Western Okinawa Beaches (Attack Order A405-45)

The main assault on Okinawa began at the Hagushi beaches on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945. Rear Admiral L. F. Reifsnider’s Att...

Read More

The main assault on Okinawa began at the Hagushi beaches on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945. Rear Admiral L. F. Reifsnider’s Attack Order A405-45, dated 8 March, set out the Northern Attack Force’s part in landing Marines, equipment and supplies for Operation Iceberg. These top secret “Western Okinawa Beaches” sketches formed Section F of an appendix to that much larger order. We have four consecutive sheets, numbered 1–4 of six, following the western coast from the northern flank through the Marine landing beaches to the Army sector beyond the Bishi River.

The main assault on Okinawa began at the Hagushi beaches on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945. Rear Admiral L. F. Reifsnider’s Attack Order A405-45, dated 8 March, set out the Northern Attack Force’s part in landing Marines, equipment and supplies for Operation Iceberg. These top secret “Western Okinawa Beaches” sketches formed Section F of an appendix to that much larger order. We have four consecutive sheets, numbered 1–4 of six, following the western coast from the northern flank through the Marine landing beaches to the Army sector beyond the Bishi River.

The maps put the coastline in the hands of men who had yet to see it. Each front combines a 1:10,000 plan, with assessed Japanese guns, trenches and pillboxes overprinted in red, an oblique view from the offshore line of departure, and a running shoreline profile. The reverse supplies aerial reconnaissance photographs with the relevant beaches boxed, alongside April 1945 tide and moonlight tables. Reefs, rocky stretches, caves and Okinawan tombs mattered as much as roads and airfields when choosing where men and landing craft could come ashore.

  • Sheet 1 — Black Beaches 1–6: Around Uza, Tokeshi and Takashippo, these lay north of the main 1 April assault frontage. The front shows the broken shore in profile, including rocks, caves and tombs, and a flag key for marking beaches by day and night; the back identifies the Black beaches in aerial photographs. After Marines reached nearby Zampa Misaki on 2 April, the beaches were judged unsuitable for the unloading role envisaged for them.
  • Sheet 2 — Green Beaches 1–2: Here the 22nd Marines of the 6th Marine Division landed beside Yontan Airfield. Its concrete structures appear on the plan amid red defensive markings and clusters of tombs that might serve as strongpoints. The neighbouring 4th Marines took the airfield on the first day. Green 1 and 2 are boxed in the photographs on the back, while the front also gives day and night beach-flag signals.
  • Sheet 3 — Red, Blue and Yellow: Around Sobe, the 4th Marines were assigned Red 1–3, the 7th Marines Blue 1–2 and the 5th Marines Yellow 1. The plan marks anticipated gun positions and trenches and a line of obstacles along the reef. Its back photographs the Red and Blue beaches. The group is reported to have come from an officer of USS Dade, which landed Marines and cargo on Blue Beach.
  • Sheet 4 — Yellow, Purple and Orange: Yellow 1–3 carried the 5th Marines; across the Bishi River, the 17th and 32nd Infantry of the Army’s 7th Division landed on Purple and Orange beaches. The front plots Kadena Airfield and dense defensive markings around Kadena, Toguchi and Hiza. Kadena was taken that day, and the Hagushi river mouth became a major unloading point. The back photographs the Yellow and Purple beaches.

Despite the formidable defences anticipated in the sketches, the first waves met little resistance at the water’s edge. Both Yontan and Kadena airfields fell on 1 April; the principal Japanese defence lay farther inland to the south, where the battle became prolonged and costly.

Back to Top

Western Okinawa Beaches (Attack Order A405-45)

  • Sheet 1 — Black Beaches 1–6: Around Uza, Tokeshi and Takashippo, these lay north of the main 1 April assault frontage. The front shows the broken shore in profile, including rocks, caves and tombs, and a flag key for marking beaches by day and night; the back identifies the Black beaches in aerial photographs. After Marines reached nearby Zampa Misaki on 2 April, the beaches were judged unsuitable for the unloading role envisaged for them.
  • Sheet 2 — Green Beaches 1–2: Here the 22nd Marines of the 6th Marine Division landed beside Yontan Airfield. Its concrete structures appear on the plan amid red defensive markings and clusters of tombs that might serve as strongpoints. The neighbouring 4th Marines took the airfield on the first day. Green 1 and 2 are boxed in the photographs on the back, while the front also gives day and night beach-flag signals.
  • Sheet 3 — Red, Blue and Yellow: Around Sobe, the 4th Marines were assigned Red 1–3, the 7th Marines Blue 1–2 and the 5th Marines Yellow 1. The plan marks anticipated gun positions and trenches and a line of obstacles along the reef. Its back photographs the Red and Blue beaches. The group is reported to have come from an officer of USS Dade, which landed Marines and cargo on Blue Beach.
  • Sheet 4 — Yellow, Purple and Orange: Yellow 1–3 carried the 5th Marines; across the Bishi River, the 17th and 32nd Infantry of the Army’s 7th Division landed on Purple and Orange beaches. The front plots Kadena Airfield and dense defensive markings around Kadena, Toguchi and Hiza. Kadena was taken that day, and the Hagushi river mouth became a major unloading point. The back photographs the Yellow and Purple beaches.

Despite the formidable defences anticipated in the sketches, the first waves met little resistance at the water’s edge. Both Yontan and Kadena airfields fell on 1 April; the principal Japanese defence lay farther inland to the south, where the battle became prolonged and costly.