Evening star., 1945-04-24
Aid
Yaqks Edging Along
Coast Of 0kinawa
BY the Associated Press.

GUAM, April "a. r q m =
throwing oath Corps infantry
men edged down the southern
coast of Okinawa yesterday, press
dispatches from the battlefront
reported today, but Japanese
artillery held the center of the
line in check.
The 9th Division made small
gains on the west coast. The 7th
took two more east coast crags on
the painful approach to Hill 178,
where enemy replacement crews put
Japanese machine guns into action
again almost as fast as they were
knocked out.
Japanese batteries hurled $50
rounds of artillery fire into the 96th
Division in the heavily fortified GEN.
ter of the island.
The intensive Yank artillery bar
rage of the last two days lessened.
But the offensive still relied strongly
on flame-throwers and heavy artil-
lery firing at close range.
Northern Area Conquered.
Third Amphibious Corps Marines
indicated they had virtually COM
pleted control of the northern end
of the island, 325 miles from Japan.
They released ships which had been
furnishing artillery support.
Admiral Chester w. Nimitz report
ing on the six-day-old Southern
Okinawa drive toward the capital
Of Nahas aid tersely in his communi-
que today:
mo further information is avail
able on the progress of the fighting
in Southern Okinawa."
His only elaboration was to state
that naval guns and carrier aircraft
continued to support troops of Maj
John r. Hodges oath Army Corps.
33 Jap Planes Destroyed.
Elsewhere in the Ryukyus, 33 Jap
anese planes were destroyed-24 by
American carrier aircraft at Miyako
and Ishigaki in the Sakishima group
Of the Southern Ryukyus; five by
British Pacific fleet carrier planes in
the same area: three caught on the
ground at Kume Island, west of Oki-
naWa, and one downed north of
Okinawa by Marine fighter plane.
Front-line reports showed how
close the embattled lines are in some
sectors, and how desperate is the
fighting.
The 165th Fighting Irish) Regi-
ment of the 9th Division found
japanese clinging doggedly to
ridge behind its slowly advancing
troops. Precision bombing by Amer
lean planes wiped out the enemy it
was reported.
Vern Haugland, Associated Press
correspondent, in delayed dis
patch from the 77th Division sector,
said a savage japanese hill defense
withstood the combined onslaught
of American tanks, artillery and in
fantry through three days.
Japs Deep in Caves.
The japanese dug deep into caves
during tank and artillery barrages,
only to reappear with deadly ma
chine-gun fire when Doughboys
from a battalion commanded by
Maj. James L. Bulloch, Sacramento,
Calf, tried to storm the hill.
In one sector, each of 36 enemy
machine gun positions was silenced
at some time during the day-but
each was manned again shortly and
resumed fire. Supporting these
light weapons the enemy was. using
a 155 nm. howitzer and terrific
mortar fire from the next escarp-4
ment.
A battalion under 1t. Col. Delbert
Bjork, Riverton, Astoria, Greg, met
stubborn resistance in crag areas
where flamethrowers, focused on
holes on one side of a ridge, saw
their fame emerging from the other
side of the hill.
Emphasizing Admiral Nimitz's
almost daily reports of bitter
enemy resistance" one front line
officer said the campaign was
damn slow and not cheap"