Training commenced in earnest. To rapidly scale the cliffs, the Rangers practiced with rocket-propelled grapnel hooks. Training concluded on May 19, 1944. Early in the first week of June they were ordered to their troop ships. Though displays of bravado were common and boisterous aboard ship, some had private doubts about the mission. All was put aside when, at 4:05 a.m. on June 6, the troopships’ PA system announced, “Rangers, man your craft.” Two hours later, huddled in their landing craft assault (LCAs), the Provisional Ranger Force headed toward the hostile shore.

It’s a military axiom that a plan never survives the moment of contact with the enemy. For the Provisional Ranger Force it happened en route to shore. A malfunction of the new radar navigation system caused the Force A flotilla to be off course by two miles. Not until the craft had penetrated the protective smokescreen and haze and were about 100 yards from shore did Rudder see to his horror that they were about to land at Pointe et Raz de la Percée!

It’s a military axiom that a plan never survives the moment of contact with the enemy. For the Provisional Ranger Force it happened en route to shore. A malfunction of the new radar navigation system caused the Force A flotilla to be off course by two miles. Not until the craft had penetrated the protective smokescreen and haze and were about 100 yards from shore did Rudder see to his horror that they were about to land at Pointe et Raz de la Percée!

Normally Rudder would have been in the Provisional Ranger Force headquarters ship. But a last minute command crisis forced him to relieve Force A’s commander and, over the objections of his superior Maj. Gen. Clarence Huebner, assume command of Force A himself. Quickly Rudder ordered a corrected change in course west to Pointe du Hoc. But the assault’s timetable had been shattered. It would take 40 minutes to reach their primary objective.

Schneider, commanding Force C, waited off Pointe du Hoc an additional 10 minutes after the appointed time for a signal from shore. When no message arrived and unaware of the situation because of the smokescreen, he ordered Force C to its secondary objective. When an initial landing at Dog Green revealed it was heavily defended, he ordered the bulk of his troops landed at nearby Dog White. There the reinforcements arrived at the right place in the right time and were instrumental in creating the breakout at Omaha Beach.

But now Force A would be attacking alone, with no hope for reinforcements. Worse, because the bombardment had lifted at 6:30 a.m., the Germans would have 40 minutes to recover and prepare themselves.

Instead of landing at both the eastern and western shores of Point du Hoc as originally planned, Rudder concentrated his force to assault from the eastern shore. When the Rangers’ boats neared the beach, one Ranger later said, “All hell broke loose.”

At approximately 7:08 a.m., the ramps of the first LCAs dropped into the churning water. Machine gun fire tore into the boats’ open bows, killing many in the first rows. Others leaped over the gunwales and disappeared into underwater craters created by the bombardment.

Some boats fired grappling rockets too soon, causing them to miss the summit and fall uselessly into the water. German defenders cut a few ropes, but they avoided others that had burning flares, thinking the flares were explosive. Potato masher grenades began to rain down, and machine gun and small arms fire raked the clusters of Rangers below, despite covering fire from Rangers in the boats and the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Satterlee (DD 626).

Some boats fired grappling rockets too soon, causing them to miss the summit and fall uselessly into the water. German defenders cut a few ropes, but they avoided others that had burning flares, thinking the flares were explosive. Potato masher grenades began to rain down, and machine gun and small arms fire raked the clusters of Rangers below, despite covering fire from Rangers in the boats and the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Satterlee (DD 626).

The casualty count quickly climbed. With the sounds of gunfire and explosives and the cries of wounded pounding their ears, Rangers began their ascent. Some struggled up ropes slick with sea spray only to lose their grip and fall back onto the beach, where they would try again. Some crawled up the cliff itself using hand and foot holds. Others scampered up the rungs of assault ladders that were quickly assembled. Those who fell wounded or dead were replaced by others. By 7:20 a.m. the first group, about 20 Rangers from Dog Company, reached the summit.

As they had been trained, they quickly broke off into small groups. Running from shell hole to shell hole and bomb crater to bomb crater and firing at defenders, they worked their way inland to their objective, the casements protecting the Germans’ cannon.

Sgt. Leonard Lomell led a small group of Rangers who attacked gun emplacement No. 4. When they reached it, they found … a decoy cannon constructed from a wooden telephone pole, designed to fool Allied aerial reconnaissance. They advanced southwest to emplacements Nos. 5 and 6 and discovered two more telephone pole “cannon.” “Jesus Christ, there’s no guns here,” thought Lomell. “They’ve got to be somewhere.”

By now, Rangers from Fox and Easy companies had arrived. After a quick conference, they split into three groups to find the missing 155 mm guns. Lomell and about a dozen Rangers fought their way south, knocking out bunkers, snipers, and other defenders along the way and advancing about 800 yards, where they reached the paved road that paralleled the coast.

Though his group had suffered losses, Lomell still had an effective force. Equally important, he and Sgt. Jack Kuhn discovered something suspicious, a hedgerow-lined sunken dirt road with recent tire tracks whose impressions in the ground were too deep to have been made by a farm wagon. Cautiously leapfrogging up the road, they continued for about 200 yards until they reached an apple orchard.

Sgt. Leonard Lomell led a small group of Rangers who attacked gun emplacement No. 4. When they reached it, they found … a decoy cannon constructed from a wooden telephone pole, designed to fool Allied aerial reconnaissance. They advanced southwest to emplacements Nos. 5 and 6 and discovered two more telephone pole “cannon.” “Jesus Christ, there’s no guns here,” thought Lomell. “They’ve got to be somewhere.”

There, hidden beneath camouflaged netting, amazingly unguarded, and pointing toward Utah Beach, were five of the six Pointe du Hoc cannon. A few hundred feet away in an adjoining field were about 100 German soldiers, apparently the crews and guards for the field pieces. Amazingly, the two Rangers had not been discovered.

With Kuhn covering him, Lomell reached the five guns. After using his thermite grenade and one provided by Kuhn on two guns, Lomell wrapped his field jacket around the butt of his Thompson submachine gun and smashed the sights of all five cannon.

Lomell and Kuhn retreated back down the road, where they linked up with Rangers from their platoon. Getting from them more thermite grenades, they returned to the orchard. Again with Kuhn covering, Lomell wired the three other cannon with thermite grenades and pulled the pins. Just as he returned to the protection of the hedgerow the air was rent by powerful explosions.

Unbeknownst to them, Sgt. Frank Rupinski and Rangers from Easy Company, advancing from the east, had detonated the cannons’ ammunition dump. They also had located the sixth gun and disabled it.

Elements of Rangers of Fox, Dog, and Easy companies then formed an outer defensive line near the coast highway. Rudder, though wounded, had established a command bunker on the summit. For two days, the Rangers of Force A, aided by Navy gunfire and air support, fought off German counterattacks.

As predicted, the Rangers suffered 70 percent casualties; only 90 Rangers were left standing. But, even with a smaller-than-expected force, the Rangers had fulfilled their mission, and were the first unit to do so on D-Day.

At 11 a.m. on June 8, lead tanks from the 743rd Tank Battalion and two companies from 5th Rangers linked up with the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. As predicted, the Rangers suffered 70 percent casualties; only 90 Rangers were left standing. But, even with a smaller-than-expected force, the Rangers had fulfilled their mission, and were the first unit to do so on D-Day.

This article first appeared in The Year in Special Operations: 2014-2015 Edition.