Situated in a cave overlooking the airfield is this heavy caliber Japanese antiboat gun. It had a field of fire which included the invasion beaches and the airfield.
Damaged heavily in the D-Day bombardment, this Japanese pillbox survives on the southern promontory of White Beach. Now vacant, its gun lies on the beach.
Caption and photograph by Phillip D. Orr
On the division’s right flank, Orange 3, Major Edward H. Hurst’s 3/7 had to cross directly in front of a commanding defensive fortification flanking the beach as had Marines in the flanking position on the Point. Fortunately, it was not as close as the Point position, and did not inflict such heavy damage. Nevertheless, its enfilading fire, together with some natural obstructions on the beach caused Company K, 3/7, to land left of its planned landing beach, onto the right half of beach Orange 2, 3/5’s beach. In addition to being out of position, and out of contact with the company to its right, Company K, 3/7, became intermingled with Company K, 3/5, a condition fraught with confusion and delay. Major Hurst necessarily spent time regrouping his separated battalion, using as a coordinating line a large antitank ditch astride his line of advance. His eastward advance then resumed, somewhat delayed by his efforts to regroup.
Any delay was anathema to the division commander, who visualized momentum as key to his success. The division scheme of maneuver on the right called for the 7th Marines (Colonel Herman H. Hanneken) to land two battalions in column, both over Beach Orange 3. As Hurst’s leading battalion advanced, it was to be followed in trace by Lieutenant Colonel John J. Gormley’s 1/7. Gormley’s unit was to tie into Hurst’s right flank, and re-orient southeast and south as that area was uncovered. He was then to attack southeast and south, with his left on Hurst’s right, and his own right on the beach. After Hurst’s battalion reached the opposite shore, both were to attack south, defending Scarlet 1 and Scarlet 2, the southern landing beaches.
At the end of a bloody first hour, all five battalions were ashore. The closer each battalion was to Umurbrogol, the more tenuous was its hold on the shallow beachhead. During the next two hours, three of the division’s four remaining battalions would join the assault and press for the momentum General Rupertus deemed essential.
Following close behind Sabol’s 3/1, the 1st Marines’ Colonel Puller landed his forward command group. As always, he was eager to be close to the battle, even if that location deprived him of some capacity to develop full supporting fires. With limited communications, and now with inadequate numbers of LVTs for follow-on waves, he struggled to ascertain and improve his regiment’s situation. His left unit (Company K, 3/1) had two of its platoons desperately struggling to gain dominance at the Point. Puller’s plan to land Major Davis’ 1st Battalion behind Sabol’s 3/1, to reinforce the fight for the left flank, was thwarted by the H-hour losses in LVTs. Davis’ companies had to be landed singly and his battalion committed piecemeal to the action. On the regiment’s right, Honsowetz’ 2/1 was hotly engaged, but making progress toward capture of the west edges of the scrub which looked out onto the airfield area. He was tied on his right into Boyd’s 1/5, which was similarly engaged.
D-DAY
(After Rectifying 3/5)