. Following the vanguard, the remaining forces of Major Koch's I/LLStR were to land. According to the order of the battalion commander, the soldiers were to concentrate immediately after landing and launch an attack directly on the airfield. The battalion's 3rd company landed as planned, but the 4th and headquarters companies went off course and landed in the very center of the British lines. In the very first minutes of the battle, Major Koch was wounded, and with him half of his soldiers. In such a situation, it was impossible to carry out the planned attack. However, the 3rd company, which landed on the western edge of the airfield, was able to dig in in the dry river bed. Throughout the morning, surviving paratroopers arrived to join the paratroopers of the 3rd company, and with joint efforts they were able to capture the enemy fortifications to the west and south of the takeoff field.

The 3rd battalion of the assault regiment was parachuted northeast of the airfield. Like the 1st battalion, it was pinned to the ground by strong rifle, machine gun and artillery fire from the “Height 107” area that dominated the terrain. The paratroopers were scattered during the drop and for some time after that they could not form groups. Regimental headquarters and the 4th battalion successfully landed near the large bridge west of the airfield. At the same time, however, Major General Meindl was seriously wounded, and Major Stenzler, commander of the 2nd battalion (according to the plan, this battalion remained in the regiment's reserve) took command of the regiment. By the end of the first day of fighting, the assault regiment thus reached the airfield, but was unable to establish control over it. At the same time, an enemy counterattack could be expected at any moment; A sleepless night awaited the battle-worn paratroopers.

Colonel Heydrich's 3rd Parachute Regiment landed west of the assault regiment with the task of capturing Galatians, Cania and Souda Bay.

The vanguard of the regiment was the 3rd battalion of Major Heilmann; his paratroopers landed unsuccessfully right in the center of the surprised New Zealanders, who immediately opened fire. Only one company (9th) landed at the planned site, the rest were carried further into the mountains. Some of the paratroopers sank into the reservoir, from which the soldiers could no longer get out, and the rest went straight to the location of the New Zealand military camp, where they were captured. After a full day of fighting and an unsuccessful attempt to capture the heights above Galatians, the badly battered 9th Company was forced to retreat.

The 1st Battalion of the 3rd Parachute Regiment was dropped near the Agia fortress, an important stronghold that allowed control of the Alikianon-Kania road. The paratroopers landed in the designated area, but immediately came under heavy machine-gun fire: nearby was the country villa of King George II of Greece, who, unfortunately for himself, fled from the mainland to Alikianon! With the support of the 2nd battalion, the 1st battalion captured the fortress and established the regimental headquarters in it, but the paratroopers were unable to advance to Kania. By evening, the third battalion joined the two battalions of the regiment.

An interesting photograph of a group of paratroopers taken in 1944. The rangers have special fabric gas mask bags on their chests on the left and center. On the right, details of the FG-42 stock are clearly visible. Two huntsmen wear field caps, which replaced caps (582/2105/16).

During the landing of the first wave of troops, almost everything did not go as expected. None of the primary targets was completely taken under control, and several battalions and companies lost their commanders killed. The division commander himself, Lieutenant General Süssmann, lay dead in the crashed glider, and Major General Meindl was seriously wounded. The German command in Greece did not know this, but the second wave of landings had its own difficulties. Too little time was allocated for refueling and returning transport aircraft; in the terrible heat, planes had to be refueled manually from canisters. In addition, the landing of vehicles returning from Crete was complicated by clouds of dust over the airfield. As a result, the planes of the second wave were forced to take off in small groups instead of providing a massive transfer of reinforcements.

At 13.30, the 2nd Parachute Regiment began landing to capture Rethymno, while the 2nd Battalion was allocated for another task - the assault on Heraklion. Two companies landed at the intended location, but were immediately pinned to the ground by heavy fire; the third company, landing five miles further, hit a rocky area, causing many of the paratroopers to be seriously injured. However, the companies managed to link up and capture the vineyard-covered hill that dominated the Rethymno airfield. It was not possible to capture the airfield itself, so the paratroopers dug in to hold out until the next morning.

This skydiver has light machine guns The MG-42 helmet is covered with a classic fabric cover: the wide tape for attaching leaf camouflage is clearly visible; narrower ribbons crossing at the top; attaching the cover to the edges of a steel helmet using hooks. In addition to German egg-shaped grenades, he is armed with an American “lemon” (579/1957/26A).

The 1st Parachute Regiment, reinforced by the second battalion of the 2nd Regiment, was supposed to capture the airfield at Heraklion. The anti-aircraft defense in this area was strong, so the Ju.52 transports had to make a drop at a much higher altitude than usual. As a result, many of Breuer's paratroopers were machine-gunned during their descent. Two companies flocking to the western edge of the airfield were shot down almost to the last (only five people survived, having rolled head over heels from the coastal cliffs). The remaining units were greatly scattered, and Breuer had to abandon any thought of capturing the airfield on the first day. The whole night was spent gathering the scattered fighters.

By the end of the first day, the situation seemed almost hopeless to the seven thousand surviving paratroopers. The only reason why General Student continued the operation was the hope of somehow saving the survivors. Fortunately for the Germans trapped on the island, the British commander, General Freyberg, did not launch a massive night counterattack. Instead of a powerful pressure, the British carried out only a few local counterattacks, which the paratroopers repulsed without much difficulty. As a result, at a time when the battle for Crete froze in an unstable balance, British and Greek troops missed a real opportunity to throw the Germans into the sea. The result of this delay was defeat.

General Kurt Student inspects a detachment of paratroopers somewhere in the Mediterranean. The soldiers are dressed in jump jackets of the “second type” with a “splintered” camouflage pattern and trousers of a tropical uniform in a faded sand color. Details of the Student's uniform are described in the comments to the color illustrations (569/1589/8).

In the ruins of Cassino, 1944. The two paratroopers on the left are wearing military windproof anorak jackets, worn over the head: the second on the left has a clearly visible breast pocket. This photo shows three versions of steel helmets: a bluish-gray one without a cover, painted with sandy yellow paint, and covered with a fabric cover with a “splintered” camouflage pattern (578/1926/34).

Early in the morning of May 21, in the Malemes area, the 1st battalion of the assault regiment again launched an assault on Hill 107, and this time successfully. The Germans captured two anti-aircraft guns and immediately deployed them against targets on the airfield. At this time, a lone Ju.52 successfully landed on the airfield under fire. A pile of ammunition was pushed out of the plane onto the field, the most seriously wounded were quickly loaded into the car, and the pilot immediately lifted the plane. This happened after another German air raid on the airfield, and, to the surprise of the paratroopers, their opponents did not even try to interfere with this “unloading and loading operation.”

In the area of ​​operations of the 3rd battalion of the assault regiment, the situation was extremely difficult. Cretan partisans, under the cover of darkness, mutilated the corpses of all the Germans they could find and killed all the wounded. The response actions of the paratroopers were terrible, as confirmed by photographs of the German archive in Koblenz (the administration flatly refused to provide the author with these photographs for the book). Of the 580 soldiers of the battalion who landed on the island, at least 135 rangers were killed by the partisans, and their bodies were never found.

At 14.00 on May 21, German bombers made a new raid on Malemes, and immediately after this the Germans landed two more companies of the assault regiment. With their support, the defenders of the airfield were finally overthrown. A little later, Colonel Ramcke landed at the head of another 550 paratroopers, and after them Ringel's mountain riflemen began to arrive. The first unit to land with the help of transport aircraft was the 100th Mountain Rifle Regiment, which the paratroopers joyfully greeted. But soon the triumph turned into chaos: the small airfield could not accommodate so many planes at once, landing planes rammed each other, the entire perimeter of the airfield was littered with debris and damaged planes.

And yet the situation in which the mountain riflemen found themselves in Malemes was better than the mess in which their comrades found themselves. The 3rd Battalion of the 100th Mountain Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the 85th Mountain Regiment were sent to Crete by sea, two convoys of small fishing boats under the cover of only two old Italian destroyers Lupo and Sagitario. Both caravans were intercepted by British warships and sunk. Retribution came too late: the next morning, German dive bombers sank two British cruisers and a destroyer, and damaged two more warships and two cruisers. But from two German battalions, only one officer and 51 soldiers escaped. And yet, the most difficult period of the battle for Crete for the Germans was already over.

The reinforced assault regiment quickly concentrated its forces around Malemes on the afternoon of May 21 and began an attack on Kania.

True, it was not possible to take the city until May 27 - the enemy resistance was so strong. The mountain rangers, meanwhile, were ordered to advance by forced march to Rethymno: their support was desperately needed here.

This skydiver, photographed in Italy, has the watch pocket of his jump trousers clearly visible. Pay attention to the helmet cover, made from Italian camouflage fabric (579/1953/20).

In the Rethymno area, soldiers of the 2nd Parachute Regiment early in the morning of May 21 were driven back by an attack of Australian infantry from positions occupied the day before by one and a half kilometers. The paratroopers were able to gain a foothold in a factory building in the middle of the olive groves, and for the next four days the two battalions held off almost 7,000 British troops supported by artillery. On the night of May 25-26, 250 paratroopers tried to retreat to Heraklion under cover of darkness, but were stopped a few kilometers to the east. The Australians, meanwhile, occupied the factory building abandoned by the Germans, and when the remnants of the parachute detachment tried to return to their previous position, they were met with a brutal counterattack.

On May 29, paratroopers of the 2nd Regiment received information that their enemy had begun to retreat. The paratroopers, having received containers with ammunition dropped by transport aircraft, again began to advance back to Rethymno, in turn trying to drive the Australians out of the factory. On the morning of May 30, as soon as the paratroopers began storming the building, rangers of the 85th Mountain Rifle Regiment approached them. Together, the Germans finally captured the enemy stronghold, capturing 1,200 Australians.

Near Heraklion in the first days, from May 20 to 23, the situation for the paratrooper rangers was also not the best. Despite the difficulties during the landing, by the morning of May 21, units of the 1st Parachute Regiment were able to connect with each other and begin moving towards the city. However, they faced resistance from almost eight thousand British and Greek soldiers, who also had sufficient artillery support. The offensive against the city and airport stalled. The next day, the paratroopers refused the British command's offer to surrender. At this time, the rangers finally established radio contact with their command. To their joy, an order was received that canceled the capture of the airfield in Heraklion: the paratroopers were only supposed to hold the line they had reached, preventing the British from attempting to send reinforcements west of Rethymno. To do this, however, the Germans had to capture enemy artillery positions on the hill designated “Hill 491.” That same night, Schultz's 3rd Battalion secretly moved up the hill and was attacked by the British. The unexpected attack stunned the artillerymen, and they abandoned their positions.

On May 24, Breuer strengthened his positions, and the next day received reinforcements - another battalion was airlifted. On May 26, the regiment launched an offensive and successfully captured “Height 296,” which dominated Heraklion. Thus, everything was prepared for the development of the offensive; In addition, the next day new units of the 5th Mountain Division began to approach the regiment. By this time, the British and Greeks were already so demoralized that they left only a small rearguard group, actually suicide bombers, to defend the airfield. By and large, this was the end. That same day, General Freyberg announced the evacuation of troops, and the Allies began leaving the island by ship, heading south. During the pursuit of the retreating British, Greeks, New Zealanders and Australians, the mountain riflemen captured about 10,000 prisoners. Freyberg was able to evacuate approximately 17,000 through Sfakia.

German paratroopers talk with Italian paratroopers (right). It is unclear whether the Italians are serving in the Italian army, or whether they are from the personnel of the Folgiore or Nembo divisions, reassigned to the German 4th Parachute-Jäger Division when it was formed in the winter of 1943/44. The German on the left wears an army steel helmet and an old grayish-green jacket. Second from the left - wearing an Italian paratrooper's helmet and a German jacket with splintered camouflage (578/1931/7A).

Operation Mercury was successfully completed, but it came at a cost. Of the 22,000 men involved in the invasion, the Germans lost 3,250 killed or missing, with another 3,400 wounded. Allied losses in killed and wounded reached 2,500 people, although five times as many British and Greeks were captured. A few days later, Hitler told Student: “Crete has shown that the days of the paratroopers are a thing of the past.” And yet the paratroopers continued the war, fighting on the ground next to the Wehrmacht soldiers.

GROUND OPERATIONS

An Italian parachutist in an Italian parachutist helmet and a jacket with a specific camouflage pattern. He is in the service of either the German 4th Parachute Division or one of the Italian units (578/1931/11A).

Crete was the last major airborne operation of the German Army during World War II. Never again have the country's armed forces had sufficient manpower and especially the required number of transport aircraft, and in addition, have not been faced with a tactical need to take such action. Of course, this did not mean the end of the use of paratroopers as airborne paratroopers: landings of assault forces up to a battalion strength during the capture of key enemy targets continued until the end of the war. In June 1941, paratroopers helped saboteurs of the Brandenburg regiment during the capture of bridges across the Dvina in Russia. In September 1943, Otto Skorzeny's saboteurs rescued Mussolini from prison at Gran Sasso in a daring operation using gliders and light aircraft. In May 1944, an SS punitive parachute battalion raided Tito's headquarters in Drvar. Even in the winter of 1944/45, small landing operations were carried out: soldiers of the 6th Parachute Regiment participated in them during the offensive in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front when transferring reinforcements to the defenders of Breslau. Mostly, however, paratroopers were used as elite infantry during routine military operations. Therefore, the author of the book focused on the airborne operations of the first years of the war. The following is just a brief list of the main events in which German parachute troops also took part.

The 7th Aviation Division, crippled in battle, was reorganized. In September 1941, the 2nd Battalion of the Division's Air Landing Assault Regiment (II/LLStR) was the first of its units to be sent to Russia; The division fought on the Leningrad Front until March 1943. In October 1942 it was renamed the 1st Parachute Division ( 1. Fallschirmjager-Division), and in March 1943 they were transferred to the south of France, giving them the opportunity to rest and replenish themselves after heavy losses in Russia.

