German paratroopers. Goncharov V.L.

It is believed that the impetus for the creation of German parachute units was the Kyiv maneuvers of the Red Army in September 1935. For the first time, the possibilities of massive actions of parachute forces were demonstrated to foreign observers. Was it really so?

In the spring of 1935, the German Goering regiment, which became the first airborne unit, began to form in Germany. For several years, the German army and air forces escaped from captivity of Versailles restrictions and began to build modern combat units.

in September 1938, the 7th Air Division was formed, and already in April 1940 The debut of German paratroopers in Denmark and Norway took place and they spoke about them in Europe. The first successes of paratroopers contributed to the growth of airborne units in Germany. The paratroopers played an important role in hostilities against Belgium, Greece and Yugoslavia. During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans could not use the tactics of lightning -fast war and the parachute units began to be used as infantry units, only sometimes involved in special landing operations. German paratroopers have earned a high combat reputation among their opponents, who called them “green devils.”

The book tells about the history of the parachute units of Germany, methods of completing and preparing paratroopers, tactics of air assault forces and combat use on various fronts of the second world war.