On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division, part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps, continues assaulting Sugar Loaf hill have Japanese positions are heavily bombarded by aircraft, artillery and ships.
Elements of US 1st Marine Division capture the western part of the Wana valley but fail to take the ridge.
Units of the US 77th Division, part of US 24th Corps, make a surprise attack on Ishimmi Ridge, west of the village, and end up in positions exposed to Japanese fire.
Campaign Background — Japanese Anti-tank Defense vs M4 Sherman
One of the keys to understanding the Okinawa campaign is that it was only the second Pacific Island campaign — Iwo Jima being the first — where the Japanese deployed a continuous ground defense with a anti-tank gun line and an integrated doctrine to separate American tanks and infantry. This gun line was based on a weapon able to defeat the front hull of the M4 Sherman, the Japanese 47mm type 01 anti tank gun. The Japanese also, for the first time in the Pacific War, systematically destroyed abandoned M4 Shermans every chance they got.