Fallschirmjäger

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The Fallschirmjäger were Germany's own paratrooper branch, designed to deal a swift and fatal blow behind the enemy's lines. They were deployed with great success in Scandinavia and the Benelux, but they come too close to the sun when they attempt to invade Crete.

The Fallschirmjäger ((listen)) were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during WW2. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. The word Fallschirmjäger is from the German Fallschirm "parachute" and Jäger "hunter", the light infantry of the Prussian Army. Throughout WW2 the Fallschirmjäger commander was Kurt Student.

During the interwar years the rapid development of aircraft and aviation technology drew the attention of imaginative military planners. The idea of inserting a large body of troops inside enemy territory was first proposed during WW1 by commander of the U.S. Air Corps in France—Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. However, the Allied High Command was forced to abandon the idea as it was unprepared for such an undertaking, both logistically and in materiel. Among the first to recognize the potential of airborne forces were Italy and the Soviet Union. The first effective means of supporting massed infantry airborne operations came with the development of the static-line parachute in Italy in the 1920s, whereby parachutes are attached to the inside of the aircraft and deployed automatically upon departure. This technique used in the German Rückfallschirm, Zwangablösung (backpack parachute, static line) rig allowed jumps at lower altitudes, limiting exposure to enemy fire and providing a tighter drop zone grouping than individually deployed rip-cord type parachutes. 

The Soviets were the first to demonstrate the military possibilities of airborne infantry in the 1930s with a series of maneuvers held in 1935 and 1936. Though somewhat crude (the Soviet paratroopers had to exit their slow-moving Tupolev TB-3 transporters through a hatch in the roof and then, crawling along the wire, position themselves along the wings and top of the fuselage, and jump together when ordered), the exercise managed to land 1,000 troops through air-drops followed by another 2,500 soldiers with heavy equipment delivered via airlandings. The gathered forces proceeded to carry out conventional light infantry attacks with the support of heavy machine guns and light artillery. Among the foreign observers present was Hermann Göring.

Impressed, Göring became personally committed to the creation of Germany's airborne arm in the 1930s. As the Prussian Prime Minister of the Interior, he had ordered the formation of a specialist police unit in 1933, the Polizeiabteilung Wecke, devoted to protecting Nazi Party officials. The organization of this unit was entrusted to Polizeimajor Walther Wecke of the Prussian Police Force, who had assembled a special detachment of 14 officers and 400 men within just two days. On 17 July, the detachment was officially renamed Landespolizeigruppe Wecke. On 22 December 1933, the unit was again retitled, becoming the Landespolizeigruppe General Göring. The unit carried out conventional police duties for the next two years under the command of Göring's ministerial adjutant Friedrich Jakoby, but it was Göring's intention to ultimately produce a unit that would match the Reichswehr.

In March–April 1935, Göring transformed the Landespolizei General Göring into Germany's first dedicated airborne regiment, giving it the military designation Regiment General Göring (RGG) on 1 April 1935 (after Hitler introduced conscription on 16 March 1935). The unit was incorporated into the newly formed Luftwaffe on 1 October 1935 and training commenced at Altengrabow. Göring also ordered that a group of volunteers be drawn for parachute training. These volunteers would form a core Fallschirmschützen Bataillon ("parachute soldiers battalion"), a cadre for future Fallschirmtruppe ("parachute troops"). In January 1936, 600 men and officers formed the 1st Jäger Battalion/RGG, commanded by Bruno Bräuer, and the 15th Engineer Company/RGG and were transferred to training area Döberitz for jump training while the rest of the regiment was sent to Altengrabow. Germany's parachute arm was officially inaugurated on 29 January 1936 with an Order of the Day calling for recruits for parachute training at the Stendal Parachute Training School located 96 km (60 mi) west of Berlin. The school was activated several months after the first parachute units were established in January 1936 and was open to active and reserve Luftwaffe personnel. NCOs, officers and other ranks of the Luftwaffe were required to successfully complete six jumps in order to receive the Luftwaffe Parachutist's Badge (instituted on 5 November 1936). 

The 1st Parachute Division was originally formed in 1938, when it was designated as the 7th Air Division.

During the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 the Fallschirmjäger were sent to occupy several airfields between the Vistula and Bug rivers.

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. ........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger#World_War_II .