Paratroopers in Russia wore reversible quilted field jackets - here they are worn with the white side out (578/1940/2).

Africa

In 1942, the parachute troops were increased in number, which made it possible to select from their composition a separate unit for operations in North Africa. In mid-July 1942, Major General Ramcke and his staff arrived in Africa, and soon the entire Ramcke parachute brigade (FallschirmjagerBrigade Ramcke) followed their commander. The brigade consisted of four rifle battalions (1st - Major Kroch, 2nd - Major von der Heydte, 3rd - Major Huebner; 4th battalion was called the parachute training battalion and was commanded by Major Burckhardt). In addition, the brigade had an artillery division, anti-tank and sapper companies. The brigade was transferred to Africa by plane and therefore was left without its own vehicles: they had to be borrowed from the 135th Anti-Aircraft Regiment. The brigade was deployed in the southern sector of the front near Alamein, between the Italian divisions Bologna and Brescia. After a small offensive undertaken during the battle of Alam el Halfa, the brigade had to go on the defensive during the battle of El Alamein. Already listed as missing in action during the retreat under Montgomery's Panzer Army Africa, the brigade's 600 paratroopers made a desperate, fighting breakthrough across the desert, captured a British transport unit and, using captured trucks, reached Rommel's main forces in the Fuquay area. During this epic, the paratroopers covered more than 300 kilometers of off-road terrain through enemy-controlled territory.

A paratrooper during a battle in Russia fires a Flammenwerfer 41 (553/841/4) backpack flamethrower.

Jaeger paratroopers were also deployed during the fighting in Tunisia. In November 1942, the 5th Parachute Regiment (FJR5) of Colonel Koch and the Barentin Regiment (named after its commander, Walter Barentin) - a unit formed from paratroopers of various units - were transferred from Naples to the Tunisian airfield of El Aoina. In addition, the assault group of the 21st engineer battalion of Witzig was delivered here. Apart from the sapper-paratroopers, these were unfired units formed from volunteers. Serving as the backbone of the 5th Parachute Regiment and the Barentin Regiment, the soldiers of the W. Koch Landing and Assault Regiment were too few in number to fully convey their rich combat experience to the recruits.

These units fought tenaciously alongside other units of Ramke's brigade at Mathieu, Medjez el Bab and Tebourba, against the closing jaws of the Anglo-American forces. They eventually shared the fate of the rest of the Axis forces in North Africa, capitulating in early May 1943.

One episode from the battles in North Africa deserves special mention: it shows that even in situations that differed sharply from the period of resounding victories at the beginning of the war, German paratroopers continued to display qualities that forced the enemy to treat them with respect. In November 1942, in Depienne, Tunisia, the German "green devils" met the "red devils" - British paratroopers - for the first time. The 2nd British Parachute Battalion of the 6th Parachute Brigade was then commanded by Major John Frost (later, in 1944, he would gain fame as the “Hero of Arnhem Bridge”). The battalion's mission in Tunisia was to capture three enemy field airfields. During the drop onto a sand-covered beachhead, some of the paratroopers were injured. Since the wounded could not march with their comrades, it was decided to leave them in shelter in a nearby building. The location of the British was discovered by soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 5th Parachute Regiment. Under heavy fire, they stormed the building and captured the survivors. The German soldiers acted very nobly towards their prisoners: they provided them with medical care, water, food and cigarettes. After this, the ranger-paratroopers, handing over the prisoners to the replacement unit, continued the offensive.

It is now impossible to establish which part took the British prisoners: whether it was the 19th reconnaissance company of the 10th tank division of the Wehrmacht, the Italian 557th self-propelled artillery group, the 1st battalion of the 92nd Italian infantry regiment, or soldiers from all these parts. What is known is that the German officer who commanded them ordered the British prisoners to dig graves for themselves near the wall, and the Italian machine gunners to shoot them.

At this moment, fortunately, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Koch returned to the scene. He immediately stopped the massacre and ordered proper medical care for the wounded: ultimately, the British paratroopers ended up in one of the prisoner of war camps in Italy. Soon after this, Koch himself was seriously wounded in the head; After being discharged from the hospital, Eben-Emael's hero, who was recovering in Germany, died in a mysterious car accident. The surviving members of his regiment attributed this disaster to the Gestapo: according to Hitler's personal orders, enemy paratroopers were to be treated as saboteurs, shot on the spot. Koch violated this order.

Italy

In the spring of 1943, from the remnants of the Ramcke brigade, who escaped capture along with other soldiers of the Afrika Korps after the battle in Tunisia, the 2nd Parachute Division (2.FJD) was formed in France. It had the same organization as the 1st Parachute. The division included the 2nd Parachute Regiment (FJR2), which had experience of fighting in Belgium, Greece and Crete, and the newly formed 6th and 7th Parachute Regiments. Bernhard Ramcke, who had just been promoted to lieutenant general, was appointed division commander.

Soldiers of a light anti-aircraft battery of a parachute unit with a “captive”: France. 1944 (582/2116/29).

Lieutenant General Ramcke, commander of the 2nd Parachute Division, with paratrooper officers and tank crews in 1944 (Ramcke's division was almost completely destroyed during the defense of French Brest). Buttonholes were not supposed to be worn on the collar of an overcoat (580/1988/164).

Paratroopers from the 3rd Parachute Regiment, 1st Division, fought in Sicily in August 1943 and then crossed safely to the Apennine Peninsula. Both the 3rd and 4th regiments of the division again took part in the fighting after the landing of Anglo-American troops at Salerno; and after that the division performed well, slowly retreating fighting up the “Italian boot.” Even during the battles near Salerno in September, Marshal Badoglio overthrew the Mussolini regime and concluded a truce with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. After this, the German command transferred the 2nd Parachute Jaeger Division from southern France to Rome to stabilize the situation and assist German units that were disarming their former Italian allies. Walter Guericke, who by that time had become the commander of the 2nd battalion of the 6th regiment, added to his already difficult reputation the merit of a parachute landing of a unit in the Monte Rotondo area with the aim of capturing the Italian General Staff. This operation was carried out just a few days before the raid of Skorzeny’s group on Gran Sasso: a group of 90 people operated here, which included soldiers of the SS troops and a training parachute battalion. Another small group of paratroopers from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Parachute Regiment, landed on the Elbe on 17 September, and on 12–13 November, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Parachute Regiment landed on the island of Leros in the Aegean Sea.

In the last months of 1943, the 1st Parachute Division continued desperate defensive battles in Italy. In November-December, the 2nd Division was transferred to Southern Ukraine, where it remained until April 1944. In October 1943, a new, 3rd Parachute Division was formed in France, which included the 5th, 8th and 9th - th shelves. In December, another parachute division was formed in Italian Perugia - the 4th - uniting the 10th, 11th and 12th regiments. The backbone of the division was personnel transferred from the 2nd Parachute Division and former paratroopers of the Italian divisions Folgore and Nembo. Of these two new divisions, the 3rd remained in France, and the 4th was thrown into the fighting that flared up after the Allied landings at Anzio in January 1944. All parachute divisions were now consolidated into two new formations - the 1st and 2nd parachute corps (Fallschirm-Korps). The I Corps included the 1st and 4th divisions, the II - the 2nd and 3rd.

If Crete became a legend of parachute operations, then Cassino can rightfully be called a legend of defensive battles carried out by paratroopers. Dominating Highway 6 south of Rome, this stronghold of the German Gustav Line at the confluence of the Liri, Rapido and Garigliano rivers in the Liri Valley withstood Allied attacks from mid-January to mid-May 1944 by the 1st Parachute Division , which held the defense here, was commanded by Lieutenant General Richard Heydrich (he received the division after Student was appointed commander of both parachute corps). The division's soldiers literally dug into the ground in the ruins of the city and the monastery located on the mountain above it. Here they remained. Neither massive artillery attacks, nor brutal aerial bombing, nor direct infantry attacks could break the defenders. As soon as the artillery preparation ended, the paratroopers climbed out of their shelters in the middle of the ruins and managed to take places at the machine guns while the enemy was climbing the slopes. Eventually, overwhelming superiority in artillery and manpower allowed the Allies to capture Cassino from the flank. But even after the Polish units hoisted their flag over Monte Cassino, the surviving paratroopers of the 1st division retreated in perfect order.

Last year

After the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, German parachute units were among the first to engage them in battle. The 6th Regiment of the 2nd Parachute Division, attached to the 91st Airborne Division of the Wehrmacht, confronted two American airborne divisions in the Carentan area. The remnants of the 2nd Parachute Division, replenished in Germany in April after returning from Russia and now stationed in Brittany, were entrusted with the defense of Brest. Ramke held his position until September 20, until the Americans approached his command post at a distance of 100 meters.

Meindl's II Parachute Corps now included the 3rd and the new 5th divisions (it was formed in March 1944 in Reims and included the 13th, 14th and 15th regiments). Both divisions were involved in heavy fighting at Saint-Lô and Caen and suffered serious losses. The 3rd Division was practically destroyed in the Falaise pocket.

At the beginning of September 1944, Student received under his command a formation under the impressive name “1st Parachute Army”: it was entrusted with defense along the front line in Belgium and Holland, from Antwerp to Maastricht - a stretch of almost 100 kilometers. In fact, this army, with a total strength of about 30,000 people, had an extremely heterogeneous composition. The previous traditions of recruiting parachute-jaeger units only from volunteers were long forgotten. The new units were only called airborne and were recruited for the most part from soldiers of Luftwaffe airfield divisions, “dismounted” aircraft crews that did not have combat vehicles, and in general anyone in a German Air Force uniform who could handle a rifle. They were all grouped around a small core of veterans recruited from the old divisions. Surprisingly, some of these makeshift divisions fought very honorably in the final months of the war.

The only surviving regiment of the old 2nd Parachute Division - the 6th - fought in September 1944 with British and American paratroopers who landed in the Arnhem area during Operation Market Garden. Next to him fought units of two divisions, ground up in the battles in Normandy - the 3rd and 5th parachute divisions were just allocated for reorganization in Belgium and Holland. Reinforced, these divisions took part in the Ardennes offensive in December 1944, and again suffered heavy losses. Supporting the offensive in the Ardennes, von der Heydte's 6th Parachute Regiment made a limited parachute landing: on the night of 15 December its soldiers were parachuted into deep snow near the Malmedy-Eupen road. The paratroopers were tasked with cutting the road to prevent the transfer of reinforcements American troops, located on the northern flank of the 6th SS Panzer Army that had broken through. About 125 people took part in the landing, but they were not successful. Von der Heydte himself was captured a week later.

A photograph allowing a good view of the paratrooper squad in Normandy (1944). On the left is a soldier with a captured British Bren light machine gun. Two of the rangers have army-style helmets. Everyone is wearing grayish-green jump jackets. Please note that even in the last year of the war, Luftwaffe emblems (576/1846/19a) were still found on helmets.

The fate of the paratroopers in the last months of the war can be summarized in the form of a short list of formations. True, it must be borne in mind that many of them only had the status of a division on paper: in fact, some were only small combat groups.

1st Parachute Division. It fought in Italy until the end, capitulating in the Imola area in April 1945. The 2nd Parachute Division. After the fall of Brest, in December 1944, a new division with the same number was formed in Holland. It included the new 2nd, 7th and 21st parachute regiments. Destroyed in the Ruhr in the spring of 1945.

3rd Parachute Division. Broken in Normandy, re-formed in Belgium at the end of 1944 from various Luftwaffe units. As part of the 15th Army in December 1944, she fought in the Ardennes. The remnants of the division surrendered in the Ruhr in April 1945.

4th Parachute Division. She fought in Italy until the surrender of German troops on that front; laid down arms in April 1945 near Vincenza.

5th Parachute Division. Suffered heavy losses in Normandy, then was replenished by various Luftwaffe units in France, Belgium and Holland. Then again heavy losses on the southern flank of the Ardennes offensive (as part of the 7th Army). Surrendered in March 1945 near the Nürburgring.

6th Parachute Division. “Patchwork” division, uniting the 17th and 18th regiments; formed in France in June 1944 and badly battered in Normandy. The remainder were transferred to the 7th Parachute Division. Reformed in Holland and surrendered to the British near Zutphen in early 1945.

7th Parachute Division. Designation of Luftwaffe ground units assembled “from the woods to the pine trees”. This division, which existed only in documents, never fought in full force. It included separate units of the 5th and 6th divisions, training personnel and several battle groups (Menzel, Grossmel, Lightved-Hardegg, Grewe, Schäfer, Schlückebier, Grünwald). She fought in the Arnhem area and eventually surrendered to the British near Oldenburg.

8th Parachute Division. Formed at the beginning of 1945 from the 22nd and 24th parachute regiments. Fought in the Ems-Weser area until the final defeat in April 1945.

9th Parachute Division. Formed in December 1944 from Luftwaffe personnel. The division's regiments received the designations 25th, 26th and 27th. She fought on the Eastern Front in the area of ​​Stargorod, Braslau and on the Oder. Destroyed during the final offensive Soviet army to Berlin. This unit was commanded by the energetic Bruno Breuer. After the end of the war, he was declared a war criminal and executed in 1947. His main guilt was recognized as actions against partisans in Crete in 1941.

10th Parachute Division. The remnants of the 1st and 4th divisions, defeated in Italy, were consolidated into the 28th, 29th and 30th regiments in March 1945 in the Kreme-Melk area in Austria. After the fighting in Moravia, most of the division was captured by the Soviets.

11th Parachute Division. A division that existed only on paper, which most likely failed to unite the disparate units.

