Pointe du Hoc

About this place

La Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 35-metre cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados department, France. 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 your visit, give the inscriptions and the arrangement of the site as much attention as its architecture. These details help explain who is remembered here and how later generations chose to preserve that memory.