Produced during WWII or immediately before, this short silent film shows some of the training activities of the Fallschirmjäger, the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe. The production appears to pre-date WWII. In addition to basic training, parachute packaging and handling, and jump techniques, the film also contains footage of the Junkers Ju 52 trimotor transport aircraft (:42 and following) which was commonly used for jumps.
The Fallschirmjäger were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations and came to be known as the “green devils” by the Allied forces they fought against. Throughout World War II the Fallschirmjäger commander was Kurt Student.
During World War II, the Luftwaffe raised a variety of airborne light infantry (Fallschirmjäger) units. Starting from a small collection of Fallschirmjäger battalions at the beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe built up a division-sized unit of three Fallschirmjäger regiments plus supporting arms and air assets, known as the 7th Flieger Division (7th Air Division).
Fallschirmjäger units made the first airborne invasion when invading Denmark on the 9 April 1940. In the early morning hours of Operation Weserübung, they attacked and took control of Aalborg Airport which played a key role as a refueling station for the Luftwaffe in the subsequent invasion of Norway. In the same assault the bridges around Aalborg were taken. Other airborne attacks during the German invasion of Denmark were also carried out, including one on a fort on the island Masnedø, protecting the important Storstrøm Bridge.
The first opposed airborne attacks occurred during the Norwegian Campaign, first during the initial invasion when Fallschirmjäger captured the defended air base of Sola, near Stavanger. The Fallschirmjäger also had their first defeat in Norway, when a company was dropped on the village and railroad junction of Dombås on 14 April 1940 and was destroyed by the Norwegian Army in a five-day battle.
Later in the war, the 7th Air Division’s Fallschirmjäger assets were re-organised and used as the core of a new series of elite Luftwaffe Infantry divisions, numbered in a series beginning with the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division. These formations were organized and equipped as motorized infantry divisions, and often played a “fire brigade” role on the western front. Their constituents were often encountered on the battlefield as ad hoc battle groups (Kampfgruppen) detached from a division or organized from miscellaneous available assets. In accord with standard German practice, these were called by their commander’s name, such as Group Erdmann in France and the Ramcke Parachute Brigade in North Africa.
After mid-1944, Fallschirmjäger were no longer trained as paratroops due to the realities of the strategic situation, but retained the Fallschirmjäger honorific. Near the end of the war, the series of new Fallschirmjäger divisions extended to more than 12, with a concomitant reduction in quality in the higher-numbered units of the series. Among these divisions was the 9th Fallschirmjäger Division, which was the last parachute division to be raised by Germany during World War II. The division was destroyed during the Battle of Berlin in April 1945. Over 54,449 paratroops were killed in action and over 8,000 are still listed as missing in action.
Fallschirmjäger were awarded a total of 134 Knight’s Crosses between 1940 and 1945. Twenty-four KC were awarded in the west and 27 were awarded after Crete. Out of the 134 KC, 15 were with oak leaves, five with oak leaves and swords, and one with oak leaves, swords and diamonds.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
