_Other Marines were boated to the beachhead in LCVPs. Debarking from
the Higgins boats, they waded through the quiet surf over the coral
reef to reach shore._]
As the 6th Marine Division swung north and the 1st Marine Division
moved out to the west and northwest, their immediate problems stemmed
not from the Japanese but from a sluggish supply system, still being
processed over the beach. The reef-side transfer line worked well for
troops but poorly for cargo. Navy beachmasters labored to construct an
elaborate causeway to the reef, but in the meantime, the 1st Marine
Division demonstrated some of its amphibious logistics know-how
learned “on-the-job” at Peleliu. It mounted swinging cranes on powered
causeways and secured the craft to the seaward side of the reef. Boats
would pull alongside in deep water; the crane would lift nets filled
with combat cargo from the boats into the open hatches of a DUKW or
LVT waiting on the shoreward side for the final run to the beach. This
worked so well that the division had to divide its assets among the
other divisions within the Tenth Army.
[Illustration: _Marines of the 6th Division have a peaceful “walk in
the sun,” as they head north down the hillside approaching the town of
Ishikawa on L-plus 3. Their idyllic traipse will end soon as they near
Mount Yae Take and well-defended enemy positions._
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 116523
]
Beach congestion also slowed the process. Both Marine divisions
resorted to using their replacement drafts as shore party teams.
Their inexperience in this vital work, combined with the constant
call for groups as replacements, caused problems of traffic control,
establishment of functional supply dumps, and pilferage. This was
nothing new; other divisions in earlier operations had encountered
the same circumstances. The rapidly advancing assault divisions had a
critical need for motor transport and bulk fuel, but these proved slow
to land and distribute. Okinawa’s rudimentary road network further
compounded the problem. Colonel Edward W. Snedeker, commanding the 7th
Marines, summarized the situation after the landing in this candid
report: “The movement from the west coast landing beaches of Okinawa
across the island was most difficult because of the rugged terrain
crossed. It was physically exhausting for personnel who had been on
transports a long time. It also presented initially an impossible
supply problem in the Seventh’s zone of action because of the lack of
roads.”
[Illustration: