World War Two

Discussing the history of Army Rangers.

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goon175
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World War Two

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WW II Ranger history
Rangers were formed to spearhead the assault into World War II to ensure America’s success in the war. On May 26th, 1942 the Army Liaison Major General Lucian K. Truscott and the British General Staff submitted proposals to General George Marshall along the lines of forming an American ground unit crafted after the British commandos. The War Department quickly contacted General Truscott and Major General Russell P. Hartley, commander of all Army forces in Northern Ireland whom directed the activation of the first U.S. Army Ranger Battalion. The name “Ranger” was used because the British had rights to “Commandos,” so General Truscott used the Americanized version- Rangers. Rangers were also in complement to those in America’s past who displayed the high standards of courage, initiative, determination, and obtained the tough fighting ability to achieve more.
General Hartley decided that his own aid-de- camp Captain William Orlando Darby, who was a West Point graduate and had received amphibious training, was the best choice for leading the Rangers. General Truscott agreed and said of Darby, “Outstanding in appearance, possessed of a most attractive personality….and filled with enthusiasm.” With this decision, Darby was promoted to Major. He then quickly and effectively organized the unit within a few weeks after receiving these orders. Many were interviewed from the 1st Armored Division and the 34th Infantry Division and other units in Ireland by Darby’s handpicked officers. After an intensive assessment program at Carrickfergus, North Ireland the 1st Ranger Battalion was activated on June 19th, 1942.
The newly selected Rangers were then sent to more realistic battle oriented training at the famed Commando Training Center located at Achnacarry, Scotland. The training implemented live ammunition and one Ranger died in training, several were wounded in live fire. This style of training continues all the way through present day, where it is often said that the training is tougher both mentally and physically than deployments.
Meanwhile on August 19th, 1942, 44 enlisted men and five officers took part in Operation Rutter (which was later renamed Operation Jubilee), and the raid on Dieppe. The Rangers under command of General Roberts, along with Canadian 2nd Division and British and British Commandos pulled off the mission to take down German artillery and capture the sea port there. They were the first American Ground Soldiers to engage the Germans in occupied Europe. Three Rangers were killed, several captured and all won the respect of the British Commandos. The mission was considered a failure, but provided valuable mission information that led to the invasion of Normandy being successful.
Under the now promoted Lt. Col. Darby, 1st Ranger Battalion led the North African Invasion at the port of Arzew in Algeria, involving a silent night landing, silencing two gun batteries, and clearing the path for the 1st Ranger Battalion capture of Oran. The next accomplishment shortly followed in Tunisia, where 1st Ranger battalion performed their first behind –enemy-lines night raid in Sened. They killed a large number of defenders and took ten prisoners of war, only sustaining one Ranger death and ten wounded. March 31st, 1943 the Rangers led General Patton’s drive to capture El Guettar, involving a 1 mile night march across mountainous terrain, displaying the Ranger trademark of surprising the enemy position from behind. By dawn the Rangers overcame the surprised Italian forces, clearing the El Guettar pass and capturing 200 prisoners. The 1st Battalion won the first Presidential Citation and LTC Darby won his first DSC.
With 1st Ranger Battalion’s successful combat raids, they acted as cadre to train and activate 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions; the training was directed toward readying for the invasion of Sicily at Nemours, Algeria. The leadership was set with Major Herman Dammer assuming command 3rd Battalion and Major Roy Murray assuming command of 4th Battalion; Darby remained CO of 1st Battalion and was in command over all, which became known as the Darby Ranger Forces. The three Ranger units led attacks and opened up the landing for the 7th Army landing at Gela and Licata. Darby Ranger Forces were credited to having the key role in the Sicilian Campaign that resulted with the capture of Messina.
The three Battalions were the first 5th Army troops to land for the invasion near Salerno. They quickly captured the strategic heights on both sides of Chinuzi pass and defeated eight German Counter-attacks, winning two Distinguished Unit Citations. Colonel Darby commanded a force of over 10,000 soldiers, elements of the 36th Division , several companies of the 82nd Airborne Division and Artillery units, and it was here that the 5th army advanced against Naples and launched with the British 10th Corps.
Later, all three Ranger Battalions fought in the fierce winter mountain battles near San Pietro, Venafro and Saccino. The Battalions took a recuperation period for reorganizing and recruiting volunteers. The three Battalions were reinforced with the 509th Parachute Battalion, the 83rd Chemical Warfare, 42nd Mortar Battalion and the 35th Combat engineers, which were therefore designated the 6615 Ranger Force under the then promoted Colonel Darby. The 6615 Ranger Force led the surprise night landing at the Port of Anzio, capturing two gun batteries, seizing the city and struck out to enlarge the beach head before dawn. The ideals of a classic Ranger Operation were used for this attack.
