On many Pacific battlefields—most infamously on Saipan—the differing tactical concepts of the army and the marines had caused serious friction between the services. Geiger and Rupertus had wanted to snuff out Japanese resistance before turning the island over to the army, and they regretted their failure to do it. But it would take seven more weeks of hard fighting to dig the enemy out of their caves. In this final stage of the battle for the Urmurbrogal badlands, the Wildcats showcased the advantages of go-slow siege tactics.
