Smaller amphibious operations offered repeatable problems of matching limited troops to possible landing sites. Their planning could be more applicable to future operations than the largest landings, whose circumstances were unusual. The same formations returned to combat, so the pace depended on how quickly they could land, complete their fighting, recover, and deploy again. The US 43rd Infantry Division illustrates the cycle: it landed on New Georgia on 30 June 1943 during Operation Toenails, then appeared on Arundel Island on 27 August. Fighting on Arundel required more time and work before the division could be reused.
Notable Point · 23:54-26:38
How reused divisions set the pace of island operations
The turnaround of formations between landings constrained the pace of Cartwheel, illustrated by the 43rd Infantry Division's successive deployments.