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Armament

The armament of the German parachute troops differs little from the armament of the Wehrmacht infantry. The paratroopers used all the standard types of small arms, machine guns, mortars, grenade launchers and flamethrowers adopted by the German army. Beginning in 1942, with the transition to the use of parachute units in ground operations, field, medium, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, self-propelled and assault artillery began to be used. Due to lack of space, we will not dwell in detail on those types of weapons that were widely used by other German troops.

Air General Student (right) with parachute officers, probably during training in northwestern Europe (chief lieutenant's cap in the center with a white maneuver mediator ribbon). 1944 (544/585/31).

In addition to the standard Mauser Kar 98K carbine, paratroopers used a limited number of shortened, folding, or “breakable” rifles. Among them, it is worth mentioning the Kar 98/42 and Brunn Gew 33/40 - both 7.92 mm caliber, with five-round magazines. In addition to the 33/40 rifle with a folding stock, there was another version - a shortened one, intended for both parachute and mountain rifle troops. The eight-round Sauer 38(H) automatic pistol was popular in the Luftwaffe. The most specific weapon of the paratroopers was the 7.92 mm FG42 automatic rifle with a magazine with a capacity of 20 rounds located horizontally on the left, a bipod and a bayonet. Unlike the MP43/44 (SG43) “assault rifle” introduced later in the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe units, the FG42 had a higher muzzle velocity and a longer firing distance.

Parachute units needed light artillery guns to accompany the first wave of landings, which could be transported on gliders and dropped with parachutes. In 1941, a 28-mm anti-tank gun “Panzerbuche 41” was specially developed on a light carriage with very good characteristics for a weapon of such a small caliber. This gun (in the German classification - an anti-tank gun) was designed for shells with tungsten cores, but already in 1941 tungsten was so scarce that the weapon was practically out of use.

Light recoilless rifles were specific to parachute artillery units. They had almost no recoil, so it was possible to do without a heavy carriage and install the barrel on a light metal chassis. Even before the war, the Krupp factories developed a 75-mm LG1 gun with a firing range of 6500 m and the ability to hit armored targets. After Rheinmetall created a new carriage for it, the gun was put into service under the designation LG40. These guns were already used in combat operations in Crete. Used in small numbers since 1941, the 105 mm versions LG40/1 and LG40/2 differed only in the structural elements of the carriage. Since 1942 they were replaced by the 150 mm LG42. Production of recoilless rifles in Germany continued until 1944. Then the abandonment of large-scale airborne operations made them practically useless.

Among anti-aircraft guns, mention should be made of the 20-mm Flak38 automatic cannon, which was produced in a version for parachute troops, distinguished by a lightweight folding carriage. It allowed the weapon to be used to combat both air and ground targets. The 20 mm MG 151/20 was modified in a similar way. The lelG 18F light infantry gun that was being developed never went beyond the prototype. Among the infantry jet weapons, mention should be made of the 150 mm Do-Gerat - this rocket launcher was used in limited quantities by paratroopers already in 1941. In 1944, the single-shot flamethrower “Einstossflammenwerfer 46” was developed specifically for paratroopers. It provided a jet of flame over a distance of up to 27 meters within 0.5 seconds.

Parachutes

In the pre-war years, responsibility for the development of parachutes was assigned to the technical equipment department of the Reich Air Ministry, headed by Professors Hoff and Madelung. The work was carried out at four test stations in Berlin, Rechlin, Darmstadt and Stuttgart. Experiments using theodolites made it possible to establish the required parameters; In accordance with them, the backpack parachute Ruckenpackung Zwangauslosung (RZ1) was developed. During testing and entry practical application its serious shortcomings were noted - excessive swaying during descent and failures of the automatic deployment system. At the beginning of 1940 it was replaced by the RZ16 model, and already in 1941 it was replaced by the RZ20, which remained the main parachute of the Luftwaffe until the end of the war.

The round parachute canopy with a diameter of 8.5 m was sewn from 28 silk wedges. The color of the canopy was most often white, but sometimes (in particular, during Operation Mercury) parachutes with camouflage colored canopies were used. The folded canopy of the RZ20 was packed into a fabric bag. A thin cord connected the top point of the folded canopy with the neck of the bag, and it itself was firmly connected to the exhaust device - a piece of powerful sling with a carabiner at the end. The folded canopy with slings was packed into a “package”, which was fastened on the parachutist’s back to two shoulder half-rings of the harness. From the corners of the “package” two lines descended to the D-shaped rings of the waist part of the harness, which served as the main parachute lock. A nine-meter cord of the exhaust device was laid under the upper corners of the “package”.

The delivery of paratroopers to the drop site was carried out by vulnerable but reliable three-engine Juncker Ju.52/3m transport aircraft, which, depending on the layout, could accommodate from 12 to 18 people. The paratroopers sat on benches located along the fuselage. When the plane reached the drop zone, the releaser (Absetzer) gave the command “Stand up,” and the paratroopers lined up in one line, holding the traction line in their teeth next to the carbine hook. At the next command, they “fastened” - they attached the hook to a thick cable attached along the wall of the fuselage, along which the hook slid as the parachutist moved towards the door. Having reached the door, the parachutist stopped in the opening with his legs apart and slightly bent at the knees, his hands on the handrails on both sides of the opening. When leaving the plane, the paratrooper was supposed to push off the handrails with his hands and fall forward - due to the design of the harness, the paratrooper had to “lie on his stomach” to break up the jerk when the parachute opened. The young soldiers carefully practiced this tricky maneuver in training. After the line of the exhaust device was completely straightened, due to the jerk of the falling body, the valves of the parachute package swung open and the folded canopy was extended. The parachute bag remained hanging over the side of the aircraft at the lower end of the exhaust device, and the thin cord connecting the bag and the parachute panel straightened the canopy to its full length and was unhooked. With a flow of air, the parachute dome swung open with a noticeable jerk, and the paratrooper began a free descent.

The design of German parachutes was very different from those adopted in other countries, in particular the British. Due to the design features of the lines and the specific stowage, RZ parachutes provided a strong jerk when deployed. But they made it possible to jump from relatively low heights - a significant plus for a person who had to hang under the dome for several minutes, expecting that the enemy was about to open fire from the ground. Typically, landings were carried out from a height of 110–120 m, and one of the groups of paratroopers in Crete was successfully dropped from a height of only 75 m. A height of about 40 m was required for the RZ20 to fully deploy.

The harness on the RZ16 and RZ20 parachutes was the classic Irwin chest harness with a bower. The main loops covered the chest, lower back and hips and were connected by vertical ligaments that ran from both sides of the body and crossed on the back (see color illustrations). The big drawback of the RZ series parachutes, however, was the system for attaching the lines to the harness. It is even surprising that the Germans, whose military equipment, as a rule, was of very high quality, never completed the development of this most important technical issue. D-shaped half-rings on the lumbar loop were intended for attaching parachute lines assembled in two bundles in the form of an inverted V. This fastening repeated the old Italian Salvatore system (the British, for example, abandoned it) and retained its main drawback: during the descent, the parachutist simply “hung” in the harness and could not change the volume and inclination of the canopy.

This had several consequences, all of them negative. First of all, the famous “dive” of the German paratrooper from the airplane door was caused by technical necessity, and not by bravado: at the moment the canopy opened, the paratrooper’s body had to be in a horizontal position, otherwise a sharp and painful jerk could bend the body in half. If the parachutist were in a vertical position, the jerk when opening the canopy would be too low, and the paratrooper could simply turn over - a too dangerous situation, especially when dropping from a low altitude.

Secondly, after being thrown out of the plane, the paratrooper could not control the descent by adjusting the tension of the lines, and was completely dependent on the direction of the wind. Moreover, the German paratroopers did not have the opportunity to turn around when landing facing the wind - as a result, they could not at the last moment reduce the speed of descent and, accordingly, the force of the impact upon landing.

Due to the low attachment of the slings to the harness, the German paratroopers descended while maintaining a forward body tilt at an angle of almost 45°. Just before landing, making swimming movements with his arms and legs, the parachutist could try to turn his face in the direction of the wind, so as not to be tipped over on his back immediately after landing. If this was possible, it was possible to absorb the force of the impact by somersaulting forward, but even in this case, when landing, the toes of the boots, knees and hands of the paratrooper touched the surface of the earth almost simultaneously. This is why paratroopers placed such importance on protecting their ankles, knees and wrists - something the Americans, British or Russians almost never had to do. To imagine all this, the reader must forget the familiar pictures of the landing of modern paratroopers: vertical landing with precise control of the parachute was inaccessible to the German paratroopers of the Second World War. Landing with a somersault forward of a person equipped with heavy ammunition and weapons on an RZ20 parachute at a descent speed of 3.5 to 5.5 m/sec, even in the absence of horizontal wind, was a risky undertaking; landing fractures were common.

One way or another, immediately after landing, the parachutist had to free himself from the harness as quickly as possible (by the way, for this the German paratrooper needed to unfasten four buckles, while the English one only needed one). The inability to “extinguish” the canopy of the parachute on the surface of the earth by adjusting the length of the lines represented the last of the dangers. In a strong crosswind, the inflated canopy could drag a paratrooper for a long time; There are many cases where, after landing, parachutists were carried out to sea or smashed to death on rocks.

Let us remind you once again: all these dangers to which the German paratroopers were exposed were a consequence of the specific (very low) attachment of the parachute lines to the harness. This is especially surprising when you consider that Luftwaffe pilots were equipped with parachutes with an Irwin harness with a shoulder-mounted, high line attachment! It is known that in mid-1943 the Germans developed a triangular parachute with better characteristics, which made it possible to control the descent conditions to a certain extent, but this RZ36 never entered service with the troops.

Parachute training of German paratroopers was carried out very carefully. During the training, young fighters were instilled with skills that were supposed to reduce the risk of injury resulting from imperfect equipment. Initially, basic landing techniques were practiced in the gym. At the same time, the soldiers became familiar with the structure of parachutes and learned how to pack them (later on, the paratroopers themselves only packed the traction cord). Then came the turn of simulated jumps from the fuselage model and training in handling the harness. After mastering the basics, we moved on to real jumps. During the training, it was necessary to make six training jumps, with the first being performed individually from a height of about 200 m, and the rest - in a group, at different conditions flight and from ever lower altitudes. The last jump was performed simultaneously by 36 paratroopers, who jumped from three aircraft from a height of about 120 m, and after landing immediately proceeded to perform a tactical training task on the ground. Volunteers who successfully completed the training course received the coveted parachutist badge (Fallschirmschutzenabzeichen).

Containers

Unlike their opponents - the paratroopers of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the German paratroopers could not carry heavy equipment with them during the descent. The British and Americans, for example, put everything they needed in rather heavy bags, attached with slings to the harness; these bags, hanging down, at the last moment somewhat dampened the landing speed, ending up on the ground before their owner. The German paratrooper could take with him only the lightest equipment and personal weapons. Weapons containers (Waffenhalter) were used to drop off the main weapons, ammunition, food, medicine, communications equipment and everything else that might be needed on the ground and in battle. Due to the inevitable dispersion during the release, the containers always ended up at a greater or lesser distance from the landing parachutists. Their search and transportation could become a matter of life and death: in Crete, for example, many German paratroopers died due to the need to get to containers under enemy fire.

During Operation Mercury, no less than three different sizes of containers were used. The smaller ones were used to throw out the heaviest loads, such as ammunition, and the largest ones were used for bulky but relatively light ones (particularly medicine).

The shape and design of the containers remained unchanged throughout the war. However, after the operation to capture Crete, instead of the three original sizes, only one was left: 150 cm long, 40 cm high and 40 cm wide. The containers were equipped with stiffening ribs, several canvas handles, some with a pair of small rubber-coated wheels and a metal T-shaped folding handle. The mass of the packaged container was about 100 kg; a platoon (43 soldiers) relied on 14 containers. On the end wall opposite the parachute lines, there was a metal crushable shock-absorbing system in the form of a thin-walled corrugated pipe. Containers, as a rule, were placed on special frames in the cargo compartments of the Ju.52, but could also be mounted under the wings of Junkers transport aircraft or other aircraft - for example, He.111.

Color illustrations

1. Chief Corporal of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Parachute Regiment, Braunschweig, Germany, 1939. 2. Huntsman of the 1st Parachute Regiment, 1941 3. Non-commissioned officer of the 1st Parachute Regiment, Stendal, Germany, 1939.

1. The former soldier of the Wehrmacht parachute infantry battalion (Fallschirm-Infanterie-Bataillon) still wears a green jump jacket: this element of the uniform was assigned to the soldiers of this particular unit. Such jackets were also worn some time after the battalion was reassigned to the Luftwaffe. The jacket had no collar and was equipped with two full-length zippers; two additional fasteners with buttons in the upper part of the chest prevented the spontaneous unfastening of the zippers. This model was noticeably shorter than the subsequent ones, and was pulled together at the bottom. On the right side of the chest was sewn an army emblem in the form of an eagle with straight wings (such emblems could sometimes be seen on Luftwaffe jackets until 1940). On the left sleeve there are army chevrons of rank insignia. Special paratrooper trousers looked similar to army field trousers of the 1943 model, but were made of fabric of a greener shade. The trousers were fastened at the ankles with tabs and buttons and had two back and two side pockets, as well as a small “watch” pocket on the right side of the waist. At knee level, under the side seams, slits were left, fastened with buttons. Through these slits, rectangular knee pads filled with kapok could be worn. In photographs, the slit on the left leg is usually invisible, but the right one is visible, because immediately behind it there was a vertical pocket for a switchblade, covered by a flap with three large snap clasps. (A special switchblade; it was part of the parachutist’s standard equipment. Its blade entered the handle and was thrown out of it due to gravity and was automatically fixed, so that, if necessary, the knife could be operated with one hand. In case of danger, the knife could be used to cut lines.)

