Customer Reviews

Cassell Military Classics: Storming Eagles: German Airborne Forces in World War II

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Highly recommended for anyone interested in German paratroopers or special forces in general. Great narrative, very easy to read. Every battle is viewed through the eyes of the German paratroopers. Thus the usual monster battles, Stalingrad etc. gets very little focus or are hardly even mentioned. Whereas entire chapters are devoted to the operations in Benelux and Tunisia. This doesn't feel odd at all, but actually very refreshing since you are reading THEIR, sometimes untold, story.

The book is written in a style that blends detailed eye-witness accounts with broader strokes of operational history. This is of course the most common way to write military history books, but James Lucas does so better than most authors. He does not bog down in unnecessary details, yet manages to keep the reader aware of which unit was where and why.

Mr. Lucas holds the German paratroppers very dear, yet he comes of as well balanced and unbiased is his interpretation of the events.

The one negative thing I have to say about the book is the lack of maps (an all to common problem in this genre). To fully enjoy it you need to have a healthy dose of WW2 geography in your backpack. Still it doesn't cause enough fuss to give the book anything other than the highest grade.

Having a dozen & more WWII books on the shelf by James Lucas, you could say that I do enjoy his books. I trust his research and scholarship whenever he writes about the WWII era.

This present volume, originally published in 1988 by Arms and Armour Press, is now available in a lower priced Cassell paperback war classic.

These tough, well trained men who wore the Parachutist's jump badge of the silver wreath with the golden eagle descending, were some of Germany's finest special forces groups. From 1935 through 1945, these men were generally in the thick of combat wherever the Reich needed them most. And from the 1940 assault on Eben Emael and the invasion of Crete in 1941 onward they took on the patina and glimmer of a hard, tough fighting group. In the final days of 1945 when the British were assaulting the Westwall and Reichswald, the "bloody para boys" were the ones they least wanted to face. These hardened troops also saw action in the key theatres of North West Europe, North Africa, and on the Eastern Front.

James Lucas covers all aspects of this specialized group of men from 1940 through 1945, and does it pretty much in historical order. Hardly a page in this book exists without photographs (hardcover edition) and the maps are excellent, too.

Should you have interest in any of the special forces of the Reich, especially these fallshirmjagers, then this book is one you must see.

Storming Eagles: German Airborne Forces in World War II by James Lucas is a fascinating book, written not as a piece of Fallschirmjaeger ideology, nor as pointed anti-German prose from a former British soldier who faced these warriors (as Lucas was), but rather as a clear-headed and balanced account of the actions of these German troops throughout the Second World War. Lucas has crafted his prose in such a way that readers from an Allied lineage will away not feeling as though they have been reading about the 'enemy' as much as having read about groups of elite well-trained, valorous and tenacious soldiers who fought bravely for their country in the great conflict that was WWII. This is not an easy task for an author as so much emotion is still (60 odd year out) connected with this conflict and nationalism of readers is not absent. Yet, on reading Lucas' book this reviewer often felt he was reading not about German paratroopers but units from the 101st or 82nd US Airborne, or British 1st Airborne - one need only substitute names and direction of solider views to accomplish this in a general sense. Lucas achieves this feat by telling personal tales, or at least focusing attention on small units within the larger unit and theatre contexts.

Storming Eagles contains lucid descriptions of the Fallschirmjaeger actions that most will be familiar with (e.g., the drop on Crete in '41), as well as lesser know para-ops (e.g., ****). Yet, the largest portion of the book is devoted to ground actions (no drop or glider troop delivery) of the Jaeger forces, since Hitler concluded early in the War that airborne ops was not efficient use of manpower (much like much of the Allied high command throughout the war) and thus used his elite troops as 'fire-brigades' wherever needed to plug holes or stem Allied pushes. Again it is not hard when reading such accounts to imagine one is reading about Allied airborne forces as those forces were also used as 'fire-brigades' (re: Bastogne during the Ardennes counteroffensive), although certainly not as frequently. As the War proceeded more and more infantry were needed as replacements for dwindling manpower in both Allied and Axis camps, so it should not be that surprising that both commands looked to there elite paratroopers as a source of battle-worthy infantry grunts; better trooper were fighting in ground actions then sitting idle in embarkation camps awaiting airborne ops that never materialized. Lucas gives a good accounting of Jaeger actions throughout the war, a task not made easy by the fact that Hitler chose to utilize these troops piecemeal rather than as whole Divisional units. Hence, the story Lucas presents is one that required rather painstaking research to track down para groups when they were integrated into a variety of Wehrmacht and SS formations scattered in operations from the Middle East, to the Western and Eastern fronts, and actions near the Artic Circle. Lucas' efforts should be lauded, certainly the reader gains from his hard work!

