Battle of the Kum River (14–16 July) First North Korean attack |alt=A map illustrating the contents at this section On the morning of 14 July, American soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry, on the heights above the
Kum River Line spotted T-34s across the river. The T-34s fired on the 3rd Battalion's position from across the river, to no effect. By mid-morning, North Korean infantry were spotted crossing the river by boat and
mortar and
artillery fire began hitting the 34th Infantry's lines. In the confusion and resulting poor communication, the North Korean infantry managed to move around the American lines. The 1st Battalion, further north, also came under heavy attack by advancing North Korean forces, and though it repulsed the attack with the help of artillery, it was forced to withdraw to safer positions. In the early afternoon, another attacking force, an estimated 1,000 North Korean troops, crossed the river. The North Koreans captured an outpost of the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion, supporting the 34th Infantry with 105 mm
howitzers. They turned a captured machine gun on the battalion's HQ battery and began to fire, taking it by surprise. Artillery fire aimed at the battery destroyed communications and vehicles, and inflicted heavy casualties. Its survivors retreated on foot to the south. Meanwhile, only away, a battery of the battalion also came under attack, by 100 North Korean infantrymen, resulting in similar casualties and retreat. B Battery was attacked by 400 North Koreans, but an advance of South Korean horse cavalry spared the battery from heavy losses, allowing it to make an organized retreat. The 63rd Field Artillery lost all of its guns and 80 of its vehicles, many still intact for North Korean forces to use. Later in the evening, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, counterattacked the positions but was unable to take them back in the face of machine gun and small arms fire, and was forced to withdraw by nightfall. After this failed attempt to retake the equipment, Dean ordered the positions where the captured equipment was located to be destroyed by an
airstrike. With the 1st Battalion having taken heavy casualties and the 3rd Battalion forced to move to counter North Korean attacks, the northwest flank of the American line had been beaten back. The North Korean 4th Division began crossing the river, only slightly impeded by U.S. aircraft attacking its boats.
Second North Korean attack Following the initial penetration, the 34th Infantry line moved south to
Nonsan. The 19th Infantry moved its 2nd Battalion to fill some of the gaps left by the 34th, reinforced by
Republic of Korea Army troops. The combined forces observed a large build-up of North Korean troops on the other side of the river. At 03:00 on 16 July, the North Koreans launched a massive barrage of tank, artillery and mortar fire on the 19th Infantry's positions and North Korean troops began to cross the river in boats. The North Korean forces gathered on the west bank and assaulted the positions of 1st Battalion's C and E companies, followed by a second landing against B Company. North Korean forces pushed against the entire battalion, threatening to overwhelm it. The regimental commander ordered all support troops and officers to the line and they were able to repulse the assault. However, in the melee, North Korean forces infiltrated their rear elements, attacking the reserve forces and blocking supply lines. Stretched thin, the 19th Infantry was unable to hold the line at the Kum River and simultaneously repel the North Korean forces. That evening, 2nd Battalion was moved to attempt to deal with the North Koreans in the rear but suffered casualties as well, and was unable to break the roadblocks. By 17 July, the 19th Infantry withdrew, and was ordered southwest to regroup and re-equip. Less than half of 1st Battalion returned, and only two of 2nd Battalion's companies remained intact. All three regiments of the 24th Infantry Division, having each been defeated and overwhelmed, were down to battalion-strength formations. The division's 19th and 34th regiments had engaged the North Korean 3rd Infantry Division and the North Korean 4th Infantry Division between 13 and 16 July and suffered 650 casualties among the 3,401 men committed there. On 18 July, the Eighth Army commander,
Lieutenant General Walton Walker, ordered General Dean to hold Taejon until the 20th so that the 1st Cavalry Division and 25th Infantry Division could establish defensive lines along the
Naktong River, forming the Pusan Perimeter. As the North Korean push against the U.S. units forced them back, 31 U.S. troops were killed in the
Chaplain-Medic Massacre.
Taejon surrounded The North Koreans then moved against Taejon city. On 19 July, North Korean forces entered Taejon, the site of the 24th Infantry Division's headquarters. The North Korean 3rd Division formed a roadblock between Taejon and
Okchon, cutting off the 21st Infantry in its reserve positions. The 21st Infantry was subsequently unable to join the fight. However, it attempted to hold the route of escape for the rest of the division during most of the fight at Taejon. At the same time, tanks from the North Korean 105th Armored Division began to enter the city, followed by troops of the 3rd and 4th infantry divisions. There, the North Korean forces deployed, occupying key buildings throughout the city to establish sniper positions. American attacks against these positions later set fire to many of Taejon's wooden buildings. North Korean forces prioritised and attempted to eliminate American gun emplacements, food stores, and ammunition dumps, having received information on the location of these facilities through agents operating in the city. At Taejon, the battered 24th Infantry Division was ordered to make a stand. The 34th Infantry also moved to the city to oppose the North Korean forces, which assaulted it head-on while attempting to flank and cut off retreat from the rear. Dean began ordering elements of the division, including much of his headquarters, to retreat via train to Taegu, although he remained behind. By this time, several
M24 Chaffee light tanks had been sent to reinforce the division from A Company of the 78th Tank Battalion. Regardless of the additional tanks, on 20 July, North Korean armored units pushed American forces back from
Taejon Airfield, several miles northwest of Taejon, overwhelming the last American units defending the Kum River and forcing the remnants of the division into Taejon itself. At this point the city was surrounded and North Korean troops began setting roadblocks along the roads out of the city. For two days, the 34th Infantry fought the advancing North Koreans in bitter house-to-house fighting. North Korean soldiers continued to infiltrate the city, often disguised as farmers. The remaining elements of the 24th Infantry Division were pushed back block-by-block. Without radios, and unable to communicate with the remaining elements of the division, Dean joined the men on the front lines. At one point, he personally attacked a tank with a
hand grenade, destroying it. Large columns of North Korean forces began marching on the city from the south roads, reinforcing those that had crossed the river. American forces pulled back after suffering heavy losses, allowing the North Korean 3rd and 4th divisions to move on the city freely from the north, south, and east roads. The 24th Infantry Division repeatedly attempted to establish its defensive lines, and was each time pushed back by the numerically superior North Koreans.
Taejon falls At the end of the day on 20 July, Dean ordered the headquarters of the 34th Infantry to withdraw. His command was reinforced by several more light tanks from the 1st Cavalry Division. As the tanks fought through a North Korean roadblock, Dean, with a small force of soldiers, followed them. At the edge of the city, the final elements of the 34th Infantry, leaving the city in 50 vehicles, were ambushed and many of their vehicles were destroyed by machine guns and mortars, forcing the Americans to retreat on foot. In the ensuing fight, Dean's
jeep made a wrong turn and was separated from the rest of the American forces. Unable to turn back, Dean and his party attempted to retreat to American lines on their own, but 35 days later, alone and lost in the hills, Dean was captured by North Korean forces. For most of his incarceration, the North Koreans were not aware of his rank. Dean repeatedly attempted to make the North Koreans kill him for fear of divulging information under torture. North Korean leaders had threatened to harm Dean if he did not cooperate but he was never actually tortured. Eventually his rank was uncovered, but they were unable to gather any intelligence from him. When the last of the 34th Infantry's defenders left the city, the 21st Infantry, which had been protecting the road to Taegu, also withdrew, leaving Taejon in the hands of the North Korean forces. == Aftermath ==