What is Pointe du Hoc?
{{one source|date=January 2025}} [[File:Battle field Pointe du Hoc Calvados, France.jpg|thumb]]'''Pointe du Hoc''' is a place in [[Normandy]] in northern [[France]]. It has steep [[cliff]]s about 100 m high that drop down toward the sea and a very thin beach at the bottom that is underwater at high tide and dry at low tide. It was important during [[World War 2|World War II]]. In 1944, Pointe du Hoc was part of [[Operation Overlord]], which was the biggest [[Navy|sea]] [[invasion]] in history. During [[World War 2|World War II,]] the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] military commanders planned how to attack France, which had been captured by the German [[Wehrmacht]]. The Germans had put very large guns at Pointe du Hoc. There were six 155mm [[cannon]]s in concrete [[bunker|fort]]s that could shoot at Allied ships and troops that wanted to come on land at [[Utah Beach]] and [[Omaha Beach]]. Allied planes, flying from [[England]], dropped bombs on Pointe du Hoc. But they did not break the heavy [[artillery]] guns, and the Germans moved them away. For about five months, the U.S. Rangers trained with British [[Commando|commandos]] to prepare for their attack on France. They practiced climbing British cliffs. Once the Allied commanders decided to attack France, they used flat-bottomed [[landing craft]] made to carry troops onto beaches. These special landing boats were called LCA and LCVP's or Higgins boats. [[Royal Navy|British navy]] sailors sailed them. The boats were lowered into the sea a few [[Kilometre|kilometers]] away from the cliffs. The British had added some extra [[armour]] to the sides of the boats to protect them. This made it harder for the boats to move fast and turn. == Attack == The American 2nd and 5th Army Ranger Divisions attacked the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. Colonel James Earl Rudder led the attack. The attack started at 6:30 a.m of [[D-Day]], when the [[battleship]] USS Texas stopped [[bombardment|shooting at]] Pointe du Hoc. Because the weather was bad, the Rangers' boats d