The Pinnacle, Battle of Okinawa
Encyclopedia
The Pinnacle was the name given to a 30 foot spire, atop a 450 foot ridge of coral approximately 1,000 yards southwest of Arakachi, Okinawa. Heavily fortified by the Japanese 62d Division
, this outpost to Japan's main defenses at Shuri held up the U.S. 7th Division on 5–6 April 1945 with accurate and well-concealed machine gun, mortar and artillery fire.
and mine fields
protected the major approaches. Lieutenant Tanigawa could hardly have hoped to stop the Americans, but undoubtedly he expected to make the price of victory high.
of The Pinnacle on the morning of 6 April. B Company, 184th Infantry, 7th Division was ordered to make a frontal assault. They were to be supported to their right (west) by C Company.
Two platoons were able to make it close to the top of the target ridge, but alerted the Japanese defenders to their presence once the Americans began dropping grenades into the caves and underground positions they had encountered. The Japanese were able to dislodge both platoons with grenades, satchel charges and pre-sighted mortar fire. American forces suffered heavy casualties.
One hour later, the Americans once again attempted a direct infantry assault against The Pinnacle; however, this time they provided supporting 105 mm artillery fire
, light tank support, anti-tank guns, heavy machine gun
s, bazooka
s, 4.2 inch
chemical mortars, 60 and 80 mm mortars. Despite this combined arms assault, Japanese defenders were once again able to drive the Americans off. Japanese soldiers had simply hidden in their caves during the pre-assault bombardment, then rushed back to their prepared positions to meet subsequent assaulting troops.
At this point, Lt. Col. Daniel Maybury, Commander, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry, 7th Division, made a change in tactics. He directed C Company up a draw just beyond the ridge that had been used by B Company. While B Company quickly worked their way up the ridge in an attempt to catch Japanese defenders out of their positions, C Company worked its way up the western approaches to The Pinnacle, in what turned out to be a difficult but partially covered route.
While Lieutenant Tanigawa was able to direct the repulse of B Company from the observation points afforded to him by the structure of The Pinnacle, he was completely unaware of C Company advancing on his western flank. Following in the path of supporting fire, C Company quickly made their way to the top of the ridge without loss. The Americans, having achieved the element of surprise in their flanking maneuver, then proceeded to leisurely and methodically to destroy the remaining Japanese with white phosphorus grenades and flame throwers. Only 20 of the 110 defenders escaped to the south. With the Pinnacle reduced, the entire 7th Division line could move forward.
Organization of Japanese defensive units in Okinawa
Organization of Japanese defensive units in Okinawa prior to the American invasion.The defense of Okinawa Island was weakened when the 9th Division wastransferred to Taiwan...
, this outpost to Japan's main defenses at Shuri held up the U.S. 7th Division on 5–6 April 1945 with accurate and well-concealed machine gun, mortar and artillery fire.
The Pinnacle As A Defensive Position
Lieutenant Tanigawa had built his defenses around eight light and two heavy machine guns sited at the base of the hill. In trenches and pits riflemen well-supplied with grenades covered the dead spaces in front of the machine guns. The defenses were connected by the usual tunnels and trenches, affording underground mobility. On the top of the ridge were four 50 mm mortars, and on the reverse slope to the south were three more. Artillery check points had been established for 62d Division field pieces to the south. Barbed wireBarbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
and mine fields
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
protected the major approaches. Lieutenant Tanigawa could hardly have hoped to stop the Americans, but undoubtedly he expected to make the price of victory high.
6 April 1945
The U.S. Army conducted a 10-minute artillery bombardmentBarrage (artillery)
A barrage is a line or barrier of exploding artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated aiming of a large number of guns firing continuously. Its purpose is to deny or hamper enemy passage through the line of the barrage, to attack a linear position such as a line of trenches or to neutralize...
of The Pinnacle on the morning of 6 April. B Company, 184th Infantry, 7th Division was ordered to make a frontal assault. They were to be supported to their right (west) by C Company.
Two platoons were able to make it close to the top of the target ridge, but alerted the Japanese defenders to their presence once the Americans began dropping grenades into the caves and underground positions they had encountered. The Japanese were able to dislodge both platoons with grenades, satchel charges and pre-sighted mortar fire. American forces suffered heavy casualties.
One hour later, the Americans once again attempted a direct infantry assault against The Pinnacle; however, this time they provided supporting 105 mm artillery fire
M101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
, light tank support, anti-tank guns, heavy machine gun
Heavy machine gun
The heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
s, bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
s, 4.2 inch
M2 4.2 inch mortar
-External links:* early detailed article on 4.2 mortar...
chemical mortars, 60 and 80 mm mortars. Despite this combined arms assault, Japanese defenders were once again able to drive the Americans off. Japanese soldiers had simply hidden in their caves during the pre-assault bombardment, then rushed back to their prepared positions to meet subsequent assaulting troops.
At this point, Lt. Col. Daniel Maybury, Commander, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry, 7th Division, made a change in tactics. He directed C Company up a draw just beyond the ridge that had been used by B Company. While B Company quickly worked their way up the ridge in an attempt to catch Japanese defenders out of their positions, C Company worked its way up the western approaches to The Pinnacle, in what turned out to be a difficult but partially covered route.
While Lieutenant Tanigawa was able to direct the repulse of B Company from the observation points afforded to him by the structure of The Pinnacle, he was completely unaware of C Company advancing on his western flank. Following in the path of supporting fire, C Company quickly made their way to the top of the ridge without loss. The Americans, having achieved the element of surprise in their flanking maneuver, then proceeded to leisurely and methodically to destroy the remaining Japanese with white phosphorus grenades and flame throwers. Only 20 of the 110 defenders escaped to the south. With the Pinnacle reduced, the entire 7th Division line could move forward.