Table Of Content

Contents List of Illustrations Introduction Author’s Note Acknowledgments Chapter 1: The Guns of Pointe-du-Hoc Chapter 2: The Coastal Gun Threat Chapter 3: “Hard Men for Dirty Work” Chapter 4: Refining the Ranger Plan Chapter 5: Spying on Pointe-du-Hoc: The Intelligence Battle Chapter 6: Softening Pointe-du-Hoc Chapter 7: Obliteration Chapter 8: Assault Group O-4 Chapter 9: Carnage on Charlie Beach Chapter 10: The Stormy Voyage to Pointe-du-Hoc Chapter 11: Force A Strikes Pointe-du-Hoc Chapter 12: Spiking the Guns Chapter 13: The Germans Strike Back Chapter 14: Night Attack Chapter 15: Ranger Force C on Dog Green Beach Chapter 16: The Crazy March on D+1 Chapter 17: Relief from the Sea Chapter 18: Final Mission: The Maisy Gun Batteries Chapter 19: Battle Analysis Afterword: The Rangers in Cinema Appendix A: Ranger Organization, Equipment, and Combat Awards Appendix B: The Pointe-du-Hoc Guns: Doctrine and Technology Appendix C: Naval Fire Support for the Rangers Appendix D: The Guns of Maisy Endnotes Further Reading Glossary Plates List of Illustrations PLATE SECTION IMAGES 1 Ranger missions on D-Day have become a core legend to the US Army’s contemporary special operations forces. In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, in June 2019 the 75th Ranger Regiment scaled the cliffs of Pointe- du-Hoc. The Ranger to the left is wearing D-Day combat gear while assisting a fellow Ranger in contemporary battle-dress. (US Army photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Training Support Activity Europe. DoD) 2 President Ronald Reagan’s commemoration of the Ranger memorial on top of the observation bunker at Pointe-du- Hoc was the centerpiece of the American D-Day 40th anniversary in Normandy in June 1984. The granite Ranger memorial is located on top of the German fire control bunker and the monument was formally transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission for perpetual care on January 11, 1979. (DoD) 3 A C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft in D-Day invasion stripe markings passes over the west side of the Pointe-du-Hoc promontory on June 8, 2019 during the 75th anniversary ceremonies. Named “That’s All Brother,” this aircraft was flown on D-Day by Lt Col John M. Donalson, commander of the 438th Troop Carrier Group. It was restored and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. (US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devin M. Rumbaugh, 86th Airlift Wing/Public Affairs. DoD) 4 A view of the eastern side of Pointe-du-Hoc from the eastern Flak bunker overlooking the cliffs climbed by the Rangers on D-Day. The Regelbau 636a command post bunker with the Ranger memorial can be seen to the upper left. (Author) 5 5 An aerial view of Pointe-du-Hoc looking eastward with the town of Grandcamp and the Vire river estuary visible in the background. This view was taken from a MC-130J Commando II of the 67th Special Operations Squadron during a commemorative paratrooper air jump on the 71st anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2015. (US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary. DoD) 6 A view of the eastern side of Pointe-du-Hoc from the command bunker overlooking the cliffs climbed by the Rangers on D-Day. German machine gun nests on the cliffs in the center of this image were a lingering problem for the Rangers until silenced by destroyer fire. (Author) 7 An aerial view looking eastward with the Pointe-du-Hoc promontory in the upper left. In the foreground is the WN 76 defense nest, which contained dummy artillery batteries. 8 One of the 155mm GPF guns in its kettle gun pit on Pointe-du-Hoc in August 1943. The gun is mounted on a standard Rheinmetall-Borsig Drehsockel mount to facilitate traverse of the gun. The guns were subsequently fitted with a camouflage umbrella overhead. 9 The 155mm GPF guns used a Drehsockel (swivel socket) mounting in the kettle gun pits as seen on the right. To conserve space in the enclosed casemates, the guns were supposed to be re-mounted on the more compact schwere Drehbettung 32.To. These were in short supply and never reached Pointe-du-Hoc before D-Day. As a result, none of the 155mm guns was deployed in the completed casemates. (Author) 10 The US Army was very familiar with the 155mm GPF gun deployed at Pointe-du-Hoc, since the American Expeditionary Force had been equipped with the same weapon in 1917–1918. It continued to serve in the US 6 Army for coastal defense in World War II. This example was preserved for many years at the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. It was displayed in transport mode as seen here. (Author) 11 The Regelbau H636a command post bunker on Pointe-du- Hoc in August 1943 as construction was nearing completion. The shed in front of it housed the battery’s optical rangefinder until the new bunker was completed. 