_It seemed to be one hill after another in the drive south. Amidst tree
stumps which hardly serve as adequate cover, a bazooka team waits for
an opportunity to charge into the face of Japanese fire over the crest
of the hill in front of them._]
The amphibious assault had been nigh letter-perfect, the typhoon came
and went, and the Marines occupied the peninsula in force, capturing
the airfield in two days. When the 1st Marine Division reached the
southwest coast north of Itoman on 7 June, Admiral Ota’s force lost
its chance of escape. General Shepherd then orchestrated a three-fold
enveloping movement with his regiments and the outcome became
inevitable.
Admiral Ota was no ordinary opponent, however, and the battle for
Oroku was savage and lethal. Ota’s 5,000 spirited sailors fought with
_elan_, and they were very heavily armed. No similar-sized force on
Okinawa possessed so many automatic weapons or employed mines so
effectively. The attacking Marines also encountered some awesome
weapons at very short range--eight-inch coast defense guns redirected
inland, rail-mounted eight-inch rockets (the “Screaming Mimi”), and the
enormous 320mm spigot mortars which launched the terrifying “flying
ashcans.” On 9 June the 4th Marines reported “character of opposition
unchanged; stubborn defense of high ground by 20mm and MG fire.” Two
days later the 29th Marines reported: “L Hill under attack from two
sides; another tank shot on right flank; think an eight-inch gun.”
Ota could nevertheless see the end coming. On 6 June he reported to
naval headquarters in Tokyo: “The troops under my command have fought
gallantly, in the finest tradition of the Japanese Navy. Fierce
bombardments may deform the mountains of Okinawa but cannot alter the
loyal spirit of our men.” Four days later Ota transmitted his final
message to General Ushijima (“Enemy tank groups are now attacking our
cave headquarters; the Naval Base Force is dying gloriously....”) and
committed suicide, his duty done.
[Illustration: _Trying in vain to escape and knee deep in the water’s
edge along the sea wall near the Oroku Peninsula, a Japanese soldier
passes the bodies of two other soldiers._
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 126267
]
General Shepherd knew he had defeated a competent foe. He counted the
costs in his after-action summary of the Oroku operation:
During the 10 days’ fighting, almost 5000 Japanese were killed and
nearly 200 taken prisoner. Thirty of our tanks were disabled, many
by mines. One tank was destroyed by two direct hits from an 8-inch
naval gun fired at point blank range. Finally, 1,608 Marines were
killed or wounded.
When the 1st Marine Division reached the coast near Itoman it
represented the first time in more than a month that the division
had access to the sea. This helped relieve the Old Breed’s extended
supply lines. “As we reached the shore we were helped a great deal
by amphibian tractors that had come down the coast with supplies,”
said Colonel Snedeker of the 7th Marines, “Otherwise we couldn’t get
supplies overland.”
[Illustration: