June 6th is the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day. It was the largest amphibious invasion in history. At dawn’s first light, American, British, Canadian, and other Allied forces stormed five separate beaches (Juno, Gold, Sword, Omaha, and Utah) and gained a tenuous foothold on Fortress Europe. D-Day was the beginning of the end for Hitler’s Nazis. Countless books have been written describing all aspects of the battle. So my words add nothing. Additionally, I don’t have an adequate vocabulary or enough superlatives to fully describe the action, or express the drama and emotions of that day. However, I want to discuss one part of the battle that is often overlooked. That would be the battle to capture the German artillery at Pointe du Hoc.
Pointe du Hoc is the most prominent point along the Normandy coast. It’s a 100-foot cliff that juts out from the shoreline. As such, it provided a commanding overlook to Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, the American landing beaches. The Nazis knew its significance and placed six 155mm howitzers atop the cliffs and hardened them with massive concrete casements. Those guns had a range of 19,500 meters (12 miles). As located, the howitzers could completely disrupt the amphibious landings on both American beaches. For American forces to succeed, those guns had to be destroyed. The mission to do so was given to the 2nd Ranger Battalion.
Every military has elite forces. The Rangers are some of the most elite in the U.S. military. They are highly trained for a variety of missions to include airborne (paratrooper), air assault, and amphibious insertions behind enemy lines; seizing key terrain such as airfields (and overlooks); destroying strategic facilities; and capturing and killing enemy forces. Rangers are also trained in small-unit tactics, trained to use U.S. and foreign weapons systems, and in explosives. Physical conditioning, including hand-to-hand combat, is paramount for mission success. Rangers are in world-class physical condition.
The 2nd Ranger Battalion was formed in 1943, under the command of Lt Col James Rudder (Texas A&M Class of 1932); and shipped to England to prepare for the invasion. Not knowing their exact mission, their training consisted of beach landings under adverse conditions, climbing sheer cliffs, 20-plus mile road marches, weapons training, and continuous physical conditioning. Rudder told the men, “I’m going to work you harder than you’ve ever worked. In a shorter time than you can imagine, you’re going to be the best fighting unit in this man’s army.”
At 6:00 a.m., the morning of June 6th, the Rangers loaded onto amphibious landing craft for a “suicide” mission — scale the 100-foot cliffs at Pointe du Hoc and destroy the artillery located there. It was a simple assignment but extremely difficult to execute. On D-Day, any number of things could go wrong and the invasion could still be successful. However, the Rangers must accomplish theirs or the American landings would fail.
From the start, things started going wrong. Two landing craft were swamped by the waves. Weighted down by 100 pounds of equipment, most of the men aboard drowned. The strong current carried several other landing boats miles away. Some were disabled by enemy fire and never made the beach. Those that did land at the proper location found themselves at the base of, what looked like unclimbable cliffs. The task seemed impossible. The German soldiers were shooting and tossing down grenades, killing and injuring many. Rangers shot rope ladders up and started climbing, but the enemy cut them, injuring and killing many more. Under continuous sniper and machine-gun fire, somehow enough Rangers reached the top to secure a toehold. That allowed them to bring up more men and secure more terrain. In the process, they began to “seize back the continent of Europe.”
only 90 of the original 225 Rangers were still standing; the remainder were drowned, killed, or injured.
On June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, President Reagan visited Pointe du Hoc and delivered an inspiring speech in front an audience of Rangers, world leaders, and other dignitaries. In that speech, Reagan called Operation Overlord “unparalleled in human history” and the Ranger’s mission one of the most “difficult and dangerous” of the invasion. Reagan called the 2nd Battalion Rangers the “Boys of Pointe du Hoc.” Forevermore, that’s what they will be called. They are the men who helped win the war and “free a continent.”
Reagan noted the Americans, British, Canadians, Poles, and other Allies who fought that day were part of “a roll call of honor.” Then he asked why men do such things, why do they risk their all? He answered, “it was faith and belief, loyalty and love — faith that their cause was right; faith that they fought for all of humanity; and faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next.” Every soldier knows, and Reagan pointed out, “some things are worth dying for.” That includes country and democracy because democracy is “the most deeply honorable form of government devised by man.”
Finally, Reagan told about Colonel Robert Lee Wolverton of the 101st Airborne who, on the night before the invasion, asked his paratroopers to kneel with him in prayer. He said, “Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing on what we’re about to do.”
What the Rangers, along with other American and Allied forces did was stuff of legend. They defeated Nazi tyranny and restored freedom to half a continent. Unfortunately, it took almost 50 more years for Eastern Europe to be freed from the yoke of communist tyranny.
My first Army unit was the 2nd Ranger Battalion at Ft. Lewis, WA. As described above, Ranger training is extremely difficult designed to eliminate the weak and keep only the best; most are washouts. Exhausting road marches with heavy rucksacks, 8 to 10-mile morning runs, pullups, pushups, rope climbs, hand-to-hand training, weapons and explosives, parachute jumps, night maneuvers through swamps; do it all again tomorrow, the next day, next week, and next month. Training never ended; it was continuous. During every training event the Ranger instructors would yell, “Are you tough enough to climb the cliffs.” At first, I had no idea what they were talking about. Now I do, and more fully appreciate the heroics of the Boys of Pointe du Hoc.
RLTW — Rangers Lead the Way!
Image: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
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