Normandy, Part II

The second (and last) Normandy blog post focuses on our visit to the Point-du-Hoc.  This imposing bluff on the coast of France was an important part of the D-Day landings where a group of Army Rangers led by Lt. Colonel James Earl Rudder was tasked with climbing the bluff with grappling hooks and taking a large German artillery position by surprise.  However, due to some mixups and rough seas on the day of the invasion, they lost their element of surprise.  U.S. warships were able to fend off the Germans with naval artillery fire while they scaled the cliffs, but unfortunately, they found that the Germans had removed the artillery before they arrived.

A view of the Point-du-Hoc

Point-du-Hoc remains an American memorial and the landscape is almost untouched from 1944.  As you can see here, it is still covered in craters from the American naval ships that shelled the position on June 6, 1944.

One of the gun emplacements for the guns that were moved before D-Day.  One can only imagine that these were huge.

Today, the Point-du-Hoc is a great place to see the original bunker emplacements that formed the German "Atlantic Wall" and to appreciate the sacrifice made by the Army Rangers that day.

A German bunker complex.  Most of the bunkers at the Point-du-Hoc have the same layout.

This was the gunport that defended the entrance of each bunker.

My friends Sean and Peter standing in front of a concrete wall that clearly saw a lot of action on D-Day. 

Germans in this bunker may not have been so lucky as it appears that the wooden roof slats are completely charred.  This is likely the result of an American flamethrower.

The inside of a German underground bunker.

Whats left of a decaying bunker.  We weren't "officially" allowed into this one, but snuck in anyway.

The view from the observation post of the Point-du-Hoc looking out at the English Channel. 

After securing the Point-du-Hoc on the first day, the 225 Army Rangers commanded by Lt. Col. Rudder spent 2 days fighting off German counter-attacks until they linked-up with other American troops.  By the end of the 2 days, only 90 of the 225 were still able to fight.

Looking out from the Point-du-Hoc