Founded by Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goring and led by General Kurt Student, an officer of exceptional ability, the German airborne force was an important element of the new blitzkrieg method of warfare. Referred to as "Hunters from the Sky," German paratroopers infiltrated Allied lines, fighting from the moment they hit the ground, seizing bridges, capturing airfields, and suffering losses up to 50 percent. Here is the first full-scale history of the German Parachute Corps, from the terror and exhilaration of its first combat drop in 1940 to its bloody demise in 1945.

Foreword -- I. The years of victory. 1940 : The big drop -- 1941 : crisis on Crete -- II. The middle years. 1942-43 : Mission for Mussolini -- 1944 : The Führer's fire-brigade -- III. To the bitter end. 1944-45 : The last drop -- 1945 : The end of the hunters from the sky.