Introduction

Airborne troops or paratroopers conjure up visions in the minds of most; this usually is a case of burly soldiers charging into the rear ranks of the enemy, an opinion that that is encouraged as a form of psychological warfare. The truth is a tad different and is more a case of well trained troops being landed behind enemy lines and causing the enemy to spread their troops more thinly to prevent lightly armed and fast moving troops from causing chaos in their rear positions. This offering from Casemate Publishers looks at the 101st Airborne in Normandy during June 1944.

Review

This offering from Casemate is part of their Men, Battles and Weapons series. It is printed in a portrait style with a card cover. The title consists of 128 pages of a semi gloss finish paper that I feel is of a good quality judging by its thickness. The book is broken down into four main sections which are:
Planning and Preparation
Airborne Invasion
‘E’ is for Easy
The 101st in Carentan

The first area of this title looking at the ‘Planning and Preparation’ covers the formation of the 101st in short order and then moves to the period when the 101st was getting ready for their destination with history. The weapons and transport along with the gliders and tow aircraft are looked at. A pleasing diversion is a look at the commanders of the period as a whole as well as those in charge of the 101st, an aspect that is continued throughout this offering.

The second area of the title looking at the ‘Airborne Invasion’ is a well written piece showing the trials and tribulations of Airborne operations and landings. There are a few images showing the deadly result of landing a glider in an unprepared location including one depicting the body of 2nd lieutenant Butler, the co-pilot of the glider in which Brigadier General Pratt was killed.

The section titled ‘E’ is for Easy also has a very nice amount about Easy Company who are most likely best known for the Band or Brothers series. The title provides a nice level of information on this unit and I was particularly pleased to see photographs of members of this unit nearer to the present day. This is a unit that really does give you the impression of what a family is within the military. From what I have been able to find 14 members of Easy Company are alive at this time.

The last section of this title looking at the ‘The 101st in Carentan’ is exactly what it claims to be. The efforts of the 101st is covered to a reasonable level and also looks at the foe they faced. All told this is a nice closure to the title and leaves the story open for further books if the publisher wishes to continue.

Conclusion

This title covering the 101st Airborne’s lead up to D-Day and their part during the early stages is a very nice addition to any book shelf. In addition to looking at the 101st generally and Easy Company specifically you also get to see the people on both sides of the conflict that had a part to play. The German aspect is not covered in great detail, but this is about the 101st. The mix of period photographs, text and graphics of the vehicles and equipment is well balanced in the book and so makes for a pleasing read.