Paris Day Three: Pointe du Hoc

Our second stop was the 100-foot high cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. These cliffs were between Utah and Omaha Beaches and were fortified with concrete casements and gun pits.

the Germans obviously used whatever they could find 

to aid in the construction of the walls

The German-installed 155mm guns had a range of covering both beaches with artillery fire. In the months and weeks prior to the invasion, the area was hit with massive bombing by the Allies. The ground is still deeply pitted and scarred by the bombing.

On June 6, 1944, 225 US Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to stop the German counterattacks on the landing troops on the beaches below. A monument stands on the cliff edge...

It is said that the area is still much the way the Rangers left it nearly 75 years ago. The best part is that most of it is still open to the public to explore...

More of the countryside on the way to Omaha Beach...

since there aren't any trucks, they have to use tractors

to tow their boats  LOL