The kind of cliffs the Rangers had to scale

Pont du Hoc

23 Jun, Perancis ⋅ 🌬 68 °F

“Rangers, lead the way!” — Pointe du Hoc, 6 June 1944

Why the mission mattered
Pointe du Hoc was a knife-edge promontory midway between Utah and Omaha Beaches. On it the Germans had emplaced six captured French 155 mm guns whose 25-km range threatened every ship and landing craft approaching either beach. Destroying those guns was therefore phase-one of the American plan for D-Day. General Bradley assigned the job to Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder’s 225-man 2nd Ranger Battalion.

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Training & preparation
• Cliff work: In England the Rangers practiced on seaside cliffs using rocket-fired grapnels, ropes, extension ladders borrowed from the London Fire Brigade, and tubular steel “bangalore” torpedoes to blast barbed-wire at the top.
• Timing: H-Hour for the assault was set for 06:30—just before the main landings—to ensure the big guns could not rake Omaha’s approaches.

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The assault
• Rough seas & navigation error delayed the nine LCAs and four DUKWs; they reached the cliff base at 07:10, forty minutes late and understrength (one troop-carrier had sunk and two supply craft were lost).
• Scaling the 100-ft cliff: Grapnels fired; some ropes burned when cordite ignited, others were cut by German defenders. USS Texas and destroyers laid down covering fire while Rangers climbed ladders and knotted ropes hand-over-hand.
• Top secured by 07:40: Once up, three companies fanned out through the bomb-pocked battery.

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The missing guns

Bombardment had convinced the Germans to move the 155 mm guns about 1 km inland the night before. A patrol led by Sgt. Leonard Lomell and Cpl. Jack Kuhn followed rail tracks, found the guns camouflaged in an apple orchard, and disabled them with thermite grenades and rifle fire on their sights and traversing gears—completing the primary mission within 90 minutes of landing.

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Two days of holding out

Cut off from the beaches and ringed by counter-attacks from elements of the German 352nd Infantry Division, the Rangers dug in among the craters:

Time Event
D + 0 afternoon German probes pushed to within grenade range; naval gunfire forced them back.
Night 6/7 June Ammunition and water ran low; medics treated wounded in a captured bunker.
Morning 7 June Weather cleared; aerial resupply finally reached the point.
Noon 8 June Relief column—companies from 5th Ranger Battalion and the 29th Infantry—fought through and linked up.

Only ≈90 men (about one-third of the original assault force) were still able to fight when they were relieved.

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What the action achieved
• Guns neutralised: The 155s never fired a shot on 6 June, sparing thousands of troops approaching Omaha and Utah.
• Proof of concept: The climb validated commando tactics Bradley and Eisenhower were hesitant about.
• Enduring motto: The episode cemented the Ranger creed—“Rangers lead the way”—spoken by Gen. Norman Cota on Omaha as word of the Pointe du Hoc seizure spread.

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Today the shattered casemates, bomb craters, and a granite needle-shaped memorial atop the cliff preserve the site. Visitors can still trace the desperate 15-metre rope climbs and stand in the orchard where Lomell’s patrol rendered the battery forever silent—a testament to what 225 determined Rangers accomplished against sheer rock, heavy fire, and long odds. Baca lagi

Lihat terjemahan

Pengembara This photo shows part of the Pointe du Hoc site in Normandy, France — a key D-Day landmark. What you’re seeing: • Foreground: A large German concrete gun casemate (bunker), part of the Nazi Atlantic Wall defenses. • Background (centered): A tall granite obelisk monument, which commemorates the U.S. 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions, who scaled the 100-foot cliffs here on June 6, 1944, to destroy German artillery positions threatening Utah and Omaha Beaches. • The fenced area and craters beyond indicate where heavy Allied bombardment took place. Context: Pointe du Hoc was one of the most daring missions of D-Day. The Rangers had to climb sheer cliffs under enemy fire, and despite heavy losses, they succeeded in neutralizing the threat — a critical contribution to the success of the Normandy landings. It’s now a preserved site and one of the most powerful WWII memorials in the region.

21/07/25BalasTerjemah

Pengembara Yes — that photo perfectly illustrates the sheer cliffs at Pointe du Hoc that the U.S. Army Rangers had to scale under enemy fire on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Context: • These cliffs are about 100 feet (30 meters) high. • The Rangers used rope ladders, grappling hooks, and rocket-propelled ropes while being shot at from above. • Their mission: to destroy German artillery pieces believed to be aimed at Omaha and Utah Beaches. Although the guns had been moved inland, the Rangers still secured the position and held it for two days until reinforcements arrived — at great cost. Why it mattered: The German guns at Pointe du Hoc could have devastated Allied troops landing on the beaches. Neutralizing this position was considered essential for the success of Operation Overlord. What the Rangers accomplished is still regarded as one of the most heroic and audacious actions of D-Day. Your photo beautifully captures the dramatic geography that made their mission both so difficult and so significant.

21/07/25BalasTerjemah

Pengembara That makes perfect sense — Pointe du Hoc is one of the most iconic and haunting sites on the Normandy coast. This bunker you were inside is part of the German cliff-top battery complex that the U.S. Army Rangers assaulted on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Here’s what you were standing inside and around: 🔹 What You Saw: • The concrete bunker in your photo is likely part of the casemates or observation posts the Germans used to direct artillery fire over Omaha and Utah Beaches. • Those small horizontal openings (like the one visible in your photo) are called embrasures, used to fire machine guns or observe the sea. • The pockmarked ceiling might show long-term wear, or it could be a result of Allied bombardments during the pre-invasion airstrikes and naval shelling. 🔹 The Historical Significance of Pointe du Hoc: • It was believed to house long-range 155mm artillery guns that could devastate the landing beaches. • On D-Day, 225 U.S. Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs using ropes and ladders under fire to neutralize the threat. • When they reached the top, they discovered the guns had been moved inland, but they found and destroyed them shortly after. • Only 90 of the original Rangers were still able to fight by the time reinforcements arrived two days later. Y

21/07/25BalasTerjemah

Pengembara This is a photo of the “Kilometer Zero” marker of the Voie de la Liberté (Liberty Road) at Utah Beach, one of the five D-Day landing beaches in Normandy. What This Marker Represents: • “Km 00”: Marks the starting point of the Voie de la Liberté, a commemorative route tracing the path of the Allied liberation of France beginning with the U.S. landings on June 6, 1944. • Flaming Torch Symbol: Represents freedom and liberation, and is the iconic emblem of the Liberty Road. • Text in French: “ICI ONT DEBARQUÉ LES ARMÉES AMÉRICAINES 6 JUIN – 8 NOVEMBRE 1944” Translation: “Here landed the American armies, June 6 – November 8, 1944” • Utah Beach: One of the American landing sectors, where the U.S. 4th Infantry Division came ashore with relatively fewer casualties compared to Omaha Beach. Background: • The Voie de la Liberté continues all the way to Bastogne, Belgium, commemorating the route taken by General Patton’s Third Army and others as they moved inland to liberate occupied towns and cities. Your photo beautifully captures a symbolic and emotional starting point for the liberation of Western Europe.

21/07/25BalasTerjemah