Created in 1945, this rare color documentary THE 6TH MARINE DIVISION ON OKINAWA film shows the massive battle for the island of Okinawa, focusing on the activities of the American 6th Marine Division. The 6th was formed in September 1944. During the invasion of Okinawa it saw combat at Yae-Take and Sugar Loaf Hill and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The 6th Division had also prepared for the invasion of Japan before the war ended. After the war it served in Tsingtao, China where the division was disbanded on April 1, 1946, being the only Marine division to be formed and disbanded overseas and never set foot in the United States.
The Division’s initial objectives in the amphibious landing on Okinawa was the capture of Yontan Airfield while protecting the left (North) Flank.Despite a Japanese battalion in their zone the Division met only light resistance and by the 3rd day was approaching Iskhikawa, twelve days ahead of schedule. By 14 April, the division had swept all through the northern Ishikawa Isthmus – 55 miles from the original landings. The division’s rapid advance continued until eventually they encountered prepared and dug-in defenders at Yae-Take, where the majority of the Udo Force was entrenched. The Udo Force, or Kunigami Detachment, under Colonel Takehiko Udo was built around the 2d Infantry Unit of the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade – reinforced by having absorbed both former sea-raiding suicide squadrons and remnants of the Battalion earlier destroyed by the 6th – was responsible for defense of the Motobu Peninsula and Ie Shima. The 6th Division’s drive captured most of northern Okinawa and the Division won praise for its fast campaign – Brigadier General Oliver P. Smith wrote: “The campaign in the north should dispel the belief held by some that Marines are beach-bound and are not capable of rapid movement.”
After heavy fighting in the south, the division was ordered to replace the Army 27th Infantry Division on the western flank. The 6th division advanced south to partake in the assault against the strong Japanese defense line, called the Shuri Line, that had been constructed across the southern coastline. The Shuri Line was located in hills that were honeycombed with caves and passages, and the Marines had to traverse the hills to cross the line. The division was ordered to capture the Sugar Loaf Hill Complex, 3 hills which formed the western anchor of the Shuri Line defense. The Marines that had assaulted the line were attacked by heavy Japanese mortar and artillery fire, which made it more difficult to secure the line. After a week of fighting, the hill had been taken.
A 6th Division Marine demolition crew watches explosive charges detonate and destroy a Japanese cave, May 1945
After Sugarloaf the Division advanced through Naha, conducted a shore-to-shore amphibious assault on, and subsequent 10-day battle to capture, the Oroku peninsula (defended by Admira Ōta’s forces), and partook in mop-up operations in the south. The battle on Okinawa ended on 21 June 1945. The Sixth division was credited with over 23,839 enemy soldiers killed or captured, and with helping to capture 2⁄3 of the island, but at the cost of heavy casualties, including 576 casualties on one day (May 16) alone,[ – a day described as the “bitterest” fighting of the Okinawa campaign where “the regiments had attacked with all the effort at their command and had been unsuccessful”.
For its actions at Okinawa, the 6th Marine Division earned a Presidential Unit Citation.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
