In World War II, Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts.

Prior to the invasion of Normandy, the German army fortified the area with concrete casemates and gun pits.

On D-Day, the United States Army Provisional Ranger Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.

United States generals including Dwight D. Eisenhower had determined that the place housed artillery that could slow down nearby beach attacks.

During the preparation for Operation Overlord it was determined by Lt Col. James Earl Rudder that Pointe du Hoc should be attacked by ground forces, to prevent the Germans using the casemates.

Though the Germans had removed the main armament from Pointe du Hoc, the beachheads were shelled by field artillery from the nearby Maisy battery, which was fired on by the heavy cruiser HMS Hawkins.

Major Cleveland A. Lytle was to command Companies D, E and F of the 2nd Ranger Battalion (known as "Force A") in the assault at Pointe du Hoc.

During a briefing aboard the Landing Ship Infantry TSS Ben My Chree, he heard that French Resistance sources reported the guns had been removed.

Two different patrols found five of the six guns nearby (the sixth was being repaired) and destroyed their firing mechanisms with thermite grenades.

[10] The Small Unit Actions Report,[22] written by US Army Intelligence, states that there were times (some hours) when the Rangers did not see a single German after the initial fighting.

[23] Thomas M. Hatfield, a senior research fellow at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Military History Institute, notes that the allegations that "Rudder knew of a secret intelligence report claiming the enemy guns on Pointe du Hoc had been removed, negating the necessity of an assault to destroy them," are, "entirely false."

Hatfield continued, "Rudder reviewed the operations order with (Maj. Gen. Clarence) Huebner (Bradley’s designee commanding all forces going to Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc) for the last time on May 28, three days before loading his men onto troopships for the crossing.

[25] Determined to hold the vital high ground, yet isolated from other Allied forces, the Rangers fended off several counter-attacks from the German 914th Grenadier Regiment.

[27] When the Rangers began suffering heavy losses, brief consideration was given to sending in the 84-man Marine Detachment aboard the battleship USS Texas on the morning of 7 June.

[32] As part of the commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, members of the current 75th Ranger Regiment reenacted the climb in both period and modern uniforms.