“F****ascinating . . . a must read for those who are interested in the Normandy, Market Garden, and Ardennes Operations” (Henrik Lunde, author of Hitler’s Preemptive War).
This is the complete wartime history of one of the largest German paratrooper regiments, the 6th, from its initial formation in the spring of 1943 to its last day at the end of the war. With numerous firsthand accounts from key members reporting on their experiences, they describe the events of 1943–45 vividly and without compromise.
These accounts reveal previously unknown details about important operations in Italy, Russia, Belgium, and Holland, and on the Normandy Front, the last German Parachute drop in the Ardennes, and the final battle to the end in Germany.
With over 220 original photographs, many from private collections and never before published, this book fully illustrates the men, their uniforms, equipment, and weapons. Also included is an appendix with maps, battle calendar, staffing plans, a list of field numbers, and the Knight’s Cross recipients of the regiment. Having earned the respect of the Allied forces who fought against it during World War II, this work will inform current readers of the full record of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, and why the Allied advance into German-held Europe was so painstaking to achieve.
“The great value of Griesser’s superb, richly detailed, and fabulously illustrated work is that it fills in a very wide gap in our knowledge about one of Nazi Germany’s elite branches of service . . . The Lions of Carentan represents a treasure trove for anyone interested in German airborne forces.” —Flint Whitlock, author of If Chaos Reigns
