| Battle of Masan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter | |||||||
 American tanks advance west of Masan | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 North Korea | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 William B. Kean |
Pang Ho San Paek Nak Chil | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 ROK Marine Corps[1] National Police[2] |
6th Division 7th Division | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~15,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1,057 killed 3,085 wounded 20 missing |
11,000 killed and deserted 3,000 captured | ||||||
The Battle of Masan was an engagement between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces, which took place early in the Korean War between August 5 and September 19, 1950, in the vicinity of Masan and the Naktong River in South Korea. It was part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously. The battle ended in a victory for the UN after large numbers of United States Army (US) troops were able to repel the repeated attacks of two Korean People's Army (KPA) divisions.
Operating as the extreme southern flank of the Pusan Perimeter, the US 25th Infantry Division placed its regiments around the South Korean city of Masan, with the 24th Infantry Regiment and 5th Regimental Combat Team based in Haman and nearby Sobuk-san, and the 35th Infantry Regiment based along the Nam River to the west of the city. Throughout the six-week battle, the KPA 6th and 7th Divisions attacked the 25th Division's regiments in an attempt to break through the UN forces and attack Pusan.
An initial UN counteroffensive out of Masan proved ineffective in stopping the KPA from advancing. In the subsequent fight, the 35th Infantry was able to repel the KPA at the Battle of Nam River and were highly regarded for these actions. However, the 24th Infantry performed very poorly at the battles of Blue Mountain and Haman, forcing the 25th Division to muster reserves to counter the KPA gains against the 24th.