Even when they weren't on the front lines, the 4th Division had a job to do. The 27th Division had finally made some significant gains in the center of Saipan, and the entire division, thus closed out of the front, was designated as reserve. There was mopping up to do, however, and the 24th Marines sent patrols between their position and the 2nd Marine Division on the west coast. Harassing artillery fire from Purple Heart Ridge impacted along the peninsula all day, and while this caused few casualties, hostile artillery was unwelcome under any circumstance - particularly so when communication problems with Army units led to delays in counterbattery fire.
The 4th Division did not get a chance to fully organize as a reserve force; an order came down that evening to prepare to rejoin the line and resume advancing the next day. The 25th Marines were to stay on Hill 500 in reserve, and the 23rd and 24th moved on up to the front once again.
The night of "D plus 11" put an abrupt end to this relaxation, for a late phone call ordered a pre-dawn breakup of the bivouac and a return to action. So the light of morning showed lines of troops heading toward Tapochau and then north once again. It often happens that there is far more apprehension when behind the front than when on it, so we were unconsciously relieved when a distant Nambu machine gun opened up without damage and our return was complete.
- Captain Frederic Stott, 1/24, "Saipan Under Fire"
The Japanese concentrated their main defense during this period at Garapan, where the 2nd Marine Division was having a rough time clearing the city.
General Jarman, infuriated with the unwillingness of Army officers to move their troops forward, fired the colonel commanding the 106th Infantry (nineteen other officers in the Division would be relieved before the end of the battle).
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