Provisional Ranger Group, Assault on the Maisy Battery

Allied Forces

• 5^th Raider Battalion
• 2^nd Raider Battalion
• Ranger Cannon Company

Axis Forces

Pointe du Hoc, June 8th, 1944

Around 12:00, the relief of Pointe du Hoc is complete. Force A links up with the remainder of the 2^nd Ranger Battalion, after it has been delayed near Saint-Pierre-du-Mont during the actions involving the 116^th Regimental Combat Team. B Company, 2^nd Ranger Battalion, is ordered to sweep eastward along the cliffs from Pointe du Hoc to Pointe de la Percée. The sector is already being cleared by engineers from the Army Air Forces preparing Emergency Landing Strip A-1. Most German positions are abandoned. The company captures several prisoners without loss and returns to the Pointe once the sweep is finished.

During the following four hours, the battalion reorganises. Intelligence personnel search the smouldering German observation post at Pointe du Hoc and recover a large quantity of material, including the German Naval Pennant Code, which is transmitted to U.S.S. Ancon offshore.

When Pointe du Hoc is finally cleared, the four companies of the 5^th Ranger Battalion under Major Max Schneider take time to reorganise. One platoon from Company A and one from Company F are already at the Pointe. These elements must be merged back into their parent companies. Heavy casualties make this process difficult.

The 116^th Regimental Combat Team, the 5^th Ranger Battalion, and the tanks of the 743^rd Tank Battalion are tasked to continue westward. The next goal is Grandcamp-les-Bains, then Isigny, and eventually the linkup with Utah Beach. The small coastal town appears difficult to approach, as the road passes through a narrow valley bordered by flooded fields. German strongpoints west of the valley hold commanding fields of fire from higher ground.

Advance to Maisy, June 8th, 1944

After reorganisation, Schneider orders Company D to reinforce B and E Companies. He then sends Major Sullivan forward with three companies to join Lieutenant Colonel Metcalf and the 1^st Battalion, 116^th Infantry Regiment. This unit now forms the rear guard of the 116^th Regimental Combat Team. It is unclear whether Schneider remains at Pointe du Hoc with Lieutenant Colonel Rudder or moves forward to join B, D, and E Companies.

When the Rangers reach the sluice-gates, their scouts come under fire from the far side of the valley. On reaching the causeway, they are forced to withdraw and occupy defensive positions along the sluice-gate ridge. D Company, under Raaen’s command, remains in good order. After reorganisation, Schneider decides to stay near Pointe du Hoc with Rudder and assumes command of B and E Companies.

Major Sullivan receives orders to clear the town of Grandcamp and then advance towards Maisy. His force includes A, C, and F Companies, a small headquarters detachment with Raaen, the motorised cannon platoon of two guns from the 2^nd Ranger Battalion, and a detachment from Company B of the 81^st Chemical Battalion armed with 4.2-inch mortars.

Artillery liaison officers are attached to the force, allowing Sullivan to call in heavy support from the 58th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion, positioned between Vierville and Saint-Pierre-du-Mont.

The 5^th Ranger Battalion is divided into two forces. Colonel Max Schneider remains with his command post and three companies B, D, and E. B and E Companies move to attack the sluice-gate area east of Grandcamp-les-Bains. Their mission is to clear remaining German positions between Grandcamp and Pointe du Hoc.

Initially, only B and E Companies are assigned to this task. Later, D Company joins them, accompanied by Schneider himself, to strengthen the operation and complete the mopping-up of enemy resistance in the sector. E Company turns off the beach road, moving away from the sluice gates and passing Cricqueville church. The column then turns right towards Maisy and reaches a chateau. The men spend the night in the hedgerow behind it.

Later that morning, Colonel Charles Canham, commanding officer of the 116^th Infantry Regiment, orders the Rangers to secure the high ground west of the sluice gates. The task falls to the 5^th Ranger Battalions’ advance guard B and E Companies. They move forward towards Grandcamp, assuming that the German positions to the west are empty. As they pass the destroyed bunkers, machine guns open fire from the road ahead and from their right flank. The Rangers withdraw under heavy fire, waiting for the stronger fire support of the 116^th Infantry Regiment with its accompanying tanks and artillery.

The opposition comes from Grenadier-Regiment 914 holding positions east of Grandcamp. With the 4.2-inch mortars of the 58^th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion supporting the advance enabling the 116^th Infantry Regiment to overcome the German defences quickly. Their records show that they fire 123 rounds from positions north of Longueville. Their combined firepower opens the way for further movement west.

At 13:15, H.M.S. Glasgow engages Maisy Battery, target No. 5, Les Perruques. Sixty-three rounds are fired under aerial observation. The aircraft reports effective fire, with several direct hits and many rounds landing within 45 metres.

Almost an hour and a half later at 14:55 hours, H.M.S. Glasgow opens fire under direct observation from its own deck. The cruiser fires fifty-eight rounds at German troops moving across open ground from Grandcamp towards Pointe du Hoc. The exposed terrain offers little cover, and the German counterattack stands little chance against the naval guns. This movement appears directed at the Rangers and the 116^th Infantry Regiment, positioned near the small bridge across the flooded valley.

The initial naval bombardment likely forces the Germans to withdraw towards the gun positions on the western side of the valley. They have no heavy weapons at the sluice-gate position. Two 75-millimetre guns once emplaced above ground east of Grandcamp are already destroyed. However, the underground bunkers at this site, together with a 50-millimetre gun covering Grandcamp harbour, remain intact. The nearby farmhouse, used by German troops before D-Day, also survives.

Access from the farmhouse to the gunnery positions runs through a network of trenches around the field edges and across the coastal road. From this house, marked ‘TPS’ on wartime maps to indicate a troop concentration, the Germans command a clear view across the valley and can observe any Ranger advance. Fortunately, the position is abandoned by the time the Rangers approach.

There are in fact two sluice gates. One lies at the shoreline, clearly marked as such on maps. The second, further south, is the true Ranger objective. It carries a narrow roadway over a watercourse. Without it, tanks and support vehicles would struggle to reach Grandcamp. The Germans leave this bridge intact, a serious tactical mistake.

H.M.S. Glasgow begins direct fire on the German positions near Grandcamp, expending 113 rounds by 16:00 hours. Late in the afternoon, the 3^rd Battalion of the 116^th Infantry Regiment takes over the assault. Tanks from Company C, 743^rd Tank Battalion, cross the bridge first, losing one vehicle to a mine. Companies K and L of the 3^rd Battalion then push forward on both sides of the road, advancing under covering fire from machine guns and Browning Automatic Rifles.