On the night of January 30th , 1944, the 1st and 3rd Rangers Battalions infiltrated five miles behind German enemy lines while the 4th Ranger Battalion fought to capture the road to Cisterna, the key 5th Army objective. The night before, the Germans had prepared for a massive counterattack and reinforced their lines. Due to this action, the 1st and 3rd battalions were surrounded and greatly outnumbered. The overwhelmed Rangers fought bravely and honorably, causing the Germans great casualties but their ammunition and therefore, their time ran out. All across the beachhead, the supporting troops tried breaking through but failed due to the strength of the German’s position. Among the KIA was 3rd Battalion’s CO; Major Alvah Miller, and 1st Battalions CO Major John Dobson was wounded. The heavy losses of 1st and 3rd Battalions along with 4th Battalions losses, combined for a seemingly pointless loss. Later intelligence showed that the attack had helped disrupt the German counter-attack, directly disrupting Hitler’s order of, “Push the Allies into the sea.”
Other Ranger units proudly carried on a further sharpened the Ranger standards and traditions in the European Theater of Operations. The 2nd Ranger Battalion was trained by LTC. James Earl Rudder, activated April 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, and carried out the most desperate and dangerous mission of the Omaha Beach Landings at Normandy on June 6th, 1944. General Bradley spoke of the orders Col. Rudder, “Never has any commander been given a more desperate mission.” Three companies: D, E, and F assaulted the rough cliffs of Pointe Du Hoc under intense machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire and took out a large gun battery that was close to destroying the Allied fleets offshore. They fought for two days and nights without relief until 5th Ranger Battalion linked up with them. Later, with the combined forces, they played a key role in the attacks against the German positions around Brest in the La Coquet Peninsular. This same unit fought through the Central Europe campaign and won commendation for its action on hill 400. 2nd Ranger Battalion earned the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Croix de Guerre and was inactivated at Camp Patrick Henry on October 23, 1945.
The 5th Ranger Battalion was activated September 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest under command of the former executive officer of 4th Ranger Battalion, Lt. Col. Max Schneider. 5th Ranger Battalion was part of a Ranger assault force under command of Col. Rudder. They landed on Omaha Beach with Companies A, B, and C, of the 2nd Battalion, in order to aid elements of 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Div. who were pinned down under heavy crossfire and mortars from enemy lines. The situation was in serious trouble, making General Omar Bradley realistically consider redirecting reinforcements to other areas of the beach head. It was here that General Norman D. Cota, assistant Division Commander of the 29th Div. gave the now famous order, later adopted by the 75th Ranger Regiment, “Rangers, Lead the way!”
The 5th Battalion broke across the seas wall and barbed wire obstacles, and up the pillbox-rimmed heights under heavy enemy machine-gun and mortar fire. The 5th Ranger Battalion Along with A and B companies of 2nd Ranger Battalion and some elements of the 116th infantry Regiments, invaded 4 miles to the key town of Vierville, thus busting open the way for supporting troops to come through and expand the beach head. As this was happening, C Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion landed west of the Vierville draw and suffered 50% casualties during the landing, but still pushed on and scaled a 90ft. cliff using ropes and bayonets to take out an enemy position that was raking the beach with heavy machine-gun fire. 5th Battalion and elements of the 116th regiments finally met up with the heavily beleaguered 2nd Battalion on D+3; though Lt. Charles Parker of A Company, 5th Battalion had penetrated deep behind enemy lines on D-Day and reached them with 20 POW’s captive. Later 5th battalion with 2nd battalion distinguished itself with the success of the Battle of Brest. With Lt. Col. Richard Sullivan in command of the 5th Ranger Battalion, they successfully took part in the Battle of the Bulge, Huertgen Forest and other tough battle throughout central Europe, winning two Distinguished Unit Citations and the French Croix de Guerre. They were deactivated October 2nd, 1945 at Camp Miles in Standish, Massachusetts.
