Review By Martin Koenigsberg
The Soviets might have been the first to experiment with Parachute Infantry, but it was the Nazis who first used it tactically- with the feats in the Netherlands and at Eben Emael in Belgium. The Allies would soon eclipse the Nazi Airborne achievements with those of their own, but for the first years of the War- Nazi Fallschirmjager were a terrifying threat from the skies. The Architect of that new fangled arm of service was Kurt Student, and A H Farrar-Hockley, “Farrar the Para” himself ,is the author of this biography, published in 1973 . Farrar, as his nickname suggests is an expert in airborne warfare and a veteran of Airborne Formations himself. The biography is short but filled with information in the style of Ballantines Illustrated History of the Violent Century, so there are plenty of picture, maps, diagrams and line drawings to support the text. Student was an indifferent student, funnily enough, but a real clutch performer. In WWI, he volunteered for the flying corps- assuming he would be rejected- then turned out to have a flair for flying and airborne combat. Known to Goering, he got involved with the shadow Luftwaffe of the Weimar years, coming to the fore when Hitler came to power in 1933. Given the assignment of exploring that new parachute craze- he realised its military potential and became the sponsor of the arm within the Luftwaffe. Nazi operations came to a zenith with the Crete attack in 1941- a costly victory. From then on the number of German Parachute divisions rose- but they never got the resources for large scale drops again. There are few adult themes and no graphic injury passages, so this is a book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 years with an aviation or historical bent. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast this is a limited resource. The Gamer will get good background- but will want other more specific resources for scenario/campaign development. The Modeler will enjoy this on background, too- but will want more options- and probably some in colour. The Military Enthusiast will appreciate the quick history- but may also want a longer form on this topic. It’s a good short biography, but this topic might require more. #WhatAreYouReading #BookReviews #20thCenturyHistory #MilitaryHistory #AvGeek #AviationHistory #NaziHistory #GermanHistory #Luftwaffe #AirborneWarfare #Fallschirmjager #Paratroops #Blitzkrieg #WWIIHistory #SWWHistory #WWII #SWW #WargameResearch #Student #AHFarrarHockley #BallantinesIllustratedHistoryOfTheViolentCentury #WarLeaderBookNo15 #TheGreatWar #Weimar #EbanEmael #Holland #Crete #FlamesOfWar #BoltAction #WorldWarIIWargaming