In addition to the internal knee pads, when jumping, another pair of external, more massive ones were worn over the trousers. They were made of leather and filled with spongy rubber, and fastened to the legs with intersecting elastic bands. Early jump boots were distinguished by a unique cut and lacing located not in the front, but on the outer surface of the ankles. The boots were equipped with thick soles with deep V-shaped corrugation.

The first example of a parachute helmet was externally similar to the German army steel helmet of the 1935 model, but with a weakly defined, as if “sawed off” visor and back plate. This experimental design featured a small horizontal slit in the lower front portion of the buttplate, above the ear. Very soon this helmet was replaced by a steel helmet of the 1938 model - almost without a visor and with a very small backplate (Fig. 2). The shape of the helmet has become a little more rounded. The black chin strap remained, like the previous sample, V-shaped. The paratroopers' helmets were painted in bluish-gray "Luftwaffe color" and two images were applied to them: on the right - a shield in state colors (black-white-red), and on the left - a white Luftwaffe eagle.

When jumping, paratroopers wore black leather gloves with elastic cuffs.

The parachute harness could be of two slightly different types. This illustration shows a variant found in pre-war photographs; apparently it was used with RZ1 parachutes (the RZ16 backpack parachute was adopted in 1940, and the RZ20 in 1941; it is possible that the early type of harness was used with the RZ1, and the later type, shown in Fig. 2, with the RZ16 and RZ20, but this is nothing more than a guess.) The early type of harness had two simple shoulder straps that crossed at the back; two half rings were attached slightly above the cross. Early photographs show parachute bags with a pull cord folded into loops and attached vertically to the right. On the left side of the bag there was a white vertical stripe, and double slings connecting the dome with the half rings of the harness came out from under the bag's flaps in the lower corners. A later harness, shown in Fig. 2, was equipped with a shoulder fabric “yoke”, inside of which the shoulder straps passed. The lanyard began to be attached horizontally at the top of the bag, and the slings connecting the system to the D-rings were covered with valves in the upper corners of the bag. It is known that early release parachutes suffered from failures of automatic deployment systems, so it is quite possible that the changes shown here were the result of attempts to get rid of this dangerous shortcoming.

2. We have already described the main differences in the design of the parachute bag and harness. Now let's turn our attention to the jacket. Shown here is the so-called “first version of the Luftwaffe jump jacket”, which the jäger paratroopers received when forming the unit. The jacket is made from the same dense greenish material as the army jump jacket shown in Fig. 1. Luftwaffe jackets, however, now have a turn-down collar. A distinctive feature of the overall jacket was the short “pants legs” into which the legs had to be threaded when dressing. Covered with a small vertical flap, there is one fastener, in the middle of the chest, from collar to step: first it was made with buttons, then with a zipper. Early models of the jacket did not have pockets on the chest - only two side welts. The Luftwaffe emblem was embroidered with white thread on a blue background and attached to the right chest. Later, emblems on a blue background were introduced specifically for wearing on jackets. There is evidence that such jackets were also made from gray fabric.

3. This non-commissioned officer is wearing the standard Luftwaffe service uniform for junior non-commissioned officers ("non-commissioned officers without a harness"), distinguished only by the parachute rank insignia. German Air Force cap (Schirmmutze), Luftwaffe blue with black band, visor and chin strap. Along the edges of the bottom and band there are edgings in colors according to the type of troops, in this case golden yellow, assigned to the flight personnel and parachutists. The flight blouse (Fliegerbluse) in the service uniform was worn with the collar unbuttoned, without a shirt and tie (in the dress uniform, a light blue shirt and black tie were worn under the blouse). Initially, the blouses of non-commissioned officers and privates did not have pockets. Since November 1940, it was ordered to sew blouses with slanted side pockets, covered with button-fastened flaps with rounded corners. Officer blouses were sewn with welt side pockets without flaps. On the collar there are buttonholes in the applied color according to the branch of service, with a single “eagle” according to the military rank. From one to four “eagles” were assigned to the lower ranks from huntsman to hauptefreiter. Non-commissioned officers from non-commissioned officer to staff sergeant also wore from one to four “eagles” on each buttonhole, but they trimmed the edge of the collar with silver braid (Tresse). All those in active service wore applied-colored piping (Waffenfarbe) along the outer edge of the collar, and the same piping went along the edge of the shoulder straps. Starting with the non-commissioned officer, ranks were designated by a galloon lining along the edge of the shoulder strap and quadrangular stars. For ranks below non-commissioned officer, the insignia was silver-gray chevrons sewn on the left sleeve. One chevron was assigned to a corporal, two to a corporal, and three to a hauptefreiter. Two chevrons with an asterisk denoted the rank of Staff Freiter, introduced in February 1944. The non-commissioned officer in the picture wore a blouse with straight blue-gray Luftwaffe trousers and standard army boots. Belt with Luftwaffe buckle; The leather equipment of the German Air Force was originally dark brown.

Luftwaffe emblem - so-called. flying eagle - began to be sewn on the chest on the right only in March 1940; Before that, there were no emblems on flight blouses. On the left chest is the paratrooper badge, introduced in November 1936: a silver-plated wreath of oak and laurel branches (blackened from the end of 1942) with a gold eagle. The Army equivalent of the badge, introduced in June 1937, continued to be worn only by former members of the Army Parachute Unit who qualified from June 1937 to January 1939. The Army badge had an oak leaf wreath only, with an Army eagle (with straight wings) and a swastika in the center at the top, or a silver diving eagle, but without a swastika in the talons. These qualification badges (Fallschirmschutzenabzeichen) were issued only after completing the training course and completing six qualifying jumps. According to official rules, in order to continue wearing the badge it was necessary to undergo annual requalification.

A green ribbon sewn above the cuff of the right sleeve bears the inscription embroidered in silver-gray thread: Fallschirm-Jager Rgt. 1. Officers' sleeve ribbons were distinguished by silver embroidery and a silver stripe along the edge. The same ribbons (with a corresponding change in numbers) were given to ranks of the 2nd Regiment, and soldiers of the 7th Air Division and personnel of the parachute school in Stendal wore ribbons of the same type with the inscription Fallschirm-Division (but without a stripe along the edge of the officer ribbons). It should be borne in mind that the wearing of all three ribbons was abolished by order in 1939, shortly after the outbreak of the war; as a result, these tapes can only be seen in rare photographs.

1. Chief Lieutenant of the 1st Battalion, 1st Parachute Regiment, Western Europe, spring 1940. 2–3. Jaeger and non-commissioned officer, Belgium and Holland, May 1940

1. An officer in the landing zone takes off his jump jacket to get out his personal equipment: before the jump, it had to be hidden under the jacket and then taken out. This procedure took quite a long time due to the fact that the German paratroopers had to unfasten four carbines to remove the harness, and then get out of the legs of the jump jacket-overalls. The Germans had to do this because of the danger posed by the equipment worn over the overalls: parachute lines could get caught on it when the canopy opened.

The officer's head is protected by an ordinary steel paratrooper's helmet; however, photographs taken in Norway in 1940 show that some paratroopers at that time wore ordinary army helmets, and some wore early experimental helmets, similar to army ones; they can be easily distinguished by the horizontal slit above the ear (see Fig. 1 in the previous illustration). The “first model” jump jackets in 1940 were equipped with pockets. This color chart shows various options cut of jackets. Some jackets had only one chest pocket on the left, others had one chest pocket and two pockets on the front of the hips, with horizontal fastenings. It seems that these early jackets were always fastened with an open (not covered by a flap) white plastic zipper: the flap appeared in 1941. At this time, a stylized system of rank insignia was already being used - the same as on Luftwaffe flight jackets and overalls. White or grayish “eagles” and stripes were sewn or stenciled on the tan or dark blue rectangular flap above the elbow on the right and left. The lieutenant, chief lieutenant and captain were entitled to one stripe and from one to three “eagles” above it. Major, lieutenant colonel and colonel have one to three “eagles” above two stripes.

Under the jacket, the chief lieutenant wears an officer-style flight blouse, with silver piping along the edge of the collar (for lower ranks, the piping is golden-yellow). Buttonholes in colors according to the type of military service also with silver edging. On the buttonholes there are insignia of rank. In general, they corresponded to those just described, with one, two or three “eagles,” but for chief officers, instead of a stripe, a half-wreath of oak leaves was depicted under them, and for staff officers, the “eagles” were entirely surrounded by a wreath. On the chest on the right is an emblem sewn with silver thread. The shoulder straps of the chief officers were lined with a silver cord on the applied-color lining. Lieutenants had “clean” shoulder straps, while chief lieutenants and captains had one or two golden quadrangular stars, respectively.

When jumping, we took with us a minimum of equipment. This officer wears the usual Wehrmacht brown belt belt with a double-pronged frame buckle (officer version), a Luger Po8 in a holster on the left, a field bag, and a canteen. Around the neck are binoculars and a gas mask in a bag made of feldgrau fabric specially designed for paratroopers.

2–3. These two soldiers are uniformed and equipped approximately the same. Rice. 2 depicts a soldier of the 1st Parachute Regiment who fought in Holland. For camouflage purposes, the three-color “imperial” shield on the helmet on the right is covered with paint, but the image of an eagle on the left is left. A huntsman carries two boxes of machine gun belts to an MG-34; his personal weapon is a standard Wehrmacht Mauser Kar 98K carbine. The equipment was worn over the jacket: a waist belt, shoulder straps, an automatic pistol in a holster (all paratroopers performing a jump had pistols), a gas mask bag, a cracker bag and a bowler hat on the right side. He probably has a small sapper blade and a bayonet on his left side. A characteristic feature of the paratrooper's equipment, which appeared in 1940, is the shoulder bandoleer. The cartridge belt for a Mauser rifle with a capacity of 100 rounds consisted of 12 horizontally arranged fabric pockets on a wide belt made of the same material. The bandolier was worn around the neck and attached to the waist belt with loops on the inner surface. Six bandoleer pockets were located on both sides of the chest. The four lower pockets had flaps fastened with buttons on both the outside and the inside, and the top two had only one flap facing the middle of the chest. When jumping, such bandoliers were worn under the jacket.

The non-commissioned officer (Fig. 3) does not have sleeve insignia - it seems that in 1940 they were rarely worn. Here is a picture of a soldier from Major Witzig's assault group during the capture of Eben-Emael (the basis for the drawing was two photographs that complement each other well). It seems that during this operation all the rangers carefully covered their helmets with mud for the purpose of camouflage. In this assault group, approximately every fourth paratrooper was armed with a submachine gun; each seemed to have only one pouch for three magazines, and all carried pistols as usual. The non-commissioned officer's jacket has hip pockets stuffed with grenades. Pay attention to the Wehrmacht flashlight on the chest - a characteristic element of equipment for a junior commander. Possible options for placing the MP40 submachine gun during the jump are shown in the following illustration (Fig. 1 and 2), but in this case it did not matter, since the landing on the roof of Fort Eben-Emael was carried out using gliders.

1. Chasseur of the 3rd or 4th Battalion, Airborne Assault Regiment, Operation Mercury, May 20, 1941. 2. Sergeant Major of the 7th Aviation Division, Operation Mercury, May 20, 1941. 3. Lieutenant, 7th Air Division, Operation Mercury, May 1941.

1. During the Cretan operation, fabric covers for helmets appeared for the first time, which were made from greenish fabric that was used for jackets; the cover could be equipped with leaf camouflage tape, threaded through specially sewn loops. This fabric covering was held on the helmet by six hooks attached around the perimeter. Similar covers made of greenish fabric were found until the end of the war. The overall jacket is still an early model, but with four pockets, all with zippers and rectangular flaps. This skydiver, ready to board a plane, clamped the release end of his parachute between his teeth, a common technique to free up his hands.

Of greatest interest is the soldier's weapons and equipment. Most often, pouches with magazines for a submachine gun were wrapped around the shins below the knee pads. The MP40 itself, with its butt folded, is placed in a makeshift case (possibly remade from a parachutist’s gas mask bag) and tucked under the harness.

2. During the capture of Crete, many paratroopers were already wearing jump jackets of the so-called “second sample”. Outwardly, they were similar to the previous ones, but were made of green fabric with camouflage patterns. Much more importantly, however, their cut abandoned the overall design. As a result, it has become much more convenient to reach equipment covered by a jacket. The jackets of the “second sample” were completely hinged, and the fastener system made it possible to fasten each flap around the hip in preparation for a jump, and after landing, quickly turn the improvised “overall” into a jacket. Crete was also the first to use camouflage cloth helmet covers. Most often, they were sewn from four pieces of fabric, with an additional sewn-in “bottom” crossed with fabric ribbons. Along the circumference of the helmet, as before, there was a ribbon of the day of fastening the leaf camouflage. On steel helmets, these covers were attached with hooks and elastic bands.

By May 1941, sleeve insignia became widespread. For non-commissioned officers, they were from one to four “eagles” and four “eagles” with a quadrangular asterisk under them, respectively, for a non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned sergeant, sergeant major, chief sergeant major and staff sergeant.

Instead of side-laced jumping boots, front-laced versions became increasingly common: such shoes were easier to manufacture and more reliable (the practical role of side lacing is generally difficult to understand). The parachute harness was slightly modified; instead of the previous D-rings, patented buckles with elastic straps were installed at the same points; The simple buckle on the harness's waist belt has also been replaced.

