Center of Military History

Airborne Operations: A German Appraisal Center of Military History

This study was written for the Historical Division, EUCOM, by a committee of former German officers. It follows an outline prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History, Special Staff, United States Army, which is given below: 1. a. A review of German airborne experience in World War II. b. An appraisal of German successes and failures. c. Reasons for the apparent abandonment of large-scale German airborne operations after the Crete operation. 2. a. German experience in opposing Allied and Russian airborne operations. b. An appraisal of the effectiveness of these operations. 3. The probable future of airborne operations. It is believed that the contributors to this study (listed on page iv) represent a valid cross-section of expert German opinion on airborne operations. Since the contributors include Luftwaffe and Army officers at various levels of command, some divergences of opinion are inevitable; these have been listed and, wherever possible, evaluated by the principal German author. However, the opinions of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring are given separately and without comment wherever they occur in the course of the presentation.