General Omar Bradley called it the most dangerous mission of D-Day. He was not wrong.
At 6:30am on June 6, 1944, 225 Army Rangers approached a 100-foot sheer cliff face on the Normandy coast called Pointe du Hoc.
Their mission: climb it.
The cliff was vertical. The Germans were at the top with full visibility of everyone below. As the Rangers fired grappling hooks upward, the Germans cut the ropes. Shot the men hanging on them. Dropped grenades over the edge onto the climbers beneath.
The Rangers kept climbing.
It took roughly 40 minutes. Men fell. Men were shot off the ropes. The ones behind them grabbed the ropes and kept going.
They reached the top.
Then came the gut punch: the massive 155mm artillery guns they had been sent to destroy were gone. The Germans had moved them inland before the invasion. The entire mission had been sent to destroy guns that weren't there.
Most commanders would have regrouped and called it done.
The Rangers fanned out. Two miles inland, they found the guns, hidden in an orchard, already aimed at Utah Beach and loaded to fire. They destroyed every one with thermite grenades.
Then they dug in. Cut off, with almost no ammunition, no reinforcements, and no resupply, 225 men held Pointe du Hoc against relentless German counterattacks for two full days.
When relief finally arrived, only 90 Rangers could still stand and fight.
Their names are carved on a memorial in Normandy. Most Americans today cannot name a single one.
@DefiyantlyFree They invented cheating and other States adopted it. Democrats will do anything to stay in power. Their policies are losers for normals so they cheat.
California
Before 2016 law changes: Elections resolved on election night or within days. Republicans won seats, held seats, results were stable.
2016: Democrats pass ballot harvesting and universal mail ballot laws. Signed by Democratic governor.
2018 onward: Every close race follows the same script. Republican leads on election night. Slow count begins. Lead shrinks daily. Republican loses weeks later.
Seven House seats in 2018 alone. All the same pattern. All in one direction. Never reversed.
Since 2018, there hasn’t been one single race where the slow counting of votes didn’t take away a Republican victory by the end.
@racing_dudes Why because you lost all three times? That was the easiest money ever today. A box or wheel was a cinch in both exacta and trifecta. Of course you had to believe in GT’s incredible stretch run in Derby.
There’s a time to just say “I was wrong” and now is that time for me. I thought Golden Tempo just benefitted from a hot and contested Derby pace but his effort today was fantastic!!!!!!! What a job by @reredevaux getting this horse to peak when it matters most!!!!
I couldn’t understand for the life of me why there were so many Golden Tempo doubters. Yes, I’m a fan, and yes, it’s a great story, but all this horse did was improve in every start as he stretched out and showed that he’s a talent from Day 1. Great connections, pedigree, the perfect physical, and a stellar trainer in @reredevaux. Congratulations to team Golden Tempo. He has made this year incredibly special. I ran down the stretch like a kid to see him go back to the barns. Was even more special to see that he walked back into a rainbow ❤️
@KaylieShapiro13 Anybody who didn’t at least play a win ticket at 6-1 is crazy. The stretch run in the Derby was incredible. Something only a great horse is capable of. Still a bunch of naysayers who lost money can’t bring themselves to admit this is a great horse.
@racing_dudes@EclipseSports Trying to diminish a great horse who's only improving. Saratoga looked like it always does, slow final fractions coming off a deep and wet track. Speed bias but closers never got going except for Golden Tempo. He was just changing leads at last furlong pulling away.