SMASHING HITLER'S GUNS: The Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc D-Day 1944

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Takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the June 6, 1944 attack on Pointe-du-Hoc, examining the creation of the German gun battery, the initial Allied intelligence assessments of the threat, and the early plans to assault the site. The forgotten Allied bombing attacks on Pointe-du-Hoc are detailed, as well as the subsequent Allied intelligence investigations of the results. While most accounts of Pointe-du-Hoc are based on the published US Army history, the author has tracked down the long-forgotten original, unedited report in the archives that contains a number of curious changes from the better-known and widely accepted version. Little-known interviews of the Rangers who took part in the mission also shed fresh light and a significant number of German records provide the enemy perspective of the battle for control of the guns.