Smashing Hitler's Guns by Zaloga Steven J.;

Author:Zaloga, Steven J.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Chapter 12

Spiking the Guns

As the Rangers surveyed the top of the Pointe-du-Hoc, they faced a major problem: where were the guns? They had been thoroughly briefed about the location of each of the six guns, but the scene on top of the promontory was one of hellish devastation. The enormous heaps of spoil and debris encircling the numerous bomb craters made it very difficult to see across the otherwise flat surface. As each Ranger team reached the top, they went off to their objectives. There was no effort made to congregate and discuss options. As per the original plan, the individual Ranger boat teams began advancing through the strongpoint.

The three Ranger companies each had specific objectives. Easy Company was assigned the fire-control bunker and the No 3 gun position. Dog Company was assigned the three western gun positions, Nos 4, 5, and 6, while Fox Company was assigned the eastern gun positions, Nos 1 and 2, as well as the machine-gun positions occupied by the Werfer-Einheit. In most cases, the Rangers from each LCA advanced together.

The gun pits were a jumble of camouflage net, timbers, and debris. Several of the pits had suffered direct bomb hits and were a wreckage of huge slabs of concrete. Others had been spared direct hits, and from these, it was clear that the “guns” on Pointe-du-Hoc were simply dummies made from telephone poles and covered with camouflage net. Only one 155mm gun was still within the strongpoint. This was the one that had been destroyed during the first April bomber attack. The gun tube had been removed and sent off for repair; all that remained was the gun carriage. It had been further ripped apart by the pre-dawn Flashlamp bombing. The only recognizable features amidst the blasted landscape were the two completed gun casemates and the command post bunker. Most of the other bunkers were subterranean and had been completely covered by dirt and debris during the bombing attacks.

There were still isolated groups of Germans active in the ruins of the strongpoint. The Werfer-Einheit had been forced away from the eastern cliff edge by naval fire and were huddled in some craters on the southeastern corner of the strongpoint. They eventually escaped southward around noon. There were still about a dozen headquarters staff and other troops in the fire-control bunker. Some isolated groups of German soldiers were operating from the scattered personnel bunkers, and would pop-up every now and then, take shots at the Rangers, then disappear underground.

The Rangers from LCA 861, who had landed nearest the tip of Pointe-du-Hoc, began the attack on the fire-control bunker. SSgt Charles Denbo and Pfc Roberts managed to approach the bunker using a communication trench. The German bunker troops had set up an MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun in the forward observation room, and began firing at the Rangers. Denbo and Roberts responded by throwing four grenades at the bunker embrasure. Three fell inside, silencing the machine gun. Sgt Andrew Yardley then appeared with a bazooka and fired two rockets.

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