Paratroopers have been regarded as elite group of soldiers since their inception. Generally the requirements and physical demands were higher and many of the missions that were assigned to them were high risk, thus the elite status. In this book the author takes a comparative look at the British Paratrooper vs. the German Fallschirmjager in the Mediterranean 1942-43.

The book starts off with a organizational look at the two units. The requirements for soldiers that wanted to join these units is explained along with the operational tactics used by each. There are three operations covered where these two units were engaged with each other. Two of the operations were in North Africa and one in Italy. There is an excellent narrative that describes each action along with period photographs and color maps that show the movements of the units during the operation. The book concludes with an analysis of the two units and the lessons learned by both.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in military history or unit operations. I would like to thank Osprey Publishing and IPMS/USA for allowing me to be able to review this book.