History
In October 1938, the decision was made to raise the 7th Flieger (Air) Division. This was to be a well-trained paratroop formation intended for vertical envelopment operations against enemy defenses. The commander chosen to lead the 7th Flieger Division was the then Major-General Kurt Student.
Organizationally, a Fallschirmjäger Division was intended to be organized along the lines of a German infantry division, with three parachute rifle regiments, an artillery regiment, and divisional support units. However due to various reasons the Division was not brought up to full strength before 1941. Nevertheless, elements of the division played significant roles during the Wehrmacht operations in 1940 in the West. At the start of World War II, the Division consisted of the 1st and 2nd Parachute Regiments and some support units.
Read more about this topic: 1st Parachute Division (Germany)
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“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
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“Boys forget what their country means by just reading “the land of the free” in history books. Then they get to be men, they forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)