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The John Batchelor Show

RONALD REAGAN'S FINEST MOMENT: THE BOYS OF PONITE DU HOC: JUNE 6, 1944: 7/8: Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc — the Rangers Who Landed at D-Day and Fought Across Europe,by Patrick K. O’Donnell, with John Pruden as narrator. Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

News, Books, Society & Culture, Arts

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

RONALD REAGAN'S FINEST MOMENT: THE BOYS OF PONITE DU HOC: JUNE 6, 1944:  7/8:  Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc — the Rangers Who Landed at D-Day and Fought Across Europe,by Patrick K. O’Donnell, with John Pruden as narrator.  Blackstone Audio, Inc.  Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Company-Patrick-K-O-Donnell-audiobook/dp/B00A2ATV1W/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

It is said that the right man in the right place at the right time can mean the difference between victory and defeat. This is the dramatic story of 68 soldiers in the US Army's Second Ranger Battalion, Company D — "Dog Company" — who made that difference, time and again. From D-day, when German guns atop Pointe du Hoc threatened the Allied landings and the men of Dog Company scaled the sheer 90-foot cliffs to destroy them; to the slopes of Hill 400, in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest, where the Rangers launched a desperate bayonet charge across an open field; to a "quiet" section of the Ardennes, where Dog Company suddenly found itself on the tip of the spear at the Battle of the Bulge; the men of Dog Company made the difference.
1944 OMAHA BEACH

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batcher. Patrick Hay O'Donnell. His book is Dog Company,

0:09.2

the boys have Puante de Oakh, the Rangers who accomplished D-Day's toughest mission, and led the way across Europe.

0:15.9

D-Day is June 6th. It is now December 7th and 8th. It's snowing lightly on Hill 400, which surprisingly is in the hands of the Ranger assault teams. Down in Bergstein, the Rangers are also holding on from German counterattacks that come from all directions. The commander of dog company Slater, Duke Slater, is down in Bergstein.

0:39.4

On Hill 400 is Lieutenant Lommel and what's left of dog and what's left of Fox.

0:45.9

They have an observation post.

0:48.2

However, around them on three sides are the Germans to their understanding.

0:53.5

Also, raining down on them is every artillery piece in the region that can reach them.

0:58.7

They don't know why.

1:00.6

Patrick explained why, and it wasn't going to be for several days that America and Britain learned

1:07.7

that the bulge was waiting to counterattack, the German attack that was meant to break the allies, drive all the way to the port cities, and make the allies either sue for peace or seek an armistice.

1:24.3

So goes the fantasy in the Hitler bunker, we could turn our attention to the Russians,

1:30.2

to the East. That was the fantasy back in Berlin. But in order to do that, they have to remain

1:35.1

secret. And therefore, the Germans have assembled the 272nd folks grenadier armed with MP44's really good weapons the overall commander of this area is field

1:48.3

martial modal who always recovers from mistakes they also have a german regiment 980 and very good

1:56.9

commander named adolf is at aloft tom, who's in command of the counterattack?

2:02.8

The Germans always counterattack, but five counterattacks over the course of 40 hours.

2:10.7

Patrick, there's no way this makes sense in a novel.

2:13.5

This doesn't happen.

2:14.5

It's impossible to imagine holding out.

2:17.3

It is impossible. And the men were dug in on very shallow foxholes.

2:21.9

They had their BARs. They have their Tommy guns. They have their M1 grants.

2:26.0

As well as capture German weapons again from each of the subsequent counter attacks.

...

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