US Army Rangers demonstrate the rope ladders they used to scale Pointe du Hoc

Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies next to Omaha Beach, and stands on 30m tall cliffs overlooking the sea.

Pointe du Hoc is best known for the assault made on it during the World War II Normandy landings, June 6 1944. The Germans had established an artillery position on the cliffs which overlooked the landing beaches. The position would enable artillery fire to be directed over the whole of Omaha beach, undoubtedly causing massive casualties in the landing forces. The US 2nd Ranger battallion was therefore given the task of destroying the strongpoint and the artillery positions.

The Ranger battallion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder, a former high school football coach from Texas who later became president of Texas A & M University, his alma mater.

The plan called for the Rangers to be landed by sea at the foot of the cliffs, scale them using ropes and grapples under enemy fire, and engage the enemy at the top of the cliff. This was to be carried out before the main landings.

Despite setbacks and navigational problems the cliffs were scaled and the strongpoint assaulted successfully. However it was discovered that the artillery had been moved out of position, possibly as a result of air attacks during the buildup to the invasion. The Rangers regrouped at the top of the cliffs and went off in search of the guns, tracking them down and destroying them.

Pointe du Hoc now has a memorial and museum to the action. Many of the original fortifications have been left in place. The site is speckled with an impressive amount of bomb craters.

External link

• Ranger Monumenton the American Battle Monuments Commission web site