The Fallschirmjäger formed the airborne forces of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War and were the first paratroopers committed in large-scale operations, earning the nickname “Green Devils” from their opponents for their tenacity and distinctive esprit de corps under the overall command of General der Fallschirmtruppe Kurt Student. Originating from volunteers of the Regiment General Göring in the mid-1930s, they were organised into the 7. Flieger-Division in 1938 and later expanded into successive Fallschirmjäger-Divisionen, with specialised units such as the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment and Fallschirmjäger-Regimenter 1, 2 and 3. Their early successes included the unopposed seizure of airfields and bridges during the occupation of Denmark and Norway in April 1940, the dramatic glider-borne capture of Fort Ében-Émael by Sturmgruppe Granit in May 1940, and the securing of key bridges and airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium during the Western Campaign. The culminating airborne assault was Unternehmen Merkur on Crete in May 1941, when elements of the 7. Flieger-Division and supporting Gebirgsjäger landed by parachute and glider to seize the island; although successful, the operation cost the Fallschirmjäger roughly 3,000 to 4,000 killed or missing and led Adolf Hitler to forbid further large-scale airborne operations. Thereafter the Fallschirmjäger fought primarily as elite ground infantry, with the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” operating in North Africa during the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division defending Monte Cassino in Italy, and the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division under Generalleutnant Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke holding Festung Brest against American forces in 1944. Additional divisions including the 3., 4. and 5. Fallschirmjäger-Division saw heavy combat in Normandy, the Falaise Pocket, Arnhem and the Ardennes, while later formations raised in 1944–45 were often understrength and used as ordinary infantry. Equipped with distinctive jump smocks, the Fallschirmjäger-Stahlhelm and specialised weapons such as the FG 42, they maintained high combat value until the final surrender of remaining units in May 1945, having suffered tens of thousands of casualties across every major theatre.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (1889-1968) was born on 24 January 1889 in Schleswig into a farming family and entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1905 as a Schiffsjunge, later serving as a Matrose and rising through non-commissioned ranks before the First World War. During that conflict he transferred to the Marine-Infanterie and fought mainly in Flanders, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse as well as the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross for distinguished actions as an Offiziers-Stellvertreter. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr, advancing steadily to Oberstleutnant by 1937, and in 1940, at the age of fifty-one, volunteered for the Fallschirmtruppe of the Luftwaffe, completing parachute training and receiving the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. In May 1941, as Oberst and Kommandeur of Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment 1, he took part in the airborne invasion of Crete; after Generalmajor Meindl was wounded he assumed command of the Westgruppe, leading the capture of Maleme airfield and the town of Chania, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 August 1941 and promoted to Generalmajor. In 1942 he commanded the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” attached to the Afrikakorps in North Africa; during the Second Battle of El Alamein his isolated force refused surrender, captured a British supply column, and marched roughly 350 kilometres through the desert to rejoin Rommel’s troops, an exploit that earned him the Eichenlaub on 13 November 1942 and promotion to Generalleutnant. He later raised and led the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division in Italy and briefly on the Eastern Front before taking command of Festung Brest in Brittany in August 1944. There, as Kommandant, he directed a stubborn defence of the vital port against superior American forces for more than a month, delaying its capture until 19 September 1944, the same day he received both the Schwerter and the Brillanten to his Ritterkreuz and was promoted to General der Fallschirmtruppe. Captured that day, Ramcke spent years as a prisoner of war, was later convicted by a French court of war crimes committed during the Brest fighting, and after release lived quietly until his death on 4 July 1968 in Kappeln.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Knight%27s_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross_recipients_of_the_Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger
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