The assault at Agat was treated to the same thunderous naval gunfire
support which had disrupted and shook the ground in advance of the
landings on the northern beaches at Asan. When the 1st Brigade assault
wave was 1,000 yards from the beach, hundreds of 4.5-inch rockets from
LCI(G)s (Landing Craft, Infantry, Gunboat) slammed into the strand. It
would be the last of the powerful support the troops of the brigade in
assault would get before they touched down on Guam.
While the LVTs, the DUKWs (amphibious trucks), and the LCVPs were
considerably off shore, there was virtually no enemy fire from the
beach. An artillery observation plane reported no observed enemy
fire. The defenders at Agat, however, _1st_ and _2d Battalions, 38th
Infantry_, would respond in their own time. The loss of so many amtracs
as the assault waves neared the beaches meant that, later in the day,
there would not be enough LVTs for the transfer of all supplies and men
from boats to amtracs at the Agat reef. This shortage of tractors would
plague the brigade until well after W-Day.
The damage caused to assault and cargo craft on the reef, and the
precision of Japanese guns became real concerns to General Shepherd.
Some of the Marines and most of the soldiers who came in after the
first assault waves would wade ashore with full packs, water to the
waist or higher, facing the perils of both underwater shellholes and
Japanese fire. Fortunately, by the time the bulk of the 77th Division
waded in, these twin threats were not as great because the Marines
ashore were spread out and keeping the Japanese occupied.
The Japanese Agat command had prepared its defenses well with
thick-walled bunkers and smaller pillboxes. The 75mm guns on Gaan
Point were in the middle of the landing beaches. Crossfire from Gaan
coordinated with the machine guns on nearby tiny Yona island to rake
the beaches allocated to the 4th Marines under Lieutenant Colonel
Alan Shapley. The 4th Marines was to establish its beachhead, and
protect the right or southernmost flank. After bitter fighting, the 4th
Marines forged ahead on the low ground to its front and cleared Bangi
Point where bunker walls could withstand a round from a battleship.
Lieutenant Colonel Shapley set up a block on what was to be known as
Harmon Road leading down from the mountains to Agat. A lesson well
learned in previous operations was that the Japanese would be back in
strength and at night.
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