German emplacements north of the highway, positions earlier bypassed by the Rangers are also destroyed by the 116^th Infantry Regiment. Snipers in Grandcamp continue to engage American troops as they advance through the streets. Lieutenant Norvin Nathan leads I Company of the 116^th Infantry Regiment through the town and forces the surrender of a German pillbox overlooking the beach. Resistance collapses; the remaining defenders either flee or capitulate.

Meanwhile, the 1^st Battalion of the 116^th Infantry Regiment conducts a wide flanking movement to the south. Its objective is not only to encircle Grandcamp but also to reach Maisy. Supported by Company A of the 743^rd Tank Battalion, the battalion moves south through Jucoville, then swings west through almost undefended ground. Heavy naval bombardment has already devastated Maisy, allowing the tanks to suppress scattered machine-gun fire with ease.

Just west of Maisy, the advance halts before a strong German position blocking the Isigny road. The defenders employ mortars and 88-millimetre guns, firing interdiction rounds behind Maisy to prevent Allied reinforcement. With the tanks running low on fuel, the American advance is suspended for the night.

The 3^rd Battalion of the 116^th Infantry Regiment attacks the well-prepared German defences at Grandcamp. The leading elements are suddenly halted by intense machine-gun fire from entrenched positions on the high ground overlooking the town. Artillery and tank fire fail to dislodge the defenders.

In this moment, Technical Sergeant Frank D. Peregory acts alone. Under heavy fire, he advances up the slope and reaches the crest. There he discovers a trench system leading to the main enemy position roughly 180 metres ahead. Without hesitation, he leaps into the trench and moves forward. Encountering a German rifle squad, he attacks with grenades and bayonet, killing eight men and forcing three to surrender. Continuing along the trench, he compels thirty-two more riflemen to give up and captures the enemy machine-gunners. His action opens the way for the battalion to advance and secure its objective. Peregory’s exceptional bravery and determination stand as an example of the highest military courage.

As the force advances across open ground towards Grandcamp, sniper fire comes from the church. Suspecting a German observation post in the church at Grandcamp, U.S. Navy Shore Fire Control Party 3 member Lieutenant Coit Coker recommends firing on the building to Colonel Canham. Canham agrees. Coker rides forward on a Sherman tank to a point several hundred metres up the road. From here, he directs observed fire on the church. About sixteen rounds are fired, followed by two one-minute rapid barrages. Around sixty-four rounds sweep the waterfront.

Lieutenant Coker then calls for two minutes of unobserved rapid fire on Maisy, south-west of Grandcamp. Another sixty-four rounds are fired.

From his forward position, Coker directs observed fire on Grandcamp church. The gunners fire about sixteen rounds at the target, followed by two rapid-fire barrages lasting one minute each. These total roughly sixty-four rounds, sweeping the waterfront. Coker then requests a further two minutes of unobserved rapid fire on the town of Maisy, southwest of Grandcamp, adding another sixty-four rounds to the bombardment.

When Coker returns to the main group, he finds that Captain Vavruska of the 5^th Ranger Battalion has also coordinated naval fire against the church. Both Shore Fire Control Party officers have independently targeted the same objective. Coker later confirms that both fire missions are executed by the destroyer U.S.S. Harding, operating under the call sign “RAH.”

Just over an hour later, U.S.S. Harding is called into action again. Her spotters observe a water tower in Grandcamp being used as a German observation post. The destroyer engages the target with forty-five rounds but scores only near misses. Additional fire is directed at the main road behind the tower, in an attempt to destroy it. Later reports confirm that the tower stands on tripod legs, partially concealed by nearby trees and buildings, making it a difficult target. As a result, the Germans continue using it for observation for some time.

Major Sullivan, Captain John Raaen, and a small headquarters detachment advance into Grandcamp with the 1^st Battalion, 116^th Infantry Regiment, under Colonel Metcalf. They take part in house-to-house fighting, clearing the southern edge of the town of scattered German stragglers.

Each group advances along both sides of the street, two men per side. When doors are locked, they push a bayonet through the keyhole, fires one round, and kicks the door open. The method works. The first man rushes upstairs while his partner covers him. Two others secure the ground floor. Once both floors are clear, the team moves into the cellar. They then leapfrog from house to house. Fortunately, the only occupants they encounter are frightened French civilians hiding in their homes.

By now, the 1^st Battalion, 116^th Infantry Regiment, has swung left with some of the Rangers and is advancing towards Maisy. They face incoming artillery and stubborn resistance. Colonel Canham and Captain Coker agree on a plan for naval fire support. At 14:33 hours, the Naval Gunnery Liaison Officer 3, attached to the Ranger Shore Fire Control Party, requests more fire from U.S.S. Harding.

The destroyer fires 160 rounds over the next hour. The bombardment causes limited physical damage, though several small machine-gun positions may be hit. The main effect is psychological, shaking the remaining German defenders. Although Allied maps suggest three 105-millimetre guns along the seafront, they are marked with question symbols, indicating uncertainty.

At 14:40 hours, another request follows. The U.S.S. Harding is to conduct one hour of intermittent fire on Maisy. Coker requests the U.S.S. Harding to fire twelve unobserved rounds every five minutes for one hour. The purpose is to disrupt German reinforcements moving from Maisy through Cricqueville towards Pointe du Hoc and to suppress the flak and artillery batteries in the village. Despite its accuracy, the naval gunfire cannot guarantee complete destruction, but it helps to weaken the defences before the Ranger assault. In total, USS Harding fires seventy-three rounds at Maisy. Coker’s group then catches up with the 1^st Battalion near Maisy, travelling on vehicles from the Cannon Company.

As the advance continues, one Ranger group moving along the main road fires a bazooka at an upstairs window behind the tobacconist’s shop. The men have seen movement and suspect an enemy observer. The rocket flies clean through the open window but fails to explode. Concluding the building is empty, they move on.

Advancing cautiously towards Maisy, the Rangers halt about eight hundred metres north-east of the village. They settle into ditches and hedgerows for the night. The battalion’s supply section manages to deliver some K rations, a welcome change from the compressed bars many have been surviving on. For some Rangers, it is their first proper meal in days.

Lieutenant Colonel Metcalf orders the entire task force to stop for the night. He calls Major Sullivan forward and outlines the defensive layout. Sullivan then returns to his mobile command post and gathers the company commanders. He assigns each company its sector and mission for the night’s defence.

F Company occupies positions off the road to the left, providing flank protection against a possible night counterattack. C Company covers the right flank, with most of its men positioned near the main road. The 4.2-inch mortar platoon and Captain Raaen’s group move inside C Company’s rear elements. Battalion headquarters forms around the half-tracks. Sullivan’s deployment is careful and deliberate, ensuring that his force cannot be caught off guard during the night.

