Monte Cassino Pt 2 - Fg 42 - Otto Skorzeny - Mp 40 - Panzerfaust - StG 44 - Fallschirmjäger - Sniper

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This incredible footage is of German Fallschirmjöger, or paratroopers training was produced in Vichy France in 1943.

It fits in well with the second video covering the Battle of Monte Cassino which took place in early 1944. In addition to the rare combat footage I’ve added absolutely unique footage showing a Fallschirmjäger armed with the Fg 42 assault rifle in the wild.

This damaged fresco was part of the Cassino Monastery which was bombed by the Anglo-Americans out of frustration when they believed that German artillery spotters had occupied the monastery were calling in devastating strikes from there.

This is a clip from one of the few original color new reels that was produced by the Germans during the war. It was taken in Italy in 1944. The complete newsreel has a runtime of 13:52.

This fascist Dutch newsreel focuses on combat involving the Fallschirmjäger at Cassino. We can identify the Fallschirmjäger by the characteristic shape of their helmets which were designed to give them less obstructed peripheral sight.

Peripheral sight was enhanced because, during a parachute jump, they would likely be alone or in small groups during those first moments on the ground.

These are captured Zew Zealanders. The attacking force was made up of soldiers from the United State, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Poland, Free France, Canada, South Afrika, India and even some Italians.

The Fallschirmjäger were part of the German Luftwaffe, they were elite formations and they were intended to be used in special operations. The most important operations that they had been involved in include the taking of Narvik in Norway, the fortification Eben Emael in Belgium, bridges at Moerdijk and Dordrecht in the Netherlands and then finally on the Greek island of Crete where they suffered terrible casualties. This would prove to be their last large airborne operation.

Over time I’ll certainly be doing videos on each of these operations so if you haven’t subscribed yet please go ahead and do that and hit the bell icon. Also please like this video, that only takes a second.

A Patreon member asked if I had any footage containing the rarest gun of the war, the German Fg 42 which was developed specifically for the Fallschirmjäger…and there it is.

I’d love to be able to offer you a better view or even show it firing but that’s all I could find. At least the picture quality is good.

The weapon was developed after operation Merkur, the invasion of Crete, had shown that the Fallschirmjäger needed an easily portable rapid fire weapon capable of engaging targets at medium or even long range. Although Hitler had ended such large scale airborne operations because of the casualties suffered, Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe secretly supported the weapon’s development. It’s first operational use came in September of 1943 when a group of SS and Falschirmäger lead by Otto Skorzeny freed Mussolini from captivity. Here is a photo of a Fallschirmjäger with armed with an Fg 42 in front of a glider used during the operation.

If you are a Patreon Channel Member I’ll send you a link to further exclusive footage of the fighting at Cassino. If you are not yet a member, please consider becoming one. It’s worth it, I promise.

Also, if you go to the associated website at Military1945.com you can open an account for free and you’ll get access to some of the situational maps for the eastern front. Channel Member get access to all those maps.

At Cassino the Fallschirmjäger came to be known as the Green Devils because of the color of their uniforms and their ferocity.

Finally the third and final battle to take Monte Cassino came to an end on May 18, 1944. Although the Allies were victorious, the battle had raged on for 4 months and 1 day and had cost them 50,000 casualties while the Germans had suffered 20,000. It’s estimated that about 20,000 civilians were killed.

The Italian front certainly diverted German men and resources away from the Atlantic coast which would make the planned cross channel invasion more likely to succeed however, the campaign had proven that Churchill’s strategy of exploiting Europe’s soft underbelly wasn’t viable.

These German propaganda leaflets attempted to exploit the difficulty of the campaign. And now here is the Vichy French Fallschirmjäger training material that I promised.