Airborne Assaults

[JOHN THURSTON]

Many Airborne Assualts took place during World War II.

None really have taken place, as such, since.

Airborne Assualts have taken place using Helicopters.

A truly airborne assualt, to be nit picky, is one using parachutists en Masse.

Many units receive parachute training. Only the US 82nd, to my knowledge, is a dedicated Airborne Assualt unit.

These specialized units, in my opinion, should not me maintained in division size, but we shall see.

The Great Airborne assualts in history include at least:

Falschirmjager capture of Dutch Fortress Eben-Amael
Falschirmjager Assualt on Crete
US Airborne Assualts Preceding the Normandy Landings
Combined US and British Airborne Assualts In Operation Market Garden
US Airbone recapture of Corregidor

The Capture of Eben Amael and Corregidor illustrated the perfect use of parachustists both were brilliantly executed against a strong point which could have caused WWI level casualties if conventional means were used.

Market Garden was a total disaster.

Although the Falschirmjager assault on Crete eventually resulted in the capture of the strategic island, casualties were such that the German Falschirmjager Units were never again able to mount any effective assualt again in WWII. German Falschirmjager assaults of any real size were at a sad end.

Falschirmjage means "Falling Hunters" as best as my limited German allows me.

Overlord's use of parachute assualts, in my mind, succeded in the sense that elements of the 101st and 82nd held important points long enough for more heavily equiped units to arrive.

Quite a lot of this success, albeit acheived with almost prohibitive casualties, came about because of the totally seredinpitous effect of so many drops in the wrong place.

The German High Command (OberKommando West) was totaly confused as to where the main attacks were intended. Since many elements of the Assualt were off the mark, confusion reigned on both sides. However, this worked in favor of the Allies in that the confusion resulted in an inertia of German High Command to move heavy units.

Rommel was unable to convince Hitler to move heavier Panzer units into the Normandy area .

As you know, Hitler firmly believed, for many reasons, that the Overlord assualt would come to the South, in the "Pas De Calais" region where, historically, assaults based in England would be directed.

THe American Airborne recapture of Corregidor was a brilliant stroke,costly, but a total success. No "Second Tennozan" was to occur for the Japanese Empire in the Phillipines.

JT