Each company holds a frontage of roughly ninety metres by ninety metres, with about the same distance separating them. By this stage, company strength has fallen below sixty men. Each consists of two understrength platoons of about twenty-five men and two Ranger sections of ten men, each armed with an M1919A4 machine gun. Every platoon includes a small mortar section of four or five men. The Browning Automatic Rifles are distributed between the companies and platoons as needed.

Defensive arrangements vary slightly by company, but all remain close together for mutual support. Within the Maisy area, the entire battalion occupies a compact defensive perimeter of roughly 270 by 135 metres, holding the line through the dark hours before the next day’s advance.

D Company of the 5th Rangers is already near Maisy, joined by E Company, which advances through Cricqueville past the ruined village church. The remains of the steeple ahead of them are shattered by earlier naval fire, which had silenced yet another German observation post.

Colonel Schneider gives the order to enter Maisy. D Company halts at the ruins of Mr Destores’ chateau on the eastern outskirts, the same building recently abandoned by Captain Kapusta and Lieutenant Weneger. The chateau is heavily damaged. Three anti-aircraft guns lie destroyed in the adjoining field. The ground around is scarred with shell craters, offering poor shelter. As darkness falls, scattered German troops emerge from hiding, survivors of the anti-aircraft unit whose weapons have been destroyed. D Company establishes guard positions and prepares for a possible counterattack from any direction.

As the Rangers advance into Maisy, they move through farm buildings and barns recently abandoned by the Germans. Each structure must be searched thoroughly, and progress is slow. Signs of hasty withdrawal are everywhere, discarded uniforms, scattered equipment, and fires still burning. Several gun positions contain dead German soldiers.

Maisy village is almost completely destroyed by the naval bombardment. Most of the population has fled, and only one German machine-gun position remains active, located in the church steeple. Rangers silence it with Browning Automatic Rifles and rifle grenades. When the lead elements reach the main crossroads, two German artillery guns fire salvos at their position. Lieutenant Coker, with forty men and a young lieutenant, becomes cut off from the main battalion.

He leads his small group along a dirt track lined with empty trenches and abandoned emplacements. German spotters clearly observe their movement, and artillery shells follow their every step. The track ends in a meadow, but the men are lucky, none are hit. Suddenly, a German soldier emerges from concealment, attempting to draw them into the open. Captain Coker motions him closer, but the man dives behind a hedge and is immediately cut down by a burst from the lieutenant’s Thompson submachine gun.

Captain Coker and the lieutenant quickly decide that their small force is too exposed to continue. They retrace their route back towards Maisy, rejoining the main battalion south of the town. Almost immediately, German artillery resumes shelling their area, heavy rounds from Isigny and lighter field guns, probably horse-drawn, firing from the direction of La Martinière and Foucher’s Farm, about one and a half kilometres south and southwest of Maisy. The battalion scatters into cover once again.

Re-establishing his radio, Coker cannot reach the U.S.S. Harding or the U.S.S. Texas. Instead, he makes contact with a ship identified with callsign LBL, the British cruiser H.M.S. Bellona. Using H.M.S. Bellona as a relay, he sends messages to U.S.S. Texas requesting aerial reconnaissance and counter-battery fire on German artillery near Osmanville and Isigny.

Captain Coker notes the difficulties his team faces: poor communications, falling shrapnel, and isolation from the main battalion. He later commends Private Henson for his calm courage in remaining by his side while most others have taken cover. Eventually, Coker’s party rejoins the battalion, which has dug into abandoned German trenches on the southern edge of Maisy. When communications are restored, H.M.S. Bellona signals directly that she is now assigned to support the Rangers, and U.S.S. Texas will fire a bombardment on Isigny.

Reflecting on the day’s events, Captain Coker concludes that without the naval fire support on Maisy, the 1^st Battalion, 116^th Infantry, would have faced severe losses or even an ambush. The naval bombardment disrupts enemy positions, many of which appear to have been evacuated only hours before the Rangers arrive. The town itself is almost empty apart from the single machine-gun nest; the artillery pieces once stationed nearby have been withdrawn south towards Isigny.

Other Ranger companies move into the village and begin clearing the remaining buildings. It is evident that the Germans have abandoned Maisy in haste. For many Rangers, it is the first chance in three days to rest. Others finally eat a proper meal. F company spends the night of 8 June in a barn at Gérard Maudelonde’s farm, surrounded by piles of German equipment. The Rangers sift carefully through the debris, wary of booby traps. Among the finds is a device designed to convert an artillery shell into a roadside explosive by replacing its fuse.

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2nd Ranger Battalion, June 8th, 1944

Once reformed, the 2^nd Ranger Battalion is tasked with taking the fortified coastal town of Grandcamp-les-Bains, a few kilometres from Pointe du Hoc. A small patrol is then sent out to locate the 5^th Ranger Battalion, which is preparing to attack Grandcamp. The patrol completes its mission and safely rejoins the battalion, now standing by on the coastal road.

Just before the departure from the Pointe at 16:00, a Company F patrol discovers an enemy machine gun still active in a treetop. The Rangers destroy it. They move in scattered columns, tanks of the 743^rd Tank Battalion clattering alongside. Snipers and more machine-gun nests delay them, but each is rooted out. The Rangers enter Grandcamp in strength. There they join the reainder of the 5^th Ranger Battalion, who take the lead and push on to seize the town in a sharp, decisive action. They storm the town in full Ranger style. The Germans are overcome and routed. Casualties are light compared to gains. Ground is taken, prisoners secured, and stores of weapons and equipment captured.

Meanwhile, the 2^nd Ranger Battalion withdraws into reserve. Lieutenant Colonel Rudder orders the battalion into bivouac near Au Guay, while Grandcamp is still being cleared. At 17:00 the battalion proceeds on foot to another bivouac site near the sluice gate.

Shortly afterwards the battalion supply vehicles arrive. Rations, water, ammunition, and bedrolls are distributed. The men rest under the buddy system, with each unit providing rotating sentries for security.

At 21:10, H.M.S. Glasgow engages a suspected battery, south of the Ranger position. This site may have caused earlier incoming fire. After 18 rounds, observation aircraft report no guns visible, but direct hits on a farmhouse. German troops are seen running clear, but results remain uncertain.

That night is quiet for the Rangers. Enemy aircraft raid the beaches and naval positions, but the reserve camp remains untouched. The men sleep soundly. By dawn they feel renewed, their strength restored for the next phase of the campaign. Enemy aircraft bomb the area during the night, but no casualties occur.

Maisy Battery, June 9th, 1944

At 01:00 hours, Captain Coit Coker calls for H.M.S. Bellona to open fire on target number 16, about 1,400 metres southwest of the Ranger position, where German mobile artillery is suspected. The fire mission, directed by sound ranging, consists of twenty-six rounds. To avoid placing the gun target line over friendly troops, the H.M.S. Bellona moves northeast of the target before firing.

