Chapters 21-22 Summary and Analysis

"Will You Tell Me How We Did This?" and "Up the Bluff at Vierville" examine the D-Day exploits of Ranger Force (2nd and 5th battalions) in conjunction with the 116th Regiment as they assault the cliffs on Omaha Beach. The "game plan" is abandoned before action begins. C Company spends the day isolated; D, E, and F arrive late and off-target; special equipment fails to arrive or functions badly, and German 155mm cannons have been spirited out of their casements. Still, the assault on Pointe-du-Hoc is both famous and critical to the success of assaults on Omaha and Utah. Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, Ranger CO, speaks the words of Chapter 21's title to his 14-year-old son on the tenth anniversary of the invasion.

The plan calls for C Company, within two hours of landing on Omaha's right flank...