Brandenburgers in the Blitzkrieg 1940: Special forces open the road to France (Raid)

Fully illustrated, this is the first study of how the Brandenburgers - Germany’s covert special forces - seized the bridges that led into France in 1940, in their biggest campaign to date. Formed from elements of various unorthodox units and militia groups that took part in the invasion of Poland, by mid-1940 the Brandenburgers were established as the Wehrmacht’s specialists in operating behind enemy lines.With several separate battle groups set tasks that could determine the success of the whole campaign, the invasions of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands would be the Brandenburgers' debut as a key part of the German war machine. The bold strategy of Fall Gelb and Fall Rot depended on seizing major river bridges in Belgium and the southern Netherlands, without which the Germans’ rapid advance would stall.Researcher and historian Lawrence Paterson examines the overlooked story of how the Brandenburgers were organized and tasked to seize dozens of these bridges and other key targets,