Book Review of
A Photographic History of
Airborne Warfare 1939-1945
Authors: Simon & Jonathan Forty
Pen & Sword Co.
ISBN: 9781399011146
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $42.95
ISBN: 9781399011146
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $42.95
HISTORY:
On 10 May, 1940, German Fallschirmjagers stormed the French fort of Eben Emael, south of Maastricht. The brilliantly executed operation was the first single success by airborne forces in WWII and it made the military world sit up and take notice.
Improved parachutes and the creation of gliders that could carry troops meant that assault forces could be dropped or landed behind enemy lines. This was a significant new tactic which had a dramatic impact on several of the key campaigns, and it is the subject of Simon & Jonathan Froty’s in-depth, highly illustrated history.
They tell the story of the development of airborne forces, how they were trained and equipped, and how they were landed and put into action in every theatre of the global conflict. The result were mixed. German airborne forces were veterans of Crete, but the cost was so great that Hitler vowed never to use them in the same way again. The allies saw thing differently. After Crete, they built up elite units who would play important roles in later battles – in Normandy, for example, where they succeeded in taking vital bridges prior to the D-Day landings.
These are just two examples of the many similar operations on the Western and Eastern Fronts and in the Pacific, which are covered in this wide-ranging book. It offers the reader a fascinating insight into airborne warfare over seventy-years ago.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Co. is based in the UK.
This book is hard-bound with a paper jacket that has flaps that hold it to the book.
The cover art shows a black and white photo of U.S. Airborne troops next to a wrecked wall.
The book holds 397 black and white photos of German and Allied paratroopers, aircrafts and equipment.
There are 40 maps in the book, some are battle maps. Some of the photos are aerial shots of various landscapes.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Pen & Sword Co. Books. All their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
On 10 May, 1940, German Fallschirmjagers stormed the French fort of Eben Emael, south of Maastricht. The brilliantly executed operation was the first single success by airborne forces in WWII and it made the military world sit up and take notice.
Improved parachutes and the creation of gliders that could carry troops meant that assault forces could be dropped or landed behind enemy lines. This was a significant new tactic which had a dramatic impact on several of the key campaigns, and it is the subject of Simon & Jonathan Froty’s in-depth, highly illustrated history.
They tell the story of the development of airborne forces, how they were trained and equipped, and how they were landed and put into action in every theatre of the global conflict. The result were mixed. German airborne forces were veterans of Crete, but the cost was so great that Hitler vowed never to use them in the same way again. The allies saw thing differently. After Crete, they built up elite units who would play important roles in later battles – in Normandy, for example, where they succeeded in taking vital bridges prior to the D-Day landings.
These are just two examples of the many similar operations on the Western and Eastern Fronts and in the Pacific, which are covered in this wide-ranging book. It offers the reader a fascinating insight into airborne warfare over seventy-years ago.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Co. is based in the UK.
This book is hard-bound with a paper jacket that has flaps that hold it to the book.
The cover art shows a black and white photo of U.S. Airborne troops next to a wrecked wall.
The book holds 397 black and white photos of German and Allied paratroopers, aircrafts and equipment.
There are 40 maps in the book, some are battle maps. Some of the photos are aerial shots of various landscapes.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Pen & Sword Co. Books. All their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.