{"product_id":"killing-ground-on-okinawa-the-battle-for-sugar-loaf-hill-hardcover","title":"Killing Ground on Okinawa: The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Hallas\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn May 12, 1945, the 6th Marine Division was nearing Naha, capital of Okinawa. To the division's front lay a low, loaf-shaped hill. It looked no different from other hills seized with relative ease over the past few days. But this hill, soon to be dubbed, Sugar Loaf, was very different indeed. Part of a complex of three hills, Sugar Loaf formed the western anchor of General Mitsuru Ushijima's Shuri Line, which stretched from coast to coast across the island. Sugar Loaf was critical to the defense of that line, preventing U.S. forces from turning the Japanese flank. Over the next week, the Marines made repeated attacks on the hill losing thousands of men to death, wounds, and combat fatigue. Not until May 18 was Sugar Loaf finally seized. Two days later, the Japanese mounted a battalion-sized counterattack in an effort to regain their lost position, but the Marines held. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIronically, these losses may not have been necessary. General Lemuel Shepherd, Jr., had argued for an amphibious assault to the rear of the Japanese defense line, but his proposal was rejected by U.S. Tenth Army Commander General Simon Bolivar Buckner. That refusal led to a controversy that has continued to this day.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn May 12, 1945, the 6th Marine Division was nearing Naha, capital of Okinawa. A loaf-shaped hill, soon to be dubbed 'Sugar Loaf'' was critical to the defense of that line, preventing U.S. forces from turning Japanese flank. Thousands of men were lost due to deaths, wounds and combat fatigue. Ironically, these losses may not have been necessary. The decisions of Army personnel at Sugar Loaf led to a controversy which has continued today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJAMES H. HALLAS is publisher of the \u003ci\u003eGlastonbury Citizen\u003c\/i\u003e, a newspaper in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He has published articles in \u003ci\u003eAmerican History Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eYankee Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e. He has written two books, \u003ci\u003eSquandered Victory: The American First Army at St. Mihiel\u003c\/i\u003e (Praeger, 1995) and \u003ci\u003eDevil's Anvil: The Assault on Peleliu\u003c\/i\u003e (Praeger, 1994).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.98 x 9.36 x 6.18 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 11, 1996\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42108827697232,"sku":"9780275947262","price":151.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/9540\/0016\/files\/WWVtNys4aDdncWJFUVJ3S0VCMVNFUT09.webp?v=1772449221","url":"https:\/\/palm-malen-gift-shop-pmrc.myshopify.com\/products\/killing-ground-on-okinawa-the-battle-for-sugar-loaf-hill-hardcover","provider":"Palm Malen Gift Shop -PMRC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}