D-Day paratroopers

This sixtieth anniversary of Operation 'Overlord' has spurred us to complete our series on the British (Volume I and II) and Canadian soldiers in Northwest Europe, 1944-45.

Although they have already been dealt with in these three volumes, we have brought together in a single book all the technical aspects of the soldiers from the sky who, on that 'Night of Freedom', spilled the first blood on the soil of France.

Uniforms, equipment, weapons and insignia are here displayed in an attractive format with many illustrations. We have added new input on insignia, as well as on planes and gliders.

We thus invite the military enthusiast, whatever his hobby, to look round - on paper, of course this exhaustive museum. Throughout the pages the reader will see that a large part has been given over to the order of battle and tables of equipment of relevant units, for these are indispensable elements for a complete understanding of airborne operations.

An important but hitherto unpublished chapter tells of the French Special Air Service troopers who landed on French soil shortly before British and American Pathfinders on D-Day. Even though they were a mere handful, they rallied three and a half thousand partisans who immediately took up arms and started the fight.

Whether they wore the maroon or the black beret, Airborne soldiers of 6th June 1944 became the stuff of legend, worthy companions of their brother-in-arms attacking the Normandy beaches at dawn from their assault craft.