WWII German Fallschirmjäger (July 4, 2005)

[W.i.n.t.e.r]

WWII Fallschirmjäger (Axis) v.1.0

get it here, at my units section (post 5)

Note: What better present could one make on a 4th of July ? To all you Epic Game Modders and WWII-Scenario experts- here is your genuine German Fallschirmjäger Soldier as appeared in the period of WWII.

Fallschirmjäger?, often rendered Fallschirmjager in English, is the German word for paratrooper. (Fallschirm means 'parachute', and Jäger means 'hunter' or 'ranger', and is a traditional German term for light infantry.) Fallschirmjäger were among the first combat units to use recoiless rifles in warfare.

Historical Info:
After the German invasion of Neutral Belgium, Fort Eben Emael, a diamond-shaped fort, was Belgium's hope to defend the eastern side from invasion, charged with defending or destroying three key bridges. It also gave protection to the south to what is called the Gap of Vise. Eben-Emael was thus situated in between Liège and Maastricht, near the Albert Canal, defending the Belgian-German border. Constructed in modern time 1931-1935, with its steel and concrete cupolas, Fort Eben-Emael was thought to be impenetrable.
But on 10 May 1940 a new age was upon the world, 85 German parachute troopers landed in the fortress with gliders (type DFS 230). One day later, they were reinforced by the German 151st Infantry Regiment. At 13:30 h on 11 May, the fortress surrendered. 1200 Belgian soldiers were captured.

Fallschirmjäger participated in many famous battles, including the airborne seizure of Fort Eben-Emael and airdrops in Norway in 1940, and the defense of Carentan during the Battle of Normandy in 1944. Their most famous airdrop was in the Battle of Crete in 1941, where the entire 7th Air Division division was deployed along with other assets such as the German 22nd Air Landing Division. The operation was successful in terms of capturing Crete, but the high casualties among the Fallschirmjäger convinced Hitler that such mass airdrops were no longer feasible. (The Allies would come to a similar conclusion near the end of the war, as each successive large-scale airdrop resulted in higher and higher casualties). Download this unit now to beef up your German arsenal with the latest WWII technology. Njoy!

 

[Xatokuom]

Vielen Dank W.I.N.T.E.R.! Very cool unit graphics, now on to Malta.

Cheers,
Xatokuom

 

[warmwaffles]

wow.....it looks like the stock civ 3 paratrooper....but yet different.....I dunno if I am seein stuff..

any how thats a nice job

 

[Vuldacon]

Sweat Job W.i.n.t.e.r. The German Army is very pleased and celebrating this Elite WWII paratrooper addition.

 

[Bjornlo]

I had anticipated that Winter would eventually make this unit, and made civilopedia icons for it some time ago.
If you want 'em just follow my the link in my sig.

 

[Dark Russell]

Is it just me or are the death and victory anims rendered out facing one direction only?

 

[W.i.n.t.e.r]

do you need any more ways to die ?!

 

[Dark Russell]

Nope. Just wondering is all.

 

[W.i.n.t.e.r]

LoL- no worries. I just made single directions for both the death and victory. After all those last less than a second and are rarely seen, so IMO more'd be overflow.

 

[Goldflash]

Huh. I didn't know that Tidbit about the Belgian Fort. Cool.

 

[Wyrmshadow]

Eben-Emael was a Belgian fortress in between Liège and Maastricht, near the Albert Canal, defending the Belgian-German border. Constructed in 1931-1935, it was reputed to be impregnable. But on 10 May 1940, 85 German parachute troopers landed in the fortress with gliders (type DFS 230). One day later, they were reinforced by the German 151st Infantry Regiment. At 13:30 h on 11 May, the fortress surrendered. 1200 Belgian soldiers were captured.

Eben-Emael, a diamond-shaped fort, was Belgium's hope to defend the eastern side from invasion, charged with defending or destroying three key bridges. It also gave protection to the south what was called the Gap of Vise. A fortress to protect this approach to Liège had been conceived in the latter 19th century, but only became politically convincing after the Albert Canal was dug (to provide a route for Belgian river transport that did not require entering Dutch territory). Thus the fortress was only completed in 1935, being sited between the river and the canal that bypassed it. With its steel and concrete cupolas, Fort Eben-Emael was thought to be impenetrable. However, Adolf Hitler himself conceived of a plan to take over the fort by getting men on the fort by using gliders (it would have been difficult and messy to parachute a large number of men into the small area) and utilizing top secret new "hollow charge" (also called "shaped charge") bombs to penetrate the cupolas.

Good espionage and superior planning, combined with bad luck and unpreparedness on the Belgian side, helped make the May 10, 1940 execution of Hitler's top secret plan a swift and overwhelming success. The capture of Eben-Emael involved the first utilization of gliders led by First Lieutenant Witzig, to lead an attack and also the first use of hollow charge bombs in war. Belgian soldiers did succeed in destroying one of the key bridges, thus preventing it from being used by the Germans. Later, the British would use gliders to capture the Pegasus Bridge in the first and key attack of D-Day.

Fort Eben-Emael is now open for the public to visit.

QUOTE]

courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eben-Emael