skill, and courage, distinguishing themselves
in Russia, France, and Italy. In September
1943, Student acquired additional renown
when he piloted elite forces under Otto Skor-
zenyto rescue Italian dictator Benito Mus-
solinifrom a mountain resort. Thereafter, he
transferred north as part of the Normandy de-
fenses. Student’s men fought tenaciously
throughout the Allied drive to the Rhine, win-
ning plaudits for military skill, but proved un-
able to stem the tide. By fall, Student was in
Holland commanding the First Paratroop
Army as part of Army Group B under Gen.
Walter Model. In September 1944, the Allies
mounted Operation Market Garden, the drop-
ping of 20,000 airborne troops throughout Hol-
land. Student openly marveled over the sheer
size of the maneuver, declaring, “Oh, how I
wish I had ever had such powerful means at
my disposal.” He then lent his technical ex-
pertise defeating it, materially assisted by a
copy of Allied plans retrieved from a captured
glider. German fallschirmjägersthen fought
against British paras and Americans of the
82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions under An-
thony C. McAuliffe and James M. Gavin. Both
sides suffered heavy losses, but at length the
Allies drew off. The following month, Student
was succeeded by Gen. Johannes von
Blaskowitz, and he received command of
Army Group H in Holland. He then led a skill-
ful fighting retreat to the German border. In
March 1945, Student led his beloved para-
troopers for the last time in an unsuccessful
attack against Allied bridgeheads over the
Rhine River. He then surrendered to British
forces in April, concluding one of the most re-
markable careers in German military history.
After the war, Student was held in prison
for several years but was never charged. Re-
leased in 1948, he lived in quiet retirement at
Lemgo, Germany, until his death there on July
1, 1978. Since his pioneering efforts of the late
1930s, airborne forces have become perma-
nent fixtures in virtually every major military
power. This, and not the desperate actions of
World War II, is perhaps his greatest legacy.Bibliography
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