Fallschirmjäger -- In the Defense of the Oder 1945: Schwedt, Zehden, Eberswalde, Seelow, Berlin - Paperback

Examines the role played by the German parachute troops in the defensive line of the Oder.

This book examines the role played by the German parachute troops in the defensive line of the Oder.

The 9. Fallschirmjäger Division, together with the SS-Fallschirmbataillone 600, were two of the last German paratrooper formations to be raised. These two formations took part in the impossible defense of the River Oder line against the numerically much superior Soviet troops in April 1945.

The book also looks at the role played by specialist anti-tank group Fallschirm-Panzer-Jagd-Bataillon 54 that fought against the Soviet Schwedt bridgehead prior to its incorporation into 9. Fallschirmjäger Division.

By April 1945 these formations were shadows of the elite units that had served in the early years of the war. They had received no jump training and were equipped in the same way as the rest of the German infantry.

Accounts of these units in action are rare, principally as they were raised so late in the war and fought almost exclusively against the Russians on the Eastern Front. The author has for the first time gathered accounts of the fighting around the Schwedt or Zehden bridgeheads on the Oder River and the desperate yet futile defense in the Seelow Heights. The narrative follows the retreat from the Oder into the street of Berlin and Breslau.