As dawn breaks, Major Sullivan briefs his men on the coming assault. It is just before 08:00. The weather has changed dramatically. The visibility is now excellent, the sky clear and bright with sunshine. The sudden calm surprises the Rangers. While the conditions improve observation and coordination, they also make concealment more difficult. The Germans occupy long-prepared positions, and the Rangers must attack them in full daylight across open fields.

Major Sullivan deploys his forces for the attack. C Company, with elements of the 116^th Infantry Regiment and two half-tracks from the 2^nd Ranger Battalion, moves south along the Grandcamp–Isigny road. Most of the 116^th Infantry Regiment continue towards Isigny, leaving the Rangers to deal with the German batteries on their right flank.

The plan is to encircle and destroy the Maisy Battery at Les Perruques while giving the impression that it is being bypassed. In coordination with other units, the Rangers intend to attack from the south and south-east to cut off any German withdrawal while A and F Companies strike from the north, along the seaward side.

F Company takes position in the hedgerows and sunken lanes north and north-east of Les Perruques. Their task is to pin the defenders with small-arms fire. Once the main assault begins, they are to advance along the field parallel to the Grandcamp–Isigny road, then turn right into the site. The remainder of F Company is to attack directly south-west from the sunken lane into the heart of the battery.

A Company starts beside F, moving off the Isigny road and turning right into another sunken lane running parallel to the road between Les Perruques and La Martinière, now called the Route des Perruques. They move dangerously close, less than 275 metres, from the German gun positions above, but remain concealed in the hollow road. Their mission is to reach the area in front of the La Martinière Battery, wait for the opening gunfire, then advance uphill and seize the position.

Major Sullivan leads C Company, supported by elements of D Company and several headquarters personnel, down the Isigny road past Les Perruques. As they move, they come under heavy machine-gun fire from the battery. Sullivan orders the two half-tracks to turn right and drive into the enemy position from the rear. Standing atop one of the vehicles, he directs the engagement personally.

Nearby, C and F Company mortar teams set up in firing order about 365 metres from the site, positioned on the road. They had first moved beyond Les Perruques towards Isigny, then turned back to achieve the necessary distance for accurate fire while remaining outside the German effective range.

The 58^th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion and the heavy mortars of the 81^st Chemical Mortar Battalion provide vital fire support. During the morning, B Company of the 81^st is ordered to assist the 5^th Ranger Battalion in the assault on Maisy. Each company of the 81^st Chemical Mortar Battalion fields twelve mortars, capable of laying down a dense and destructive barrage in minutes. The unit later earns a reputation as the “Rangers’ artillery” in subsequent European operations.

Before the attack begins, the 58^th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion has already fired 123 rounds into the position, supported by the 81^st Chemical Mortar Battalion with its 4.2-inch mortars, the two 75-millimetre guns mounted on the 2^nd Ranger Battalion’s half-tracks, and four 81-millimetre mortars positioned to the rear. Naval gunfire is now suspended to prevent friendly fire and to allow the Rangers’ ground assault on the Maisy Battery to begin.

At Maisy, their short-range firepower proves devastating. The heavy shells drive the defenders underground and keep them pinned while the Rangers close in on their objectives. The German garrison at Maisy is already weakened. Days of naval bombardment, artillery fire, and mortar attacks have taken their toll. Observation posts have been destroyed one after another. Personnel losses mount steadily under continuous shelling. Contact with neighbouring units is lost, signalling that surrounding positions have been overrun and their occupants captured or killed.

There is a minebelt about 23 metres wide around the southern side of the battery. The Rangers have no knowledge of this. They cannot wait for American mine-detection teams. The same report warns that the artillery positions south-west of Maisy are ringed by double bands of mines. Some of those bands are reported to be electrified.

During the approach march to the Maisy batteries, Major John Raaen moves at the rear of the column with a small headquarters element. As the force advances through the hedgerows and fields, they come under sporadic long-range machine-gun fire from the right flank. The Germans fire from such distance that the tracer rounds burn out before reaching the Rangers, causing no casualties.

Owing to the extensive minefields protecting the German strongpoints, Major Sullivan decides to conduct the attack in column formation. A Company leads, followed by C Company, with F Company held in reserve.

A and F Companies move along a dirt road just north of gridline 92. The ground here is marshy and uneven, cut by flooded ditches and soft earth. In this swampy area, the Rangers encounter the bodies of American paratroopers who have been dropped miles from their intended zones. Some have drowned in the flooded fields; others hang dead from trees, shot by German defenders.

When the force reaches a point opposite the Maisy batteries, north of the La Martinière and Les Perruques positions, the companies wheel left. A Company moves to assault La Martinière, while F Company advances towards Les Perruques. The coordinated attack on the Maisy gun positions is about to begin. Meanwhile, C Company, supported by the cannon platoon from the 2^nd Ranger Battalion, advances directly south from Maisy before wheeling right to attack the Les Perruques Battery from the south-east. Major Sullivan directs the battle from one of the half-tracks accompanying C and D Companies.

Maisy Battery, Les Perruques, June 9th, 1944

Major Sullivan’s group, including elements of E Company, moves onto the fields after a short mortar preparation by the four mortars of C Company. Small-arms fire erupts from German trench lines. The direction of fire is hard to determine. Well-camouflaged machine-guns open on them from several low positions.

The men soon discover the rear fields are mined, as are the surrounding paddocks. Despite this, they press on. Major Sullivan dismounts from his half-track and advances on foot among his men. He is struck by the blast of a mine triggered by another Ranger. The explosion wounds him lightly. He refuses evacuation and continues to lead the assault, shifting his approach slightly to the left.

Each Ranger unit fights independently. They can hear other companies but cannot see them. Consequently, each force concentrates on its own sector of the battery.

The men advancing with Major Sullivan enter the German trench system on the southern side of the Les Perruques Battery. One of the supporting half-tracks engages a German Type 622 personnel bunker using its 75-millimetre gun. The weapon is designed for direct fire, requiring a clear line of sight to the target. This forces the crew to position their vehicle carefully, often driving straight towards the enemy to maintain aim.

In this instance, a German machine-gun position on top of the 622 bunker keeps the Rangers pinned down at short range. The emplacement is a Tobruk, a small, circular concrete pit from which a gunner can raise his head and weapon to fire, then drop back below cover. Armed with an MG 34 or MG 42, such posts deliver rapid and accurate bursts of fire.

Lieutenant Conway Epperson of the 2^nd Ranger Battalion commands one of the half-tracks. He orders his driver to advance directly on the bunker, firing the 75-millimetre gun as they move. Several Rangers from the 2^nd Ranger Battalion follow close behind, using the armoured vehicle as mobile cover. German bullets ricochet off the half-track’s frontal armour while its main gun blasts the bunker in return, hammering the position at point-blank range.

The half-track fires repeatedly, striking the bunker more than seven times with its 75-millimetre cannon. Only after several direct hits and the deaths of multiple replacement gunners do the Rangers manage to take the position. All around the site, Rangers push into the enemy trenches. The defence collapses as the attackers move from one section to the next. Many of the Germans of the German Heerküsten-Artillerie-Abteilung 315, attached to the 9. Artillerie-Regiment 1716 of the 716. Infanterie-Division surrender rather than fight to the death, though some choose suicide over capture.

As the battle progresses, the Rangers encounter new difficulties. The trench network is a maze of dark, narrow passages designed to confuse and disorient attackers. Some sections are covered with netting and have collapsed under bombardment, burying German soldiers inside. In other places, the camouflage and small entrances allow defenders to slip away unseen, retreating into underground shelters or sealing themselves behind steel doors.

The fighting is sporadic and unpredictable. Some Germans fire a few shots before vanishing, while others surrender without resistance. The larger bunkers are fitted with blast doors, which the Rangers cannot breach without heavy weapons. The half-tracks cannot advance deeper into the site; their rear is exposed, and there is no guarantee they would not be attacked from behind. The situation mirrors the earlier experience at Pointe du Hoc, where Germans re-emerged from sunken positions after being bypassed.

The trench network is dense and intersecting, with many sections still occupied by defenders. Progress is slow and dangerous, as every turn of the maze hides either surrendering troops, hidden bunkers, or gunfire from still-active German positions.

At the centre of the Les Perruques Battery, the Germans have constructed a Type 502 command bunker. Built of reinforced concrete over three metres thick, it serves as the headquarters for the site’s commanding officer. A large naval periscope passes through the bomb-proof roof, allowing the staff inside to observe the battlefield and direct the defence. From this position, the German officers can watch the approach of the American half-tracks and issue orders to the surrounding gun crews.

Nearby, the Type 622 personnel bunkers are sealed with heavy steel doors that can be locked against small-arms fire or gas. Each includes an internal machine-gun mount, designed to fire upwards from inside at attackers approaching the entrance. These defences prove difficult to overcome.

The men of F Company, 5^th Ranger Battalion, cross the road and enter the German trenches through the tunnels along the Route des Perruques. Close-quarter fighting follows as they engage individual German soldiers at point-blank range. Moving methodically through the maze of trenches, they overrun one of the gun emplacements and the nearby bunkers.

F Company enters the smoking ruins of the Regelbau 502 command bunker, the concussion has killed all the German officers inside. Their radios remain switched on, the headsets still crackling with incoming messages from other positions. Men of F Company, 2^nd Ranger Battalion, devise an improvised solution. They use a captured Polish conscript as an interpreter to persuade the defenders to surrender. The man is pushed forward towards the bunker entrance and told to call for the German officers to come out. When one SS officer refuses, the Rangers tie two satchel charges together and detonate them at the doorway. The explosion tears the heavy steel doors from their hinges, blasting them aside.

The first artillery piece they encounter is no longer operational. Its concrete mounting platform is split clean across by an earlier explosion, and the weapon lies overturned and useless. The camouflage netting above the position is torn to shreds. Wooden trench linings, ammunition boxes, and debris litter the area.

Several other guns are buried under earth and rubble from the sustained bombardment of the past three days. Reports later sent to the German higher command claim that three of the guns have been restored to service, but their effectiveness is negligible. The artillery pieces cannot depress their barrels low enough to engage the Rangers advancing below the level of fire. The defenders are forced to rely solely on small-arms fire.

For F Company, progress through the trench network is slow and hazardous. The bombing has collapsed walls, leaving sections blocked by earth and debris. Dead German soldiers lie half-buried in the rubble, and the trenches are cluttered with mines, weapons, and ammunition scattered in confusion. Every step forward is obstructed by destruction. The site is a maze of wreckage, and each corner poses a new threat.

Meanwhile, Major Sullivan’s southern force has captured several trenches and gun positions. The half-tracks under Lieutenant Conway Epperson knock out the main rear-facing German machine-gun post, allowing the attached infantry to break through the wire and minefields into the trench network. Realising the risk of leaving his vehicles exposed under fire, Sullivan orders Epperson to move across the fields toward the rear of La Martinière, where A Company remains engaged in heavy fighting.

Maisy Battery, La Martinière, June 9th, 1944

While Major Sullivan and his mixed force of C, D, and E Company men attack Les Perruques from the rear, A Company advances towards the La Martinière Battery. They move through the sunken lane to the north, directly beneath the German guns on the ridge above.

At the time of the assault on the Maisy batteries, Company A of the 5^th Ranger Battalion numbers only about forty-five men. The rest have been lost during the landings on Omaha Beach three days earlier. The reduced company, already battle-worn and exhausted, presses forward regardless, maintaining its role in the attack on La Martinière.

The men of Company A, attempt to turn left into a flat field but are stopped by an unexpected obstacle. The drainage ditches along the road are filled with deep water, in places reaching nearly two and a half metres. Several Rangers try to cross where the ditch is deepest and fall in. Under heavy German fire from the high ground, their comrades drag them out one by one.

Jim Sullivan and Bob Battice of Company A are struck by mines detonated by Ranger John Bellows during the advance. The explosions occur as the company moves through the flooded ground at the base of the hill. The blasts throw men off their feet and scatter the formation. Sullivan and Battice are caught in the blast radius and go down together. Battice suffers a severe head wound, while Sullivan is hit in the arm, shoulder, and back.

The two men lie side by side in the swampy ground, partially shielded by a low hedge, still under German fire. The area remains dangerous, riddled with mines and under observation from enemy positions on the ridge above. Despite the chaos, fellow Rangers attempt to reach them, risking their lives to pull the wounded clear of the flooded and mined terrain.

The medical orderly of Company A Jack Burke is ordered to go down and bring them back. While standing at the top of the hill with several wounded comrades, a few captured Germans, and other prisoners Lieutenant Parker calls to him. Parker says, “I’ve got two men badly hurt down there in that flooded area, we’ve got to get them out.”

Captain Petrick, the battalion medical officer, gives the order: “Go down there and get them.” Burke wonders how one man can possibly recover two wounded under fire, but he goes anyway. He is joined by Joe Virers, a Browning Automatic Rifle gunner, who provides covering fire.

