How did U.S. troops cut Okinawa in two after the initial landings?

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U.S. Marines on Okinawa — Battle of Okinawa U.S. Marines battling for control of a ridge near Naha, Okinawa, May 1945.

Following the initial landings on April 1, 1945, U.S. ground troops successfully cut Okinawa in two by advancing across the island's narrow waist.12

The invasion began with U.S. forces landing on the Hagushi beaches along the central west coast of the island. Because the Japanese commander, Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru, had strategically decided to concentrate his main resistance inland—out of range of American naval gunfire—the U.S. troops encountered little opposition at the beaches. After securing two nearby airfields, the American forces pushed eastward across the island's narrow central section, effectively bisecting it by April 4.321