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| Home
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| Rangers |
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| Source: Various (please see
Site Credits) |
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| Rangers march along Weymouth Esplanade
to their embarkation point |
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The first American
unit to pass through Weymouth and Portland for D-Day in June
1944 was the 2nd Battalion US Rangers tasked with capturing
the German heavy Coast Defence battery at Pointe du Hoc to the
west of Omaha Beach, where the US 1st Division was to land.
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| The Rangers had trained
in Scotland with British Commandos where they had learned the
skills of cliff assault, the use of rockets to fire ropes and
rope ladders up cliffs, and light, sectioned, scaling ladders.
Transferring eleven miles out to sea into ten assault landing
craft and four DUKWs (amphibious vehicles) the Rangers were
driven off course and arrived 40 minutes late at their objective,
the cliffs below the German Battery, two landing craft and one
DUKW having sunk in rough seas. The delay meant that they lost
the cover of darkness and surprise and had to fight their way
up the cliff. Rockets and ropes were fired from the landing
craft and specially fitted London Fire Brigade ladders were
extended from the DUKWs. Two WWI British Lewis Machine guns
were fitted to one of these and a Ranger perched precariously
on the swaying ladder gave close covering fire. |
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| Pointe du Hoc under pre D-Day aerial
bombardment |
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| Concrete German bunkers at Pointe du
Hoc |
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| German prisoners being evacuated after
the Rangers assault |
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| Several hundred Rangers
made it to the top and broke into the concrete German Battery.
There were no guns, only wooden dummies. The Germans had placed
the guns in camouflaged position a short way inland where they
were found and destroyed by a Ranger patrol. The force by this
time had suffered heavy casualties and dug in to repulse the
continuous German counter attacks which lasted until relief
arrived, two days later. The Rangers had achieved their objective
but had suffered 70 percent casualties, many to be evacuated
through Weymouth and Portland. |
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