The 6th Ranger Battalion command by Colonel Henry (Hank) Mucci was activated in September 1944 at Port Moresby, New Guinea. This was the first mission for them and the first American force to return to the Philippines with the mission of eliminating coastal defense guns and radio/radar stations on the islands of Dinegat and Suluan that were offshore of Leyte. They landed three days in advance of the main 6th Army invasion force on October 17th and 18th, 1944. They effectively captured some of the Japanese defenders and eliminated all enemy communications. The 6th Ranger Battalion also took part in the US invasion landings in Luzon, and several behind enemy lines patrols. The penetration and small unit raids they performed got them ready for the greatest and most daring raid of American military history. January 30, 1944, C Company supported by a platoon from F Company and the Filipino Guerrillas, struck 30 miles behind enemy lines and rescued 500 injured and sickly POW’s who were survivors of the Bataan Death March. They carried many prisoners on their backs while also inflicting over 200 enemy kills and evading two Japanese regiments. They reached the safe American held ground the following day and found out intelligence had revealed the Japanese were planning on killing all the POW’s while they withdrew from Manila. Excellent recon by the Alamo Scouts also aided to the success of the Cabanatuan Raid led by Col. Muccie.
The unit later commanded by Col. Roger Garrett played a key role in the capture of Manila and Appari, and was readily preparing to spearhead the invasion of Japan when news flashed the war with that nation ended. They received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Citation and were inactivated on December 30th, 1945 in the Philippines.
Merrill’s Marauders
As a result of the Quebec conference of August 1943, Merrill’s Marauders was formed due to the need of a Ranger style unit. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England and other Allied leaders developed the formation of an American ground assault force (GAF) to lead a LRP mission behind Chinese enemy lines in Burma. The overall goals of the mission were to destroy Japanese enemy communication lines and supply lines along with performing small unit tactics against the enemy to reopen the Burma Road.
A presidential request for volunteers was issued to man the ranks needed to pull off this highly strategic and dangerous mission. Approximately 2,900 volunteers stood up to answer the request and formed the 5307th Composite Provisional Unit, code named “GALAHAD.” The historically recognized nickname of “Merrill’s Marauders” stuck to the group in honor of their commanding officer Brigadier General Frank Merrill. Merrill’s Marauders were organized into battalions with two combat teams per battalion. Galahad was modeled by Orde Wingate’s Chindits LRP unit. Volunteers for the unit came from a wide variety of war theatres consisting of Panama and Trinidad, Guadalcanal, New Georgia and New Guinea. Also volunteers came from stateside cadre, Signal Corps and Air corps personnel, with troops and pack horses. Preliminary training was undertaken in secrecy in the jungles of India and ended with 600 men detached as a rear echelon headquarters remaining in India to undergo vital air-drop links for the Marauder Combat Teams consisting of 400 men each and the Air Transport command. The reaming 2400 volunteers were color-coded red, blue, green, orange, and khaki.
The 5307th Composite Provisional Unit was the first United States ground combat force to meet the enemy in the World War II in Asia. They took part in five major and thirty minor engagements in the Hukawng and Mogaung Valleys of North Burma accompanied by over 1,000 miles of marching. In March and April 1944, the unit was asked to spearhead a march over jungle trails through extremely mountainous terrain against stubborn resistance in an attack on Myitkyina. On May 17th, 1944 they took part in a mission to take down the Myitkyina Airfield in which today’s Rangers roots of airfield seizures are found. Merrill’s Marauders were vastly outnumbered by the Japanese 18th Division, and yet by always moving to the rear of the main Japanese forces they defeated them.
Galahad was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944 which in November 1966 was re-designated as the Presidential Unit Citation, which is awarded by the sitting president in front of Congress. Merrill’s Marauder was consolidated with the 475th Infantry on August 10, 1944. June 21, 1954 the 475th was designated as the 75th Infantry Regiment that today’s 75th Ranger Regiment traces its lineage to.
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

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Jim
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Re: World War Two

Post by Jim »

To update. James Rudder became the Commandant of Texas A&M:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEsTK6iV ... e=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6AdQPntu2Q

One of the finest speeches by A US President. Ronald Reagan: The Boys of Pointe di Hoc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEIqdcHbc8I
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
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Jim
Rest In Peace Ranger
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Re: World War Two

Post by Jim »

Let's put some more perspective on the operation.
BG Norm Cota, ADC, 29th ID was the first to use the term "Rangers Lead the Way," or at least he gets credit. He had more colorful language when he directed Max Schneider, commander of the 5th Ramger Bn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cota

Later, BG Cota was promoted to MG and given command of the 28th ID.

Jim Rudder commanded 2d Ranger Battalion, at Normandy, and he later commanded one of MG Cota's Regiments, 109th Infantry and went on to be the president of Texas A&M for many years,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rudder
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
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