HISTORY:
** For six weeks in the summer of 1944, US forces tasked with capturing the vital road hub of Saint-Lô in Normandy struggled to make progress amid the bocage – hedgerow country interspersed with marshland, where infantry would have to do most of the fighting. The Germans deployed some of their toughest infantrymen, the renowned Fallschirmjäger – highly motivated, well-equipped Luftwaffe volunteers formed around cadres of veterans – to defend this sector. Despite the American superiority in terms of armour, aircraft and matériel, the US infantrymen would need to evict the Germans in an exhausting series of close-quarter battles.
Featuring expert analysis, carefully chosen photographs and newly commissioned artwork, this book compares the combatants' ethos, doctrine and training and assesses their performance in the Saint-Lô battle, notably during the brutal struggle for Hill 192 (June 12 – July 12), the hedgerow fighting around the city (June 12 – July 18), and the bitter engagements at Mont Castré and “Witches’ Island” (July 3-23). **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released Fallschirmjäger vs US Soldier, Saint-Lô 1944 as Number 81 in their Combat series. It is a soft cover book with 800 pages and is the standard Osprey Publishing size of 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs, full color illustrations, color maps, detailed captions and more. It has a 2025 copyright, a publication date of October 23, 2025, and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-6712-4.
THE CONTENTS:
Introduction
The Opposing Sides
- Organization and structure
- Weapons
- Tactics, training, and leadership
- Morale
Hill 192, June 12 – July 12, 1944
Clearing the way to Saint-Lô, June 12 – July 18, 1944
Mont Castré and Witches’ Island, July 3-23, 1944
Analysis
Aftermath
Unit Organizations
Bibliography
Index
The Osprey Publishing website states that the contents list shown with the book listing is “subject to confirmation”. The contents listing I have provided has been quoted from the book and is accurate.
THE TEXT:
Author Frank Baldwin has written an excellent history about various combat actions involving the German Fallschirmjäger and US soldiers during the fighting in the Saint-Lô region of Normandy in 1944 in a well written and easy to follow and understand manner. The text goes into very specific detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing that I have provided for the areas that are covered through the book. The author discusses the specific military units that took part in the fighting and how they organized and the levels of experience of the members of the units as well as the types of soldiers that wanted to fight and those that wished to not go into combat. When discussing the Axis and Allied weapons, the author details which weapons were made available to both combat forces and how they were dispersed and the roles they were to be used in and the military doctrine that detailed how the weapons were to be used and supported. The author also discusses the various weapon’s strengths, weaknesses and how the soldiers made field modification when needed such as to the American M1 carbine due to issues with keeping the ammunition magazine in place. Although it is brief, a section of the book I found to be interesting is where the morale of the Axis and Allied forces is discussed. When discussing the combat actions, the author provides information such as what the goals of the actions were, dates times and locations, what actions were successful and which actions failed, terrain features, weapons used, military units involved, numbers of wounded and killed and other such precise information. Author Frank Baldwin does not take a one-sided stance on the subject and provides information equally and unbiased when detailing both the Allied and Axis forces and their actions, which I personally appreciate as it provides a precise history that is not influenced by personal feelings or thoughts on the subject. Along with his own words, Frank Baldwin has also provided quotes from individuals directly involved with the campaign and official documents such as 3rd Fallschirmjäger-Division commander Generalleutnant Richard Schimpf, a letter taken from a Fallschirmjäger killed in combat, US 357th Infantry Distinguished Service Cross citations for Lieutenant Colonel Jacob W, Bealke and Private First Class Theodore G. Wagner and German tactical notes. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass along my findings. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on German Fallschirmjäger and US soldiers during World War II to their personal library will be pleased with this very informative and interesting book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 51 black and white photographs and 4 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures, propaganda photographs as well as photographs that have been staged for the photographer and range from wide angle photographs to close-up detailed photographs. The close-up photographs show items such as German and American uniforms to include helmets, soft caps, medals and military ribbons. Also shown are several small arms to include rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, mortars, German Panzerschreck and others. There are also various tanks and armored vehicles shown such as an American M5 Stuart, an American M10 tank destroyer, an American M29 Weasel, a German PzKpfw V Panther. Images of various soft-skinned vehicles such as American Jeeps and trucks are also featured. Also shown are American and German artillery pieces as well as a German JU-52 tri-motor transport aircraft. Most