![]() ![]() BARs were well designed, well made, reliable and easy to use and service. ![]() The BAR was much more than just a psychological weapon for American GIs during World War II. The 30.06-caliber rounds went harmlessly between the Germans, but the BAR’s racket so unnerved them that they dropped their weapons and threw up their hands, which moved a friend of Petty’s, walking behind him, to comment dryly, “Hell, L-Rod, that’s a good way to save ammunition-just scare ’em to death.” Petty was right on top of them, but the sergeant instantly threw himself to the ground, firing his BAR as he fell. Undeterred, the Rangers pushed on to their second objective, the road between Grandcamp-Maisy and Vierville-sur-Mer, where Sergeant William “L-Rod” Petty suddenly found himself face to face-literally-with two Germans who had jumped up out of a deep shelter hole. Equipped with nothing heavier than mortars and Browning Automatic Rifles, or BARs, they managed to fight their way to the top, only to find telegraph poles substituted for the big guns, which had been removed but were later found some distance away. Army Rangers approached the coast of Normandy and prepared to carry out the unenviable mission of scaling a perpendicular cliff behind the beach and silencing a battery of 155mm cannons located in a series of massive reinforced concrete bunkers atop Pointe du Hoc. On the morning of June 6, 1944, a detachment of 200 U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |