Pointe du Hoc
Cricqueville-en-Bessin, FR
A 30-meter cliff promontory between Omaha and Utah beaches housing a German coastal battery threatening both landing zones. On June 6, 1944, approximately 225 Rangers of the **2nd Ranger Battalion** scaled the cliffs under fire using ropes and ladders, only to discover the heavy guns had been moved inland. The Rangers held the position for two days against fierce German counterattacks before relief arrived — fewer than 90 men still able to fight. The shell-cratered plateau is preserved as an ABMC site.
Photographs (19)
Towards the west, from Pointe du Hoc , in background, Grandcamp-Maisy, Calvados, Normandy, France.
Coast line est seen from Pointe du Hoc , Calvados, Normandy, France.
The English Channel seen from Pointe du Hoc.
Normandy '10: Pointe du Hoc
Massive restorations underway, so not everything was accessible.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
A group of French Legionnaires entered the Pointe at the same time we did, giving the place a special vibe. For the first time in 9 years we were able to come close to the monument and enter the observation post which had been in constant restoration the previous years.
Pointe du Hoc
1944/6/6 - 2024/6/6 : It was just 80 years ago, today. La Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100-foot (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados department, France. During World War II it was the highest point between the American sector landings at Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. The German army fortified the area with concrete casemates and gun pits. On D-Day, the United States Army Ranger Assault Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_du_Hoc This picture was previously on Panoramio. Comments there pointed out the two faces Mother Nature designed onto those cliffs. On the left, at the edge, one sad and tired face mourning for all the men who died there, some for a terrible cause that fortunately lost that war, but most were given no other choice, others paying with their life for Victory, and Liberty. On the right, a gently smiling younger face, staring far away to the horizon, with the satisfaction of these now almost 80 years of peace in Western Europe, between Countries and Nations that are now united within the European Union and or the Nato, after generations wasted in devastating wars. And the eternal gratitude for the men who fought there, and elsewhere, to allow that.
"American Battle Monuments Commission" seal, Pointe du Hoc , Calvados, Normandy, France
Pointe du Hoc