Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bombarded site of the D-Day targets. Even so, only about 5 percent of the bunkers were
destroyed. The problem? Multiple direct hits were needed to destroy bunkers like these,
which were well-camouflaged and whose thick, dense walls were heavily reinforced.
Walk around. The battle-scarred German bunkers and the cratered landscape remain
much as the Rangers left them. You can crawl in and out of the bunkers at your own risk,
but picnicking is forbidden—the bunkers are considered gravesites. Notice the six large,
round open sites with short rusted poles stuck in a concrete center. Each held an anti-ship
gun (picture the 155 mm gun you saw by the Omaha Beach Museum). Destroying these
was the Rangers' goal.
Walktothebunkerhangingovertheocean withthestonecolumn atitstop.Thisme-
morial symbolizes the Ranger “Dagger,” planted firmly in the ground. Read the inscrip-
tion, then walk below the sculpture to peer into the narrow slit of the bunker. Look over
the cliff, and think about the 225 handpicked Rangers who attempted a castle-style as-
sault. They landed to your right, used ladders borrowed from London fire departments to
get a head start up the cliff, and fired rockets to position their grappling hooks and climb-
ing ropes on the cliff face. Timing was critical, as they had just 30 minutes before the
rising tide would overcome the men below. Only about a third of the Rangers survived the
assault. After finally succeeding in their task, the Rangers found that the guns had been
moved—the Germans had put telegraph poles in their place. (Commander Erwin Rommel
had directed that all coastal guns not under the cover of roofs be pulled back due to air
strikes.) The Rangers eventually found the guns stashed a half-mile inland and destroyed
them.
Climbdownintothebunker,whichwasthesite'scommunicationcenter,andfindthe
room with the narrow opening. From here, men would direct the firing of the six anti-ship
guns via telephone. Also in the bunker are rooms where soldiers ate and slept.
German Military Cemetery
To ponder German losses, visit this somber, thought-provoking resting place of 21,000
German soldiers. This was the original site for the American Cemetery now on Omaha
Beach.AndcomparedtotheAmericanCemetery,whichsymbolizeshopeandvictory,this
one is a clear symbol of defeat and despair. The site seems appropriately bleak, with two
graves per simple marker and dark, basalt crosses in groups of five scattered about. Birth
and death dates (day/month/year) on the graves make clear the tragedy of the soldiers'
short lives. The circular mound in the middle covers the remains of 207 unknown soldiers
and 89 others. Notice the ages of the young soldiers who gave their lives for a cause they
couldn't understand. A small visitors center gives more information on this and other Ger-
man war cemeteries.
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