MEDIUM TRACTOR M5 dragging sleds of ammunition to the front as a jeep equipped to lay wire waits on the side of the road. Tropical rains and constant traffic produced a sea of mud on the roads to the dumps. It often took a tractor such as this three hours to make a round trip from the beach to the supply dump, a distance in some cases of only 600 yards. The two beachheads were joined after three days of fighting. Orote Peninsula with its harbor and airstrip was gained when the cut-off enemy in this area was wiped out.
MARIANA ISLANDS
CLOSING IN ON AN ENEMY POSITION. Explosives being used to destroy a dugout (top); note 37-mm. antitank gun M3A1 (bottom). On 30 July American units made an attack toward the north end of the island.
MARIANA ISLANDS
ENEMY BEING ROUTED FROM ONE OF MANY CAVES ON GUAM; before dynamite charges were set in his pillboxes, dugouts, and caves, he was given a chance to surrender (top). Men washing behind the defensive line after a long hard trek (bottom). The advance to the north end of the island was considerably hampered by jungle terrain. The enemy put up a stubborn defense on the high ground in the north and organized resistance did not cease until 10 August.
