NCO RANGERS
AT
POINTE DU HOC
By
SGM Carl VanAacken
SGM Lewis
Group Room M04
2 May 04 SGM VanAacken 1
NCO RANGERS AT POINTE DU HOC
June 6, 1944, D-Day; the day of the largest sea-borne assault force in history, the day the
Rangers would make their mighty charge onto the French beaches of Normandy. Pointe du
Hoc: a jagged protrusion into the English Channel along the beaches of Normandy was the battleground for what “LTG Omar Bradley would call the toughest mission ever assigned under his command” (Goldstein 155). Noncommissioned Officers would carry that day and earned the motto that has carried all Ranger history since: “Rangers Lead the Way”.
In the context of this article I will cover the following areas. First, I will provide a description of the objective “Pointe du Hoc”. I will cover training that the Rangers completed prior to the assault. I will highlight significant accomplishments of NCO Rangers during the assault and in conclusion provide the impact made thru the blood of the Rangers on that fateful day.
Pointe du Hoc is a small peninsula of land that overlooks the beaches of Normandy to the North and to the South. From this vantage point both of the beach assault locations of Utah and Omaha landing beaches can be observed. Pointe du Hoc is surrounded on three sides by sheer cliff drop offs falling into the ocean 85 to 100 feet in height. The ground is mostly mud shale, creating an almost impossible climbing surface. Below the cliffs is a narrow strip of beach, offering no cover for assaulting troops. The enemy regarded the position as nearly impregnable from seaward attack and was more concerned with defending it against an enemy attack from inland. Intelligence reports indicated a fortified position of six 155mm howitzers, with a range capability of 25,000-yards or 12 miles. The six howitzers were incased in cement bunkers called casemated firing positions. These casemated positions were six to eight feet thick of cement material. Enemy troops on the Pointe were estimated at 125 SGM VanAacken 2 infantry and 85 artillerymen. The nearest reinforcement force was one mile to the west and two miles to the east.
The battery was assessed as one of the most dangerous elements of the assault area, capable of putting fire on both Omaha and Utah Beach (Williams). So much emphasis was placed on this objective that the Pointe was targeted by the allied air campaign beginning on 15
April, 4 months prior. Pointe du Hoc was hit by more than ten kilotons of high explosives, the equivalent of the explosive power of the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima. The bombing created an additional obstacle on the objective as there were now huge crater size holes at the landing site and on the Pointe. This made the landings more difficult, however they also aided the
Rangers as they assaulted the objective by providing additional cover.
The training began on 1 April 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee (Westwall 48). Over
2,000 volunteers began the training with approximately 500 remaining on November 21 when they sailed for England. Upon arrival in England they began even more intense training with the
British Commandos. 1SG Lomell stated, “the training was brutal, we wanted to go into combat to get away from training”. Years later other surviving Rangers would comment on the training as, “so intense we yearned for combat to start and the blistering training to end” (Williams). The training included intense scaling and climbing exercises, hand to hand combat, survival, reconnaissance, grueling obstacle courses, rappelling and boat craft operations.
The assault force consisted of 225 men on 10 British Landing Craft Amphibious (LCA) and 3 large supply crafts. The plan was to move in by boat and secure the beach. Fire rocket launchers with ropes and grappling hooks attached to the top of the cliff and climb the cliff wall.
The first rangers to reach the top would than assist the others to secure climbing ladders. Two types of ladders were used. The first type were 112 ft tubular-steel ladders that were assembled SGM VanAacken 3
in 16-foot lengths, 16lbs each. These were erected by a Ranger climbing the first section then
pulling the second section up to be secured on top of the first. The second type of ladder was
called Dukws and were fire department type extension ladders attached to the LCA. Two Lewis
machine guns were mounted at the top of each of these ladders. The Dukws ladders could not be
used due to the heavy seas and craters present at the landing site. Upon reaching the top each
platoon/section had specific missions to secure the objective and search out the 155mm
howitzers. They were than to destroy the guns and establish a blocking position to prevent the
enemy from re-securing the Pointe.
The assault force departed England for the 3-hour cross-channel boat movement. One
LCA and two of the three supply crafts were sunk during the movement due to high seas. The crews took on enemy fire immediately upon reaching the coastline. A total of 40 men were lost prior to reaching the beach due to sunken crafts and enemy fire.
1SG Lomell commanded LCA 668. His crew consisted of 20 soldiers. His boat could not reach the shore and the rangers had to swim the last 20 feet. 1SG Lomell secured one of the rocket launchers and a section of rope. Upon leaving the boat he was immediately wounded in the side by machinegun bullet fire. He fought on, reached the shore and kept going. The ropes were very wet and only one of the three rockets carried the grappling hook to a secure landing.
1SG Lomell sent his best climber up the rope and refocused his efforts on installing a ladder.
The climber was unsuccessful and fell after a few feet. After numerous attempts, finally two rangers were able to reach the top. Fire was intense from both a machine gun position that had direct observation of the assault and hand grenades that were dropped by the Germans above.
