Helion & Co Fallschirmjäger! by Greg Way

[Mike]

Fallschirmjäger!

Helion & Co. via Casemate UK

 

 

Before WWI there was no such animal as the paratrooper, although it was considered briefly by the Americans but was rejected due to the lack of preparedness of any aspect of the mission, troops, technology or method of delivery.  Under the circumstances it was little more than a pipe-dream, but you could also argue that it was some seriously advanced thinking by Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, he of B-25 fame.  After WWI the static-line parachute was developed, and with the rapid progression of aviation technology, the idea became a reality, initially in a small way.  With the rearmament of Germany after Hitler came to power, Göring had a rare good idea that the Luftwaffe could benefit from having a parachute division, which in German the parachute part is Fallschirm, while the Jäger element originates from the Prussian hunter regiments of yore.  Their initial success at the outbreak of WWII made the Allies sit up and take notice, resulting in most countries establishing an equivalent group within their military structure.

 

The members of the Fallschirmjäger were initially volunteers, and wore a distinctive brimless variant of the Stahlhelm worn by the Wehrmacht and SS soldiers.  Their battle dress was also different, consisting of knee-length smock and voluminous trousers tucked into their boots.  They were a respected foe, as they were well-trained and heavily indoctrinated, so after their usefulness as paratroopers waned, they became more of a special forces outfit that fought on the ground, and were called upon to provide support to struggling areas of the front.

 

 

 

This book by Helion & Co is a collection of memoirs of survivors of the Fallschirmjäger, that have been gathered together by author Greg Way over a number of years.  Greg is a self-confessed addict to their history and exploits, having served in a totally unrelated branch of the British military himself, cultivating his interest through correspondence with survivors of this dangerous branch of the German military via the internet and upon his own dedicated forum.  It is a perfect-bound measuring 170x245mm in portrait form with card cover as you can see at the top of the page.  Inside are 308 pages of glossy paper, the last of which is blank.

 

 

 

It is divided into chapters based upon the experiences of one contributor per section, some of which are longer than others, depending on what they each have to say.  Each soldier has seen action of varying types, which differs but has a common theme of initial success that is coupled with sadness over loss of their comrades, and eventually leads to more loss and eventual retreat as the conditions of the war turned against the Nazis, with the inevitable resignation to captivity or death.  These brave guys were little more than boys when they took weapon in hand and offered to jump out of perfectly serviceable aircraft to carry out their orders.  It is interesting to hear the story from the opposite side of the lines, and how they fought as individual fighters, made their way through the battlefield when they got separated from their units, and how often it was random chance that one man lived while another died, sometimes horribly.  On this subject, there are some stories that might be hard to read and some photos that might be upsetting if you’re of a delicate nature.  I wouldn’t say I was, but one photo in particular of a heap of dead people in a building was quite disturbing, so you have been warned.

 

The sections of the book are broken down as follows:

 

• Foreward
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Fallschirmjäger Rank Structure
• Glossary of Terminology & Abbreviations
• Précis of the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger operations and campaigns 1939-45
• Introduction

 

Part I

• Dr Kurt Erich Schulz
• Wolfram von Beck
• Rudolf Jackl
• Sebastian Krug
• Wilhelm “Willi” Schulte
• Freidrich “Fred” Wilhelm Kranefeld
• Helmut “Bolle” Bollmann
• Karl-Heinz “Charlie” Pollmann
• Kurt Engelmann
• Josef “Sepp” Jendryschik
• Bernd Bosshammer
• Carl Bayerlein
• Erwin Bauer
• Robert “Bob” Frettlöhr
• Rudolf Müller
• Volker Strutzer

 

Part II

• Bernd Bosshammer
• Heinrich Gömpel
• Franz Rheza

 

Afterword

Bibiography

Index

 

This is a book that you get to read primarily, but there are plenty of photos interspersed with the text, often from the protagonist’s personal collection, including photos of friends they lost along the way and some that survived to take more photos together in their old age.  Also, at the end of some of the stories there are notifications of the date of death of the contributor, as their stories have been collected over a number of years, some of them 20 years or more ago, and no-one’s getting any younger.

 

 

 

Conclusion

This is a very interesting book for anyone that is interested in WWII, regardless of your interest in the parachutes, which to me adds another intriguing aspect, as they floated into some interesting places at times.  Of course they were on the losing side, and that becomes evident as their stories progress, with occasional incidents of joy in amongst the pain along the way to the end of the war.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

Currently out of stock after a discounted offer, but worth looking out for the next restock

 

Review sample courtesy of