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The Sky Men: A Parachute Rifle Company’s Story of the Battle of the Bulge and the Jump Across the Rhine
The Sky Men is the story of F Company of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th U.S. Airborne Division. They were all volunteers to a new, dangerous, and elite corps Airborne. In the midst of the hardest European winter in forty years, the 17th Air
544 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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December 25, 2021
Kirk Ross provides a minutely detailed account of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, especially its F Company, from formation, training and eventual deployment in Europe during WW II. It is a book heavy on minutiae over the first hundred ages, details that in aggregate characterize military life but are slow to advance the narrative. They show the basis of bonding, or hostility, for members of the unit, but are otherwise more items of conversation among veterans after the war than military history, itself. The book paints a dark picture, one portraying the debilitating conditions under which war is waged--weather, privation, and continual stress and exertion-- as well as limitations of leadership, and the brutish nature the combatants on both sides possessed or developed during the course of the war.
On December 16, 1944 when the Germans launched an attack that developed into what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the parachute regiment was still in England awaiting deployment to the continent. On December 29th, the troopers first served to strengthen the defense line on the River Meuse, western boundary of the Bulge. On January 3rd they moved east to participate in General Patton's effort to attack northward to connect with British General Montgomery's forces moving southward to trap the then-retreating German forces fighting their way back to Germany. The regiment fought in fierce action from the 3rd until the 18th of January. During this time the strength of Company F was reduced from about 180 officers and men to only 30 men, 2 officers and 28 enlisted men. They had been introduced to the harsh school of combat. Ross describes the unworthy actions of several of the regimental officers. One was relieved of command for cowardice, but subsequently made chair of the Division Awards and Decorations committee.
In early February the regiment was withdrawn to France to receive replacement personnel and prepare for their next assignment: participation in what would be the last combat jump of WWII in Europe: Operation Varsity. That was part of Montgomery's plan to invade Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr Valley, and race across the country toward Berlin It was based on the earlier failed plan, Market Garden, to seize a river crossing into Germany at Arnhem. The new plan visualized an amphibious crossing of the Rhine to establish a bridgehead, supplemented by the Varsity airdrop to deepen the penetration. The attack was launched on March 24th. The airdrop encountered heavy antiaircraft fire and many of the C-46 aircraft were lost before or after dropping the paratroopers. British gliders brought additional troops into the landing zone. Accidents and navigational errors earlier disrupted timing and placement of the 513th regiment's drops, but most of the troopers were able to reassemble at their designated area before too long. Against fierce resistance they fought to join up with the amphibious British and American forces to their west, then proceed into the Ruhr and continuing combat, then to occupation duty when the war ended.
There is no sugar coating in this telling. American soldiers commit murder, rape, theft, and vandalism. There are heroic acts, but many of cowardice and ineptness as well. The accounts are specific in naming shortcomings and failures on the part of officers. It is, as noted, a dark account of warfare. Ross has carefully mined both the archives and his interviews with many of the veterans. Several of the engagements are illustrated by maps, and there are several folios of photographs. Notes and appendices are useful sources of additional detail.
On December 16, 1944 when the Germans launched an attack that developed into what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the parachute regiment was still in England awaiting deployment to the continent. On December 29th, the troopers first served to strengthen the defense line on the River Meuse, western boundary of the Bulge. On January 3rd they moved east to participate in General Patton's effort to attack northward to connect with British General Montgomery's forces moving southward to trap the then-retreating German forces fighting their way back to Germany. The regiment fought in fierce action from the 3rd until the 18th of January. During this time the strength of Company F was reduced from about 180 officers and men to only 30 men, 2 officers and 28 enlisted men. They had been introduced to the harsh school of combat. Ross describes the unworthy actions of several of the regimental officers. One was relieved of command for cowardice, but subsequently made chair of the Division Awards and Decorations committee.
In early February the regiment was withdrawn to France to receive replacement personnel and prepare for their next assignment: participation in what would be the last combat jump of WWII in Europe: Operation Varsity. That was part of Montgomery's plan to invade Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr Valley, and race across the country toward Berlin It was based on the earlier failed plan, Market Garden, to seize a river crossing into Germany at Arnhem. The new plan visualized an amphibious crossing of the Rhine to establish a bridgehead, supplemented by the Varsity airdrop to deepen the penetration. The attack was launched on March 24th. The airdrop encountered heavy antiaircraft fire and many of the C-46 aircraft were lost before or after dropping the paratroopers. British gliders brought additional troops into the landing zone. Accidents and navigational errors earlier disrupted timing and placement of the 513th regiment's drops, but most of the troopers were able to reassemble at their designated area before too long. Against fierce resistance they fought to join up with the amphibious British and American forces to their west, then proceed into the Ruhr and continuing combat, then to occupation duty when the war ended.
There is no sugar coating in this telling. American soldiers commit murder, rape, theft, and vandalism. There are heroic acts, but many of cowardice and ineptness as well. The accounts are specific in naming shortcomings and failures on the part of officers. It is, as noted, a dark account of warfare. Ross has carefully mined both the archives and his interviews with many of the veterans. Several of the engagements are illustrated by maps, and there are several folios of photographs. Notes and appendices are useful sources of additional detail.
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