Note also the submachine gun firmly attached to the harness on the left - a much more practical method of attachment than shown in Fig. 1, but also dangerous during landing, especially when performing a forward somersault common to German parachutists. There are no known official instructions regarding the method of securing the MP40 during landing; on the contrary, a number of sources indicate that performing a jump with small arms is considered dangerous and paratroopers were recommended to carry only pistols. This was also risky, but for a different reason: in order to provide himself with weapons, the paratrooper had to find a container on the ground that could be carried quite far by the winds during descent. And yet it is known that during the Cretan operation, every fourth parachutist ranger was armed with an MP40, and during subsequent landings, all soldiers were armed with submachine guns. In some photographs taken at the parachute school in Stendal, paratroopers can be clearly seen holding their rifles in their outstretched arms as they descend. But whether this was a common practice and whether this technique was used during combat drops remains a mystery.

3. Sometimes officers “for chic” wore a jacket with their field uniform, rather than the officially prescribed flight blouse. This custom is recorded in several photographs, in particular those depicting Colonel Breuer of the 1st Regiment and Captain Schirmer of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Jäger Regiment in Heraklion. As a rule, caps were not worn when performing jumps, but some officers could take them out immediately after landing. The same applies to caps, as shown in the following illustration (Fig. 3).

All Luftwaffe officers wore caps of the same type: everyone was given the same silver insignia, cords made of silver soutache, and silver piping along the edges of the bottom and band. The four-pocket uniforms had the same insignia as the flight blouses: shoulder straps on the lining in applied color with rank insignia, a Luftwaffe eagle embroidered with silver thread, silver piping along the edge of the collar and buttonholes in applied color trimmed with silver thread.

1–2. Jaegers of the 7th Aviation Division, Operation Mercury, May 1941. 3. Major Karl-Lothar Schultz, commander of the 3rd battalion of the 1st parachute regiment, Crete, May 1941.

1. The figure shows the position of the parachutist during descent (detailed discussion in the text of the book).

2. Photographs show that in Crete, soldiers of assault units often wore steel helmets without fabric covers. Because of the heat, jackets were usually worn over the bare torso, and the sleeves were rolled up; shown here is a "second pattern" camouflage jacket, with flaps covering white plastic zippers on all pockets. Lightweight equipment was used - photographs from the beginning of the Cretan operation show that paratroopers most often wore waist belts, Y-shaped shoulder straps, bowlers, rusk bags and pouches or cartridge belts. Shown here is a paratrooper who was lucky enough to find a dropped weapons container in a fire-raised landing zone.

Shown here is a variant of the container, which became standard after the Cretan operation, but at the time described, containers of various sizes were used. Bright colors, identification stripes and symbols were used to make it easier to find equipment in the rush of the first minutes after landing. The containers with radio equipment shown in the photographs are marked with large “lightning bolts” painted in not very bright paint along the white sides, and the container with medicines is marked on all sides with red medical crosses. Our paratrooper takes out a Mauser carbine from a standard container with weapons and ammunition.

3. A common headdress for all ranks was a cap (Fliegermutze, Schiffchen) of gray-blue color. The Luftwaffe caps differed from the army caps by having a slightly more pointed lapel line - theoretically, the caps of the ground forces could have the lapels lowered to cover the ears in bad weather. Officer caps differed from soldiers' caps only in their higher quality and silver piping along the edge of the lapel. A white (silver for officers) eagle was sewn along the front of the cap, and a black, white and red cockade was placed under it on the lapel. By the end of 1943, caps were almost completely replaced by single field caps (Einheitsfeldmutze) - an example of this headdress is shown in one of the following illustrations. In Crete, where tropical uniforms were found only in single copies, and later in Sicily and Italy, where paratroopers evacuated from Africa joined those who fought in Europe, elements of tropical and conventional uniforms were often mixed, although this was officially prohibited.

The tropical Luftwaffe uniform can be seen only in some photographs taken during the landing on Crete. This drawing is based on a photograph of Major Karl-Lothar Schulz, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Parachute Regiment. Thick uniform cotton fabric Intensely yellow, it is noticeably different from the faded olive army uniforms in both color and cut. There is no piping on the collar, and the buttonholes required for a major were also most often not worn. True, they are also visible in the photograph of another officer who wore a tropical uniform in Sicily - Colonel Heilmann from the 3rd Parachute Regiment. On the uniforms of tropical uniforms they wore ordinary shoulder straps: for headquarters officers they were twisted “caterpillars” on a background of applied color. The lieutenant colonel's shoulder straps had one quadrangular star, the colonel's - two. The breast eagle was embroidered directly on the uniforms of tropical uniforms: for officers, the embroidery was done with bluish-gray or white thread on a brownish base. Judging by the photographs, some officers preferred to replace the breast eagles on their jackets from the regular uniform - embroidered with silver wire on a blue background.

1. Captain Ramcke of the parachute brigade, North Africa, August 1942. 2. Sergeant major of the parachute brigade Ramke, North Africa, autumn 1942. 3. Chasseur of the 1st battalion of the 5th parachute regiment, Tunisia, spring 1943.

1. The tropical jacket is worn with matching trousers, featuring loose legs with a large patch pocket on the left thigh. The trousers are gathered at the ankles and in this case are worn over the jump boots, rather than tucked into them. On special occasions, a dark khaki shirt with the same or a brown tie was worn under the jacket. In the field, shirts were worn with an open collar or with a scarf. In Africa, a summer version of the usual Luftwaffe officer's cap was common, without piping along the edge of the bottom, with a white lining. Another type of headdress was often found - the Meyer cap (see Fig. 2), as well as the officer's version of the tropical cap (Fig. 3), distinguished by a silver edging along the edge of the lapel.

Let's pay attention to some details. On the right chest is a silver Spanish cross with swords (the third degree of dignity out of a possible six). It was awarded for conspicuous bravery or in memory of service in the Condor Legion in Spain from 1936 to 1939. On the right sleeve there is a Luftwaffe "Africa" ​​cuff ribbon. Officers' ribbons were embroidered in silver on a dark blue base; soldiers' ribbons were embroidered in grey. Such ribbons were issued from February 1942 to February 1943. to all Luftwaffe personnel serving in Africa. Later they were replaced by a ribbon common to all branches of the military, which was supposed to be worn on the left sleeve - brown, with gray letters and palm trees.

2. Special tropical Luftwaffe caps, nicknamed “Hermann Meyer”, were worn in the Mediterranean since April 1942 by both soldiers and officers of the parachute units and the Hermann Goering division. The “Hermann Meyer” caps were made of sand-colored fabric with a red lining; they were accompanied by flat embroidered emblems of the usual Luftwaffe design. The caps were equipped with a light leather chin strap and a flap that could be used to cover the neck.

Luftwaffe tropical shirts differed from army shirts in that they had full-length button closures. Shirts could have a breast eagle on a triangular brownish backing, sewn on the right, or without it. In the latter case, the only insignia remained shoulder straps (during parades, metal insignia could additionally be pinned on). There were shirts with blue-gray shoulder straps of the “European” uniform, and with shoulder straps of a special “tropical” type - they are shown in this picture. These shoulder straps have a dark sand backing, applied-colored piping, but the non-commissioned officer's braid is brown.

The shorts included in the tropical uniform were quite long and wide: photographs show that they were often rolled up. This NCO wears them with a standard Luftwaffe belt, with a full complement of tropical MP38/40 canvas magazine pouches included (note that the small accessory pocket was only on the left pouch). Bluish-gray socks are wrapped around the edges of jump boots (they began to be made of brown leather, and not just black, as before). In Africa, paratroopers wore both ankle-high brown combat boots and tall tropical boots made of leather and canvas.

3. In this theater of war, “tropical” versions of Luftwaffe caps were often seen. The emblem was embroidered with dull gray-blue thread on a brownish backing, and the black, white and red “imperial” cockade was slightly larger and more convex. Photographs show that, although some officers wore the required caps with silver soutache on the edge of the false lapels, many put on simple soldier caps, without even replacing the officer’s emblems on them. In Africa, jumping jackets were worn both from green fabric and from fabric with a camouflage pattern. This jacket appears to have been custom made as it has a non-standard ammunition sling sewn onto the front. But since there is no additional evidence of the existence of such uniform variants, we did not depict them in the drawings. Ordinary bandoliers for the tropics were made of tarpaulin. Another type of equipment often found in the field was a pair of canvas bags for rod grenades.

Hans Teske, who served in the 5th Parachute Regiment after transferring from the assault regiment, recalled that in the 1st company of his battalion everyone wore blue scarves with small white polka dots. According to his recollections, bull helmets were painted a sandy color with a slightly pinkish tint, and some added a little sand to the paint to achieve a matte effect. On the left side of the helmets there was sometimes an image of the company emblem. It was a comet (later it became the emblem of the 4th Parachute Division), but in company colors. The headquarters company has a white bull emblem, the 1st company has a black one with a white border.

The huntsman’s weapon is a “breakable” Czech Brunn Gew 33/40 rifle, which was supplied to parachute units in small quantities.

1. General of Aviation Kurt Student, 1944 2. Major of the 1st Parachute Division, Berlin, May 1944. 3. Jaeger, Italy, 1944

1. “The Father of the Parachute Troops” is dressed in the usual uniform of a Luftwaffe general. Caps of this type were worn by all officers of the German Air Force, but the generals had all their insignia, piping, cords and buttons in gold. Tunic (Tuchrock) with gold buttons, piping on the collar and chest emblem. The buttonholes and lining of the shoulder straps of the generals were worn white. On the buttonholes with gold edging there were images of one, two or three gold “eagles” in a wreath: corresponding to the ranks of major general, lieutenant general and full general. The rank of Colonel General was indicated by the same buttonholes with the image of a large "flying eagle" of the Luftwaffe above two crossed batons, with the eagle's wings extending beyond the wreath. Shoulder straps made of gold thread with an admixture of silver were without stars or carried from one to three stars - corresponding to the four general ranks. Breeches, required for service uniforms, had double wide white stripes with white piping in the gap.

The picture shows the Student's awards. On the neck is the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On the left pocket there is a pilot-observer badge, under it there is a silver badge indicating the re-awarding during the Second World War with the Iron Cross 1st class (such an award had already been earned by the Student during the First World War) and the Iron Cross itself. To the left is a silver badge for a wound, and to the right is a silver badge for an Imperial Air Force pilot.

Above the left cuff is a white “Cretan ribbon” with yellow letters: these commemorative ribbons were issued to all ranks of all branches of the military who took part in the battles on the island from May 19 to 27, 1941. Contrary to some statements, Student actually personally took part in the landing.

2. The basis for this generalized image of a paratrooper was photographs of participants in the parade, during which Goering presented awards to those who distinguished themselves in the battles of Cassino, as well as a photograph of Major Baron von der Heydte. This was a unique occasion when German paratroopers took part in a ceremonial formation, wearing parachute harnesses over pressed jump jackets and field uniforms, with all insignia. Various sources describe these harnesses as “simplified.” It is difficult to determine what their differences are from the harnesses used earlier, with the exception of a greater fit (most likely in preparation for the parade) and the absence of the parachute itself. A small color inset shows the position of the straps on the back of the previous type of harness. The major has the following insignia and awards: on the right chest - the national emblem (option for the Luftwaffe) above the gold Military Order of the German Cross. On the left (somewhat tighter than usual due to the harness being worn) - Iron Cross 1st class, parachutist badge, Luftwaffe badge for participation in ground battles and badge for wounding. On the sleeve of the jacket there is a “Cretan ribbon” (only on the left) and rank insignia stripes (on both sleeves). Theoretically, some officers and soldiers could have the right to wear two sleeve ribbons at once - “African” and “Cretan”. In this case, according to the photographs, the “African” ribbon was sewn immediately above the “Cretan” one on the left sleeve of the uniform.

3. As already mentioned, in Italy elements of the basic and tropical uniforms were often mixed. The tropical version of the Luftwaffe uniform field cap was made from the same dull sand-colored material as the rest of the uniform. The same insignia was supposed to be placed on the cap as on the caps (see previous illustration, Fig. 3). The jump jacket is made of brownish camouflage fabric; camouflage of the so-called “blurry” type. In 1943–1945 There were jackets of all three color options - green, with “fragmented” and “blurred” camouflage. In 1944–1945 Jackets made from Italian camouflage fabric with a specific pattern have also become somewhat widespread. Since the vast majority of paratroopers after 1941 fought as simple infantry, their equipment began to become increasingly closer to that of the army. This soldier is wearing ordinary army boots. The gas mask box and shoulder straps are also military grade (note that the straps are black, infantry).

The dull yellow "assault pack" frame connects the shoulder Y-straps to the waist belt on the back. A bowler hat and a rain cape made of fabric with a splintered pattern are suspended from the frame. A bag with bivouac equipment is attached under the cape. A rusk bag and a flask, as well as a sapper's shovel and a bayonet-knife are attached to the waist belt with belts. Despite all the lesser use of paratroopers in landing operations, they still retained their Lugers and Walters - they carried pistols in holsters on the left belt. The huntsman is armed with an FG42 automatic rifle. Pay attention to the magazine belt for this weapon. Such slings were made from bluish-gray or brownish fabric, as well as material with a camouflage pattern. The sling had eight pockets, each of which was closed on the “inner” side with a flap with two buttons. Helmets in Italy and Northwestern Europe were often covered with mesh - there were not enough fabric covers.

1. Chief Lieutenant, Russia, 1942–1943. 2. Skier of the 1st Parachute Division, Russia, 1943 3. Chasseur of the 5th Parachute Division, Ardennes, December 1944

1. In addition to their usual equipment, paratrooper chasseurs on the Eastern Front received all variants of army single-color or two-color (reversible) uniforms. The photo that was used to create this drawing clearly shows baggy pants that are mousy gray on one side and white on the back. The lieutenant wore these trousers over his green jump jacket. On the sleeves of the jacket there are dark blue stripes with insignia: they have been rearranged from the Luftwaffe winter flight suit. The steel helmet, equipment, binoculars and even gloves are covered with white paint for camouflage.

