D-Day Cover Up at Pointe du Hoc: The History of the 2nd & 5th US Army Rangers, 1st May–10th June 1944

By Gary Sterne

A follow-up to the New York Times-bestselling The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach. “The second volume of the epic study breaks new ground.” —Firetrench
 
Gary Sterne, a keen collector of militaria and co-founder of The Armourer and Skirmish magazines, has always been fascinated by the D-Day landings. In particular he was intrigued by the lack of precise information relating to the mystery of the “missing guns” of Pointe du Hoc.
 
His research led to the finding of a map which indicated the position of an “unknown” German gun position buried in the village of Maisy. The rediscovery of the Maisy Batteries made headline news around the world and his bestselling book The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach subsequently changed the history of the Omaha sector and made many start to question the Rangers’ Pointe du Hoc mission. The Maisy site is now one of the major Normandy D-Day attractions.
 
For the first time ever this follow-up book now offers complete Rangers history for the seven months prior to D-Day and does so using period documents, many of which have only recently been released from TOP SECRET status in U.S. Archives. The author fills in the gaps that many have only guessed at concerning the Rangers’ real missions on D-Day, he explains why a battalion commander was removed hours before the landings, why the Rangers were not briefed on their actual D-Day missions and the extraordinary role that Lt. Col. Rudder played at Pointe du Hoc. This book is a historical game-changer that pulls no punches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781526715975

Gary Sterne

Gary Sterne is a keen collector of militaria and was a co-founder of The Armourer and Skirmish Magazines. He has always been fascinated with the D-day landings and in particular was intrigued by the lack of precise information relating the mystery of the "missing guns" of Pointe du Hoc. His research led to the finding of a map which indicated the position of an "unknown" German gun position buried in the village of Maisy. After buying the land, he was able to open the huge site to the public. The re-discovery of the Maisy Battery made headline news around the world and has subsequently changed the history of the Omaha Sector forever. The site is now one of the major Normandy D-day attractions.

Book preview

Navy

Introduction

Volume 2 continues to follow the activities of the US Army 2nd and 5th Rangers each day as they head towards D-Day. Covering every day of May and then running into June 1944, it shows the daily Allied intelligence briefings and the evolution of the famous Pointe du Hoc and Maisy gun batteries, as well as other Ranger D-Day targets. Using period reports just as they were issued, for the first time this work allows the reader to assess the changes to the German coastal defence positions and monitor their threat level, whilst at the same time comparing them to the overall Allied invasion plans.

The closer it gets to D-Day, the more the intelligence intensifies and we see exactly what data was given to the Rangers’ leadership. Preparations climax with the Slapton Sands dress rehearsal, followed by embarkation and D-Day itself – the Omaha Beach landings, the Pointe du Hoc battle and three days later the battle for Maisy.

Then the After Action Reports taken from everyone involved are presented, as the author uses dozens of previously unseen, recently declassified Top Secret files. With documents in their original forms there can no longer be any speculation as to the Rangers’ orders and objectives, as all of the Rangers’ D-Day battles are laid bare. Judge for yourself if a cover-up really did take place, and if so by whom and for what reasons?

This ground breaking book will challenge the way that historians look at the Pointe du Hoc battle from now on and it sets the benchmark for any serious study of the US Rangers in Normandy.

Chapter 8

May 1944 – Slapton Sands and Climbing Cliffs

1 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England.

B Co. Corporal Clayton Gardner was assigned and joined from HQ 10th Replacement Depot 874 US Army. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

2nd Battalion Historical Narrative.

A Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset. No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

B Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

The following seven enlisted men went from Duty to sick in Hospital: S/Sgt. Young, T/5 Bramkamp, Pfc. Davis, Pfc. Miles, Pfc. Paniaha, Pfc.

Snedeker, Pfc. Bragg. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

C Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

Pfc. Hareff went from Duty to absent (sick) to US Naval Hospital Advanced Amphibious Base, Falmouth, Cornwall. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

D Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset. No change. Alerted for departure.

E Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset. Alerted for departure.

F Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset. No change. Alerted for departure.

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset. No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

On 1 May the arrangements for troop flow from the Marshalling Areas to the ports were distributed and thoroughly explained.

The Rangers’ route went from Dorchester Marshalling areas to the Portland and Weymouth embarkation points.