Looking down the slope, they can see a wooded area to the left. From there, the Germans open fire with rifles and machine guns. Virers fires bursts from his BAR while the Ranger runs down the hill. Bullets strike the mud and water all around him, splashing into the swamp. Sullivan and Battice lie close together, side by side, both seriously wounded.

Jack Burke does what he can, throwing sulphur powder from his bag over the wounded and bandaging them as best he can. They lie in mud and water, soaked to the skin; the ground is slushy, ankle-deep. Everything is left behind except their rifles. When he returns to the top, Lieutenant Parker tells him he will recommend him for the Silver Star, though the recommendation is never made.

The defenders have already seen the Americans advancing from the cover of the trees down the sunken lane and into open ground. They open fire with rifles, machine guns, and mortars from the positions above. Company A moves quickly along the lane, advancing fifty to sixty metres before finding a section where the ditch is shallower. Here, the men wade through ankle-deep water rather than the deep flooded trench.

Spreading out, they break into a run across the open field. The water and mud pull at their legs as they cover the first hundred metres under fire. Small bushes and scattered trees provide only slight concealment. A group led by Jack Burke sets up a 60-millimetre mortar and begins firing blindly uphill, not aiming at specific targets but trying to suppress the German positions and keep heads down. The rest of the company joins in, firing Browning Automatic Rifles and .30-calibre machine guns towards the trench line.

Company A rushes forward and storms the German trenches at La Martinière. The barbed wire before the emplacements proves light and ineffective. The defenders have relied mainly on minefields for protection, a serious misjudgement.

The first bunkers reached include a mortar pit marked with range calibrations on its inner wall, showing pre-set distances for firing. Had the Rangers remained at the base of the slope, they would have been easy targets for these pre-sighted weapons. Their rapid advance across open ground leaves the German mortar crews unable to adjust in time.

The German gunners fire a few rounds blindly, then realise that the Rangers are already too close. Abandoning their mortars, they grab rifles and submachine guns, engaging the Americans in scattered close-range fighting.

The Rangers of A Company do not stop. Their training and instinct drive them forward. They are taught to assault swiftly and maintain momentum, and that is exactly what they do. Unlike on Omaha Beach three days earlier, there is no seawall to shelter behind and no bluff to pause beneath. They advance uphill through open terrain, completely exposed. Every step forward makes them a target for German defenders who need only raise their heads for a moment to fire accurately. Yet A Company keeps moving, driving into the La Martinière position under relentless fire.

When the assault begins, A Company advances from one direction but quickly halts before deep, waterlogged ground. The ditches bordering the road are flooded, some more than two metres deep, making crossing impossible. Under heavy German fire from the high ground, the Rangers are forced to pull back and regroup. Lieutenant “Ace” Parker orders bayonets fixed. The open ground ahead is too wide and exposed for a direct attack against a fortified position, so he orders the company to split into smaller assault teams.

The fighting is brutal and close. One German lies dead with his face destroyed by an explosion. Another, still alive, is finished with a bayonet. The Rangers move through a network of deep, intersecting trenches leading into a gun pit covered by wood and steel. The position lies approximately 6 to 9 metres underground. Inside are long-barrelled field guns, well camouflaged and expertly sited. The position is strong, the defenders disciplined, and resistance fierce, but the Americans press on and gain the upper hand.

German resistance begins to falter. A Polish gunner is the first to surrender, stepping forward with his hands raised. Others follow his lead, putting down their weapons and standing with their arms above their heads. Suddenly, two SS officers open fire on their own men, shooting one Pole dead and wounding another. The Rangers and Germans alike dive for cover. The brief surrender collapses and fighting resumes at point-blank range.

At Maisy Battery Les Perruques, Major Sullivan recognises the danger of keeping his vehicles stationary under fire. He orders Epperson to move across the fields towards the rear of La Martinière, where A Company is still locked in combat.

The two half-tracks wheel left across open fields in front of Foucher’s Farm, accompanied by Rangers from the 2^nd Ranger Battalion. They fire as they advance, wary of mines but finding the ground unexpectedly clear. The barbed wire offers little resistance. The same field had been the landing site for several American paratroopers captured three days earlier.

At La Martinière, the German battery commander faces a desperate situation. Ranger infantry attack from the front and flanks, while Epperson’s armoured group threatens from the rear. He orders his remaining three 10.5-centimetre field guns to turn and face the approaching Americans. As these are wheeled guns, the German crews simply haul them out of their concrete casemates, turn them around, and fire across the open fields towards the American armour. The eight-man crews work frantically to swing the heavy guns around and open fire.

The Rangers shelter behind the half-tracks as German shells explode around them. The 75-millimetre gun on the lead vehicle fires back accurately whenever it halts, but the vehicles must stay mobile to survive. Supporting Rangers fire bazookas, Browning Automatic Rifles, and M1 rifles at the casemates, chipping concrete and wounding exposed gun crews. The open-air gunners are vulnerable, and casualties rise quickly. One gun is destroyed, another silenced when its ammunition runs out, and a third ceases fire when all its crew are wounded.

Despite these losses, many German infantrymen in the surrounding trenches keep fighting. They do not yet realise that their position is being attacked from behind, and the threat of execution by SS officers keeps them in place. For most, the situation is hopeless. Days of bombardment have shattered the trench network, collapsed walls, and buried equipment. Movement is difficult, communication impossible, and morale broken.

Many of the conscripted gunners are willing to surrender but must choose their moment carefully. If seen giving up by the SS, they face certain death; if found armed when the Rangers reach them, they are shot as combatants. Some take the risk and throw down their weapons, hoping to be captured alive.

The German position at La Martinière is not yet fully taken. Several forward posts to the west remain active and now open flanking fire from the treeline. Their machine guns sweep the open ground, forcing the Rangers to take cover. Exposed and under accurate fire, A Company drops into the nearest trenches and continues its attack from cover. The battle for La Martinière becomes a close, methodical fight, with the Rangers advancing metre by metre through the maze of shattered German defences.

Many Rangers of Company A use a tunnel leading back from one of the forward German mortar pits to the rear trench network, to enter the German lines, but it proves a dangerous route. The defenders are now aware that American troops are inside their perimeter, and some wait in ambush, firing at point-blank range as the Rangers round each corner.

To counter these threats, the Rangers begin throwing grenades over the trench walls and into bunker entrances before advancing. They have no time to search every doorway or underground passage. When they encounter a blocked or hidden entrance, they throw a grenade inside and move on. The tactic is effective but risky.

As some Germans are feigning death to attack from behind once the Rangers pass, Company A adopts the same practice used during the Omaha Beach fighting, “double-tapping” each fallen enemy to ensure they are no longer a threat. Earlier experience at Vierville had taught them this grim lesson when several seemingly dead Germans had reappeared and killed Allied troops. The men have learned that thoroughness means survival.

