Customer Reviews

Green Devils: German Paratroopers 1939-1945

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This book is an excellent collection of photographs of German Paratroopers during World War II. Most of these photos are personal pictures or portraits, and as such are not the typical photos you see in history books on the subject. The text contains personal accounts from different paratroopers, many of whom are pictured in the book. Because it's made up of primarily personal accounts, there's not a lot of detailed analysis of the battles the paratroopers were involved in, and there are no maps to help. Some battles are also missing, but the main ones, Crete, North Africa, Russia, etc. are covered. Although the book contains a wealth of unique photographic material, I was a little disappointed. The English translation was a little rough and had many typoes. The accounts of the actions are brief and not illuminating of the battles, as you would expect from personal rememberances. Still if you are doing research on the uniforms and equipment of German paratroopers during WW2, this book would be interesting. I think it would be of most interest to WW2 re-enactors or militaria collectors.

What I really enjoy of this book is the First person accounts of those who served in the German parachute force. The book is a translation from the french Edition,it was made in a large format which help you see with more detail the photos,this is not a complete history of Germany's World War II Fallschirmjäger but the great thing is like a say before "based on the personal narratives of veterans" which supplemented the 300 previously unpublished wartime photos. The author provids all readers with a vivid collection of portraits, many of then not in combat but it would help you understand more on how was the life of the great Green devils.

Green Devils! German Paratroopers, first-person accounts from 1939-1945 is truly just that. A loose history of World War Two with tons of first person stories and lots and LOTS of photos. If you are trying to understand World War Two don't use this book. If you want to understand men in combat, the good, the bad, the ugly, the need for cigarettes, THIS is it. It is a wonderful book, lots of information about unit formations and does touch on some subjects I didn't know about. I didn't know about the airborne operations in Greece, for example. If you want a more complete book on the history of the war but still keep the first person view, I would suggest both Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949 and Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans Von Luck (Cassell Military Paperbacks).