2. In addition to the white-painted helmets and the usual blue uniform hats, in some photographs you can see special winter versions of the uniform Luftwaffe field caps. They were made from natural sheepskin and equipped with visors and insignia. Winter camouflage suits were made of thin fabric and did not provide protection from the cold; they were worn over warm uniforms. Colored armbands, fastened with buttons, were used in the Wehrmacht as field identification marks to distinguish their own from the Russians: winter overalls were almost the same.

3. In the final stages of the war, paratroopers (many of whom, most likely, never made a single jump) began to use more and more army equipment. Specific helmets of paratroopers began to be painted in an “army” grayish-green color (feldgrau), and household metal mesh netting was used to attach camouflage. In winter, woolen balaclavas were worn under helmets. For insulation, this huntsman put on the usual grayish-blue Lufteaffe overcoat, and over it pulled on a jacket, which increasingly began to be used instead of a jump jacket: this is a camouflage field jacket of the Luftwaffe (they were widely used by soldiers and officers of air field divisions). These jackets were made of fabric with splintered camouflage patterns, equipped with a turn-down collar, shoulder straps and had two or four pockets. The magazines for the SiG44 assault rifle were stuffed into the pockets - there weren’t enough special pouches designed for three magazines. Pay attention to ordinary army boots. The 5th Parachute Division had a number of clashes with the American 28th Division; It seems that this huntsman had some luck during the attack on the American transport.

1. Chasseur of the 2nd Parachute Division, France, 1944 2. Chief sergeant major of the 12th Assault Artillery Brigade, Reichswald, January 1945. 3. Non-commissioned officer of the 9th Parachute Division, Soviet-German front, 1945

1. Here is shown the characteristic appearance of a paratrooper at the end of the war - such rangers could be found on all fronts, and almost always their increasing convergence was noticeable appearance with ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers. In some of the photographs in this book, you can see the use of ordinary army helmets instead of steel paratrooper helmets - this huntsman's helmet is covered with camouflage mesh. On a jacket with a “blurred” camouflage pattern, you can see a fabric “holster” sewn to the back right field of the “second sample” jacket; Apparently, these “holsters” were never actually used. Blue-gray Luftwaffe trousers tucked into canvas gaiters: 1943–1945. boots began to be increasingly replaced by boots worn with gaiters. Armament - 88 mm RPzB54 anti-tank rocket launcher.

2. In addition to the self-propelled gun units that were part of the parachute divisions, in the first months of 1944 in Melun (France), two assault artillery brigades were formed from volunteer paratroopers, which were to be at the disposal of the corps or army. These brigades were armed with assault guns (in the German army during the Second World War, the name “assault gun” corresponded to the Soviet “self-propelled artillery.” The self-propelled guns mentioned in this paragraph were classified in the Wehrmacht as “self-propelled carriages” - Ed.) . StuG III. Winter 1944-1945 The 12th Assault Artillery Brigade provided support to the 5th Parachute Division on the southern flank of the Ardennes offensive. The brigade experienced heavy fighting with the US 4th Armored Division in the Bastogne area before being transferred to the Eastern Front. The 12th Brigade suffered heavy losses in the Falaise Pocket in the summer of 1944, and then fought on the German borders as part of the 1st Parachute Army, supporting its 7th Division. At the end of the war, the brigade ended up in Cuxhaven, where it became part of the 12th Army.

Only a few photographs of the personal composition of these brigades are known. We have chosen a photo of Chief Sergeant Brendl from StuG-Bde.XII, who received the Golden German Cross for the battle near the Reichswald. He wore a gray Army Assault Artillery uniform, but judging by the photo, it was a lighter shade. Interestingly, his collar buttonholes are complemented by small L-shaped non-commissioned officer braid. The shoulder straps are the usual grayish-blue color for the Luftwaffe, with a standard designation of rank and applied color according to the branch of service. The sergeant-major wears the Iron Cross of the 1st Class, the paratrooper badge, and the Luftwaffe ground combat badge - apparently this is a common variant of the Luftwaffe tank battle badge introduced in November 1944. This uniform was most likely worn usual Luftwaffe headgear, including steel paratrooper helmets. In the field, assault gun crews also wore camouflage field jackets and jump jackets.

3. A typical view of the nominal “airborne paratrooper” of the last months of the war. This non-commissioned officer no longer has any elements of uniform and equipment specific to a paratrooper, except for an old green jump jacket (they were found even during the Battle of Berlin). By the end of the war, the blue-gray uniform fawn caps of the 1943 model almost completely replaced caps; They were worn by both officers and soldiers. On the cap there are all the required insignia (the chief sergeant in Fig. 2 should have the same ones). Officer's sample The cap was distinguished by silver piping along the edge of the bottom. The collar of the flight blouse is extended over the jacket so that the insignia and non-commissioned officer's braid are visible. Luftwaffe trousers are tucked into boots: oddly enough, boots can often be seen in photographs of paratroopers in the last months of the war. It was typical for this time to mix black army leather with dark brown aviation gear. Armament - Kar43, a shortened version of the Gew43 semi-automatic rifle.

Notes:

In German military sources, parachute troops are officially called “parachute-jaeger” (Fallschirmjager). For unknown reasons, this term has not taken root in Russian military-historical literature. In the translation of this book by a British author, the terms “airborne”, “parachute landing” and “parachute-jaeger troops” are used as synonyms. - Note scientific ed.

Stephen W. Patrick, What good is airborne //Strategy & Tactik, 77.

Automatically deploying parachutes static-line) - necessary equipment for mass drops of paratroopers. Parachutes with individual deployment require relatively higher altitudes, are also more dangerous and cannot provide a high accuracy of landing. Training for individual jumps is also more difficult and dangerous. - Note auto

The birthday of the Soviet airborne troops is considered to be August 2, 1930, when a small airborne unit was parachuted for the first time during military exercises near Voronezh. - Note ed.

Such a conversation actually took place, but its participants were corps commander Vasily Vladimirovich Khripin and General Gamelin. Khripin described his conversation with Gamelin in his notebooks, which are kept by Artem Zakharovich Anfinogenov. "Marshal Shcherbakov" in Soviet aviation never existed. - Note scientific ed.

Land Police Group (Landespolizeigruppe)"Hermann Goering" was created on December 22, 1933 from the special purpose group of the Land Police of Colonel Wehe. On April 1, 1935, the group was deployed to the Hermann Goering regiment, led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm Jacobi. On September 24, 1935, this regiment was transferred from the police to the Luftwaffe. - Note ed.

Bruno Breuer (1893–1947) was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the campaign in France; On June 1, 1944, he was promoted to general of the parachute troops. On May 20, 1947, he was executed in Athens. - Note ed.

This battalion was formed in October 1943 in Czechoslovakia, and a year later - in October 1944 - disbanded. It was successively commanded by Herbert Guilhofer, Kurt Rybka and Siegfried Milius. - Note ed.

Kurt Arthur Benno Student (1890–1978) On July 4, 1938, appointed commander of the parachute and airborne units of the Luftwaffe. He then commanded a corps, was commander of the parachute troops (from June 1, 1941), commanded the 1st Parachute Army and Army Groups X and Vistula. On July 13, 1944, he became Colonel General of the Parachute Troops. - Note ed.

Richard Heydrich (1896–1947) commanded the 3rd Parachute Regiment from 1940, the 1st Parachute Division from 1943, and the I Parachute Corps from November 1944. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Branches and Swords, and on October 31, 1944, he was promoted to general of the parachute troops. - Note ed.

Heinrich (Heinz) Trettner (born 1907) ended the war with the rank of lieutenant general and then served in general positions in the Bundeswehr. - Note ed.

Walter Koch, awarded the Knight's Cross on May 10, 1940, died on October 27, 1943. By this time he was already a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 5th Parachute Regiment. - Note ed.

Count Hans von Sponeck (1888–1944) held the rank of Lieutenant General (he received it on February 1, 1940). For the French campaign he received the Knight's Cross and later commanded the XLII Army Corps on the Soviet-German front. He fought the hardest battles in the Crimea, and in December 1941 he was forced to surrender Kerch. For this he was arrested and executed after an attempt on Hitler's life. - Note ed.

For more information about Meindl’s activities, see the book “Field Divisions of the Luftwaffe” published in the “Soldier” series.

Nicknamed “Papa” by his soldiers, the impressive Julius Ringel (1889–1967) was promoted to lieutenant general in 1942, and in 1944 to general of the mountain troops. In 1944, he commanded first the XVIII and then the XLIX mountain rifle corps, and in the last days of the war he headed the consolidated corps. - Note ed.

The 7th Air Division was reorganized into the 1st Parachute Division already in France on May 1, 1943. The 1st Parachute Division was commanded by: Lieutenant General Richard Heydrich (from May 1, 1943 to April 4, 1944 and from February 21 to November 17 1944), Major General Hans Korte (from April 4 to February 21, 1944) and Major General Karl-Lothar Schulz (from November 17, 1944). - Note ed.

The battalions in the Ramke brigade, which was a combined unit, did not have numerical designations, but were called by the names of their commanders. - Note ed.

Formed in Reims, the 3rd Parachute Division was commanded by Major General Walter Barenthin (until 14 February 1944), Lieutenant General Richard Schipmpf (from 17 February to 20 August 1944 and from 5 January to 1 March 1945), Lieutenant General Eugen Meindl (20–22 August 1944), Major General Walter Waden (22 August 1944 to 5 January 1945), Colonel Helmut Hoffmann (1 to 8 March 1945), Colonel Karl- Heinz Becker (from 8 March to 8 April 1945) and finally Colonel Hummel. - Note ed.

Throughout the existence of the division, it was commanded by Lieutenant General Heinrich Trettner. - Note ed.

Generals of the parachute troops Alfred Schlemm and Eugen Meindl were appointed commanders of the 1st and 2nd corps, respectively. - Note ed.

Formed in Reims on March 2, 1944, the 5th Parachute Division was commanded by: Lieutenant General Gustav Wilcke (from April 1 to October 15, 1944), Major General Sebastian Ludwig Neillmann (from October 15 to March 12, 1945) and from March 12, 1945 - Colonel Kurt Greschke. - Note ed.

In addition to Student, the 1st Parachute Army was commanded by General of the Parachute Forces Alfred Schlem (from November 1, 1944 to March 28, 1945), Infantry Generals Ponter Blumentritt (from March 28 to April 10, 1945) and Erich Staube (from April 28, 1945 . and until the end of the war). - Note ed.

20th Parachute Division. Formed on March 20, 1945 in Holland as a field training parachute division. She was commanded by Major General Walter Barentin. The division included the 58th, 59th and 60th parachute regiments.

21st Parachute Division. Formed in Holland on April 5, 1945 from training parachute units and the parachute brigade of Colonel Walter Guericke, who became its commander. The division included the 61st, 62nd and 63rd parachute regiments. - Note ed.

Operation plan

The concept of the operation of the 11th Corps involved a simultaneous airborne landing and landing of gliders at several points on the island. The Germans did not have enough aircraft to land all the troops at once, so it was decided to attack in three waves.

The first wave (7 a.m. on May 20, 1941, parachute and glider landing) included the West group. Major General O. Meindel with a separate airborne assault regiment was supposed to take the Maleme airfield and the approaches to it. This airfield was the main landing point for German troops. The 3rd Parachute Regiment of Colonel Heydrich was supposed to occupy Souda Bay and the city of Chania (Kanya), where the English headquarters and residence of the Greek king were.

The second wave (13:00 on May 20) - parachute landing, included groups "Center" and "Vostok". The 1st Parachute Regiment of Colonel B. Brouwer (later the troops were to be led by the commander of the mountain division, General Ringel) was supposed to take the city of Heraklion and its airfield. Colonel Sturm's 2nd Parachute Regiment was responsible for the Rethymno airfield.

It was planned that after the capture of all targets, from 16:00 on May 21, the third wave would begin - the landing from transport aircraft and ships of the 5th Mountain Rifle Division, heavy weapons, and all necessary supplies. Italy also supported the naval landing: about 3 thousand soldiers, 60 ships. From the air, the landing was supported by the 8th Air Corps of General von Richthofen - more than 700 vehicles, as well as 62 aircraft of the Italian Air Force. German-Italian aviation was supposed to act against the island's garrison and paralyze the powerful British naval group. German submarines and part of the Italian Navy (5 destroyers and 25 small ships) also took part in the operation.

The British had maritime cover provided by the forces of the British Mediterranean Fleet of Admiral Cunningham - 5 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 12 cruisers and about 30 destroyers deployed to the west and north of Crete. True, the British fleet, based at Suda Bay, suffered greatly from enemy air raids. And the only British aircraft carrier lost most of its carrier-based aircraft during the Battle of Greece and could not support the garrison of Crete from the air.

Beginning of the invasion

Early in the morning, German aircraft launched a massive attack on British positions at the landing sites. However, most of the camouflaged positions survived, and the British air defense did not return fire, so as not to give away their location. In addition, gliders and Junkers with paratroopers arrived only half an hour after the bombers and attack aircraft had left. The Germans did not take the weather into account; it was hot and the first batch of planes raised a cloud of dust. The rest of the planes had to wait. The first planes to take off circled in the sky, waiting for the others. As a result, it was not possible to land on the move immediately after the bombing. There was a pause, which had the most negative impact on the landing.

