Pointe+du+Hoc

Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100 ft (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France. Pointe du Hoc on Normandy's northern coast was D-Day's "high ground. " It was the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east.

German defenders understood Pointe du Hoc's geographic and military significance. In 1943, they placed heavy artillery on the position. In 1944 they added concrete gun casemates and observation bunkers. From the promontory, German guns could pummel landing crafts as they bobbed toward shore and then swing their barrels to pummel the beaches with high explosives. Allied infantrymen would die in the sand.

Even if allied bombing raids and naval gunfire eliminated the big guns, professional soldiers understood that Pointe du Hoc was decisive operational terrain. German mobile artillery might occupy the position after the pre-invasion bombardment lifted. Allied and German planners also identified the hard-surfaced road cutting across the plateau's southern base as a vital communications and high-speed movement route for German forces operating on the exposed flanks of the beach zones.

On June 6, 1944, Pointe du Hoc had to be taken, and it then had to be held until relief forces arrived. The seize, destroy and hold mission demanded soldiers with exceptional skills, physical stamina and discipline under enemy fire — special operations soldiers capable of fighting alone, on limited rations and using enemy weapons, if need be.

That's why Gen. Omar Bradley, overall commander of U.S. forces, gave the mission to the U.S. Army's Lt. Col. Earl Rudder and his elite 2nd Ranger Battalion. Under enemy fire, 2nd Rangers scaled the steep cliffs and destroyed key fortifications. The Germans had moved the guns inland to avoid a potential bombardment.

The Rangers found and destroyed five of the six heavy guns. The Rangers then held on until the morning of June 8, defeating German counter-attacks day and night, and frustrating German movement between the beach zones. The 2nd Ranger's tactical victory on the high ground between Omaha and Utah Beaches had operational effects (securing D-Day's success) and strategic significance (a major step in freeing Europe from Nazi tyranny). Their heroic action exacted a stiff price. By June 8, two-thirds of the original assault force was killed or wounded.

Today Pointe du Hoc has a memorial and museum dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications have been left in place and the site remains speckled with a number of bomb craters. It will be interesting to see the vantage point the Germans had and lost when visiting Normandy.

