Marines clearing northern Okinawa
Army troops prepare attack on Naha
Gaining on Okinawa, U.S. Marines were within 10 miles of the northern tip of the island. A trapped Jap force on Motobu Peninsula was fighting fiercely in the south. Army troops prepared an all-out offensive against the Jap defenders of Naha, the island’s capital. U.S. Superfortresses raided Tokyo and the Japs reported a raid by carrier panes and Liberators against southern Kyushu Island (inset map).
GUAM (UP) – Marines of the III Amphibious Corps pushed along the last 10-odd miles toward the northern tip of Okinawa against light resistance today.
In Southern Okinawa, Army troops of the XXIV Corps beat off Jap counterattacks and, by Tokyo accounts, prepared for a full-scale offensive against Naha, capital of the island.
The Army forces have been stalled for nearly a week by upwards of 60,000 Jap troops entrenched in defenses built into hills shielding Naha, only a scant four miles south of the American lines.
Kill 195 Japs
U.S. infantry killed 195 Japs in smashing three counterattacks yesterday. The enemy troops swarmed down from well-defended Kakazu Ridge 1,000 yards inland from the west coast and about 6,000 yards north of Naha.
Some of the enemy troops were armed only with spears, but others carried Tommy guns, grenades and explosive charges.
Tokyo broadcasts said Jap planes launched another “large-scale” assault on American task forces and carrier concentrations around Okinawa at dawn Monday.
Third Jap attack
If confirmed, it would be the third major Jap attempt to drive off the American fleet supporting the Okinawa campaign. The enemy lost 116 Jap planes in the first assault April 7, and 118 more April 12.
In the north, the Marines were driving toward the northern tip of Okinawa against little or no resistance. However, one isolated enemy group on Motobu Peninsula, which juts out of the northwest coast of Okinawa, was putting up a stiff fight.