On June 25, 1950, the world was shocked by news that the North Korean army was advancing into South Korea with the goal of uniting the Korean Peninsula under communist rule. President Harry Truman directed the United States military to aid South Korea in repelling the invasion. It was quickly determined that American ground troops should be deployed, and the closest unit was the 24th Division, then part of the army occupying Japan.
Unfortunately, the Army’s 1950 divisions were not the same as those that conquered the Axis in 1945. Budget considerations left them at 70% of authorized strength, which would affect performance in the crucial first days of fighting in Korea. The equipment was basically that of World War II, which was still of high quality, but some of the weapons had indeed seen action by then. The North Koreans themselves had World War II equipment, but that included Russian-made T-34 tanks, which had played a large part in the Soviet defeat of Hitler’s panzers a half-decade before.
The 24th Division was a “triangular” unit, meaning it contained three regiments, but as a result of the division being under strength, each regiment had only two infantry battalions. As June became July, the men of the 24th were jolted out of easy occupation duty, with no supporting tanks or significant anti-tank weapons, to face two North Korean divisions led by the fearsome T-34s. While even in its reduced state, the 24th was larger than its two North Korean opponents. Yet it went into battle short of many of the weapons that would have helped make a difference.
The first elements of the 24th faced the North Korean tide on July 5, and for the next two weeks were continually pushed back by the North Koreans. On July 6, the First Battalion of the 34th Infantry (1/34) first engaged the North Koreans at Pyongtaek, and in some eyes did not acquit itself very well, although modern army officers have postulated that the 1/34 and the rest of the division were not handled with a high degree of operational competence by their commanders.
On July 19, 1/34 found itself deployed two miles northeast of Taejon, a strategic city with a peacetime population of 130,000 on the main highway almost halfway between the fallen South Korean capital of Seoul and Pusan, a port on the extreme southern end of the peninsula needed for the logistical support and reinforcements required to defend South Korea. Company B was positioned on the north side of the road, Companies A and C on the south side, with the 1/34’s headquarters company deployed behind A.