With infantry pressing forward beside the half-tracks, their 75-millimetre guns firing as they advance, the German strongpoints at La Martinière begin to collapse. The coordinated assault from Company A to the front and the flanking approach of Epperson’s armoured group from the rear leaves the defenders trapped. For the German gunners inside the casemates, the situation is hopeless. Yet from within the heavy concrete shelters, some continue to fire stubbornly at the advancing Rangers until the very end.

The German defenders collapse quickly at first, but the battle takes around five hours to finish from the moment the assault begins. The defenders are regular Wehrmacht troops, not coastal auxiliaries. The size of the La Martinière position makes the fight slow and exhausting. It is a full bayonet assault, and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the position will be taken.

Slowly they capture the hospital area of the site and the battery’s main artillery pieces, French-made 155-millimetre howitzers, five in total. Each gun sits deep within reinforced concrete or rock-lined tunnels, built to withstand bombardment. These weapons, if operational, could have fired upon both Omaha and Utah Beaches. After roughly five hours of intense fighting, the Rangers capture the entire site on foot.

Inside, they find the position intact and the German payroll still in place. The Maisy complex holds the entire German payroll for the surrounding coastal sector. Payday for the troops of the 716. Infanterie-Division and attached units is scheduled for June 6th, 1944, but the Allied invasion halts its distribution. When Major Sullivan’s task force captures the battery, they also seize the untouched payroll. The money is stacked in bundles about thirty-five centimetres square and that the Rangers literally throw it around in celebration. The total value is estimated at between three and four million francs.

The money is stored within the command and administrative buildings. Many Rangers take small amounts as souvenirs, assuming the notes are worthless. Later, some realise that the captured currency is the same type issued in Allied escape and evasion kits, legal French francs printed by the Allies for use in liberated areas. Its value becomes immediately clear. Those who have kept some are able to exchange it at the nearest Finance Office for money orders to send home.

Within the 5^th Ranger Battalion, the find briefly becomes a source of amusement. The men use the captured francs to buy drinks or play poker, where, under “no-limit” rules, the man with the most cash invariably wins. After the payroll’s discovery, part of it is turned over to military police of the 29^th Infantry Division, who follow the Rangers to collect prisoners of war and secure the area.

Captain Petrick, the battalion medical officer, presses a captured German Army doctor into service to help treat the wounded after the battle. During the search of the Maisy batteries, the American troops discover the German hospital and dispensary, both largely intact. The captured medical personnel are ordered to assist under Petrick’s supervision.

Once the fighting ceases, the wounded from both sides, Rangers and Germans alike, receive equal treatment. The German medical staff work under guard but cooperate fully, tending to injuries with whatever supplies remain. Most prisoners appear relieved to surrender and cause no difficulty. There are, however, a few exceptions where individual Germans refuse orders or attempt to resist, but these are quickly dealt with. After the battle, the wounded are placed onto one of the 2^nd Ranger Battalion half-track positioned just behind the pillbox where they have been gathered, Germans and Rangers alike. The men are transported to a Medical Clearance Centre and from there evacuated to Great Britain.

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Aftermath, June 9th, 1944

The Maisy Battery, after years of preparation and three days of bombardment, finally falls under complete control of the United States 5^th Ranger Battalion. By the afternoon, the Rangers have seized the Maisy position.

By this stage, also all of the anti-aircraft positions at both Maisy batteries have been destroyed. The weapons, once capable of doubling as ground-defence guns, are now useless. Naval and aerial bombardment over the previous three days has left the open field positions shattered. Yet the site remains well supplied. Before the invasion, ammunition deliveries had continued regularly, and the intermittent nature of the bombardment meant that large reserves survived intact.

As a result, the German gunners are still able to fire at Allied naval forces and the advancing Ranger Force on June 9^th, 1944, despite the destruction around them. A post-battle naval assessment notes that the ammunition bunkers at Maisy contain more than 180 tonnes of munitions when captured. Three of the La Martinière guns remain operational at that time. One additional weapon, still awaiting completion of its casemate and left in an exposed position, is destroyed outright by naval gunfire on June 6^th, 1944. The capture of Maisy removes a serious threat to the Allied beachhead.

After resting and reorganising, Major Sullivan’s task force moves on to Osmanville. John Reville and F Company are sent back to Vierville with the half-tracks to assist in clearing the areas to the rear of the beachhead following the battle.

Shortly afterwards, this force marches to the Osmanville bivouac, joining the remainder of the battalion at 20:00.

At 21:00, a three-man patrol from Company E moves out to reconnoitre the light engineer bridge across the River Vire. The patrol completes its mission and returns at midnight.

By the end of the fourth day, the 5^th Ranger Battalion records about twenty Germans killed, one hundred and thirty prisoners, and eighteen Ranger casualties.

The 2^nd Ranger Battalion has a quit day. It also moves out on foot in the mid-afternoon. The column passes through Grandcamp and continues towards Osmanville. No incidents occur along the route.

The battalion covers approximately thirteen kilometres in a steady march. A misty rain falls for much of the journey but ceases as the unit closes into the bivouac area near Osmanville.

A patrol is dispatched to establish contact with the 116^th Infantry Regiment on the left flank, but the attempt proves unsuccessful. Normal security measures are maintained throughout the night.

5th Ranger Battalion, June 10th, 1944

At 06:00, Captain Hefflefinger receives orders to take Companies C, D, and F of the 5^th Ranger Battalion to clear all remaining resistance on the left flank and secure German prisoners. The force begins its advance at Gefosse-Fontenay, moving north towards the coast. They meet little resistance. By 15:30 hours they return, bringing back around 200 prisoners. Mines in the area inflict three further casualties.

Meanwhile, patrols operating near the 5^th Ranger Battailonbattalion area capture about 35 Germans during the day.

At 09:00 the 5^th Ranger Battalion reverts to the control of V Corps.

By evening, the results of the fifth day are recorded. A total of 235 prisoners are taken, and ten Rangers are listed as casualties.

Later, at 23:30, orders are received from V Corps to move by truck to Bois du Molay. During the move, Company A suffers further casualties. Private First Class William M. Gartner is lightly wounded, while Technician Fifth Grade Dana W. Wallace and Private First Class George F. Chiatello are killed in action. At 02:00 the battalion arrives at its destination. Outposts and interior guards are established immediately. At 10:00 the following morning, re-equipment and shortage lists are prepared and submitted.

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2nd Ranger Battalion, June 10th, 1944

Commencing at 08:00, patrols from Companies A, B and C, 2^nd Ranger Battalion search assigned zones of the area seaward from Osmansville to the coastal road. No contact is made, but evidence showed that the enemy had but recently departed. Captured intelligence material was transmitted to the 29^th Infantry Division. All searching parties returned safely.