of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of them are somewhat blurry and a few of them appear to be too dark, while others appear to be too light. This can be typical for the discussed period of history, and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author and they do not take anything away from the book. There are a number of the photographs featured that I have seen used in a large number of other publications dealing with the same subject matter, however there are photographs that were new to me. Author Frank Baldwin chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be excellent reference material for the scale figure modeler due to the details they contain. The military historian, and the military uniform and smalls arms enthusiast will benefit from the excellent photographs as will anyone that is interested in combat actions involving the German Fallschirmjäger and US soldier during the fighting in the Saint-Lô region of Normandy in 1944 during World War II.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are 2 black and white illustrations and 4 color illustrations with detailed captions included by illustrator Steve Noon. One of the color illustrations is two-page, split-page, action scene. The illustrations are accompanied by black and white copies of the same illustrations on the following page that describe the scenes and point out and describe key areas of interest. The illustrations are very well done, nicely detailed and are of:
Plate A
Fallschirmjäger, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15, Beaucoudray, July 7, 1944 (See attached scan)
- Two-page front and back illustrations of a German Fallschirmjäger in combat uniform preparing to throw a stick grenade. Accompanying the illustrations is a well written caption that details and points out eleven items of interest such as weapons, uniform items, equipment and other items of the period.
Plate B
GI, 357th Infantry Regiment, Beaucoudray, July 7, 1944 (See attached scan)
- Two-page front and back illustrations of an American infantryman in combat uniform armed with a M1 Garand rifle which he is holding at the ready. Accompanying the illustrations is a well written caption that details and points out thirteen items of interest such as weapons, uniform items, equipment and other items of the period.
Plate C
Hill 192, July 11, 1944
- A two-page action illustration showing US soldiers from the 23rd Infantry preparing to advance through a hedgerow that a US Sherman tank has just breeched.
Plate D
Contesting the main defensive line, July 13, 1944
- A two-page, split-page, action illustration. The bottom half of the illustration shows the point of view of a platoon from the U.S. 175th Infantry Regiment as they engage and attempt to advance on the German Hauptkampflinie (main battle line) held by the German Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 8. The top half of the illustration shows the point of view of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 8 as they defend their position and repel the attacking Americans. Between the American position and the German position is a U.S. Sherman tank that was destroyed by a Fallschirmjäger armed with a Panzerschreck. On the following page there are two smaller black and white duplicate illustrations, each with a detailed caption explaining the view from each side of the action.
** I have provided a scan of the smaller black-and-white copies of the color illustrations.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in fine detail, eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific individuals shown and their military rank and military unit they are assigned to, the types of uniforms and accoutrements they are wearing, types of small arms and larger weapons, types of aircraft, ship, armor and military vehicles, dates and locations and other such pertinent information. I did notice a mistake on Page 42 where it states the 23d instead of 23rd. I was impressed by Frank Baldwin’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail.
THE MAPS:
There are 4 full-colored maps by Bounford.com included in this volume. The maps come with detailed keys as well as map/cartographic distance scales. The maps are of:
- The Saint-Lô sector, June-July 1944
- Hill 192, June 10 – July 12, 1944
- Clearing the way to Saint-Lô, June 12 – July 18, 1944
- Mont Castré and Witches’ Island July 3 – 23, 1944 (See attached scan)
INDIVIDUAL PROFILES:
There are 2 individual profiles included in this volume, and they are of:
- Alexander Uhlig
- Commander of 16./Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6.
- William E. DePuy
- Major with the 90th Infantry Division.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other Osprey Publishing titles I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains well written informative text, many subject specific photographs and illustrations, well detailed captions, maps and more, all detailing various actions involving the German Fallschirmjäger and US soldier during the fighting in the Saint-Lô region of Normandy in 1944 during World War II. As with the other Osprey Publishing titles, I have no hesitation recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal reference library.
Osprey Publishing also offers Fallschirmjäger vs US Soldier, Saint-Lô 1944 as:
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 978-1-4728-6709-4
and
Ebook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728-6710-0
Osprey Publishing’s, Fallschirmjäger vs US Soldier, Saint-Lô 1944 is also available as a Kindle version through Amazon.
PRICE:
US $23.00 / UK £15.99 / CAN $31.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when making your purchase. Thank you.