Pointe du Hoc
Republished almost every year;
Rangers Mission for D-Day, 6 June 1944
The Ranger Group, attached to the 116th Infantry and commanded by Lt. Col. James E. Rudder, was given the mission to capture Pointe du Hoc and destroy the guns. The Ranger Group was made up of two battalions: the 2d Rangers, under direct command of Col. Rudder, and the 5th Rangers, under Lt. Col. Max F. Schneider. Three companies (D, E, and F) of the 2d Battalion (Task Force A) were to land from the sea at H-Hour and assault the cliff position at Pointe du Hoc. The main Ranger force (5th Battalion and Companies A and B of the 2d, comprising Task Force B) would wait off shore for a signal of success, then land at the Point. The Ranger Group would then move inland, cut the coastal highway connecting Grandcamp and Vierville, and await the arrival of the 116th Infantry from Vierville before pushing west toward Grandcamp and Maisy.
One DUKW was hit and sunk by 20-mm fire from a cliff position near the Point. The nine surviving LCAs came in and managed to land in parallel on a 400-yard front on the east side of Point du Hoc, landing about 0705. Allied naval fire had been lifted since H-Hour, giving the Germans above the cliff time to recover. Scattered small-arms fire and automatic fire from a flanking machine-gun position hammered the LCAs, causing about fifteen casualties as the Rangers debarked on the heavily cratered strip of beach. The grapnel rockets were fired immediately on touchdown. Some of the water-soaked ropes failed to carry over the cliff, but only one craft failed to get at least one grapnel to the edge. In one or two cases, the demountable extension ladders were used. The DUKWs came in but could not get across the cratered beach, and from the water’s edge their extension ladders would not reach the top of the cliff.
Despite all difficulties, the Rangers used the ropes and ladders to scramble up the cliff. The German defenders were shocked by the bombardment and improbable assault, but quickly responded by cutting as many ropes as they could. They rushed to the cliff edge and poured direct rifle and machine gun fire on the Rangers, augmented by grenades tossed down the slope. The Rangers never broke, continuing to climb amidst the fire as Ranger BAR men picked off any exposed Germans. The destroyer USS Satterlee (DD-626) observed the Rangers’ precarious position, closed to 1500 yards and took the cliff top under direct fire from all guns, a considerable assist at a crucial time.
Within ten minutes of the landing the first Americans reached the top of the cliffs.
I may just watch “The Longest Day” tonight. “What does ‘bitte, bitte’ mean?”
Category: Historical
“Bitte, bitte” is German for “Please, please”.
Yeah, that’s a line from the movie.
The movie is pretty cheese but still good. I’d like to see a remake but knowing how fucking terrible Hollywood is today with trying to make everything relatable they’d have the air drop scene in dub step and the troops waiting to be deployed drinking Starbucks.
RLTW!
Had a great Uncle in the 5th. RLTW, AATW!
Believe it or not, that wasn’t the most difficult assignment of Earl Rudder’s career. He was the one that opened the doors of the A&M College of Texas to women, made the cadet corps noncumpolsery, and changed the name of the school to Texas A&M University
These men inspired me a long time ago.
Cheese, crackers and the rest of that bottle of wine in the fridge for tonight’s toast.
One of the more interesting D-day stories IMO.
No, don’t let them remake any of the classic WWII movies. Just look at the debauched mess they made called Pearl Harbor. Hollywood hasn’t known how to make movies since the 80s.
If you ever get the chance, go to Pointe du Hoc (and Omaha). Standing on top looking down will have you shaking your head in awe of the balls those guys had.
@9: That’s why it took them 10 minutes to get to the top; they were dragging giant, heavy nutsacks, so it slowed them down a touch.
Agree with SJ @ 9. After the steep bluff, they basically attacked across a golf course, not a lick of concealment.
@1. Wrong. That’s it’s standard meaning but in “the Longest Day” it means, “Hey, GI Joe, I just killed a few of your buddies and I’ll kill some more if I get the opportunity. And there’s nothing you can do about it unless you shoot me dead now.”
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Reagans 1984 Pointe du Hoc Speech
@14. Thanks so very much, Sean. i haven’t made it vthrough the entire speech as yet. (Amd, my God, what a speech it is!) I’m on my second cry break right now.
@14. Man, that was great. Beyond great. That was a speech for the ages.
Just FWIW, I think the line, “What does ‘Bitte! Bitte!’ mean?!” is from Saving Private Ryan. (The other GI answers something like, “Look, ma, I washed my hands!”)
No, it’s a line from The Longest Day, which is why I put the video of the line in the post.
It should be noted that at least one of the British actors in The Longest Day had actually been in the D-day landings. Richard Todd was in the British 6th Airborne Division.
He participated in the British Airborne Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings, jumping in as part of the reinforcements for the assault and defense of the Pegasus bridge.
Touché. That’s what I get for not watching the clip!
:-\
just reading the “Wonder what ‘Bitte bitte’ means?” line made me think of this scene from Saving Private Ryan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCbW7Gkgu2U
Signals crossed in the brain pan …