Aftermath

In five days of continuous fighting the 5^th Ranger Battalion loses 23 men killed, 89 wounded, and two missing. Approximately 850 prisoners are taken and 350 Germans killed.

By the close of the first five days of action in Normandy, the 2^nd Ranger Battalion suffers heavy losses. Killed in Action number seventy-seven. Approximately fifty fall at Pointe du Hoc, with a further twenty-seven killed in Omaha Beach and subsequent engagements. Wounded in Action number one hundred and fifty-two. These range from slight to severe injuries. Missing in Action number thirty-eight. This figure covers men unaccounted for on D-Day, including those presumed dead but not immediately found, and those taken prisoner by the enemy.

The number of Prisoners of War remains uncertain. Contemporary accounts indicate a small number of Rangers are captured during the Normandy fighting, particularly during the night battle at Pointe du Hoc. Any Rangers confirmed as prisoners are later deducted from the missing category. By the end of the war, most of these men are either repatriated or accounted for.

Conservative estimates place German losses directly inflicted by the 2^nd Ranger Battalion at between fifty and one hundred killed and forty to fifty captured.

Exact figures are difficult to establish, given the fragmented nature of the actions and the absence of comprehensive battlefield reports. At Pointe du Hoc alone, the official tally records over fifty enemy dead and forty prisoners taken. These losses are in addition to the larger totals of German killed and captured credited to V Corps operations in the same sector, where the Rangers operate closely alongside infantry and armour.

During the actions in Normandy from June 6^th, 1944 to June 10^th, 1944, a total of thirty-three awards for gallantry are recorded. Twenty-four Distinguished Service Crosses are presented to Rangers and attached personnel for extraordinary heroism. Eight Silver Stars are awarded for gallantry in action, recognising both Rangers and naval officers who supported them. One Navy Cross is awarded to a naval officer attached to the 2^nd Ranger Battalion for directing critical gunfire support. This distribution of medals highlights the scale of courage and sacrifice shown during the assaults on Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and Maisy.

Rank	Name	Unit / Role	Notes
Lieutenant Colonel	James E. Rudder	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Commanding Officer	Led Force A at Pointe du Hoc, wounded, held position under counterattacks.
Lieutenant Colonel	Max F. Schneider	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Commanding Officer	Command leadership in Normandy.
Major	Richard P. Sullivan	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Executive Officer	Directed landings, led Maisy attack, captured 86 prisoners.
Captain	Ralph E. Goranson	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company C	Led C Company from Omaha to link with main force after 10 hours fighting.
Captain (Chaplain)	Joseph Lacy	5th Ranger Battalion	On Omaha Beach, he repeatedly braves intense enemy fire to aid the wounded and comfort the dying.
Captain	George P. Whittington Jr.	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company B	Breached wire with bangalores, led cliff scaling, destroyed MG nest.
First Lieutenant	Charles H. Parker	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company A	Led assaults June 6th, 1944 – June 8th, 1944, reorganised and advanced to battalion objective.
First Lieutenant	Francis W. Dawson	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company D	Led platoon ashore, breached wire, destroyed pillbox on cliff top.
First Lieutenant	William D. Moody	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion (posthumous)	Led platoon across Omaha, fixed ropes on cliffs, killed by sniper.
Second Lieutenant	George F. Kerchner	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Assumed command after officer losses, held 155mm positions for 2½ days.
First Sergeant	Leonard G. Lomell	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company D	Discovered and disabled Pointe du Hoc guns on June 6th, 1944.
Staff Sergeant	Gail H. Belmont	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Drew fire with captured MG at Au Guay, wounded, captured prisoners.
Sergeant	William J. Courtney	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Destroyed MG at point-blank, killed two riflemen under fire.
Sergeant	Julius W. Belcher	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company C	Secured ropes, killed six snipers, destroyed pillbox and mortar.
Sergeant	Theodore A. James	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Assumed command at Vierville, led hill assault despite severe wounds.
Sergeant	Willie W. Moody	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Crawled through minefields, restored wire communications, June 7th, 1944 – June 8th, 1944.
Sergeant	Denzil O. Johnson	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Found cliff route under fire, led relief patrol through minefield.
Sergeant	Joe Urish	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Orchestrated surrender of 167 Germans at La Martinière on June 9th, 1944.
Technician Fifth Grade	Howard C. McKissick	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Crawled through minefields, restored comms for mortar fire, June 7th, 1944.
Technician Fifth Grade	Rex D. Clark	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Fired from ladder vehicle at Pointe du Hoc, neutralised Machine Gun positions.
Technician Fifth Grade	William J. Fox	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion (posthumous)	Killed advancing to Vierville, DSC awarded posthumously.
Private First Class	William E. Dreher Jr.	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion	Destroyed Machine Gun, killed two riflemen under mortar and small-arms fire.
Private First Class	Otto K. Stephens	2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion, Company C	Gallantry June 6th, 1944 – June 7th, 1944 at Vierville.
Private First Class	Alexander W. Barber	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Medical Aidman	Rescued wounded under fire, evacuated casualties with horse and cart.

Rank	Name	Unit / Role	Notes
Captain	Jonathan Hartwell Harwood Jr. (posthumous)	293rd Signal Company, attached 2nd Ranger Battalion	Killed at Pointe du Hoc, June 6th, 1944.
Lieutenant Commander	Robert William Leach	US Navy, CO USS Satterlee (DD-626)	Closed shore to support Rangers with naval gunfire.
Lieutenant Junior Grade	Bennie Berger	US Naval Reserve, NGLO attached 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Directed cruiser fire, later led both shore fire parties.
Lieutenant Junior Grade	Coit M. Coker	US Navy, NGLO attached 116th Regimental Combat Team	Adjusted naval fire, supported capture of Grandcamp and Isigny.
Staff Sergeant	Jack E. Kuhn	2nd Ranger Battalion	Defended Command Post and aid station during counterattacks, June 6th, 1944–8 June.
Sergeant	Joe Vires	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Heroism at La Martinière, witnessed by Ranger medic Jack Burke.
Technician Fourth Grade	David Clawson	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Silver Star for June 9th, 1944, deed unclear.
Private First Class	Martin H. Painkin	5th Ranger Infantry Battalion	Gallantry June 6th, 1944 – June 9th, 1944, cited in V Corps General Orders.

Rank	Name	Unit / Role	Notes
Lieutenant Junior Grade	Kenneth Sidney Norton	US Naval Reserve, NGLO attached 2nd Ranger Battalion	Directed decisive fire June 6th, 1944 and June 7th, 1944 at Pointe du Hoc, wounded, returned to duty.

Sources