US Airborne Divisions in the ETO 1944–45 (Battle Orders, 25)

I was pleasntly surprised with this book. It has everything that you wanted to know about an Airborne Division in the ETO and didn't know how to ask. The coverage regarding the organization is exhaustive and complete. The photos are great and appropriate, the diagrams superb and informative. The organization and equipment from WWII carried over to the postwar years and is even reflected today in how a modern Airborne Division functions. There is much information here that I have not seen elsewhere (e.g. the diagram and text regarding the use of the V of V formation for mass drops). This book is probably the most informative (along with its Sister books on the Mediterrean and Pacific Theaters)available for its size on the market. What a great buy! If I were restricted to one book on the U.S. Airborne (& I have a very extensive collection put together over 45 years), it would be this one. Great job Steve Zaloga, and another great work for Osprey Publishers!!

Super book on the US Airborne Divisions operation in Europe during WW2. This is the 3rd in a series of books about the US Airboren Forces ( other in the Pacific and Med). The books cover a large and broad topic of operations, equipment and the divisions TO/E.THe book is full with photo's, digrams and charts to explain everything you can think of. It is a great source of information for mililatry history buff's, wargammers and moldlers.You cant miss with this book!

This book I can relate to, great.

thank you

Very valuable resource and descriptions!

U.S. AIRBORNE DIVISIONS IN THE ETO 1944-1945STEVEN J. ZALOGAOSPREY PUBLISHING, 2007QUALITY SOFTCOVER, $23.95, 96 PAGES, ILLUSTRATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHS, CHARTS, MAPSIn early 1940, General Lynch, the Chief of Infantry, passed the responsibility for the Air Infantry Project, as it was then called, to Major William C. Lee. Lee's imagination and diligence helped build the U.S. paratrooper force over the ensuing years, and he became known as the Father of the American Airborne. Under his leadership, the Infantry Board at Fort Benning, Georgia began laying groundwork for airborne troops and began assessing the materials then used. Various paradrops of heavy weapons and supplies were tried with materials at hand. A suitable parachute was necessary for these new troops. In early June, 1940, this new parachute, designated T4, after being checked out at Fort Benning was provided to volunteers for the 1st Parachute Test Platoon. These soldiers were taken from the 29th Infantry Regiment. Volunteers were required to have at least two years Army service behind them. Their weight was to be no more than 185 pounds and they were to be in excellant physical condition and unmarried. Some 200 soldiers applied for the forty-two allotted slots. Thus the Parachute Test Platoon was born.Forty-two troopers and their officers were officially constituted as the Parachute Test Platoon. Developments in their equipment, the aircraft used, the type of training, and their tactics rapidly developed.On 6 September 1940, the 1st Parachute Battalion was entered on the rolls of the U.S. Army. Ten days later, the number was amended to the 501st Parachute Battalion. On 1 October, the 501st was activated with Major William M. Miley in command. Eventually some thirteen officers from this battalion would go on to become generals.By March, 1941, Lt. Colonel William C. Lee assumed command of the Provincial Parachute Group. This was an organization who administered the parachute battalion and the parachute schools. Expansion of these parachute battalions continued.The first U.S. combat jump was part of the Allied invasion of North Africa on 8 November 1942; this was made by the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. To do this, they had to be flown 1,500 miles at night and encountered unforeseen navigational problems. They flew through foul weather over neutral Spain. Two more airborne jumps were achieved over North Africa and both of these had mixed results. The 82nd Airborne Division then arrived and began training for the invasion of Sicily. On 9 July 1943, spearheaded by parachute elements of the 82nd Airborne, a massive Anglo-American force invaded Sicily. Unfortunately, these drops were fated not to accomplish their objectives.Two parachute regimental combat teams that took part fell victim to circumstances beyond their control. They were widely dispersed by airlift problems and were unable to locate their supply bundles. Their widespread aggression most definitely confused the enemy for a considerable time, thus partially achieving their official objectives.After these battles, calls to disband the airborne arm was heard throughout the U.S. Instead, the decision was finally made to learn from the lessons of Sicily and evaluate the results. These results were eventually seen in Normandy. On 3 September 1943, the invasion of Italy had begun. An estimated 3,400 paratroopers of the 82nd were dropped in the beachhead by the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing while elements of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment were dropped a few miles behind the beachhead to capture a major crossroads on 13 September. The airborne drop on the Salerno beachhead was done with the aid of Pathfinders using transponding radar beacons.Arriving in the United Kingdom late in October, 1943, the then veteran 82nd Airborne together with the untried 101st Airborne coming straight from the United States; began the build-up for the Normandy invasion. Six parachute infantry regiments, two glider infantry regiments, and various support units were just some of the units involved in the D-Day invasion scheduled for 6 June 1944.The delivery of entire divisions to battlefields behind enemy lines by parachute and glider was a unique feature of World War II, and by the end of the war, the U.S. Army deployed the largest airborne force in the world, created in only three years, and boasting such impressive units as the 82nd "All American" and 101st "Screaming Eagles".This book, U.S. AIRBORNE DIVISIONS IN THE ETO 1944-1945 details the organization and operational history of these units throughout the war in Northwest Europe from 1944-1945, covering the desperate night drops over Normandy in support of the D-Day invasion, through the capture of Nijmegen during Operation MARKET GARDEN to Operation VARSITY, the last great airborne operation of the war to secure the crossing of the Rhine.Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida GuardOrlando, Florida

I concur with all the positive feedback on this title. There's a lot of information here, especially specifics about which divisions did what, where, when and how. I am doing research on a relative who faught with the 17th Airborne, (a division that has not been as exhaustively written about as the 82nd, or even the 101st), and this book has supplied a lot of answers I couldn't find anywhere else.

Excellent thanks

Super👍👍👍👍👍

Superbe livre, qui répond à mes attentes, comme tout ceux de cette série...Et livré dans les temps (Covid, neige, etc.... c'est pour les autres )