A blow-up of the 5th Rangers’ Embarkation camp at Dewlish shows the camp headquarters and the wading pit for vehicle testing at Piddlehinton. It also shows the petrol supply points and the traffic flow indicators directing traffic towards Weymouth – their Port of Embarkation.

Dewlish Camp D1 had a capacity for around 1,900 men and 260 vehicles. The camp was situated in the woods and fields around Dewlish park in Dorset.

The vehicle wading pit for testing waterproofing.

A blow-up of the 2nd Rangers’ camp at Broadmayne. Their Embarkation Headquarters was based in Dorchester.

Detailed instructions were re-issued for the handing of personnel over to the Navy for embarkation.

Upon receipt of the Unit Sheet in the Marshalling Area, unit commanders will prepare Unit Party Embarkation Personnel Rosters for each Unit Party by merely ruling out the names of personnel on the original roster, not part of the Unit Party, and adding names not shown on the original roster. Eight (8) copies of Unit Party Embarkation Personnel Rosters will be prepared and turned over to the officer or NCO in charge of each such Unit Party. Upon formation of Craft or Ship Loads in the Marshalling Area, each Unit Party CO or NCO will deliver to the CO Craft or Ship Load the eight copies of the Unit Party Roster. The CO Craft or Ship Load will securely fasten all of the Unit Party Rosters so that he will have eight complete sets, which will then constitute complete craft or ship rosters (Passenger Lists). The distribution of the Personnel Embarkation Roster is as follows:

Three copies will be handed to the Embarkation Staff Officer at the Embarkation Point. The ESO will insure that Embarkation Personnel Rosters are collected for all Craft or Ship Loads embarking. The ESO will indorse on these Rosters the date and place of embarkation and the name or number of the craft or ship. Two of these copies will be dispatched to the Central Machine Records Unit, Hq, SOS, ETOUSA APO 887, and one copy to the AG at the Base Section in which the port is located.

The fourth copy will be retained by the CO Craft or Ship Load and will be corrected to reflect casualties, etc. enroute. Upon debarkation this copy of the Embarkation Personnel Roster will be turned over to the first available personnel administration section for forwarding to the servicing MRU.

The remaining four copies will be handed to the Commanding Officer of the ship.

A blow-up of Weymouth and Portland embarkation ports. Of note are the ‘SANDWICHES’ distribution points. For the men of the 2nd and 5th Battalions who were embarking their LCAs alongside the port in Weymouth, they were located on the seafront at the north end of the esplanade next to the beach. For the members of the Rangers who were accompanying vehicles – i.e. the half tracks and Ranger support vehicles, their refreshment and ‘SANDWICHES’ distribution point was along the beach road approaching Portland harbour.

2 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England.

5th Rangers ‘Detachment A’ – Saunton Sands – N. Devon.

A, B & C Companies 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

2 May Naval Report: For purposes of full-scale exercise under code name FABIUS, A.N.C.X.F. assumed control of operations in the Channel in accordance with the arrangement for command during NEPTUNE.

D, E & F Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure.

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

The Army took the threat of chemical weapons very seriously. This memo entitled Chemical Warfare is dated 2 May 1944.

1. Object. The object of this memorandum is to establish the Chemical Warfare precautions within this theatre.

2. General. There is, at present, no evidence that the Germans intend to begin Chemical Warfare. They are, however, well equipped, both defensively and offensively for such operations and are in a position to initiate them on a major scale at any time.

Offensive policy.

a) Full sets of gas offensive equipment will be provided and held in the United Kingdom until gas warfare begins.

b) Toxic gas will not be employed, and offensive gas ammunition after delivery to the UK from the US will not be further moved into or through ports and port areas, until so ordered by this headquarters. Commanders responsible for the initiation of movement orders will insure that these orders are specific as to responsibility, control, markings, safety precautions, supervision and protective measures.

A copy of the Embarkation and loading Schedule in use by the Navy.

Defensive policy.

a) Passive defence. Provision will be made in the UK for full-scale gas defence equipment for all troops to be engaged in operations. The guiding principles will be:

1) One layer of protective clothing (outer) to be worn by all troops entering upon the continent during the assault phase.

2) Not to separate the user from his personal protective equipment, except for a definite period or operation for which the risk can be accepted.

3) To carry in forward areas only those unit or formation reserves of protective clothing and equipment that are considered necessary as indicated by gas intelligence, and to locate main reserves in such a way that they are readily available when required.

Inspections will be made of protective equipment with sufficient frequency to insure that this equipment is always serviceable.