When at 7 o'clock. 25 min. Captain Altman's forward detachment (2nd company of the 1st battalion of the airborne assault regiment) began landing. The paratroopers were met by heavy fire. The gliders turned into a sieve, fell apart in the air, crashed against rocks, fell into the sea, desperately maneuvering, and landed on roads or any suitable sites. But the landing German paratroopers fiercely attacked the enemy. The allies, struck by the audacity of the attack, were initially taken aback. But they quickly woke up and rained down mortar and machine gun fire on the Germans. The capture of the airfield failed on the move; the New Zealanders drove the Germans back in hand-to-hand combat. Altman managed to capture only the bridge and part of the positions west of the airfield. At the same time, out of 108 fighters, he only had 28 left.

The problem was that the German paratroopers were dropped without carbines and machine guns. Personal, heavy and ammunition were dumped in separate containers. And we still had to get to them. The paratroopers had submachine guns (about every fourth one had pistols and hand grenades). As a result, many paratroopers died trying to get to their containers. German paratroopers went on the attack with pistols, hand grenades and sapper blades, and the Allies shot them with rifles and machine guns, as if in a shooting gallery.

The battalion following the advance detachment also ran into heavy fire. Many died in the air; the battalion commander, Major Koch, and many soldiers were injured at the beginning of the battle. The 1st company, which landed on an enemy battery, captured it, but suffered heavy losses - out of 90 soldiers, 30 remained. The 4th company and the headquarters of the 1st battalion fell on the positions of the New Zealand battalion and they were destroyed almost entirely. The 3rd company was able to reach the air defense battery south of the airfield and destroyed it. This minimized the losses of German aviation during the release of the main forces. In addition, with the help of anti-aircraft guns, they were able to take up the defense and push back the reinforcements rushing to help the airfield garrison.

German Junkers U.52 transport aircraft tow DFS 230 gliders during the first day of Operation Mercury.

Thus, the German paratroopers were subjected to such heavy fire that many German soldiers were killed or wounded before landing on the island. Many gliders crashed before landing. Others landed, but were immediately shot before the landing. Due to reconnaissance errors, paratroopers were often landed above the enemy’s main lines of defense and the Germans were simply shot from all guns. And the remainder were finished off on the ground. In some places the landing force was almost completely destroyed. It was a massacre.

So, the paratroopers of the 3rd battalion landed northeast of Maleme directly at the position of the 5th New Zealand brigade. German battalion was practically destroyed. The 4th battalion with the regimental headquarters successfully landed to the west, losing few people and was able to gain a foothold on one side of the airfield. True, the detachment commander Meindel was seriously wounded. He was replaced by the commander of the 2nd battalion, Major Stenzler. His battalion entered the battle east of Spilia and suffered heavy losses. Some of the paratroopers were killed by Cretan militias. Lieutenant Kissamos' reinforced platoon landed among the Greek troops. Of the 72 soldiers, only 13 surrendered paratroopers survived, who were saved from massacre by New Zealand officers. The stubborn battle continued all day. Positions at the airfield changed hands. The Germans were gradually able to unite the remaining forces, grouping around the 3rd company and gaining a foothold in the northern part of the airfield.

Events developed in a similar way in the landing zone of the 3rd regiment, dropped east of Maleme. Even before the landing, the entire division headquarters and the commander of the 7th Air Division, General Zussman, who was supposed to lead the operation on the spot, were killed. The 3rd Battalion, the first to be dropped, died; it ended up in the positions of the New Zealanders: many were knocked out in the air, those who landed were killed or captured. By mistake, the pilots dropped several units over the mountains. The soldiers suffered fractures and were out of action. One company was blown into the sea by the wind and drowned; The 13th mortar company was dropped over the reservoir and also drowned in its entirety. Only the 9th company landed safely and, after a fierce battle, took up a perimeter defense. The landing continued all day. The surviving German paratroopers were scattered and tried to unite and make their way to the containers with weapons.

German paratroopers carry containers with equipment

German paratroopers in battle on Crete

Second wave. The German command at first had no information about the catastrophic situation of the landing, deciding that the landing was going well. Of the 500 aircraft that dropped the 1st wave of the invasion, only a few did not return. The German plane crews that were returning to the mainland to pick up the second wave of soldiers did not see what was happening on the island and thought that things were going well. Therefore, the headquarters of Löhr and Student gave the go-ahead for the transfer of the second wave. But things got even worse than in the morning. The planned change of bomber and transport squadrons again failed. Clouds of dust and problems with refueling slowed down aircraft movements. The planes left in small groups and at long intervals. It was not possible to create a dense wave; German troops landed without air support, in small detachments and with great dispersion. And now an even more “hot meeting” awaited them. All more or less suitable sites were blocked and targeted.

The 2nd Parachute Regiment arrived in Rethymnon very late - at 16:00. 15 min. Only two companies managed to land after the air raid, the third was carried away 7 km from the target. The landing of the main forces was delayed and they suffered heavy losses. The 19th Australian Brigade quickly recovered and met the enemy with heavy fire. However, the fighters of the 2nd battalion were able to capture one of the dominant heights and tried to make their way to the airfield. They were met with such heavy fire from other heights and armored vehicles present here that the Germans rolled back. Having made sure that the airfield could not be taken on the move, the paratroopers began to dig in and wait for reinforcements. Having gathered soldiers scattered around the area at night, the paratroopers repeated the attack, but again came under heavy fire and retreated back, taking up defensive positions. The paratroopers suffered heavy losses, by the evening about 400 people had died, and the detachment commander, Colonel Sturm, was captured.

The situation was even worse for the 1st Regiment. It was dropped even more late, at 5 p.m. 30 min. when the bombers had already left and the British were preparing for battle. In addition, part of the regiment had already been dropped on Maleme, the Heraklion airfield was covered by reinforced air defense, and the paratroopers had to jump from a great height. This increased the losses. Those who landed came under heavy fire, including artillery and dug-in tanks. This led to complete destruction. Two companies were killed almost entirely (5 people survived), the remaining units were scattered, and only the onset of night saved them from complete extermination. Having assessed the situation, Colonel Brouwer abandoned the suicidal assault and focused on collecting survivors and searching for containers with weapons. The Germans captured a former prison in the village of Agya and created a defense center on the road to Chania.

Thus, the situation of the German landing force was catastrophic. Many commanders died, were seriously wounded or captured. Of the 10 thousand paratroopers who landed, only about 6 thousand people remained in the ranks. Not a single goal was achieved. The occupied positions were held with difficulty. The Germans had almost used up their ammunition; there were few heavy weapons. The wounded, tired paratroopers were preparing for the last battle. There was no communication (the radios were broken during the landing), the pilots could not give a clear picture of the battle. As a result, the German command in Athens did not know that the landing force was almost defeated. The Allies had complete superiority in forces and de facto could destroy the existing German forces. However, General Freyberg made a mistake. He saved his strength, believing that the main forces of the enemy were landing ahead, which were waiting from the sea in the area of ​​Chania and the Gulf of Souda. The Allies missed the chance for victory by not devoting all their reserves to eliminating the enemy in the Maleme area.

It was not only the inaction of the Allies that corrected the situation, but also the quality of training of German officers. Even in the face of the death of many senior commanders, the remaining officers independently created nodes of resistance and literally tore into the enemy's many times superior forces, imposing battle on him and shackling his initiative. The German paratroopers fought bravely, hoping that their comrades were more fortunate and were waiting for reinforcements. At night they did not slow down their activity, looked for their own, attacked the enemy, and obtained weapons. The British missed time and got confused in the situation. They also had problems: no one knew about the situation as a whole, there were not enough means of communication, there was no transport for the transfer of troops, no armored vehicles for organizing counterattacks, the superiority of the Germans in the air and the lack of support from their aviation affected them. Freyberg saved his strength and waited for the main enemy forces. Many allied soldiers were poorly trained: they fought half-heartedly, were afraid to attack, and were not fully on the defensive. Thus, the Allies lost the initiative and did not use their large numerical advantage; they lacked combat experience, drive and courage. In such a situation, the German paratroopers held out with all their might and held out until reinforcements arrived.

The second wave of German paratroopers lands near the city of Rethymnon

Landing of German paratroopers and containers with weapons and ammunition

Continuation of the battle

On a special plane, General Student sent his contact, Captain Kleye, to Crete. Having jumped with a parachute at night, he was able to correctly assess the situation and report to headquarters. Realizing the threat of failure, the commander of the operation rejected proposals to curtail the operation, and ordered on May 21 to throw all available forces into the assault on Maleme airport. The third echelon of the invasion - the mountain rangers - were going to be transported there. At night, all available transport aircraft in southeastern Europe were mobilized and transferred to Greece.

At dawn the battle resumed. With air support, German paratroopers captured part of the Maleme airfield. It was not possible to capture all the airstrips. Planes carrying ammunition landed directly on the beaches and crashed. Only one landed successfully; he took out the wounded, including Meindel. The German command threw its last reserves into battle. At 2 p.m. two airborne anti-tank companies were landed. At 15:00 550 fighters of the second wave of the invasion under the command of Colonel Ramcke entered the battle; they were unable to land on May 20 due to aircraft breakdowns. As a result, the Germans were able to take the airfield.

Meanwhile, the first attempt to land part of the rangers by sea failed. The German command planned to transfer part of the mountain division, heavy weapons and equipment by sea on small Greek ships, which were covered by an Italian destroyer. However, British ships intercepted the landing flotilla north of Crete and sank most of the ships, destroying up to 300 soldiers, weapons and supplies. The remaining motor boats fled. On May 22, the new landing flotilla almost repeated the fate of the previous one. This time the British were engaged in battle by the Italian Navy, and German aviation was so active that the British ships were forced to retreat. The first significant air-sea battle took place here, and aviation showed that it was capable of defeating a fleet and forcing it to retreat. The British lost 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and many ships were seriously damaged, including two battleships.

The British light cruiser Gloucester is under attack from German bombers. On May 22, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju.87R dive bombers attacked the cruiser Gloucester and scored four direct hits. As a result of a series of destructive explosions, the ship sank, taking with it 725 crew members

The British continued shelling the airfield with mortars and anti-aircraft guns from commanding heights. The Germans returned fire from the captured guns. Transports with mountain rangers began to arrive in this hell. Not everyone was lucky, as the shelling continued. Some planes were shot down in the air, others were already on the ground, and others were lucky. The runway (runway length is 600 meters) clogged with aircraft debris had to be cleared using captured armored vehicles. Then everything repeated itself. In two days, the Germans lost more than 150 vehicles. It was a nightmare, but at great cost, the German paratroopers and jägers made a hole in the enemy's defenses. Step by step, the Germans pushed back the enemy and captured new positions. The most stubborn firing points were suppressed with the help of aviation. At 5 p.m. the village of Maleme was captured. The gates to Crete were occupied, which made it possible to systematically increase the landing forces on the island. The operation was led by the commander of the mountain rangers, General Ringel.

Fraber realized his mistake and ordered the New Zealanders to recapture the airport. At night, the Allies almost recaptured the airfield. They were stopped already at the edge of the airfield. In the morning, German aircraft drove off the enemy. In other areas, German paratroopers engaged the enemy in battle. In Rethymno, the remnants of the 2nd Parachute Regiment held out for a day at an occupied height, and then retreated to the ruins of a factory, where they held out, pinning down up to 7 thousand enemy soldiers. The 1st Parachute Regiment attempted to take Heraklion, but the attack failed. Colonel Brower received orders to stop and pin down the enemy in battle. German aviation was initially unable to effectively support the paratroopers, and they themselves had to repel the attacks of 8 thousand British.

On May 22, in Maleme, paratroopers captured the dominant height 107. On the same day, the Luftwaffe crushed the remains of enemy artillery in the vicinity of the airfield, and the shelling stopped. The air bridge was in full operation: 20 vehicles with soldiers, weapons and ammunition arrived every hour. Return flights carried out the wounded. General Student arrived with his headquarters.

On May 23, the British unsuccessfully tried to recapture the airfield, and then began to retreat to the east. In Rethymnon, the paratroopers were able to repel enemy attacks with air support. In Heraklion, the Germans were able to unite the two groups. On the same day, the British fleet, suffering serious losses from German air strikes, mostly went to Alexandria. Admiral Cunningham began sending high-speed transports with ammunition and food to the island at night to avoid Luftwaffe attacks. This allowed the German command to land an amphibious assault of several thousand Italian and German soldiers.

General Loehr ordered Ringel's chasseurs to capture Souda Bay and disrupt the supply line of the British garrison, as well as relieve the encircled paratroopers in the area of ​​​​Rethymnon and Heraklion. On May 24-25, German troops attacked, breaking through enemy positions from Maleme to Chania. Only with strong air support were German troops able to break through the British defenses and make their way to Chania. Part of the Greek-British garrison was demoralized, and mass desertion of allied soldiers began. In Rethymno, German paratroopers continued the battle surrounded, drawing off enemy forces. On the night of the 26th, the remnants of the detachment (250 soldiers) tried to break into Heraklion. But having received the order, they stopped and, having received help, continued the battle. In Heraklion, having received reinforcements, the Germans launched a counteroffensive. On May 27, the Germans stormed Heraklion and occupied it without a fight. The British abandoned the city and the airfield and began evacuating the island.

Freyberg informed the commander-in-chief of British forces in the Middle East, Wavell, that his troops were at the limit of their strength and capabilities and could no longer resist. On May 27, Wavell and Churchill gave permission for the withdrawal of troops. Freyberg began to withdraw troops south to Hrra Sfakion, on the southern coast, from where evacuations began. The British fleet took about 13 thousand people from here. for four nights. Some British and Greek troops were evacuated from Heraklion.

On May 28, the Germans broke the stubborn resistance of the English rearguard east of Chania and occupied Souda Bay, and seaplanes immediately began to arrive there. In Rethymno on May 29, German paratroopers continued the battle with enemy forces many times superior to them. They were able to break through to the airfield and then came across the rangers who had landed there. Help arrived at the last moment. Mountain rangers took the city. In this area, an Australian battalion, which had not received evacuation orders, was surrounded and captured. Ringel directed his main forces to the eastern part of the island; to the south, where Freyberg's main forces were moving, minor units were sent.

