A group of 129 Fallschirmjäger landed near Vroenhoven, Belgium, to capture a key bridge. Within minutes of landing, they had overwhelmed the Belgian garrison and disarmed explosives on the bridge. Thirty minutes later, German panzers were crossing the bridge. Approximately a year later, Fallschirmjäger seized the Corinth Canal in Greece, capturing approximately ten thousand Allied soldiers at a cost of sixty-three killed and 174 wounded.

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The strategic mobility inherent in airborne operations can surprise both the military and the public. Surprise and psychological dislocation as a result of knowing that even rear areas are no longer safe can create confusion, fear, and even panic. Moreover, the mere threat of attack by airborne forces requires defenders to take costly countermeasures.

The German landings in Holland in 1940 resulted in a wave of panic throughout Europe, as well as in England. “One thing is certain,” wrote Captain F.O. Miksche, “there was a parachute obsession everywhere. Everybody saw them being dropped. Everybody was suspect, and even Allied officers and men, sometimes bearing important orders, were ar­rested by the French military authorities.” In Britain, troop dispositions were tailored to counter a perceived airborne invasion and vast amounts of scarce war materiel were invested to this end. The government adopted a policy in 1940 to safeguard the country by ordering all open spaces (meaning virtually every park and playing field) throughout Britain seeded with long spiked poles, concrete blocks and other obstacles that would impede paratroopers.

Later the threat of an Allied airborne invasion caused the same waves of insecurity to writhe through the Axis popula­tions. The attack on the Tragino aqueduct in Italy on February 10, 1942, by a small group of parachutists resulted in minimal physical damage, but the Italians became so unnerved by the attack that they diverted valuable manpower and resources to protecting every vital point in the country.

The Bruneval raid on the coast of France a little more than two weeks later, also conducted by British paratroopers, was more significant. This raiding force seized components of the German Würzburg radar, a coup that proved significant for British radar development and electronic counter­measures.

The mere threat of a large-scale airborne assault creates enormous difficulties for an enemy’s command structure; an actual assault compounds those difficulties. For instance, during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, the German 6th Army headquarters was paralyzed by widespread reports that paratroopers were dropping all over the southern part of the island. These false reports left German leaders unable to respond coherently and decisively. Radio Rome broadcast that 60,000 to 120,000 paratroopers had jumped into Sicily. In reality, approximately seventy-three hundred Allied parachutists and glider men actually participated in the operation over a two-day period.

In the spring of 1944, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel specifically adapted his plan for defending the Normandy coast to protect against airborne soldiers. He took valuable troops from frontline duty and positioned them in the Contentin Peninsula primarily to protect against airborne assault. He also ordered explosive-tipped spears, dubbed “Rommel asparagus,” placed in likely landing areas.

Remarkably, the ability of airborne forces to inflict surprise and psychological disruption was so great that even small-scale drops or those by a nearly vanquished enemy still caused consternation and panic. In December 1944, the poorly executed German parachute operation during the Ardennes offensive set off an airborne scare that was felt all the way to Paris. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander in Europe, became a virtual prisoner in his own headquarters.

The sudden appearance of enemy troops in areas normally considered safe gives airborne forces a decisive advantage, particularly as the enemy military leaders remain unable to discern the paratroopers’ objectives or true strength. Overwhelmed by inaccurate reports from alarmed commanders, the leaders typically wait to determine the major threat before committing forces, delaying any response. In September 1944, for example, during Operation Market-Garden, Colonel-General Kurt Student acknowledged, “I could not tell what was happening or where these airborne units were going.”

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