Battle of Taejon

Battle of Taejon
Part of the Korean War
US forces prepare to retreat from Taejon, July 1950.
Date 14–21 July 1950 Location Taejon, South Korea Coordinates: 36°28′29″N 127°16′22″E / 36.47472°N 127.27278°E / 36.47472; 127.27278 (Battle of Taejon) Result Tactical North Korean victory Strategic American and South Korean victory (establishment of Pusan Perimeter)
Belligerents
United States  South Korea	North Korea
Commanders and leaders
William F. Dean  (POW)	Lee Kwon Mu Lee Yong Ho
Units involved
24th Infantry Division  • 19th Infantry Regiment  • 21st Infantry Regiment  • 34th Infantry Regiment Unorganized elements	3rd Infantry Division 4th Infantry Division 105th Armored Division
Strength
11,400 infantry and support	13,500–17,600 infantry 50 tanks
Casualties and losses
922 killed 228 wounded 2,400 missing (POW/KIA)	Unknown

The Battle of Taejon (14–21 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between American and North Korean forces. Forces of the United States Army attempted to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division. The 24th Infantry Division was overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon. The 24th Infantry Division's regiments were already exhausted from the previous two weeks of delaying actions to stem the advance of the KPA.

The entire 24th Division gathered to make a final stand around Taejon, holding a line along the Kum River to the east of the city. Hampered by a lack of communication and equipment, and a shortage of heavy weapons to match the KPA's firepower, the American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and untrained, were pushed back from the riverbank after several days before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city. After a fierce three-day struggle, the Americans withdrew.

Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic advantage by delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other American divisions to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The delay imposed at Taejon probably prevented an American rout during the subsequent Battle of Pusan Perimeter. During the action, the KPA captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, and highest ranking American prisoner during the Korean War.

Following the invasion of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) by its northern neighbor, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the United Nations committed forces on behalf of South Korea. The United States subsequently sent ground forces to the Korean peninsula to contain the North Korean invasion and to prevent the collapse of the South Korean state. American forces in the Far East had steadily decreased since the end of World War II, five years earlier. When forces were initially committed, the 24th Infantry Division of the Eighth United States Army, headquartered in Japan, was the closest US division. The division was under-strength, and most of its equipment dated from 1945 and earlier due to defense cutbacks enacted in the first Truman administration. Nevertheless, the division was ordered into South Korea.

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