On D-Day, a group of U.S. Army Rangers focused their assault on Pointe du Hoc, a strategic position along the Normandy coast.
They planned to arrive early on June 6, 1944, to secure the 100-foot cliffs before the Allied invasion started later that day.
The mission was challenging for two reasons.
First, the Germans knew the strategic importance of the cliffs. So they had installed a robust defense system with 155mm guns that could flood the surrounding beaches with artillery fire.
Second, accessing the cliffs by sea was nearly impossible. The soldiers had to land with their amphibious vehicles on a narrow beach at low tide and then try to climb the cliffs using ropes and ladders―all while taking heavy fire from enemy positions.
Nevertheless, Allied command decided to move forward with the mission.
Pointe du Hoc was vital to the success of the Normandy invasion.
To prepare, the Rangers went through some of the most intense training. They spent weeks getting their minds and bodies ready to scale the cliffs. They also practiced climbing using rocket-fired ropes with grapnels and tested them on similar cliffs along the English coast.
They were ready.
On the morning of the mission, the soldiers were immediately subjected to artillery fire while still in their landing crafts. One company lost 15 men before they could even land.
Those who made it to shore faced another challenge. The rocket-fired ropes were not making it to the top of the cliffs to take hold. This was shocking because the Rangers had thoroughly tested everything.
They had ensured that the rockets had enough power to clear the high cliffs. They also tested the same types of grapnels and ropes they would use in the attack. Yet they were stuck on shore with bullets raining down on them.
Shortly afterward, they figured out the problem. On the way in, the seas were choppy, and seawater had sprayed into the landing crafts. This got the ropes wet, increasing their weight and making it nearly impossible for the rockets to lift them to the cliffs.
It was a disaster.
They had planned for every possible scenario, but the one thing they didn’t think about were ropes becoming heavy due to splashing waves. A few plastic sheets might have saved the day.
Although the Rangers eventually took control of the cliffs, they did so at a much higher cost than expected: a seventy percent casualty rate.
The lesson learned was that you could plan by simulating your environment.
However, unless you use the exact same conditions, there’s always a risk of a surprise.
How to use this mental model
Overplanning doesn’t always guarantee success. But one way to help mitigate the risk of failure is to use if/then modeling and think about backup plans.
For example, “If our grapples don’t work, then we’ll move east to beachhead C and try to make the attack that way. If that fails, then we’ll call for support and retreat to location D.”
By putting in the effort to think through different scenarios ahead of time, you’ll avoid having to make crucial decisions while you’re under fire.
Note: This is based on an article by Megan Johnson about the mission on June 6, 1944 [image source].
This is an excerpt from “Mental Models for Effective Managers.”
