_The difficult and shell-pocked terrain of Okinawa is seen here in a
view from the crest of Sugar Loaf toward Crescent Hill and southeast
beyond the Kokuba River. This photograph also illustrates the extent
to which Sugar Loaf Hill dominated the Asato corridor running from
Naha to Shuri and demonstrates why the Japanese defended the area so
tenaciously._]
The 18th of May marked the beginning of seemingly endless rains. Into
the start of this soupy mess attacked Dog Company, 2/29, this time
supported by more tanks which braved the minefields on both shoulders
of Sugar Loaf to penetrate the no-man’s land just to the south. When
the Japanese poured out of their reverse-slope holes for yet another
counterattack, the waiting tanks surprised and riddled them. Dog
Company earned the distinction of becoming the first rifle company to
hold Sugar Loaf overnight. The Marines would not relinquish that costly
ground.
But now the 29th Marines were pretty much shot up, and still Half Moon,
Horseshoe, and Shuri remained to be assaulted. General Geiger adjusted
the tactical boundaries slightly westward to allow the 1st Marine
Division a shot at the eastern spur of Horseshoe, and he also released
the 4th Marines from Corps reserve. General Shepherd deployed the fresh
regiment into the battle on the 19th. The battle still raged. The 4th
Marines sustained 70 casualties just in conducting the relief of lines
with the 29th Marines. But with Sugar Loaf now in friendly hands, the
momentum of the fight began to change. On 20 May, Lieutenant Colonel
Reynolds H. Hayden’s 1/4 and Lieutenant Colonel Bruno A. Hochmuth’s
3/4 made impressive gains on either flank. By day’s end, 2/4 held much
of Half Moon, while 3/4 had seized a good portion of Horseshoe. As
Corporal Day had warned, most Japanese reinforcements funneled into
the fight from the southwest, so 3/4 prepared for nocturnal visitors
at Horseshoe. These arrived in massive numbers, up to 700 Japanese
soldiers and sailors, and surged against 3/4 much of the night.
Hochmuth had a wealth of supporting arms: six artillery battalions in
direct support at the onset of the attack, and up to 15 battalions
at the height of the fighting. Throughout the crisis on Horseshoe,
Hochmuth maintained a direct radio link with Lieutenant Colonel Bruce
T. Hemphill, commanding 4/15, one of the support artillery firing
battalions. This close exchange between commanders reduced the number
of short rounds which might have otherwise decimated the defenders and
allowed the 15th Marines to provide uncommonly accurate fire on the
Japanese. The rain of shells blew great holes in the ranks of every
Japanese advance; Marine riflemen met those who survived at bayonet
point. The counterattackers died to the man.
Even with Hochmuth’s victory the protracted battle of Sugar Loaf lacked
a climactic finish. There would be no celebration ceremony here.
Shuri Ridge loomed ahead, as did the sniper-infested ruins of Naha.
Elements of the 1st Marine Division began bypassing the last of the
Wana defenses to the east. The 6th Division slipped westward. Colonel
Shapley’s 4th Marines crossed the Asa River, now chest-high from the
heavy rainfall, on 23 May. The III Amphibious Corps stood poised on the
outskirts of Okinawa’s capital city.
[Illustration: _“Buck Rogers” rocket Marines load projectiles into the
racks of a mobile launcher in preparation for laying down a barrage on
Japanese positions during the Tenth Army drive to the south of Okinawa.
Such barrages were very effective._
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 181768
]
The Army divisions in XXIV Corps matched the Marines’ breakthroughs.
On the east coast, the 96th Division seized Conical Hill, the Shuri
Line’s opposite anchor from Sugar Loaf, after weeks of bitter fighting.
The 7th Division, in relief, seized Yonabaru on 22 May. Suddenly,
the _Thirty-second Army_ faced the threat of being cut off from both
flanks. This time General Ushijima listened to Colonel Yahara’s advice.
Instead of fighting to the death at Shuri Castle, the army would take
advantage of the awful weather and retreat southward to their final
line of prepared defenses in the Kiyamu Peninsula. Ushijima executed
this withdrawal masterfully. While American aviators spotted and
interdicted the southbound columns, they also reported other columns
moving north. General Buckner assumed the enemy was simply rotating
units still defending the Shuri defenses. But these north-bound troops
were ragtag units assigned to conduct a do-or-die rear guard. At this,
they were eminently successful.
[Illustration: