Pointe du Hoc lies 4 mi (6.4 km) west of the center of Omaha Beach. It.

Elements of the 2nd Battalion went in to attack Pointe du Hoc but initial delays meant the remainder of the 2nd Battalion and the complete 5th Battalion landed at Omaha Beach as their secondary landing position.

The plan was to build six casements but two were unfinished when the location was attacked. The American flag had been spread out to stop fire of friendly tanks coming from inland.

Major Cleveland A. Lytle was to command Companies D, E, and F of the 2nd Ranger Battalion (known as "Force A") in the assault at Pointe du Hoc. these 30m high cliffs for nothing, so many losing their life there. One landing craft carrying troops sank and all but one of its occupants drowned, another was swamped. It used to be that people could walk around. There still is a lot left to be seen, and it is hard to imagine that the ranger had to climb. Flares from the clifftops were to signal this second wave to join the attack, but because of the delayed landing, the signal came too late, and the other Rangers landed on Omaha instead of Pointe du Hoc.

Determined to hold the vital high ground, yet isolated from other Allied forces, the Rangers fended off several counterattacks from the German 914th Grenadier Regiment.

The 105mm guns would have threatened the Allied landings on both Omaha and Utah beaches when finished, risking heavy casualties to the landing forces. During a briefing aboard the Landing Ship Infantry HMS Ben My Chree he heard that Free French Forces sources reported the guns had not been removed.

[7], Rangers from 2nd Ranger Battalion demonstrate the rope ladders they used to scale Pointe du Hoc, The assault force was carried in ten landing craft with another two carrying supplies and four DUKW amphibious trucks carrying the 100 ft (30 m) ladders - requisitioned from the London Fire Brigade. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States.

Once within a mile of the shore, German mortars and machine guns fired on the craft.[8]. more, Browse our largest collection of experiences, Explore on your feet—and never miss anything. It was not until noon on 8 June that the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc were finally relieved when tanks and infantry of the 116th Infantry Regiment, along with the 6th Ranger Battalion finally linked up with the survivors. Pointe du Hoc lay within the General Leonard Gerow's V Corps field of operations.

A number of French civilians accused of shooting at American forces or of serving as artillery observers for the Germans were executed. Evening – The Rangers are relived by troops arriving from Omaha beach. This then went to the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) and then down to the right-hand assault formation, the 116th Infantry Regiment attached from 29th Division. Two different patrols found five of the six guns nearby (the sixth was being fixed elsewhere) and destroyed their firing mechanisms with thermite grenades.[5]. In June 1944 American troops climbed very high and inhospitable cliffs and managed to drive away the German defenders of this position. These casements were built over and in front of the circular gun pits that housed the 155mm French cannons.

Rudder felt that Lytle could not convincingly lead a force with a mission that he did not believe in.

The landing craft were fitted with rocket launchers to fire grapnels and ropes up the cliffs. From the exte, 74 years after the battle for Point du Hoc you cant help but be amazed at the bravery and audacity of our WWII Vets! (New York: Penguin, 2009), p106, . The plan called for the three companies of Rangers to be landed by sea at the foot of the cliffs, scale them using ropes, ladders, and grapples whilst under enemy fire, and engage the enemy at the top of the cliff. In the aftermath of the battle, some Rangers became convinced that French civilians had taken part in the fighting on the German side. 08.15 – Approximately 35 Rangers achieving the secondary objective of building a roadblock.

Impelled to some degree by alcohol,[5] Lytle became quite vocal that the assault would be unnecessary and suicidal and was relieved of his command at the last minute by Provisional Ranger Force commander Rudder.

Part of the modern day site, with the remains of a gun pit in the foreground.