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The U.S. Army's 2Nd Ranger Battalion: Beyond D-Day Alissa Quistorff

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The U.S. Army's 2Nd Ranger Battalion: Beyond D-Day Alissa Quistorff Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 The U.S. Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion: Beyond D-Day Alissa Quistorff Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE U.S. ARMY’S 2ND RANGER BATTALION : BEYOND D-DAY By ALISSA QUISTORFF A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005 The members of the Committee approve the Thesis of Alissa Quistorff defended on April 20th, 2005. Nathan Stoltzfus Professor Directing Thesis Jonathan Grant Committee Member Michael Creswell Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii Dedicated to my family especially Papa, who taught me to love history and Inspired me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................. Page v 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... Page 1 2. Chapter 1: Pointe du Hoc .......................................................................... Page 9 3. Chapter 2: Hurtgen Forest ......................................................................... Page 28 4. Chapter 3: Brest and Rhine Crossing .......................................................... Page 42 5. Conclusion .......................................................................................... Page 56 APPENDIX .......................................................................................... Page 63 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... Page 66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ......................................................................... Page 69 iv ABSTRACT This thesis is a micro-history of how the 2nd Ranger Battalion, during World War II evolved their military doctrine. This work focuses on their training for Operation Overlord and the ensuing battle. After the fight for Pointe du Hoc the Rangers had no stated doctrine to follow for later missions. Given that, the Rangers were deployed in a variety of ways. By examining the Brest campaign, the battles in the Hurtgen Forest, and the crossing of the Rhine River, the Ranger doctrine slowly begins to emerge. v INTRODUCTION Either we shall employ our strength, power, and conscience boldly and righteously in defense of human dignity and freedom or we shall waste these resources for peace and default to the forces that breed new wars. –General Omar Bradley Memorial Day Address 1948 1 This study attempts to explain how and why the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion’s military doctrine and their strategic use evolved during the Second World War. Formed to capture Pointe du Hoc as part of Operation Overlord, the 2nd Ranger Battalion’s training as an elite Army unit focused on developing the skills necessary for their assault on the cliff. With the Army designating them an elite fighting unit, they received additional training as a special operations unit. After the Rangers were relieved from Pointe du Hoc after two days (D+2), they faced a serious problem as a unit. They did not have a doctrine to dictate their operational use. The lack of an established doctrine to use resulted in the slow evolution of a unique Ranger doctrine, transforming the Rangers into a light-weight, mobile, special operations force known for going in and quickly capturing its objective. The four major campaigns that the Rangers participated in clearly demonstrate, with their fighting style, how the Rangers established their doctrine after Pointe du Hoc. The assault on Pointe du Hoc was the start of the Rangers’ doctrine, but their next major operation was the Hurtgen Forest, had a direct effect on the Ranger’s doctrine.1 The difference stands out when comparing the Brest campaign (18 August-28 September 1944), which was conducted before Hurtgen Forest (14 November-10 December 1944), and the drive from the Roer River to the Rhine River (22 February-7 March 1945). Both of these campaigns also had a small on Ranger doctrine. This study also examines a secondary issue. Were the Rangers deployed in operations correctly? If Ranger doctrine dictated that they were only to be used as a frontal attack unit, then deploying them as front-line soldiers would have been a misuse. However, the Rangers did not have a doctrine to follow after Pointe du Hoc. They only had training that could guide a commander’s decision as how to use the Rangers in combat. By examining why commanders decided to use the Rangers in place of other units, it is clear that they were not tactically misused. They were deployed where they were needed and could best use their skills. The Rangers’ ability to accomplish any mission that the war called for became part of their doctrine, along with their special skills in executing fast, frontal attacks on the battlefield. The ability to 1In this study doctrine is defined as a written, tactical and the strategic purpose for the Rangers. 2 be successful in the multiple roles they played in the war was not a tactical misuse of the Rangers; instead, it resulted from their lack of doctrine. Examining how and why Ranger doctrine evolved during the Second World War is very important to the overall study of special operation forces. It allows historians to gain an understanding of the overall evolution of special operation forces from 1941-1944. The Second World War was the first time the American military leadership tried to use special operation forces on a large scale. By conducting a micro-study of the 2nd Rangers, it is clear that commanders did not always know what to do with the elite fighting forces. Given that the Army was not always sure how to deploy the Rangers, they were often attached to different units. This dispersal has led to the Rangers’ story becoming lost. Historians have downplayed the Rangers’ history because they worked as attached units in multiple divisions, thus making it difficult to distinguish between what the accomplishments of the and that of their attached division. Historians wanting to study how special operation forces were used in the Second World War found that the U.S. Army Airborne Divisions demonstrated the evolution of special forces better. Therefore, the Rangers are often overshadowed by the history of the Airborne. However, to truly understand how the Second World War shaped the use of special operation forces and their deployment, one must consider both the Airborne and the Rangers. The success of both the Rangers and Airborne during the Second World War led to the use of both these forces today. If they had failed, the Airborne and the Rangers would not be a modern military force still in use today. It is critical to understand how these units were formed and tested on the battlefield. The Second World War was the crucible in which they evolved not only their military doctrine, but also the future for special operations in the modern army. Historians writing about the Rangers have faced three main issues regarding the current literature. First, given that they had been trained and formed for only one kind of operation, their role in Operation Overlord, what role did the Rangers play after Pointe du Hoc? With Operation Overlord a success, the question not only for commanders but also historians was what to do with the Rangers? Were they deployed correctly by those in command? If not, why or why not? Second, did commanders deploy the Rangers appropriately, by taking into account their special training? This study also examines if the Ranger doctrine was evolving or if it was static. Finally, did the Rangers contribute to the overall victory for the Allies? If their role as a special 3 operation force helped to win victory for the Allies, in what capacity did they do so? Current literature on the Rangers is very limited. It becomes even harder to find secondary sources that deal strictly with the 2nd Ranger Battalion. There are, however, a few historians who have made significant contributions to the field of Ranger history. Ronald Lane’s Rudder’s Rangers is considered one of the cornerstones of Ranger history. This study of the 2nd Ranger Battalion did not examine how and why the Rangers were deployed but focused on the story of how Colonel James E. Rudder led the Rangers. Robert Black has completed the other major work done on the Rangers exclusively during the Second World War. His examines all the operations in which the Rangers participated in Rangers in World War II .2 He draws heavily on the oral histories of the men and the after -action reports. Black combines both narrative and a study of the larger picture of the Ranger’s role in World War II. These two books by Lane and Black are the best studies examining how the Rangers were used in the conflict. David Hogan Jr. has written two very detailed and critical studies of the Rangers. His works differ from those mentioned above because he did not limit the books to just the Rangers in the Second World War. His first book The Evolution of the Concept of the U.S. Army’s Rangers 1942-1983, examined the Army’s concept of what operations Rangers could be deployed in.3 This very detailed and well written book evaluates the lack of any strict concept of the Rangers in the army. His second book, U.S. Army Special Operations in World War II, does not just study the role of the Rangers, but includes all special operation units, including the Rangers and Airborne forces.4 Hogan examines both theaters of World War II and what contribution special operation forces made during the conflict. Both of the studies examine the larger picture of the Ranger’s role in the Second World War. The second book, while it stays in the time frame of World War II, includes the Rangers with all the special operation forces used during the war. 2Robert Black, Rangers in World War II.
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