Communiqué
U.S. Army’s 2nd Ranger battalion scaled 100-foot cliffs during “D-Day at Pointe-Du-Hoc” – June 1 at 10 pm
< < Back to u-s-armys-2nd-ranger-battalion-scaled-the-100-foot-cliffs-during-d-day-at-pointe-du-hoc-june-1-at-10-pmD-Day at Pointe-Du-Hoc
Thursday, June 1 at 10 pm
D-DAY AT POINTE-DU-HOC tells the remarkable story of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Ranger battalion, led by Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, which scaled the 100-foot cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc in Normandy on June 6, 1944 to destroy six German cannons thought to be located there.
The 155mm guns, situated halfway between Omaha and Utah Beaches and within firing range of the planned allied assault, needed to be taken out for Operation Overlord to succeed. Many believed it was a suicidal mission for the men involved.
Narrated by actor David McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS) and featuring interviews with surviving veterans from the Pointe-Du-Hoc assault, the documentary chronicles the dangerous and daring mission, including what happened after the Rangers fought through machine gun fire, cut rope ladders and lobbed grenades to find that the six artillery guns had been moved from the Pointe in the days prior.
What followed was two days of fighting where the outnumbered Rangers held off German troops and prevented them from retaking the strategic ocean side position.