page_title: Pointe du Hoc
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Pointe du Hoc / Aftermath / Timeline
caption_attribution_description: 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.
context_page_description: La Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100-foot 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.
context_section_description: 6 June 1944
  06.39 – H-Hour – D, E and F companies of 2nd Ranger Battalion approach the Normandy coast in a flotilla of twelve craft.
  07.05 – Strong tides and navigation errors mean the initial assault arrives late and the 5th Ranger Battalion as well A and B companies from 2nd Battalion move to Omaha Beach instead.
  07.30 – Rangers fight their way up the cliff and reach the top and start engaging the Germans across the battery. Rangers discover the casemates are empty.
  08.15 – Approximately 35 Rangers reach the road and create a roadblock.
  09.00 – Five German guns are located and destroyed using thermite grenades.
  For the rest of the day the Rangers repel several German counter-attacks.
  During the evening, one patrol from the 5th Rangers that landed at Omaha beach make it through to join the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc.
  7 June 1944
  The Rangers continue to defend an even smaller area on Pointe du Hoc against German counter-attacks.
  Afternoon – A platoon of Rangers arrives on an LST, with wounded removed.
  8 June 1944
  Morning – The Rangers are relieved by troops arriving from Omaha Beach.
caption: Surviving observation bunker at the Pointe du Hoc
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