delivered them to Saipan. After hasty reorganization, most of the regiment was successfully transported to Guam. Almost 600 troops, including Captain Ōba, had to be left behind on Saipan. Ōba was assigned to organize a 225-man medical company composed of tankers, engineers, and medics that survived the Sakito-maru disaster. They obtained what few medical supplies were available and by mid-May had set up a medical aid station. On the morning of 15 June 1944, United States Marines landed on the beaches for the Battle of Saipan. Despite a fierce defense, the Japanese were gradually pushed back with heavy losses. The Japanese commander used Mount Tapochau at the center of the island as headquarters and organized defensive lines around the mountain. With no re-supply or relief available, the situation became untenable for the defenders, and a final attack was ordered. On 7 July, Captain Ōba and his men participated in the largest banzai charge of the war in the Pacific. After 15 hours of intense and unrelenting hand to hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead. Allied forces declared the island secured on 9 July 1944. By 30 September 1944, the Japanese Army made an official presumption of death for all personnel of unknown status and they were declared killed in action. That included Captain Ōba, and he was awarded a "posthumous" promotion to major. Holdout In reality, Captain Ōba survived the battle and gradually took command of over a hundred other soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Ōba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture. He and his men organized the civilians and placed them in mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Captain Ōba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of U.S. Marines. Ōba used Mount Tapochau as their primary base; at , the peak offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Ōba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the frustrated attempts to find him, the Marines on Saipan eventually referred to Ōba as "The Fox". In September 1944, the Marines began conducting patrols in the island's interior, searching for