256 see also the history of Cies A and B of 2ndRanger Bn
Companies A and B of the 2nd Rangers Battalion
Disembark at 7:45 a.m. at Dog Green / Dog White
(extracts)
The 5 LCA, carrying the Compagnies A and B of the 2°Bataillon de Rangers and the staff of the 2nd Battalion (130 Rangers, out of 5 LCA of the "Prince Charles": No. 1148 and 1151-CieA-, No. 1149 and 1150 -CieB-, No. 1147-HQ 2ndRanBon) were waiting in an area of assembly offshore, north of Englesqueville, (at the same time as the 5th Battalion of Rangers), the order to land in reinforcements at Pointe du Hoc.
If they were warned before 7:00 a.m. that the attack on the peak of the Hoc had succeeded, they had to land there with reinforcements. If they did not receive this information, assuming the mission failed at Pointe du Hoc, they were then to land on Dog Green, climb to Vierville and leave inland to attack the point of the Hoc, along with the 5th Rangers Battalion.
Lieutenant-Colonel Max Schneider, who commanded all of these Rangers, delayed his decision as late as possible. At 7:15 a.m., still unheard of by Colonel Rudder at Pointe du Hoc, he could no longer wait and ordered the flotilla to head to Vierville, Dog Green Beach.
As the shore approached, Colonel Schneider realized what was happening in front of the Vierville descent and on his indications the entire fleet moved to Dog White.
Companies A and B of the 2° Rangers, on the right flank of the whole, approached Dog Green and Dog White at the boundary and suffered large losses. At mid-married, the obstacles were largely covered.
One of the 5 barges was cast by a mine on the first obstacles and the 34 men had to swim under enemy fire. The firing of small arms and mortars hit the other barges when they hit the ground.
The small companies of Rangers were 65 men and officers each, only 35 of Company A and 27 of Company B, arrived valid on the pebble slope, probably near the villa Defortescu. It was about 7:45.
Private Jack Keating was from Cie A/2Rgr. He remembers that during the approach, the "Texas" pulled its edges "just above our old little boat, and each time this one would rise almost out of the water."
Later the LCA arrived about on the Dog Green - Dog White border, east of the Vierville Valley. No one had landed there yet, and it was still quiet. Cie A commander, Captain Dick Merrill, shouted, "The guys, we're going to land without opposition."
The pilot lowered the ramp and the Germans started firing. "The first few minutes in the water," Keating says, "I will never forget them. There were guns, machine guns, mortars, 88s, and God knows what else. I thought all the Germans were targeting me."
Keating took a long time to get to the sand. "It wasn't like in Hollywood," he says. "The actors jump into the water and in 3 seconds they load on the beach. That's not how it happened."
When he finally found himself on the sand, he went behind a tank with two friends. "We were behind the engine to warm up and smoked our first cigarette in France."
Having regained his breath, "I was regaining my spirits and like all of them, I realized that there was only one solution, it was to move forward." As he went up the beach, his musette was opened by a machine gun. "It ruined my plum and peaches boxes, my sweets, my K rations, my cigarettes, everything was in pieces."
On the beach, Keating met a 116th captain reached twice in the head and twice in the chest "and he was still alive. He asked me if I could carry it to the top of the beach at the emergency station. I said, "There's only one solution, I'm gonna crawl. You climb on my back and I'll crawl." It was 100 meters away, and I finally managed to carry it there."
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