The British evacuated through the southern part of the island and announced its surrender. The British fleet evacuated 15-16 thousand people, losing several ships. On June 1, the operation was completed, the last pockets of Allied resistance were suppressed. The Allies made no attempt to recapture the island, and it remained in German hands until the end of the war.

German paratroopers near the crashed Junkers Ju-52 at Maleme airfield

Results

German troops took Crete, the allies were defeated and fled. The Germans lost more than 6 thousand killed and wounded (according to other sources, about 7-8 thousand people), 271 aircraft, 148 aircraft were damaged (mostly transport workers). Allied losses: about 4 thousand killed, more than 2.7 thousand wounded and more than 17 thousand prisoners. The British fleet lost (from aviation actions): 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, more than 20 auxiliary ships and transports. Also damaged were: 1 aircraft carrier, 3 battleships, 6 cruisers and 7 destroyers. In this case, about 2 thousand people died. Allied forces lost 47 aircraft. Many Cretans died while participating in partisan activities.

Militarily, the airborne operation demonstrated the importance of reconnaissance. The German paratroopers suffered heavy losses due to underestimating enemy defenses. The Germans were unable to carry out full-fledged air and artillery preparations or prepare bridgeheads. There was no effect of surprise, since the landing was expected. Weakly armed paratroopers had to storm relatively well-prepared enemy positions. They were saved by the relative poor preparation of the enemy and the lack of transport and heavy weapons among the allies. The mistakes of the allied command played a role.

The Germans strategically strengthened their positions in the Balkans. But in order to build on the success and consolidate positions in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East, it was necessary to continue the conquests - the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Alexandria and Suez. Crete itself was only a springboard for a further offensive in the Mediterranean. As Churchill noted: “Hitler’s hand could have stretched further in the direction of India.” However, Hitler turned to the East and the capture of Crete had no impact on the course of further hostilities in the region. The British maintained their position in the Mediterranean. The Allies, amazed by the effectiveness of Goering’s “green devils”, began to accelerate the creation of their airborne troops.

The Fuhrer did the opposite; he was very upset by the high losses of the elite troops of the Third Reich. He awarded Student and Riegel, but declared that “the time of paratroopers has passed.” The student offered to take Suez with the next throw, but Hitler refused. All attempts to dissuade him were unsuccessful. The assault on Malta (Operation Hercules) was also rejected, although Italy proposed to allocate large forces (airborne and air assault divisions), since the capture of this island was of primary importance for control of the central Mediterranean. The Fuhrer categorically prohibited large airborne operations. Now Goering's airborne forces ceased to be the spearhead of the army; they were used only as “fire brigades,” plugging the most dangerous holes at the front.

German paratroopers pass by British soldiers killed in Crete

German paratroopers search captured British soldiers in Crete

German paratroopers escort British prisoners along a city street in Crete

A German truck passes a column of British prisoners of war

Germany became one of the first countries to create airborne troops. The date of formation of the first parachute unit in the Wehrmacht is considered to be January 29, 1936, when the 1st Infantry Parachute Battalion was created as part of the Hermann Goering regiment.

The leading role in the formation of the airborne troops was played by the command of the Luftwaffe (air force). The deployment of large formations began in July 1938, when Lieutenant General Kurt Student began forming the 7th Parachute Division. Due to the need for careful training of personnel, formation was carried out rather slowly and was largely completed by the end of 1939. At that time, the 7th Parachute Division included two parachute regiments (three battalions), anti-aircraft and anti-tank batteries, communications, transport and medical companies. The second unit was the 22nd Airborne Division, a former Army infantry division trained for glider landings. The concept provided for close interaction between the two formations: paratroopers captured a bridgehead, on which landing gliders then landed. The basis of the Luftwaffe's military transport aviation was the reliable and spacious three-engine monoplanes Ju 52/3m. They were used both for dropping paratroopers and as towing gliders DFS 230A.

COMBAT DEBUT

By the beginning of World War II, only four battalions of paratroopers were combat-ready, so they took only a limited part in the Polish campaign - several small landings were landed for reconnaissance and sabotage purposes. The paratroopers experienced a real baptism of fire during Operation Weserubung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway. In particular, on April 9, 1940, paratroopers captured two airfields and the strategically important Vordinburg Bridge in Denmark, as well as Sola airfield in Norway.

BLITZKRIEG IN THE WEST

On May 10, 1940, the Wehrmacht began active fighting against France, Belgium and the Netherlands. On the same day, two independent airborne operations were carried out in Northern Belgium and the Netherlands, in which 6,800 paratroopers were involved. In particular, in Belgium, paratroopers captured the powerful fort of Eben-Emazl and bridges across the Albert Canal, which significantly facilitated the advance of ground units. A much larger landing force landed in the Netherlands - here the targets for the paratroopers of the 7th and 22nd divisions were bridges and airfields.

Despite the losses suffered from anti-aircraft fire, the paratroopers generally successfully completed the mission.

The successes of the airborne troops in the campaign in the West became the impetus for increasing their numbers. In the summer of 1940, the 11th Airborne Corps was formed, which included the 7th Parachute Division (deployed to three regiments), the 16th Infantry Division and a separate air assault regiment.

CRETE

The largest landing operation of the German airborne troops was Operation Mercury, carried out from May 20 to June 1, 1941 on the island of Crete. To participate in it, the 5th Mountain Infantry Division, the 7th Parachute Division and a separate air assault regiment were allocated - a total of 23 thousand people, of which 10 thousand landed with parachutes and on gliders. In this operation, recoilless rifles specially designed for paratroopers were used for the first time. Operation Mercury was a success and the island was captured.

But the victory turned out to be Pyrrhic - the paratroopers and military transport aircraft suffered significant losses. This became the reason for the refusal of the German military-political leadership to conduct large airborne operations in subsequent years. On the other hand, the success of the Cretan operation revived interest in airborne troops in Great Britain and the United States, where previously the attitude towards them was disdainful.

"GREEN DEVILS"

During the war, the Germans formed 14 parachute divisions, three corps commands and even the headquarters of the 1st Parachute Army, as well as several separate brigades, combat groups and one improvised mixed division created in North Africa. However, for the most part they were ordinary combined arms formations, not trained in airborne landings. After Crete, German airborne troops were used primarily as elite light infantry - and in this capacity, the paratroopers fought with skill, courage and dedication, earning the respectful nickname "green devils" from the enemy.

In addition to the Luftwaffe, its parachute part, although small, was available in the SS troops - the 500th parachute battalion, formed in the fall of 1943. It included five companies - a headquarters, three parachute and heavy weapons. The number of personnel of the 500th battalion reached 1 thousand people.

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Original taken from kartam47 in the Cretan operation. Successful use of airborne assault! (photo story)

The battle on Crete (in German plans - Operation Mercury) - strategic

German landing operation during World War II. Battle of Crete

German paratroopers near the Junkers Ju.52 transport aircraft before the start of Operation Mercury (German landing operation to capture Crete).

The operation was aimed at destroying the British garrison on the island of Crete to establish strategic control over the Mediterranean basin. It is a direct continuation of the Greek campaign of the Italo-German armed forces, aimed at ousting Great Britain from the Mediterranean Sea.
Ended with the occupation of Crete, Germany gained control of communications in the eastern Mediterranean.

German Junkers Ju.52 transport aircraft tow DFS 230 gliders during the first day of Operation Mercury (the German landing operation to capture Crete). The photograph shows the flight of the Western Landing Group (code name "Comet"). Its goal was to capture the Maleme airfield and approaches to it.

The second wave of German paratroopers from the Mars Group from the 7th Airborne Division parachute east of the city of Rethymno during Operation Mercury (the German airborne operation to capture Crete). The task of the Mars Group (Central Group), under the command of General Sussmann, was to capture the cities of Chania and Rethymno.

Operation Mercury went down in history as the first major airborne operation. Despite heavy losses, the German paratroopers were able to complete the tasks assigned to them and ensure the landing of the main forces of the German troops.

German transport aircraft Junkers Yu.52 (Ju.52) are dropping troops on Crete.

Pilots of the 7th Squadron of the 2nd Luftwaffe Training Squadron (7.(F)/LG 2) confer after a flight during Operation Mercury. The photo was taken at a Greek airfield after the return of 7.(F)/LG 2 from a flight to cover the landing on Crete.

Pilot of the German fighter Messerschmitt Bf.110C-5 from the 7th squadron of the 2nd training squadron (7.(F)/LG 2) after a combat flight. The photo was taken at a Greek airfield after the return of 7.(F)/LG 2 from a flight to cover the landing on Crete.

The successes of the German airborne units forced senior management the remaining countries participating in the war (in particular, Great Britain) reconsider their attitude towards this type of military force.

A group of German paratroopers walks down the street of a Greek village in Crete.

The main weapon of the German paratrooper was the Mauser 98k carbine. About a quarter of the landing paratroopers were armed with an MP-38 or MP-40 submachine gun instead of a carbine. Each squad had at its disposal an MG-34 light machine gun. German technical and military specialists tried to compensate for the lack of heavier weapons with a new product - the 75-mm LG 40 recoilless rifle. Weighing 130 kg, it was 10 times lighter than the German 75-mm field gun with only a third shorter firing range.

Weapons and ammunition were dumped in containers. The Germans used parachutes of different colors to mark containers with various cargo: sidearms, heavy weapons, ammunition. LG 40 recoilless rifles were dropped on special bundles of 3 parachutes.

A group of German paratroopers on Crete. Posing in front of the lens.

German paratroopers and Junkers Ju-52 transport planes flying above them in the area of ​​height No. 107 on Crete. Hill No. 107 in the area of ​​the Maleme airfield was one of the most important strongholds of the Allies, for which there were fierce battles. On May 21, the height was captured by the Germans.

Unlike paratroopers from most other countries, German paratroopers jumped without carbines and machine guns (paratroopers armed with the MP-38/40 left the plane with weapons, since their compactness made it possible to attach them under the parachute suspension system), which were dropped separately - in containers.

Three German paratroopers remove weapons from a container after landing on Crete.

German paratroopers carry containers (Fallschirmjäger Abwurfbehälter) with equipment along the road in Crete.

For ease of transportation on the ground, these containers were equipped with special wheels and handles (partially visible in the photo).

The design of the German army parachute was very reliable, but did not allow control of the direction of flight, and paratroopers often landed far from their weapons.
At these moments, they could only rely on personal weapons - pistols and hand grenades, which they stuffed into the voluminous pockets of their landing overalls. Many paratroopers were killed while trying to get to containers with weapons.

Graves of German paratroopers in Crete.

Italian Marines with an 8mm Breda M37 machine gun after landing in Sitia on Crete.

The commander of the battle group "Orion" (FJR-1 and II./FJR-2 from the 7. Fliegerdivision) Oberst of the Luftwaffe parachute troops Bruno Bräuer (1893-1947, left) during the battles in Crete.

German paratroopers escort British prisoners along a city street in Crete.

German paratroopers search captured British soldiers in Crete.

German paratroopers pass by British soldiers killed in Crete.

A column of British prisoners escorted by German paratroopers on Crete.

A paratrooper of the 3rd battalion of the 7th German division near the bodies of the executed residents of the village of Kondomari on Crete.

German paratroopers on vacation in an olive grove in Crete.

German paratroopers in a captured British Morris-Commercial CS8 in Crete.

German paratroopers on a motorcycle near the crashed German military transport aircraft Junkers Ju-52 (Ju-52, board number 1Z+BA) at Malemes airfield on the island of Crete.

WITH An aerial view of Maleme airfield on Crete, captured by German troops during Operation Mercury. The photo was taken from a German transport aircraft Junkers Ju-52 (Ju.52). On the ground you can see broken and intact German Ju-52 transport aircraft and Ju-87 dive bombers (Ju.87).

German paratroopers are fighting in the city of Chania (Χανιά, Chania) on the island of Crete.

German paratroopers on vacation during a break between battles in Crete.

German paratroopers in battle with Allied units on Crete.

A British military tent camp captured by German troops near the city of Chania on Crete

Captured British soldiers escorted by German paratroopers on Crete.

A German truck passes a column of British prisoners of war on Crete.

German soldiers in captured British trucks in Crete.

The commander of the 5th German Mountain Division, Major General Julius Ringel, awards Iron Crosses to soldiers and officers from among his subordinates who distinguished themselves during the operation to capture Crete.

View of the bombing of ships off the coast of Crete.

The British Navy lost in the Battle of Crete (solely from air action): three cruisers, six destroyers, 10 auxiliary ships and more than 10 transports and merchant ships. Three battleships, an aircraft carrier, six cruisers, and 7 destroyers were also damaged.

The losses of the allied Greek fleet are not specified.

The British Air Force lost 46 aircraft.

The Luftwaffe lost 147 aircraft shot down and 73 in accidents (mostly transport ones).

The British Army lost most of the troops stationed on the island

The Greek army practically ceased to exist after the operation.

After the end of Operation Mercury, General Student was called to the “carpet” to the Fuhrer, Hitler, having learned about the losses, was furious, screams and reproaches against Student were heard from the huge office of the Reich Chancellery, as a result, Hitler forbade future large-scale landing operations with participation of the Airborne Forces, perhaps the Germans were right to act in this way, since the subsequent experience of the Second World War as a whole showed that large-scale operations of the airborne troops were too costly and risky, such as, for example, the Airborne Forces operations carried out by the Red Army in 1943 . on the Dnieper and our allies in 1944. in Holland, which did not lead to great successes, but the losses in people and equipment were quite significant.