The John Batchelor Show

Patrick K. O'Donnell describes how after destroying the guns, the Rangers of Dog, Easy, and Fox companies established a thin defensive line along the coastal road between Omaha and Utah beaches. Isolated and without the expected reinforcements from Force C, they faced immediate and ferocious German counterattacks. German doctrine emphasized immediate offensive response, and the Rangers soon found themselves fighting in shallow shell holes and hedgerows as hundreds of German troops charged their positions. The combat was brutal; several Rangers were captured or killed as the Germans overwhelmed portions of the L-shaped defensive perimeter. Ranger Elrod Petty, a tenacious combat soldier with a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), was instrumental in holding the line as men from other companies fell back in disarray. The situation was so dire that Lieutenant Colonel Trevor, a British commando observer, admitted he expected to be killed or taken prisoner by morning. The Rangers gathered any Americans they could find, including stray paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, to bolster their defenses. Relief finally arrived on June 8 when the 5th Ranger Battalion and elements of the 116th Infantry broke through from Omaha Beach. However, the link-up was marred by tragedy; because the isolated Rangers were using captured German MG42s due to a lack of American ammunition, the relief forces mistook them for the enemy, resulting in friendly fire casualties. (4)

Patrick K. O'Donnell describes how in early 1944, Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder and Major Max F. Schneider arrived at Paddington Station in London for a top-secret briefing regarding the most dangerous mission of D-Day. Their objective was to neutralize six large German guns at Pointe du Hoc that threatened the Allied landings at both Omaha and Utah beaches. The mission was considered nearly impossible, requiring the Rangers to scale a sheer 90-foot cliff while under direct machine gun, artillery, and mortar fire. To prepare, the Second Ranger Battalionunderwent grueling training beginning in 1943, climbing high cliffs at speed without safety harnesses. Officers used live fire, shooting M1 Garands near the climbing men to simulate the sensation of actual combat. The Ranger concept was relatively new to the U.S. Army, which lacked special operations units until 1941. Influenced by British commandos but drawing on American traditions like Rogers' Rangers, the units were designed for irregular warfare. Major Schneider, a veteran of Darby's Rangers with significant combat experience and potential PTSD from the Italian campaign, was kept on the mission through the personal intervention of General Eisenhower. The Rangers eventually crossed the North Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth, which relied on its speed to evade German U-boat wolfpacks. By June 1944, despite the daunting prospects, the men were physically and mentally prepared for the assault on the Atlantic Wall. (1)
1944