Warnings.

a) In the UK, the policy of the British government is to withhold general warning to the public until the first use of gas has been officially confirmed. Lower formations will give the first local warnings to civilians in the UK only if required to save civilian lives. British authorities will be responsible for the general warning.

b) General warnings of the presence of gas will be issued at all times during overseas operations and at all times in the UK after the issue of the general warning by the British government.

On 1 and 2 May a set of tests on different types of automatic ladders were being undertaken by a small group of men from the 2nd Rangers. The story of the ladders spans many months and is a fascinating subject. This, along with an in-depth look into the rest of the Rangers’ training will be covered in a future book.

On 2 May the Allied Expeditionary Air Force produced a chart based on ‘Enemy Overland Reconnaissance’ – which had been undertaken from the 26/4/44 – 2/5/44. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how much of the pre-D-Day build up the Germans could possibly have seen from flights over the embarkation areas. The results were drawn on a map showing the exact routes taken by those reconnaissance aeroplanes.

A regular update showing the German Order of Battle for the Normandy sector was produced and distributed. Of interest to the Rangers, it shows the 352nd Inf. Div. and the 716th in place in the Omaha area, again dispelling any myth that the Allies were not aware of the 352nd Inf. Div. in the area well in advance of the landings.

3 May 1944

US Army Report:

The Commanding Officer of USS Slatterlee wrote:

Navy War Diary entry:

3 May Navy Report: Exercise FABIUS.

Berthing, loading and sailing of ships and craft of Forces Omaha, Sword, Juno, and Gold in exercise FABIUS continued through the day. The exercise embraced Port authorities and organisations, and communications generally. Covering forces were provided by Commanders-in-Chief, Portsmouth and Plymouth in lines of patrols to southward of the exercise areas.

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England.

5th Rangers ‘Detachment A’ – Saunton Sands – N. Devon.

A, B & C Companies 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

D, E & F Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure.

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Official Report on Operation Fabius (Slapton Sands D-Day practice) by the Historical Section European Theatre of Operations, US Army.

D-Day was only a month away, and most units participating in the exercise were to return, not to their home stations, but to the marshalling areas, there to await the actual invasion. No longer was there time for drastic revisions in plan or for retraining units. Minor deficiencies could be corrected, but FABIUS was primarily an exercise to give the troops experience in their tasks and to give the invasion machinery a chance to function as a whole before it would be called upon to perform its primary invasion. Every effort was made to duplicate the conditions to be met on the Normandy beaches, and planning orders called for the exercise to resemble NEPTUNE ‘as closely as limitations of equipment and facilities will permit’. Approximately 25,000 troops were processed through the marshalling areas, embarked, landed [on] Slapton Sands, and then returned to the marshalling areas to await D-Day.

Units participating included the 16th and 18th regimental landing teams of the 1st Inf Div, the 116th regimental landing team of the 29th Inf Div, the 347th and 348th Engr C Bns of the 5th Engr Sp Brig, the 149th Engr C Bn of the 6th Engr Sp Brig, the 741st and 743d Tk Bns, and the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions, and other units attached either to the infantry divisions or to the Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group. The overall plan was drafted by First Army headquarters, but the more detailed planning began with V Corps and continued through the various units to battalion level.

The tactical plan followed NEPTUNE closely. After a preliminary air and naval bombardment, the former simulated, two battalions of DD tanks were to land at H-Hour, followed by the first wave of infantry. Landing Team 16 was to land on the left and Landing Team 116 on the right. Engineers were to follow immediately, blow underwater obstacles, open up beach exits, and de-mine suspected areas. At H plus 3 hours, landing team 18 was to land and join the other teams in an attack inland.

Three Ranger companies were to land at Blackpool Beach approximately two miles north of Slapton Sands to destroy enemy artillery installations, precisely as Rangers were to land at Point du Hoe in Normandy. Another company was to land on the right flank of the regular assault beach, while other Rangers were to be landed with the infantry and were to make their way to the right to relieve the flanking company. Additional troops were to pour ashore, establish the beach, unload cargo, establish dumps, and set up supply installations.

Strictly speaking, the movement of the units into the marshalling camps was a portion of Operation NEPTUNE, since the troops returned there after FABIUS. In general, the movement was smooth and operation of the camps encountered no outstanding difficulties. Embarkation also went according to plan with the two 1st Div combat teams loading at Weymouth and Poole and the 116th landing team loading at Portland.

There were 168 craft in the convoy in addition to support vessels. Included were 100 LCTs, 8 LCT(A)s, 21 LCI(L)s, 23 LST(S)s, 3 LSI(H)s, 2 LSI(L)s, 3 XAPs, 4 APAs, and 1 LSH.

With most of the craft loaded, D-Day for all FABIUS exercises was postponed for 24 hours by 21 Army Group because of unfavorable weather.

The assault was launched on schedule. The convoy approached behind minesweepers and marshalled about 10 miles offshore. A bombardment group of craft laid down fire on simulated enemy defenses ashore, and gunfire support craft gave protection. DD tanks of the 741st and 743rd Tk Bn were launched 3000 yards from shore and assaulted the beach at H-Hour. These tanks did not leave the water’s edge in the exercise. After the preliminary phase, they proceeded under their own power to Torcross and withdrew from the assault. Normal tanks which were loaded on LCT(A)s were so placed as to be able to fire when the craft were approaching the beach. Later, they were landed by normal means.

Maurice Prince: We boarded our mother ship at the great channel port of Weymouth. It was the same ship we had during that overnight exercise at Braunton. We took our same places that we had originally to avoid new confusion and disorder. That completed phase one of the problem.

Our ship was a modern Belgian passenger craft. It had been completed a couple of years before the war had started so that there had to be some work done on the boat in order to convert it into a Landing Craft Infantry. It held from 200 to 250 troops plus its crew in its two holds below the deck. Attached to the upper deck there were eight craft for assault landings (L.C.A’s) which by means of pulleys and ropes, lowered and raised these craft to and out of the water. The ship was manned by a capable and experienced crew of English sailors who had already seen action with this very ship at Anzio, Sicily, and Africa and who had come out of these conflicts with very light casualties and no damage done to the craft, itself.

We spent three full days on the ship before we loaded into the LCAs to make the assault landing on the beaches somewhere off the southern coast of England. We hadn’t moved, we had just lain anchored in the great bay of Weymouth, surrounded by similar craft and protected by an ever watchful and ever alerted line of cruisers and destroyers.

While on board ship, we didn’t do much. Some physical training, a couple of boat drills and a lot of gabbing and eating. Our chow was Limey food which wasn’t exactly the best of nourishment, but was sustaining and satisfying. To supplement this, we had several cases of our own ten-in-one rations, which gave added balance to the diet.

A P.X. aboard ship received a good deal of our business, as there we could obtain chocolate, canned fruits, cookies, and other articles of eating that pleased our palates.

We managed to while away our leisure hours by sunbathing on deck, sleeping, reading, writing, shooting the bull or any other way we saw fit. Physical exertion was held down to a minimum as the days were too beautiful to be spent labouring.

We struck up friendships with the crew members and many hours were spent in exchanging tales and stories. They had a decided advantage over us in this relating business, as they had already tasted combat while we as yet were strangers to warfare.

Rangers playing cards on deck of their mother ship before the exercise.

The Naval landing area plans for the Slapton Sands beach – these were used during the training operation.

4 May – Amphibious Fleet Diary entry for the Slapton Sands operation.

4 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England.

Rangers ‘Detachment A’ – Saunton Sands – N. Devon

Seven Officers and 73 Enlisted men were assigned and joined from units as indicated. [Author: unfortunately this list is not legible and out of focus in the records.]

2nd Battalion Historical Narrative.

[Author: Note the distance inland that the Rangers were required to march. This corresponds exactly with the distance they were expected to advance to reach the D-Day Phase Line in Normandy before nightfall.]

The USS Frankford in its War Diary notes on 4 May it ‘conducted simulated shore bombardment, controlled by shore fire-control party No 1.’ NSFCP No.1 was assigned to accompany the Rangers on D-Day.

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England.

Rangers ‘Detachment A’ – Saunton Sands – N. Devon

Maurice Prince: The third morning aboard saw us loading into our LCAs in preparation to make the assault run onto the shore. We were gently lowered into the water, with no motion being wasted. Our crafts then took off for the beach. We launched a successful attack as we overran the beach defences and took up positions on the flank of the 29th division. We co-ordinated our efforts, and continued to press forward. We had to hold up when the 29th Inf. stopped, as we had to await further orders from them. That evening found us bivouacked in a field some five miles from our point of landing. The first phase of the problem on land was now completed. The exercise was called off for the night and we became ‘administrative’. We had done our part that day, and we had done it well.

