Pointe du Hoc
On Gingerguide's self-guided Normandy D-Day audio tour, Pointe du Hoc is a stop worth about ~45 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Normandy D-Day Normandy D-Day guide
About Pointe du Hoc
A cliff-top promontory between Utah and Omaha beaches, held as a German artillery position and assaulted by U.S. Army Rangers on 6 June 1944; the cratered ground remains.
Pointe du Hoc is a cliff-top promontory on the Calvados coast, between Utah and Omaha beaches, which the German army fortified in 1944 as a coastal artillery position overlooking the English Channel. On 6 June 1944 the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder, was tasked with scaling the cliffs and neutralising the battery, climbing with rocket-fired grapnels and ropes. When the Rangers reached the top, the guns had been removed from their emplacements; a patrol later found five of them hidden inland and disabled them. The Rangers held the position under counterattack for about two days at heavy cost.
The ground is still pitted with craters from the pre-invasion bombardment, and preserved German bunkers stand among them. A Ranger Monument, a granite pylon set on a bunker, marks the action, which President Ronald Reagan recalled in his 40th-anniversary address here in 1984. The site is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
How much time do you need at Pointe du Hoc?
Around ~45 min works well for Pointe du Hoc — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Pointe du Hoc?
Yes — Pointe du Hoc made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Normandy D-Day. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
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Hear the story of Pointe du Hoc
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