(Image: wimbledonian, cc-nc-sa-3.0)

The tranquil atmosphere of Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coast is a far cry from 68 years ago, when heavy German machine gun fire threatened allied troops landing on Omaha Beach to the east and Utah Beach to the west. On June 6, 1944, during Operation Overlord, the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion was tasked with neutralising the German fortifications prior to the main D-Day Landings, taking the position before discovering the big guns had been moved back several days earlier. The Rangers later managed to fend-off an attempted German counter attack before American reinforcements arrived. Today, the fortifications at Pointe du Hoc, along with numerous bomb craters, have been preserved, and now house a memorial.