Steven J. Zaloga - Smashing Hitlers Guns: The Rangers at Pointe-du-Hoc, D-Day 1944

Ranger missions on D-Day have become a core legend to the US Armys contemporary special operations forces. In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, in June 2019 the 75th Ranger Regiment scaled the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc. The Ranger to the left is wearing D-Day combat gear while assisting a fellow Ranger in contemporary battle-dress. (US Army photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Training Support Activity Europe. DoD)

President Ronald Reagans commemoration of the Ranger memorial on top of the observation bunker at Pointe-du-Hoc was the centerpiece of the American D-Day 40th anniversary in Normandy in June 1984. The granite Ranger memorial is located on top of the German fire control bunker and the monument was formally transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission for perpetual care on January 11, 1979. (DoD)

A C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft in D-Day invasion stripe markings passes over the west side of the Pointe-du-Hoc promontory on June 8, 2019 during the 75th anniversary ceremonies. Named Thats All Brother, this aircraft was flown on D-Day by Lt Col John M. Donalson, commander of the 438th Troop Carrier Group. It was restored and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. (US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devin M. Rumbaugh, 86th Airlift Wing/Public Affairs. DoD)

A view of the eastern side of Pointe-du-Hoc from the eastern Flak bunker overlooking the cliffs climbed by the Rangers on D-Day. The Regelbau 636a command post bunker with the Ranger memorial can be seen to the upper left. (Author)

An aerial view of Pointe-du-Hoc looking eastward with the town of Grandcamp and the Vire river estuary visible in the background. This view was taken from a MC-130J Commando II of the 67th Special Operations Squadron during a commemorative paratrooper air jump on the 71st anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2015. (US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary. DoD)

A view of the eastern side of Pointe-du-Hoc from the command bunker overlooking the cliffs climbed by the Rangers on D-Day. German machine gun nests on the cliffs in the center of this image were a lingering problem for the Rangers until silenced by destroyer fire. (Author)

An aerial view looking eastward with the Pointe-du-Hoc promontory in the upper left. In the foreground is the WN 76 defense nest, which contained dummy artillery batteries.

One of the 155mm GPF guns in its kettle gun pit on Pointe-du-Hoc in August 1943. The gun is mounted on a standard Rheinmetall-Borsig Drehsockel mount to facilitate traverse of the gun. The guns were subsequently fitted with a camouflage umbrella overhead.

The 155mm GPF guns used a Drehsockel (swivel socket) mounting in the kettle gun pits as seen on the right. To conserve space in the enclosed casemates, the guns were supposed to be re-mounted on the more compact schwere Drehbettung 32.To. These were in short supply and never reached Pointe-du-Hoc before D-Day. As a result, none of the 155mm guns was deployed in the completed casemates. (Author)

The US Army was very familiar with the 155mm GPF gun deployed at Pointe-du-Hoc, since the American Expeditionary Force had been equipped with the same weapon in 19171918. It continued to serve in the US Army for coastal defense in World War II. This example was preserved for many years at the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. It was displayed in transport mode as seen here. (Author)

The Regelbau H636a command post bunker on Pointe-du-Hoc in August 1943 as construction was nearing completion. The shed in front of it housed the batterys optical rangefinder until the new bunker was completed.

The Regelbau H636a command post bunker at Pointe-du-Hoc after its capture by the Rangers. The forward observation cupola had an applique of rough concrete and stone added over the basic concrete shell for camouflage.

Kettle gun pit No. 6 is the least damaged example at Pointe-du-Hoc. The area around the gun pedestal had been filled with earth over the years. (Author)

Bauwerk 468 is one of two surviving Regelbau 694 gun casemates at Pointe-du-Hoc. It was heavily damaged by bombing and naval gun fire. The small concrete structure to the right is the remains of the personnel shelter of kettle gun pit No. 5 that had been located immediately in front of it. (Author)

The western Regelbau H502 Doppelgruppenstand personnel bunker, located between gun pits No. 4 and No. 5. This bunker had accommodations for twenty troops in two rooms. It has a defensive Tobruk machine gun pit on the roof to the left. The Ranger memorial can be seen off in the distance in the upper right. (Author)

Life in an Atlantic Wall strongpoint was cramped, damp, and dank. This is the interior of a restored Regelbau 502 Gruppenstand bunker at Sttzpunkt Lohengrin near Vlissingen. This small room would have accommodated ten soldiers and their equipment. (Author)

The only element of the Pointe-du-Hoc strongpoint to remain in German hands through June 8 was the western Regelbau L409A Flak bunker. The two surviving Regelbau 694 gun casemates can be seen near the skyline toward the right. (Author)

A view of the back side of the Regelbau H636 command post bunker with the Ranger memorial on top. This structure has been significantly rebuilt over the years for safety reasons. For example, the observation post on the top of the bunker has been plated over. (Author)

The Rangers undertook extensive cliff-scaling exercises along the English coast using a variety of toggle ropes and lightweight ladders. This is an exercise at Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, Dorset in the spring of 1944.

Able Company, 2nd Rangers on the march to the embarkation area in Weymouth harbor on June 1, 1944 with Col Earl Rudder in the lower right. The officers on the left are Capt Harvey Cook (S-2) and the company commander, Capt Joseph Rafferty.

The Project Scam LCAs were fitted with six J-Projectors to fire rocket-propelled grapnel hooks up the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc as shown in these illustrations. (Author)