Pointe du Hoc (location)

Pointe du Hoc was a cliff located in Normandy which was invaded by the Allies during World War II. This area is playable in the American campaign during story mode in the game Call of Duty 2. The battle is seen through the eyes of Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. At the beginning of the mission, Taylor is winded or immobilized (the manner of his injury is never made clear) and for about thirty seconds, the player sees the tragic casualties of the battle as a soldier drags Taylor to the cliffs. After this, the player resumes control of Taylor. The rest of the mission consists of Taylor climbing and capturing the Pointe, capturing the nearby village, destroying the 155-mm guns, clearing enemy bunkers, and holding the captured territory until reinforcements arrive.

History
Pointe du Hoc was part of the German's Atlantic Wall which held six casemates to house a battery of captured French 155 mm guns.

Pointe du Hoc was 4 miles away from Omaha Beach and was belived to hold some 155-mm artillery which could fire on Omaha and on the east and Utah on the west. The 2nd Ranger Battalion was sent to get rid of the Nazis on the cliff during D-Day.

The 2nd Ranger Battalion were split to 3 teams and used grappler hooks to scale the cliffs while the enemy fired on them. Many of these hooks failed in real life, so some soldiers carved into the cliff and started freeclimbing it, but it seems that all the ropes survived in the game. When they arrived on the top of the cliff they realized the actual guns have been moved further, so the 2nd Ranger Battalion had to keep fighting until they reached the guns and soon destroyed them. The 2nd Rangers held the Pointe and the adjacent town for two days, often retreating from fierce Nazi assaults. The battle ended when the survivors of Omaha beach arrived with air support and relieved the 2nd Rangers. After the battle only 90 Rangers out of the 225 sent to the Pointe were still able to fight.

Present Day
Pointe du Hoc now has a World War II memorial and a museum which is dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications have been left in place. The land area is also speckled with an impressive number of bomb craters.