Pointe du Hoc

The six 155mm guns the Rangers came to destroy were actually WWI-era French howitzers captured by Germany. Upon reaching the summit, the Rangers discovered the gun emplacements contained only wooden poles - the Germans had moved the real guns inland weeks earlier to protect them from bombing. A patrol found and destroyed the actual guns with thermite grenades about a mile from the cliffs.

Rangers used an unconventional mix of equipment to scale the cliffs: rocket-propelled grappling hooks, extension ladders borrowed from London fire departments, and rope ladders. The intense pre-assault bombing ironically helped - it caused rockfall that created a debris slope at the cliff base, allowing Rangers to scramble partway up before hitting sheer rock.

Supreme Headquarters predicted a 70% casualty rate for the mission, essentially calling it suicidal. The estimate proved tragically accurate: of 225 Rangers who began the assault, only 90 could still fight when relief arrived two days later. The 2nd Ranger Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation, and 14 Rangers earned the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions at Pointe du Hoc.

In 2022, part of the cliff outcrop collapsed into the sea due to ongoing coastal erosion - a reminder that this preserved battlefield continues to change. The American Battle Monuments Commission has since rerouted paths and installed new interpretive panels. Some observation platforms remain closed for safety while erosion studies continue.