By Steven J. Zaloga.
New York. Osprey Publishing, 2022.
ISBN 978-1-4728-4983-0.
Illustrations. Appendixes. Notes. Further Readings. Index. Pp. 368.
$35.00.
One of the biggest threats to Allied forces landing in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, was the German gun emplacements on the strategic bluffs named Pointe-du-Hoc. The Germans placed a battery of 155mm guns between Omaha and Utah beaches, posing a threat to both naval ships and landing forces. Steven J. Zaloga analyzes the D-Day invasion in three different ways. First, he introduces background information on prior lessons learned from several previous amphibious landings and raids. He also introduced the controversies associated with forming specialized units in the U.S. Army. This background information factored into the Allied plans for the Rangers’ participation in the Normandy landings. Secondly, Zaloga provides information on three different Ranger Force missions during the initial phases, something often left out in other historical accounts of D-Day. Lastly, Zaloga provides the German perspective of the Pointe-du-Hoc operation.
Included in the analysis are the prior lessons learned from amphibious landings in North Africa, Italy, and the previous failed Allied commando raid at Dieppe. Prior operational encounters concerned Allied commanders who considered the threats of enemy coastal guns a priority to eliminate. These guns could hinder and delay the embarkation of assault troops off the French coast during the Normandy invasion. Much of the Allied planning efforts relied heavily on previous events to justify the mission for the Rangers on D-Day. The Rangers were to land, climb the cliffs, and assault the gun emplacements before the main landings. Additionally, the formation of specialized Ranger units was controversial. Lieutenant General Lesley McNair opposed specialized units and favored “the big battalion; standardized, mass-produced units for war in the industrial age” (p. 67). Reluctantly, McNair would later approve smaller units of paratroopers and elite light infantry. Overcoming the Army’s internal opposition, the Rangers were selected to attack the gun emplacements, and as a result, underwent specialized training that emphasized climbing techniques essential to scale the cliffs beneath the gun batteries.
The planning efforts included three different Ranger Forces (A, B, and C) to execute different plans based on battlefield events during the invasion. The specialized training, light gear, and equipment proved valuable during the infamous day. Navigation errors, strong tides, and enemy fire would alter the original landing plans, but one of the Ranger task forces would still succeed in scaling the cliffs with a reduced force. The Rangers not only took Pointe-du-Hoc but were also instrumental in securing the Vierville sector and assisted the landing of the 116th Infantry Regiment on Omaha Beach. The success of Ranger Force B securing the Vierville draw is often overlooked but essentially enabled the stalled landing force to move inland off the beachhead.
The German perspective included the justifications of building up Pointe-du-Hoc to deter an Allied invasion. As part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall fortification plans, the construction of concrete fortifications began in 1942 along the French coastline. Careful research of German reports highlighted that construction of the strongpoints was delegated to prisoners of war from the Eastern Front to avoid Allied intelligence efforts from local French citizens. Zaloga includes German reports from the Allied bombing campaigns that listed destroyed communication lines and damaged gun rangefinders before D-Day. Also included are German reports of personnel issues and unit changes regarding the manning of the coastal defenses.
Smashing Hitler’s Guns is a must-read for anyone interested in the Normandy invasion and the development of the Rangers during World War II. Zaloga’s analysis covers more than just the mission at Pointe-du-Hoc, but the broader historical context of the complexity of the Allied invasion, the Ranger’s impacts at Omaha Beach, and the effectiveness of the aerial campaigns along with naval fire on the German coastal defenses.
Andrew Young
Tampa, Florida
