Pointe Du Hoc - Normandy

Posted by Mandy Provan (Johannesburg, South Africa) on 30 June 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

A very special part of our trip was a visit to Normandy to see the D-Day landing beaches. My hubby is a WW2 hisotry buff and the trip was actually a WW2 trip for him to experience and see some of the places from the war. Normandy was an especially moving part of the trip and we loved our day trip to the region.

Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Omaha Beach, and stands on 100 ft (30 m) tall cliffs overlooking the sea. It was a point of attack by the United States Army during the Battle of Normandy in World War II.
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At Pointe du Hoc (often spelled as its Parisian French name "Pointe du Hoe" in official Army documents), the Germans had built, as part of the Atlantic Wall, six casemates to house a battery of captured French 155mm guns. With Pointe Du Hoc situated between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east, these guns threatened Allied landings on both beaches, risking heavy casualties in the landing forces. Although there were several bombardments from the air and by naval guns, intelligence reports assumed that the fortifications were too strong, and would also require attack by ground forces. The U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion was therefore given the task of destroying the strongpoint early on D-Day.
Prior to the attack, the guns were moved approximately 1 mile away. However, the concrete fortifications were intact, and would still present a major threat to the landings if they were occupied by artillery forward observers. The Ranger Battalion commanders and executive officers knew the guns had moved, but the rest of the Rangers were not informed prior to the attack. The myth that the guns were "missing" on D-Day may be attributed to this decision not to inform the troops prior to the attack.

Courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_du_Hoc

We will be away for the next 3 weeks or so, I hope you enjoy the remainder of the Christmas images I have posted. I look forward to seeing all of your blogs when I return!! MERRY Christmas everyone. May God Bless you all!

" Everything will work out in the end. If it's not working out, it's not the end." - Max Lucado ~ Fearless.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued visits and comments on my Blog throughout the year. Although things have been extremely hectic here over the past few months and I haven't always had the time to visit your blogs, I have read all of your comments and really do appreciate your encouragement and constructive remarks.

I hope that as 2009 draws to a close and we usher in 2010, you and your families will have a wonderful Christmas season. May you be Blessed and may we all remember that Christmas is about more than just presents and good food. That Jesus is the real reason for the season!