ELITE No 136 WORLD WAR II AIRBORNE WARFARE TACTICS

Origins of airborne forces * Early doctrine: deployment of paratroopers as small raiding parties * The Allied and German response to these lessons: formation of multiple battalions - first divisions assembled - the problems of support and service units * Delivery to the battlefield: parachutes, troop transports, gliders * Weapons and equipment * Late war doctrine and organisation * Execution of an airborne operation, step-by-step * Four representative airborne operations examined * Application of World War II lessons in post-war operations.