Battle of Taejon 1950
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 14 July 1950 – 21 July 1950 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1950 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | South Korea | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Korean War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.4747, 127.2728 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Taejon (16–20 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between U.S. 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 Daejon (then spelt 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 outnumbered, ill-equipped and inexperienced U.S. forces 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 U.S. withdrew.
Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic victory by delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other U.S. divisions to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The delay imposed at Taejon probably prevented a U.S.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Taejon (revision 1370312872), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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All 64 battles of the Korean War →
Browse more: battles in South Korea · Asia · Post-1945 battles