The 2nd Ranger Battalion
The 2nd Ranger Battalion was first constituted on 11 March 1943, and activated on the 1st of April 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. In command would be Major James Earl Rudder.
Rudder was born on May 6, 1910, at Eden, Texas, the son of Dee Forest and Annie (Powell) Rudder. He attended John Tarleton Agricultural College in 1928-29. He went to Texas A&M in 1930 and graduated in 1932 with a degree in industrial education. After graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in the United States Army Reserves. In 1933 Rudder worked as a football coach and teacher at Brady High School. He married Margaret E. Williamson on June 12, 1937. They had five children. In 1938 he worked as a football coach and teacher at Tarleton Agricultural College. He was called into active duty in 1941.
D-Day
On June 6, 1944 Dog, Easy and Fox companies were landed at Pointe du Hoc from Landing craft operated by the Royal Navy. During the attack, 225 men scaled the cliffs, however only 90 of them were still standing after two days of relentless fighting. They managed to disable the German artillery, paving the way for the invasion of France.
Meanwhile Able, Baker and Charlie companies landed along with the 5th Rangers, the 1st Infantry Division and the 29th Infantry Division at Omaha Beach. They suffered heavy casualties but were still able to complete their D-Day objectives.
Pointe du Hoc (often spelled as its Parisian French name "Pointe du Hoe" in official Army documents) is best known for the assault made on it by the US Army Rangers during the World War II Normandy landings, June 6, 1944. The Germans had built, as part of the Atlantic Wall, six casements to house a battery of captured French 155mm guns. With Pointe Du Hoc situated between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east, these guns threatened Allied landings on both beaches, risking heavy casualties in the landing forces. Although there were several bombardments, which consisted of more total firepower than the atomic bomb Little Boy, from the air and by naval guns, intelligence reports assumed that the fortifications were too strong, and would also require attack by ground forces. The US 2nd Ranger Battalion was therefore given the task of destroying the strongpoint early on D-Day.
Prior to the attack the guns were moved approximately 1 mile away. However, the concrete fortification was intact and would still present a major threat to the landings if they were occupied by artillery forward observers. The Ranger Battalion commanders and executive officers knew the guns had moved, but the rest of the Rangers were not informed prior to the attack. The myth that the guns were 'missing' on D-Day may be attributed to this decision not to inform the troops prior to the attack.
The plan called for Companies Dog, Easy, and Fox of the 2nd Rangers to be landed by sea in British LCAs (they had trained with these instead of Higgins boats). The companies were to land at the foot of the cliffs, scale them using ropes, ladders, and grapples under enemy fire, and engage the enemy at the top of the cliff. This was to be carried out before the main landings. The Rangers trained for the cliff assault on the Isle of Wight, under the direction of British Commandos, and participated in Fabius-7, the full scale pre-invasion exercise in May 1944 off the English coast.
Ten British LCA's would be sufficient to boat the three small Ranger companies and HQ party, including signal and medical personnel, with an average of 21-22 men on a craft. Two supply boats (LCA's) would come in a few minutes after the assault wave, with packs, extra rations and ammunition, two 81 -mm mortars, demolitions, and equipment for hauling supplies up the cliff. Eight miles off shore LCA 860, carrying Capt. Harold K. Slater and 20 men of Company D, swamped in the 4-foot choppy waves. They were picked up by rescue craft and carried to England, eventually to rejoin their unit. Ten minutes later one of the supply craft sank, with only one survivor. The other supply craft was soon in trouble and had to jettison all the packs of Companies D and E in order to stay afloat. Therefore, nine LCAs and one supply LCA made it ashore, with packs only for F Company.
H-Hour was 0630 hours on the morning of June 6, 1944. Companies D, E, and F due to navigation error, landed at 0710 hours. By 0700, if no message or signal had come, Colonel Schneider's 5th Ranger force was scheduled to adopt the alternate plan of action and land at the Vierville beach. They waited ten minutes beyond the time limit and then received by radio the code word TILT, prearranged signal to follow the alternative plan. So Colonel Schneider turned in toward Vierville, where the 5th Rangers and A and B of the 2nd Rangers landed at 0745. Pending the outcome at Omaha Beach, and the success of Colonel Schneider's force in fighting cross country to the Point, Colonel Rudder's three companies would fight alone.
