Francois_Dumas Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Alright, last one today.... I promise.... Next stop after Vierville-sur-Mer was the famous Pointe du Hoc. On the morning of D-Day this forbidding rock had to be scaled by a group of US Rangers to attack and destroy the gun emplacements atop the 100 feet high cliff. Ironically, as with many things in that war, the guns weren't even installed ! More than half of the attacking Rangers batallion lost their lives on this 3 day attack and subsequent battle..... both sides fighting over nothing, really. Here are some sites with more information if you're interested. http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/dday/pointeduhoc.aspx http://www.normandiememoire.com/NM60Anglais/2_histo3/histo3_p3_gb.htm# http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/worldwar2/a/Pduhocarticle.htm http://www.historynet.com/wwii/blrangers http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/nor4p.htm The whole area has been renewd since last time I was there.. apparently to accommodate George Bush who visited once .... When you enter through the main entrance, this is the first view of the grounds that you get..... the large 'depression' in the foreground is one of the many hundreds of bomb craters that cover the entire rock..... Don't know if it is all Bush's fault, but the ghastly scaffolding on the bunkers, the 'cared-for' footh paths all over and the closing off of the actual monument have made this more of a 'thing to see for Japanese tourists' than the monument it once was... a shame The actual 'point' and the Ranger's Dagger commemorating the fallen..... Looking east from atop the cliff One of the bunkers that would have housed the 155 mm guns.. had they been installed. They look pretty small actually...... There is still rubble everywhere. Most of the bunkers and other buildings were blown up... Looking out over the bay you can see Utah Beach on the horizon. Beyond it is St. Mere Eglise, where we went to visit the Airborne Museum later that day. The actual monument, now unfortunately fenced off. Impossible to read the names of the fallen now..... bummer A view east, back towards Viervill-sur-Mer which is behind those cliffs Marty standing atop of one of the gun emplacements, now neatly guarded with a fence and wooden flooring...... And these arew the remnants of one of the AA emplacements, defending the site from air raids. At this point it was getting really warm !!!! And we went back to the bikes to ride !! Link to comment
FerdiWan Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Pointe du Hoc is considered hallowed ground to Rangers - thanks for sharing these pictures! Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 No words can describe . . . Link to comment
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