Ranger Assault Group
Encyclopedia
The Ranger Assault Group was a provisional regiment
of U.S. Army Rangers that was formed for the D-Day landings in Normandy
, France
, in World War II
.
and the 5th Ranger Battalion
were ordered to make their way to the U.S. Assault Training Center in Braunton, England
. When the two battalions arrived, the men learned that the commander of the 5th Battalion had been reassigned.
Lieutenant Colonel Max Schneider took command of the unit. Schneider and Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder
, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, were soon briefed on the upcoming mission.
On May 5, 1944, a provisional Ranger Assault Group, would take part in the amphibious landings in Normandy. Force A, commanded by Rudder, would capture Pointe du Hoc, destroy the guns, and seize a German observation post.
Force B, commanded by Captain Ralph Goranson, would land on Omaha Dog Green Beach. Force C, commanded by Schneider, would join Force A at the Pointe if Rudder signaled that his men had scaled the cliffs there. If not, Force C would land at Omaha Beach
.
, the Supreme Allied Commander, ordered the landings to begin on the morning of June 6. Before 5:00 A.M. on the morning of June 6, the men of the Ranger Assault Group got into their landing crafts and prepared for battle. At 6:36 A.M., Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment landed on Omaha Dog Green, along with Company B of the 743rd Tank Battalion. Omaha Dog Green soon became the opposite of what the planners expected. Men and tanks were blasted by artillery and machine-gun fire. When Captain Goranson's C Company (Force B) of the 2nd Rangers landed, many of the men preceding them in the landings lay dead or maimed. Almost always, the first Rangers out of each boat were mowed down. The men following them flung themselves over the sides of the crafts, hoping to swim ashore. Some men drowned and even more were shot to death by the German guns above. The survivors swam or waded ashore and got into the battle.
Near Pointe du Hoc
, the landing craft flotilla carrying Force A made a wrong turn. By the time the force got back on track, Colonel Rudder knew that he would never be able to signal Force C by 7:00. That meant no reinforcements. Companies D, E, and F of the 2nd would have to do their best without help until Force C could get across four miles of enemy territory and join up with them. When the landing crafts hit a narrow, pebbled beach near a cliff, German machine-gunners opened up on the Rangers. Some of them were killed, but the rest of them got to the bottom of the cliff and used miniature rockets to fire grappling ropes up to the top. Once the hooks caught on barbed wire of bushes, the Rangers climbed up. Some Germans unhooked the ropes and sent the men on them plummeting to their deaths. However, Rudder and most of his men reached the top of the cliff and engaged in a battle with a force of Germans in bunkers. Tossing grenades and blasting their way into the bunkers, Rudder's Rangers killed many Germans but found wooden posts instead of heavy artillery inside. The guns had been moved away to a more secure location on June 4. Some of the Rangers were able to locate and do away with them later. The men at the cliff set up a makeshift headquarters and prepared for a counterattack.
Colonel Schneider, having not received a signal indicating the capture of Pointe du Hoc because of the timing, decided to bring his men ashore on Omaha Dog Green. When they came ashore, the men of Force C found their comrades of Force B engaged in a terrible firefight. As the men, from both the 2nd and 5th Battalions but predominantly from the latter, started fighting, Brigadier General Norman Cota
, the assistant division commander of the 29th Infantry Division, arrived. Leading the men forward, he noticed several men from the 5th Ranger Battalion shooting at the Germans. After finding out what unit they were from, he shouted, "Rangers, lead the way!" That phrase is the Rangers' official motto.
After Forces B and C got inland, they made their way to the Pointe du Hoc. When they came within sight of Force A's headquarters, both groups mistook each other for the enemy. Some men from the 5th Battalion blasted the little headquarters. One wall fell away and Rudder, already wounded, found himself on the ground again. Some men of the 2nd Battalion identified themselves and the Ranger Assault Group (Provisional) joined up and moved inland.
The 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions went back to their original command structure and distinguished themselves during the European Campaign. James Rudder eventually became a major general and President of Texas A&M. Max Schneider became a respected combat leader and eventually became a full colonel. He was killed in the Korean War.
is devoted to the Pointe du Hoc landings. The acclaimed 1998 film Saving Private Ryan
opens with a realistic view of Force B's assault at Omaha Dog Green.
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of U.S. Army Rangers that was formed for the D-Day landings in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Formation
On April 2, 1944, two elite American units, the 2nd Ranger Battalion2nd Ranger Battalion
2nd Ranger Battalion is the name of two distinct units of United States Army Rangers. The first was part of the six Ranger battalions of the Second World War...
and the 5th Ranger Battalion
5th Ranger Battalion
The Fifth Ranger Infantry Battalion was a World War II Ranger battalion activated on 1 September 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. By this time, while in maneuvers on the United States, they were commanded by the Major Owen Carter...
were ordered to make their way to the U.S. Assault Training Center in Braunton, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. When the two battalions arrived, the men learned that the commander of the 5th Battalion had been reassigned.
Lieutenant Colonel Max Schneider took command of the unit. Schneider and Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder
James Earl Rudder
James Earl Rudder was a United States Army Major General, Texas Land Commissioner, and President of Texas A&M University.-Early life:...
, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, were soon briefed on the upcoming mission.
On May 5, 1944, a provisional Ranger Assault Group, would take part in the amphibious landings in Normandy. Force A, commanded by Rudder, would capture Pointe du Hoc, destroy the guns, and seize a German observation post.
Force B, commanded by Captain Ralph Goranson, would land on Omaha Dog Green Beach. Force C, commanded by Schneider, would join Force A at the Pointe if Rudder signaled that his men had scaled the cliffs there. If not, Force C would land at Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
.
Units and commanders
- Ranger Assault Group (Provisional)-Lt. Col. James Rudder, C.O., Maj. Richard Sullivan, X.O.
- Force A-Lt. Col. James Rudder, C.O.
- Company D, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Company E, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Company F, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Force B-Capt. Ralph Goranson, C.O.
- Company C, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Force C-Lt. Col. Max Schneider, C.O.
- Company A, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Company B, 2d Ranger Battalion
- Company A, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Company B, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Company C, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Company D, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Company E, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Company F, 5th Ranger Battalion
- Force A-Lt. Col. James Rudder, C.O.
Combat missions
When the D-Day landings were rescheduled for June 5, the Rangers and all the rest of the Allied troops ready for combat had to wait. June 5 was a miserable day with severe storms. That night, June 5, General Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, the Supreme Allied Commander, ordered the landings to begin on the morning of June 6. Before 5:00 A.M. on the morning of June 6, the men of the Ranger Assault Group got into their landing crafts and prepared for battle. At 6:36 A.M., Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment landed on Omaha Dog Green, along with Company B of the 743rd Tank Battalion. Omaha Dog Green soon became the opposite of what the planners expected. Men and tanks were blasted by artillery and machine-gun fire. When Captain Goranson's C Company (Force B) of the 2nd Rangers landed, many of the men preceding them in the landings lay dead or maimed. Almost always, the first Rangers out of each boat were mowed down. The men following them flung themselves over the sides of the crafts, hoping to swim ashore. Some men drowned and even more were shot to death by the German guns above. The survivors swam or waded ashore and got into the battle.
Near Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies 4 miles west of Omaha Beach, and stands on 100 ft tall cliffs overlooking the sea...
, the landing craft flotilla carrying Force A made a wrong turn. By the time the force got back on track, Colonel Rudder knew that he would never be able to signal Force C by 7:00. That meant no reinforcements. Companies D, E, and F of the 2nd would have to do their best without help until Force C could get across four miles of enemy territory and join up with them. When the landing crafts hit a narrow, pebbled beach near a cliff, German machine-gunners opened up on the Rangers. Some of them were killed, but the rest of them got to the bottom of the cliff and used miniature rockets to fire grappling ropes up to the top. Once the hooks caught on barbed wire of bushes, the Rangers climbed up. Some Germans unhooked the ropes and sent the men on them plummeting to their deaths. However, Rudder and most of his men reached the top of the cliff and engaged in a battle with a force of Germans in bunkers. Tossing grenades and blasting their way into the bunkers, Rudder's Rangers killed many Germans but found wooden posts instead of heavy artillery inside. The guns had been moved away to a more secure location on June 4. Some of the Rangers were able to locate and do away with them later. The men at the cliff set up a makeshift headquarters and prepared for a counterattack.
Colonel Schneider, having not received a signal indicating the capture of Pointe du Hoc because of the timing, decided to bring his men ashore on Omaha Dog Green. When they came ashore, the men of Force C found their comrades of Force B engaged in a terrible firefight. As the men, from both the 2nd and 5th Battalions but predominantly from the latter, started fighting, Brigadier General Norman Cota
Norman Cota
Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr. was a United States Army general during World War II. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the invasion of France, codenamed Operation Neptune, and the subsequent Battle of Normandy.-Early life:Cota was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the son...
, the assistant division commander of the 29th Infantry Division, arrived. Leading the men forward, he noticed several men from the 5th Ranger Battalion shooting at the Germans. After finding out what unit they were from, he shouted, "Rangers, lead the way!" That phrase is the Rangers' official motto.
After Forces B and C got inland, they made their way to the Pointe du Hoc. When they came within sight of Force A's headquarters, both groups mistook each other for the enemy. Some men from the 5th Battalion blasted the little headquarters. One wall fell away and Rudder, already wounded, found himself on the ground again. Some men of the 2nd Battalion identified themselves and the Ranger Assault Group (Provisional) joined up and moved inland.
The 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions went back to their original command structure and distinguished themselves during the European Campaign. James Rudder eventually became a major general and President of Texas A&M. Max Schneider became a respected combat leader and eventually became a full colonel. He was killed in the Korean War.
On film
A portion of the 1962 war film The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
is devoted to the Pointe du Hoc landings. The acclaimed 1998 film Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
opens with a realistic view of Force B's assault at Omaha Dog Green.
Sources
- Rangers in World War II-by Robert Black
- World War II Heroes-by Allan Zullo
- The Longest Day-by Cornelius Ryan