In the end, Storming Eagles is a very solid read worthy of picking up even if one is not especially interested in German paratroops during WWII. This book is valuable for a multitude of reasons and is pure military history fun. 4.5 stars.

Lucas provides a comprehensive review of the action of the german fallschirmaeger in WW-II, probably one of the better currently available in English. Good section on Crete in particular. Does have sympathy with his subject, but this doesn't make it pro-Nazi (unless you are of the view that all German soldiers were Nazi's), just pro-german (or pro Fallschirmaeger). Doesn't deal with the establishment or organisation of troops but gets quickly into the action. Well worth the read.

This book is what could probably be called a "classic" in the field. It was first published in 1988. I have the 2004 hardcover edition. It is well written and the photographs provided are good. It might be a bit dated compared to more recent books on the subject. It tends to hop around to different combat locations throughout the book based on each year of the war. But it does make for a interesting read and is worth adding to your collection.

Storming Eagles by James Lucas

This is a book that I was hoping to be a nice reference book and it missed in so many little areas. I was expecting some nice descriptions of fallschirmjager actions (where they jumped/fought, training, and other related items), their equipment, and possibly a mini-bio on the different leaders. While this book does this, it's not the way I thought it should have been. Combat actions are often to high of a level and a little to scattered for me. While individual exploits are sometimes mentioned, this isn't done with the consistency to make this a personal accounting without good depth on individual battles. Instead, each major action gets a light glossing with a small personal piece that sort of sells. I'd preferred it if each action had a general description of what was happening and then if Mr. Lucas had followed the exploits of specific lower level units. Biographies, there's none directly in there... I'd love to have seen a mini-bio for Baron von der Heydte, Generals Student and Sturm, and other significant leaders of the fallschirmjagers. The uniform and equipment section is a nice reference piece, quick with good basic descriptions and the formations section is good for any wargamer wanting to know divisional resources down to the battalion level.

Rating wise, I'd call this a 2.5 star book and give it the nod to 3 since I have used it as a minor reference book with some nice photos. I will admit that I've mainly used this book as a reference book, going thru individual chapters. The one time I tried to read it cover to cover, wasn't compelled to take it past the reference level due to Mr. Lucas's focus. If Mr. Lucas has structured the front part of the book differently, including some nice tables on the different battles (along with lower-level maps, all the maps are at the strategic level) I'd have easily raised the rating to 4 stars and would view this as a serious reference book rather than a light one.

This book is simply great. It gives a combination of personal stories and information on all the battles german Fallschirmjaegers were involved in. In every battle he gives a great overview and than the Germans and Allies situations. Than deeply summarizes what all the German paratroopers did in the battle. And than gives great personal accounts. Well done.

Author Lucas is like many military historians. Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African exploits are usually lumped in with "British" when relating events from WWI and WW II.

In this book, for example, not only does he pass off in a few words the monumental battle at Ortona, he refers - for the most part - to the attacking troops as "British."

Ortona was, is, and always will be an icon of the gallantry of the men of the 1st Canadian Division. Even the New York Times acknowledged the magnitude of this epic Canadian fight against the German paras, calling it "Little Stalingrad" in reports from the front.

If you want to read about the heroism on BOTH sides in that historic confrontation, seek out Mark Zuehlke's Ortona.