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.