Overview

This revealing history explores Hermann Goering's desperate creation of twenty-two Luftwaffe Field Divisions-air force personnel hastily repurposed as infantry and sent to the Eastern Front with disastrous results. Michael J. Stout delivers the first full account of these ill-fated units, exposing their role in the collapse of Nazi military effectiveness. In September 1942, with German armies bleeding on the Eastern Front and manpower stretched to the breaking point, Hermann Goering made a fateful gamble. In an act of desperation-and with Hitler's blessing-he ordered the formation of twenty-two Luftwaffe Field Divisions from the ranks of Germany's air force. These men had been trained to maintain aircraft, cook meals, file paperwork, or fly bombers-not fight and die in Russia's frozen tundra. Within three chaotic weeks they were deployed to the Eastern Front, poorly equipped and woefully unprepared. Predictably, their performance was disastrous, with many divisions disintegrating under fire. While significant to the German war effort and the history of the Luftwaffe, the Luftwaffe Field Divisions have received little analysis from professional historians. Author Michael J. Stout fills this gap by providing a complete history and full analysis of these divisions, examining their creation, training, combat service, and overall contribution to the German war effort. This book offers a new, revealing look at the unraveling of German military power and the growing dysfunction at the heart of the Nazi regime.

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9781682479773

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Reviews

“Stout does a commendable job of piecing together the story of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions, combining mastery of the secondary literature with an impressive collection of primary documents from multiple archives. The author weaves together directives, after action reports, and war diaries from both Army and Luftwaffe collections to provide what is probably the best account of how these formations actually fared in combat.”—Dr. Richard R. Muller, Professor of Military History, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies  “In Goering’s Ground Troops, Stout writes an excellent analysis of the Luftwaffe infantry divisions origins, organization, and efforts in World War II. Based in excellent primary research, he fills a needed void in the history of Goering’s and the Luftwaffe’s efforts to bolster ground infantry for combat after the infantry crisis of 1942. This history of the twenty-two Luftwaffe Field Divisions is the comprehensive analysis of the divisions created to support the German war on every front.  While their record was mixed, this is the definitive analysis of the German efforts in the attempt to survive the war against the better organized and equipped armies they faced. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the mis-management of the German war machine.” –  Dr. S. Mike Pavelec, airpower historian, author of Airpower Over Gallipoli and The Jet Race and the Second World War  

""Stout does a commendable job of piecing together the story of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions, combining mastery of the secondary literature with an impressive collection of primary documents from multiple archives. The author weaves together directives, after action reports, and war diaries from both Army and Luftwaffe collections to provide what is probably the best account of how these formations actually fared in combat.""--Dr. Richard R. Muller, Professor of Military History, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies ""In Goering's Ground Troops, Stout writes an excellent analysis of the Luftwaffe infantry divisions origins, organization, and efforts in World War II. Based in excellent primary research, he fills a needed void in the history of Goering's and the Luftwaffe's efforts to bolster ground infantry for combat after the infantry crisis of 1942. This history of the twenty-two Luftwaffe Field Divisions is the comprehensive analysis of the divisions created to support the German war on every front. While their record was mixed, this is the definitive analysis of the German efforts in the attempt to survive the war against the better organized and equipped armies they faced. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the mis-management of the German war machine."" - Dr. S. Mike Pavelec, airpower historian, author of Airpower Over Gallipoli and The Jet Race and the Second World War

Author Information

Michael J. Stout holds a PhD in European history from the University of North Texas. He is a professor at Grayson College in northern Texas, teaching U.S., world, and military history. He lives in Lewisville, TX.

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