The book "Prelude to Dunkirk - The Fall of Eben Emael" is by James E. Mrazek, a former Colonel in the U.S. Army. Its the first time I have found a detailed account of this incident, which happened at the beginning of the German Blitz - and must have been the most successful of all glider actions. Being old enough to remember (as a boy of 11) the outbreak of the first Great War and how the Liege Forts made such a heroic stand in 1914, I still recall the shock with which we heard of the quick capture of Eben Emael; although this was quickly forgotten as things led up to Dunkirk. But the interesting thing is to find that the glider assault was Hitler's idea. His mental state undoubtedly deteriorated in the later stages of the War -- especially at Stalingrad -- but at the beginning of the War he was far often more aware of military possibilities than his generals - it you don't know the book I am sure you will find it worth reading. It was published by Hale in 1972. I don't think one could wargame it - has anyone tried wargaming paratroopers and glider-borne troops? But we really must credit the Germans here with a brilliant military coup. I hope the I.R.A. do not read it and get ideas. On the other hand the author says the Germans discussed a glider-borne attempt to kidnap Churchill - and they certainly rescued Mussolini by a glider/para operation. Whether I should weep if the I.R.A. kidnapped certain of our present politicians is a different matter. I might be more inclined to suggest paying them in a ransom to keep them! Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 156 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1975 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com