This is the previously untold story of the use of German paratroopers during the invasion of Poland. Th photographic selection is excellent and extensive – Highly Recommended.
NAME: Operation Fall Weiss, German Paratroopers in the Poland Campaign 1939 FILE: R2608 AUTHOR: Stephan Janzyk PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 175 PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Invasion of Poland, German Army, Luftwaffe, paratroopers, airborne troops, light infantry, war diaries, point attack ISBN: 1-47389-461-1 IMAGE: B2608.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yc3hcbl3 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is the previously untold story of the use of German paratroopers during the invasion of Poland. Th photographic selection is excellent and extensive – Highly Recommended. Remarkably little has been written about the invasion of Poland and the operations of German units outside of the Panzer spearheads. At the time, the German army was heavily dependent on horses for general transport and to tow artillery. Much of the invasion force was on foot. Ahead of this mass was a highly mobile armoured force with close support from fighters and dive bombers that had free range because the Polish Air Force was largely destroyed very quickly on the ground. The Panzer strike forces were used to advance quickly, destroying Polish infantry and cavalry in the open and passing around fixed defences which were left for the following main force to deal with at leisure. However, the Polish Army put up a spirited defence and, as one photograph of a destroyed Pkw IV, itself a very rare animal at the time, shows how fiercely the Poles fought. That didn't leave much for the German paratroopers to do. Often they sat in their planes as the selected target was over run by the Panzers, or surrounded by the following soldiers and bombed by the Luftwaffe. The author has presented an account for how the paratroopers were used and dispels some of the myths that have sprung up. This is a very valuable account of the Polish Campaign.