12 The Regelbau H636a command post bunker at Pointe-du- Hoc after its capture by the Rangers. The forward observation cupola had an applique of rough concrete and stone added over the basic concrete shell for camouflage. 13 Kettle gun pit No. 6 is the least damaged example at Pointe-du-Hoc. The area around the gun pedestal had been filled with earth over the years. (Author) 14 Bauwerk 468 is one of two surviving Regelbau 694 gun casemates at Pointe-du-Hoc. It was heavily damaged by bombing and naval gun fire. The small concrete structure to the right is the remains of the personnel shelter of kettle gun pit No. 5 that had been located immediately in front of it. (Author) 15 The western Regelbau H502 Doppelgruppenstand personnel bunker, located between gun pits No. 4 and No. 5. This bunker had accommodations for twenty troops in two rooms. It has a defensive Tobruk machine gun pit on the roof to the left. The Ranger memorial can be seen off in the distance in the upper right. (Author) 16 Life in an Atlantic Wall strongpoint was cramped, damp, and dank. This is the interior of a restored Regelbau 502 Gruppenstand bunker at Stützpunkt Lohengrin near Vlissingen. This small room would have accommodated ten soldiers and their equipment. (Author) 7 17 The only element of the Pointe-du-Hoc strongpoint to remain in German hands through June 8 was the western Regelbau L409A Flak bunker. The two surviving Regelbau 694 gun casemates can be seen near the skyline toward the right. (Author) 18 A view of the back side of the Regelbau H636 command post bunker with the Ranger memorial on top. This structure has been significantly rebuilt over the years for safety reasons. For example, the observation post on the top of the bunker has been plated over. (Author) 19 The Rangers undertook extensive cliff-scaling exercises along the English coast using a variety of toggle ropes and lightweight ladders. This is an exercise at Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, Dorset in the spring of 1944. 20 Able Company, 2nd Rangers on the march to the embarkation area in Weymouth harbor on June 1, 1944 with Col Earl Rudder in the lower right. The officers on the left are Capt Harvey Cook (S-2) and the company commander, Capt Joseph Rafferty. 21 The Project Scam LCAs were fitted with six J-Projectors to fire rocket-propelled grapnel hooks up the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc as shown in these illustrations. (Author) 22 This is LCA 1377 of the 507 LCA Flotilla from LSI(S)-3 Prince Baudoin seen during pre-invasion exercises. On D- Day, this craft landed a team from the 5th Rangers headquarters company headed by Capt John Raaen on Dog White Beach on D-Day. The LCAs from Force B lacked the grapnel launchers fitted on the Project Scam LCAs of Force A. 23 The LCAs assigned to Ranger Force A were fitted with special J-Projectors under Project Scam. This photo was taken during training exercises along the Devon coast in 8 April 1944 when the LCAs were still painted in Royal Navy disruptive camouflage. 24 This LCA is seen launching its grapnels during pre- invasion exercises off the British coast. 25 Teams from the 5th Rangers and the 507 LCA Flotilla are loaded aboard LSI(S)-3 Prince Baudoin off the English coast. The Prince Baudoin was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry from a Belgian cross-Channel ferry in 1943, after serving as a troopship in the Mediterranean earlier in the war. 26 The Swan DUKW had a machine gun position fitted to the top of the ladder to sweep the top of the cliff once the ladder was elevated. This consisted of a flexible Vickers K gun in the center, and two horizontally mounted Vickers K guns on either side. 27 Four DUKW amphibious trucks were fitted with Merryweather 100-foot Turntable Ladders obtained from the London fire brigade. One of these Swan DUKWs is seen during cliff-scaling exercises at Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, Dorset in the spring of 1944. 28 Pointe-du-Hoc was subjected to its first major bombing attack on the evening of April 25, 1944 by the A-20 Havocs of the 409th and 416th Bomb Groups. Smoke and dust can be seen rising from the Pointe-du-Hoc promontory to the lower right. 29 Pointe-du-Hoc was subjected to an intense bombardment by RAF Bomber Command in the pre-dawn hours of D- Day as shown in this illustration of the Operation Flashlamp raid. (Author) 30 The devastating power of the Operation Flashlamp bomber attacks on Pointe-du-Hoc can be seen in this image of one 9