D, E & F Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure.

It was only during the training landings at Slapton Sands that 2nd Battalion Cannon Company Commander Lt. Frank Kennard and his men fired their guns for the first time. Before that, all operations had been done using blank training ammunition.

Frank Kennard: ‘Except for firing the guns at Slapton Sands, we never had any live practice with any of the line companies.’

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset. No change – Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

Cpl. Daniel W. Chapman returned to Duty from Hospital. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Photographs of the Rangers boarding their LCAs.

LCA coming in to land at Slapton Sands amid some very realistic explosions.

Note the marshal standing on the beach directing soldiers.

Excerpts from the 1st Inf. Division radio logs concerning the advance of the Rangers on 4 May during the Fabius 1 exercise. It repeats the necessity for reaching the ‘D-Day objective line’. NB: The Rangers are part of Regimental Combat Team 116 – ‘RCT116’ – but not the 116th Regiment.

Two overlay maps were produced for the operation, but these are difficult to understand without a map for context. I have placed a set of grid lines on top of them along with co-ordinates so hopefully they are now clear. The actions described above in grid reference numbers can now be seen on the overlays.

The grid references specifically involving the Rangers refer to the top right area of this overlay and the Rangers climbed the cliffs at Combe Pointe.

They then took that position and moved to the left on the map – patrolling the D-Day Line. The line, as it goes to the left, becomes indistinct on the original overlay, as are the further objectives.

Navy Report for 4 May:

Assaults were carried out under conditions as realistic as possible by Force O at SLAPTON SANDS.

Weather was favourable at the outset and the exercises, in so far as Naval forces were concerned, were generally satisfactory. Benefit also later accrued from Military personnel taking part in the exercise finding their way round ships and craft in which, in the event, they finally embarked for the actual operation.

At 1300 weather commenced to deteriorate, with freshening South-Westerly wind which reached force 6 in the night, and the full programme had to be curtailed to avoid damage to landing craft.

A radio report stating where the Rangers were outposted.

An After Action Report for the day was written by Major Howie and he covers the first 24 hours of the mock invasion. He states that the Rangers were "given the mission of outposting the D-Day Objective Line in the RCT sector of responsibility".

5 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Dorchester, England

A, B & C Companies 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Prince and the rest of the 2nd and 5th Battalions were to advance to meet up with D, E & F companies inland.

Maurice Prince: The next morning we resumed the attack. We continued our line of advance, by tactically advancing over a prescribed route using the roads as much as was permissible. The terrain was exceptionally hilly and the roads we traversed over were very steeply inclined. Our loads became burdens and difficult to carry. A blazing hot sun added to our discomforts. All the time during the march men were ridding themselves of their ammunition and equipment. At first, one would throw away a clip of ammo, then a hand grenade, until finally full bandoleers were being discarded. By the time we reached our final objective, the men were only carrying the very essentials needed for a fight.

That night, when the problem ended, we were bivouacked in a field, several miles from our initial starting point. We were all tired and exhausted by the ordeal of that day and we were very happy that we had become administrative, as I doubt if we could have done any hint of importance that night. The exercise was a huge success, the teamwork and co-operation between the units had been good, the staff work and brain work responsible for this co-ordination had been brilliant, and the efficiency of the soldier himself who had participated was excellent. It is this combination of skills that marks victory in combat. The big brass and high officials responsible for this display could congratulate themselves for this operation.

The experience we had gained from this amphibious manoeuver was invaluable to us. Mistakes had been made and corrected so that we had benefitted from our errors. An idea was gained from this operation as to the greatness and immensity that such a problem entails, of all the planning, co-ordination and organisation that must be worked out and it showed the responsibilities of the individual to keep his place in the picture and not to add to the confusion and turmoil by getting lost or misplaced. We had spent five days in the running of this manoeuvre and now finally it was completed.

Shown is the 5 May end of exercise order from Major General Huebner, which was sent out by radio to all the participating units.

5 May – The commanding officer of the USS Slatterlee wrote the following to the Commander in Chief – US Fleet in New York. [the redacted words are ‘FABIUS’ and ‘NEPTUNE’.]

D, E & F Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset. No change. Alerted for departure.

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset. No change – Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

The following three enlisted men went from Duty to sick in Hospital: T/5 Robert J. Cooper, Pfc. William Bass, Pfc. Roland J. Paradis. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Shown on the next page are the Army Dispersal Orders for the distribution of troops back to the Marshalling Areas at the end of Operation Fabius. The highlighted sections show the specific Ranger timings for departure.

