Pointe du Hoc

Battle of Pointe du Hoc
Part of the Normandy Landings
Map of Pointe du Hoc, showing German installations and what was believed to be the locations of the 155 mm guns.
Date June 6, 1944 Location Normandy, France Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Bernard Law Montgomery James Earl Rudder	Gerd von Rundstedt Dietrich Kraiss
Units involved
Army Rangers 2nd Ranger Battalion  Royal Navy 520 Assault Flotilla 522 Assault Flotilla	352nd Division 914th Grenadier Regiment
Strength
225 infantry 12 Landing Craft Assault 1 Landing Craft Tank 4 DUKW 1 Fairmile B motor launch Offshore US and Royal Navy bombardment	200 infantry 4 machine gun emplacements 6 empty casemates 1 observation bunker
Casualties and losses
77 killed and 152 wounded 2 Landing Craft Assault 1 DUKW	Landing: 25+ Counter-attacks: 50+ Germans killed and 40 captured.[1] Unknown number of alleged French collaborators executed.

La Pointe du Hoc (French pronunciation: [pwɛ̃t dy ɔk]) is a promontory with a 35-metre (110 ft) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados department, France.

In World War II, Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. Prior to the invasion of Normandy, the German army fortified the area with concrete casemates and gun pits. On D-Day, the United States Army Provisional Ranger Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. United States generals including Dwight D. Eisenhower had determined that the place housed artillery that could slow down nearby beach attacks.