By joao leonel (Joao) (200.181.84.247) on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 03:09 pm:

I renember that someone from this board said it once that he was mad because the airborne day was not called the american airborne day because he tought that airborne forces were an american invention.
Thats not true
For what i know german forces first used paratroopers in the island of creta in 1942 when they were fighting to take the control of that area.
So airborne is not an american invention
Please correct me if i am wrong!! and correct my english mistakes too please hehe

By steve lundy (Breechblock) (216.209.116.114) on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 04:32 pm:

Joao,
Actually, the Russians were the first ones to come up with the idea of Airborne forces. Their troopers had to crawl out onto the wings of the plane and when they got the signal they would simply slide off and parachute to the ground. The only problem with this was they were so close together that sometimes their parachutes would tangle together if they were to close when opening.
The German Army was successful in WWII, but Crete wasn't the first place they used them. Paratroopers were first used in Norway, Denmark and Holland at the beginning of hostilities. So in fact the Germans were the first combat hardened paratroopers.
Hope that helps,
Steve L.

By Jonathan Jones (Jonjones) (213.1.64.128) on Thursday, January 02, 2003 - 08:28 pm:

The Germans were swift to appreciate the Russian's invention of airborne troops. They quickly realised that these types were neither airborne infantry or airmen on special duties.

Goring set the wheels in motion on 23rd February 1933 when he raised airborne cops. Yes, you read it right. They were considered more effective at times than motorized cops. They originally functioned in the area of Berlin, against communist cells operating in the area.

All through the thirties the job description of these cops expanded and they were incorporated into the Luftwaffe as "Regiment General Goring".

In 1938 the first "Falschirmjager" unit was detached from the regiment and sent to the newly formed German parachute school at Stendal. This unit rapidly became a division during the same year, such was it's popularity. The most famous volunteer being Max Schmeling, the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Germany. Primarily responsible for the unusually high elan of this division was Major General Kurt Student, who invented the term, "paratrooper spirit". This is a spirit which has endured and which ascends natonality.

Early military honours in chronological order were:

Poland, Sept. 1939.
Norway and Denmark, 1940.
Holland, 1940.
Belgium, the famous raid on the "strongest fort in the world", Eben Emael.

The use of these troops tended to be limited to specific objectives, after which they were returned to Germany.

Greece 1941.

As much as Operation Merkur (Mercury) in "Creta" (Crete) was a triumph, it had cost the Falschirmjager so dearly that Hitler forbade them to jump en masse again. One in four who had dropped had been killed. Fully one third of the entire force were casualties. Crete was to Germany what Arnhem was to the British. Student termed it "the graveyard of the German airborne forces".

The Falshirmjager fought on all fronts in the war but post-Crete it had lost a lot of it's effectiveness. but not it's pride. Witness Monte Cassino. Towards the end elements of the Falschirmjager were involved in at least one attrocity against allied POW's. But these were Falschirmjager in name only.

The only reason that I know all of this is due to a friend of mine who's a former member. I met him through another friend of mine. After long discussion over a few beers these two realised that my friend had helped to storm a building at Cassino of which the other was defending! Luckily both lived to become friends fifty years later.

Regards, Jonathan.

By Gordon Arnie Jr (63.168.31.196) on Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 02:28 pm:

Were there any Airborne regiments or divisions that made all the European and North African combat jumps; North Africa, Italy, France, Holland?

By Chris Saunders (Space_Cowboy) (195.92.194.16) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 11:26 am:

I think the 82nd Airborne Division did. However I don't think they made a combat jump in North Africa, but were stationed there in preparation for the invasion of Italy.

Chris

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