Post by peterd on Jun 29, 2013 11:42:26 GMT -8
Commander Rudder (2nd Rangers) 10 years later – I Took My Son to Pointe Du Hoc and Omaha Beach
On 6 June 1944 the V Corps of U.S. First Army assaulted German coastal defenses on a 6.000-yard stretch (“Omaha” Beach) between Vierville and Colleville. The attack was made by two divisions, the 1st and 29th, with strong attachments of armor and artillery. On their right flank, a separate mission of unusual difficulty was assigned to a special assault force.
At Pointe du Hoe, four miles west of Omaha Beach, the Germans had constructed a fortified position for a coastal battery of 155-mm howitzers of French make. . This position was regarded as the most dangerous in the American zone, for guns of that caliber could cover not only the V and VII Corps landing beaches [Omaha and Utah] but also both transport areas….
The Ranger Group, attached to the 116th Infantry and commanded by Lt. Col, James E. Rudder, was given the mission of capturing Pointe du Hoe and neutralizing the dangerous German coastal battery. .
www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/must-read-commander-rudder-2nd-rangers-10-years-later-i-took-my-son-to-pointe-du-hoc-and-omaha-beach.html
On 6 June 1944 the V Corps of U.S. First Army assaulted German coastal defenses on a 6.000-yard stretch (“Omaha” Beach) between Vierville and Colleville. The attack was made by two divisions, the 1st and 29th, with strong attachments of armor and artillery. On their right flank, a separate mission of unusual difficulty was assigned to a special assault force.
At Pointe du Hoe, four miles west of Omaha Beach, the Germans had constructed a fortified position for a coastal battery of 155-mm howitzers of French make. . This position was regarded as the most dangerous in the American zone, for guns of that caliber could cover not only the V and VII Corps landing beaches [Omaha and Utah] but also both transport areas….
The Ranger Group, attached to the 116th Infantry and commanded by Lt. Col, James E. Rudder, was given the mission of capturing Pointe du Hoe and neutralizing the dangerous German coastal battery. .
www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/must-read-commander-rudder-2nd-rangers-10-years-later-i-took-my-son-to-pointe-du-hoc-and-omaha-beach.html