Issued on 5 May the Southampton and Portsmouth Berthing Plan – indicating the position of each individual vessel and where it was to be located prior to loading. The ships would leave all such berths along the south coast of England and proceed along designated paths to the Normandy coast.

An intelligence map showing the Maisy Batteries area to the bottom right and Utah beach to the left. This particular map was annotated by hand with the target numbers by Captain John Raaen of HQ Co. 5th Battalion. [Author: It is worth noting that the map he was given does not contain any detailed information relating to the Maisy positions. Without his notes having been added by him, there would be no mention of there being gun emplacements in this area. He has confirmed to me that he was NOT briefed that the batteries were there!]

6 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Swanage, England.

A, B & C Companies 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

Pvt Armane Williams was assigned and joined B Company from HQ 10th Replacement Depot APO 874 US Army.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

D, E & F Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure.

Medical Detachment 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

No change. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Dorchester, Dorset.

Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

A blow-up of the Maisy section of the map.

6 May USAF reconnaissance oblique low-level photograph showing differing types of beach obstacles.

7 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Swanage, England.

2nd Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Swanage, England.

Record of events. Alerted for departure. Arrived Swanage railway station, Dorset 1200 hours by rail. Alerted for departure – Fabius 1.

Navy Report 7 May: A.N.C.X.F. gave permission for detailed plans of NEPTUNE to be discussed with officers of Captain’s rank in destroyers attached to Eastern and Western Task Forces. [thus ensuring at all Naval commanders in the area were made aware of D-Day land unit objectives].

Maurice Prince: On the sixth day we boarded trucks which brought us to the local railroad station from where we entrained for a new station for our Battalion. Our train ride was spent in reviewing the results of the exercise and also in deep meditation. We began to realise that time was growing short for us. That things were beginning to add up and point in the direction of invasion. Our air offensive was sharply increasing in both volume and intensity. The weather was gradually becoming suitable for operations in the channel. And these large scale manoeuvers meant only one thing – a dress rehearsal for the coming real McCoy.

Headquarters Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Twenty-one enlisted men returned to Duty from Detached Service. Seven enlisted men were assigned and joined from 234th Engineer (Combat) Battalion.

Travelled by train and arrived at Swanage railway station at 1200. Alerted for departure.

8 May 1944

5th Rangers – Companies A – F, Medical and HQ – Swanage, Dorset.

B Co. Pfc Ryan and Pfc Travers were both appointed to Tec 5. S/Sgt Herbert Hull and assigned and joined from HQ 10th Replacement Depot APO 874 US Army.

A Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Army Report: At meeting at Supreme Headquarters A.N.C.X.F. gave his decision on naval considerations regarding D-Day. That 4th June was unacceptable, 5th and 6th June acceptable, and although 7th June had a number of disadvantages, it could be accepted in case of extreme necessity.

Maurice Prince: Our entry into the city of Swanage, county of Dorset, wasn’t much of an affair, we detrained and proceeded to make our way to our new home, which was to be a school house that sat on the crest of the hill overlooking the bay at Swanage.

Our brother Co.’s D.E & F., who preceded us to the town were on hand to welcome us. It was good seeing them, as we didn’t get much opportunity in those days to see the other companies in the Battalion. Greetings and formalities were exchanged as we wended our way thru the town to reach our new billets.

We were rather well-billeted in our new home. The school house was a spacious building and it had all the facilities and accommodations of modern housing. We were comfortably quartered, so we made ourselves at home without making any fusses or wasting any time about it.

Battalion Headquarters was set up in a building at the foot of the hill, while our kitchen was situated in the same house. It was alright for us to go to town for chow, but the trip back caused many of us to cuss the fact that we had been chowhounds at the dining table.

I’ll never forget our first run-in with the people of this town. It seems as though the American troops who had been billeted in this town before us and had just departed from the area had warned the local residents that The Rangers were a bunch of hoodlums, gangsters, and prisoners who were out on parole. They had said they had assembled us out of volunteers from state and Federal institutions and were letting us do the dirty and dangerous work of the Army. So that when we first started to walk around town during our leisure time, we began to receive funny and inquisitive looks. The weaker sex particularly didn’t have anything to do with us, shunning us as though we all had B.O. Well finally the truth and reason for this snubbing leaked out, and it didn’t take long until we straightened things out and proved to these people the kind of soldiers we Rangers were. Things were patched up and amended and the whole thing was written off as a farce. I have to chuckle to myself every time I recall this affair. Rangers being gangsters and prisoners – why it’s a known fact that no member of the Armed services can enter our elite group, who even has the slightest mark or demerit on his service record.

B Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Paragraphs 1a and b of letter, HQ V Corps, subject, ‘Desertion’ dated 21st April 1944, were read to the members of B Company present at a formation of the Company at 1030 hours, on 9 May 1944.

C Company 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Paragraphs 1a and b of letter, HQ V Corps, subject, ‘Desertion’ were read to the members of C Company present at a formation of the Company at 1300 hours, on 28 April 1944. Alerted for departure.

D, E, F, Medical and HQ Companies 2nd Rangers – Swanage, Dorset. Alerted for departure.

A stark Army instruction was issued entitled Action to be Taken on Receipt of Alert Order • WARNING.

(1) Every individual of the unit will be advised of the last sentence of the 28th Article of War, reading as follows:

‘Any person subject to military law who quits his organization or place of duty with the intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service shall be deemed a deserter.’

(2) a. It will then be explained that combat duty is considered important service within the terms of the 28th Article of War and that any person absenting himself without leave is guilty of desertion in time of war, the extreme penalty for which is death, and all lesser penalties for which are severe and involve forfeiture of rights of citizenship.

b. Personnel to be Cleared from Units.

(1) Officers recommended for reclassification. A Report will be made immediately to this headquarters thru channels of any officer against whom reclassification procedures have been instituted prior to receipt of alert order. Any intermediate headquarters in possession of reclassification papers pertaining to such reported officers will immediately forward these papers.

As D-Day approached, the Army issued orders in relation to the briefing of individual units and the logistics involved within the build up.

Service of Supply Report: Early in May 1944 word was received that all assault, follow-up and part of build-up troops would move from concentration areas for final marshalling in Southern Base Section by Y-15. ‘Y’ was the designation for 1st June 1944 used as a code.

There was little operational importance to ‘Y’ – merely a reference.

The transport network became busy with tanks, 2½ ton trucks, and train after train loaded with ‘foot’ troops. Each convoy had movement instructions from Southern Base Section directing it to an RCRP (Road Convoy Regulating Point), at the entrance to the marshalling area. All approach roads were patrolled by Military Police to prevent convoy commanders from becoming lost on the narrow, confusing roads of Southern England. Upon arrival at the RCRP, the Service of Supply personnel there checked the convoy for proper number of personnel and vehicles, and they were led to the proper camp by a military escort. The camp to be occupied was determined by Transportation Corps personnel, dependent upon the type of vehicle in the unit, the roads over which it must travel and the time schedule.

On 9 May the above order was issued stating that only members of the battalion staff would have access to NEPTUNE information. This would restrict any other members of the Ranger group from seeing the full operational plan.

9 May 1944

A Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset

James W. Gabaree: After our intensive training in Scotland we were sent for further training on sheer cliffs near the town of Swanage on the channel coast. Some of us were billeted in a hotel located on the beach. For security reasons we were not allowed to go into town. Our room was located on the third floor. A guard and the first sergeant were located in the lobby. This created a problem for the young GI’s who wanted some action and the company of ladies. Our secret weapons were the ropes in our possession to be used in the coming invasion. We secured one end of the rope inside the room, and out of the window we went. We slid down the ropes, landed on the beach, and went on our way to town. The hike to town was a bit scary, as we did not know if the beach was mined. Our escapade came to an abrupt end because our company lieutenant was waiting for us when we came off the beach upon reaching the town.

B Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Paragraphs 1a and b of letter, HQ V Corps, subject, ‘Desertion’ dated 21 April 1944, were read to the members of B Company at 1930 hours, on 9 May 1944.

C Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Paragraphs 1a and b of letter, HQ V Corps, subject, ‘Desertion’ dated 21 April 1944, were read to the members of C Company at 1715 hours, on 9 May 1944.

D Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Paragraphs 1a and b of letter, HQ V Corps, subject, ‘Desertion’ dated 21 April 1944, were read to the members of D Company at 1515 hours, on 9 May 1944.

E Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

F Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Medical Detachment 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

Headquarters Company 5th Rangers – Swanage, Dorset.

2nd Battalion Historical Narrative.

Maurice Prince: The city of Swanage was a typical commercial and prosperous-looking resort town on the