Despite initial setbacks due to weather and navigational problems, resulting in a 40-minute delay and loss of surprise, the cliffs were scaled and the strongpoint was assaulted successfully within ten minutes, with relatively light casualties. Fire support was provided during the attack by several nearby Allied destroyers. Upon reaching the fortifications, most of the Rangers learned for the first time that the main objective of the assault, the artillery battery, had been moved out of position, possibly as a result of air attacks during the buildup to the invasion. It is
said that German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel himself gave the order to move the battery as he had recently been placed in charge of the coastal defenses of Normandy.
Removal of the guns had actually been completed on June 4, 1944, and poor weather conditions prior to the invasion limited a final reconnaissance effort which would have revealed the guns' removal, and the cannons and their initial placements were replaced with wooden beams and camouflage nets to fool reconnaissance. The Rangers regrouped at the top of the cliffs, and a small patrol went off in search of the guns. This patrol found the guns in a nearby grove and destroyed five 155 coastal guns by 0830 hours with thermite grenades. The new battery location inland was sighted solely for Utah beach.
The costliest part of the battle for the Rangers came after the cliff assault. Determined to hold the vital ground, yet isolated from other assault forces, they fended off several German counterattacks over the next two days, until reinforced from Omaha Beach. The original plans called for an additional, larger Ranger force of eight companies to follow the first attack, if successful. Flares from the cliff tops were to signal this second wave to join the attack, but because of the delayed landing, the signal came too late, and the 2nd Ranger Companies A, B, and C, along with most of the US 5th Ranger Battalion, landed on Omaha instead of Pointe du Hoc. At the end of the 2-day action, the landing force of 225+ was reduced to about 90 men who could still fight.
The impact that the Rangers Battalions had on the overall success of D-Day has only really been appreciated in recent years and without their sacrifices and bravery the success of the landings might have been in doubt. Having met some of these brave men in person I’m always left with an overwhelming feeling of how humble they are and how little they appreciate the significance of their contribution to the overall success on those first critical hours.
Crozon Peninsula
In September 1944, the 2nd Rangers were attached to the 8th Infantry Division to assist in clearing
out the German resistance on the Crozon Peninsula. After accomplishing other objectives and
rescuing 400 American prisoners, the battalion left for Landerneau, France
Battle of the Huertgen Forest
In November, 1944 the 2nd Rangers were moved into the Huertgen Forest and on into Germany's Brandenburg area. When Rudder complained to higher headquarters about the misuse of his Rangers as a regular infantry force, he received orders to move the battalion to the outskirts of Bergstein and assault Hill 400, also known as Castle Hill.
Troops and tanks of the 5th Armored Division clung to a tenuous position in Bergstein under heavy fire directed from Castle Hill, which commanded the village and surrounding region. The hill was an icy, slippery hill 1,322 feet high and steep, laden with numerous pill boxes and had the highest observation point in the Roer Valley for miles around. Several attacks against the German offensive on the hill had resulted in many losses to the allied forces.
The Rangers were told to attack and hold Hill 400 for 24 hours or until duly relieved. On December 7th, D and F Companies launched an assault on Hill 400 at 0730. After a Ranger patrol reconnoitered the height in the predawn darkness, one company took position to provide fire support, while two others charged up the slope. Catching the Germans by surprise, the Rangers seized control of the crest and captured twenty-eight prisoners with only light losses. Almost immediately, however, they were hit by enemy shellfire and two counterattacks. By late afternoon only twenty-five Rangers remained on top of the hill. A bloody battle with heavy casualties proceeded, but on December 9th the 2nd Rangers, still fighting, were successfully relieved. The Rangers did not rest long after Hill 400, as they were immediately sent to defensive positions on the left flank during the "Battle of the Bulge". Here they maintained a front line until Mid January 1945, at which time the Allied forces penetrated the German Offensive. Replacements for the Rangers arrived soon after and were trained by veterans amidst snow and below-freezing temperatures.
The Ardennes Offensive was completely halted by mid-January 1945, and in early February, American forces attacked through the Huertgen Forest for the final time. On 10 February, the Schwammenauel Dam was taken by American forces, removing the threat of the Germans flooding the forest. This marked the end of the Battle of Huertgen Forest. The 2nd Ranger Battalion was inactivated on October 23, 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia.