How did U.S. Rangers disable the German guns found near Pointe du Hoc?

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D-Day: Omaha Beach — Omaha Beach U.S. infantrymen wading from their landing craft toward Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

During the D-Day assault on Pointe du Hoc, U.S. Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to neutralize German artillery that threatened the Omaha Beach and Utah Beach landings. Upon reaching the site, the Rangers discovered that the reinforced-concrete casemates were empty of the expected 155-mm guns.1

A two-man patrol subsequently located the artillery pieces hidden approximately 500 metres (550 yards) away from the casemates, already zeroed in on Utah Beach. To disable the weapons, the Rangers used thermite grenades to melt the guns' traversing and elevating mechanisms. This action rendered the artillery pieces immovable and effectively put them out of action, marking the first successful completion of a mission by an American unit on D-Day.1