Upon the two rangers reaching the top, a ladder was secured and the rest of the element assaulted the cliff. SGM VanAacken 4
Each LCA hit the beach and began their assault up the cliffs. Within the first 10 minutes,
15 Rangers had become casualties. A medic, Sergeant South, had barely got ashore when the
first cry of “Medic” went out. He grabbed his aid kit, and took off for the wounded man. He had
been shot in the chest. He was able to drag him in closer to the cliff. He had no sooner taken
care of the man and had to go to another and another and another. Captain Block, the assault
force Physician Assistant, was forced to set up an aid station at the base of the cliff. Sgt Cripps
had arrived on an LCA that when the rockets were set up for firing they found that the lead wire
for making the firing connection was missing. He rigged a hot box and fired all three rockets in
turn by touching a short connection, three feet from the rocket base. Each time, the flashback
would blind Sgt Cripps and blow sand and mud all over him. The other Rangers reported they
saw him clean his eyes, shake his head, and go after the next rocket: “he was a-hell-of-a-looking mess” (Williams). In another LCA the machine gun fire and the incoming tide gave Sgt Gene
Elder “a certain urgency” to get off the beach and up the cliff. He and his squad free climbed up the ropes, as they were unable to touch the cliff. When they reached the top, he told them “Boys, keep your heads down, because headquarters has fouled up again and has issued the enemy live ammunition” (Barrett).
The assault force gradually began to reach the top of the cliffs. Each LCA team would divide and set off to secure its area of the objective upon reaching the top. Of 1SG Lomell’s original 20 only 12 rangers remained. 1SG Lomell began the assault across the objective in search of the guns. The Germans were mounting defensive operations in a very hasty and scattered manner due to the speed and aggressiveness of the cliff assault. During the assault it was reported 10 Rangers simply disappeared. It was thought they were captured and shot during the assault. Squads reported that enemy artillery fire began following them across the objective SGM VanAacken 5 and hastened their movements as they fought to overrun the German positions. Each team was to discover in their search that the guns were no longer present on the Pointe. The Germans had placed large telephone poles in the casemated bunkers to fool the Allied aircraft.
1SG Lomell and SSG Jack Kuhn reached the far side of the objective. They noticed a sunken area in the direction of an improved road, and moved to investigate. Upon moving inland, approximately 500-800meters they came upon a draw with camouflage concealment.
They peeked over the hedgerow, and there were the guns (Westwell 52). They were sitting in proper firing condition, ammunition piled, all at the ready. No Germans were present; thru further reconnaissance they discovered a group of Germans approximately 100 yards away. 1SG
Lomell made a critical decision to attempt to take the guns out. All they had present were two thermite grenades. They put the grenades in the traversing mechanism and knocked out two of the five. They then destroyed the sights on the other guns. He then ran the 100 meters back to another group of soldiers and secured additional thermite grenades. He returned and destroyed the remaining guns. Shortly after 1SG Lomell had destroyed the guns Sgt Rupinski and his squad located and destroyed the firing ammunition for the guns.
The assault began at 0630 hrs and the objective was accomplished at 0830 hrs thru the courageous actions of 1SG Lommel and SSG Kuhn. 1SG Lommel and SSG Kuhn received the
Distinguished Service Cross for their actions on the Pointe.
The 5th Ranger Battalion landed on Omaha Beach with the mission to fight thru to the
Rangers on the Pointe and provide reinforcements. On Omaha Beach the 5th Ranger Battalion and the 29th Infantry Division were pinned down by a murderous cross fire and mortars from the heights above the beachhead. The situation was so critical that General Omar Bradley was seriously considering redirecting reinforcements to other areas of the beachhead. With the SGM VanAacken 6
landings on Omaha in clear jeopardy, the assistant commander of the 29th Division, General
Norman Cota, turned to the 5th Ranger Battalion commander, Major Schneider, and issued the
terse order: “Lead the way, Rangers” (Westwell 56). The Rangers broke across the sea wall and
barbed wire entanglements and, under intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire, assaulted the
pillbox-rimmed heights and secured the beachhead.
The 2nd Ranger Battalion carried out the most desperate and dangerous mission of the entire Omaha and Utah Beach landings. Three companies, 225 men, assaulted the sheer cliffs of
Point Du Hoc; under intense machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire they destroyed a large gun
battery that would have wreaked havoc on the invading forces on the beaches and the Allied
fleets offshore. For two days and nights they fought without relief until the 5th Ranger Battalion
was able to break thru and link up with them.
The 2nd Ranger Battalion earned the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions on Pointe
du Hoc. The cost, however, was high. Out of the 225 rangers who embarked on the mission,
only 50-90 (reports vary) were able-bodied fighters after the 2 1/2-hour ordeal. These were
young men, volunteers; many too green to realize what awaited them at the Pointe. Many never
had the chance to grow old. President George W. Bush stated shortly after today’s war on
terrorism started, “They gave us their tomorrows, so we can live in freedom today.”
SGM VanAacken 7
Works Cited
Barrett, John. Operation Overlord: Point du Hoc. 1998
Goldstein, Richard. America at D-Day: A book of Remembrance. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday
Dell Publishing Group, Inc. 1994
Westwell, Ian. US RANGERS ‘Leading the Way’. Britain: Allan Publishing, 2003
Williams, Brian. Pointe Du Hoc. 2000