At the same time, X Corps, with the 7th Infantry Division and 1st Marine Division, attacked Inchon, striking the KPA from the rear. The attack routed the surprised North Koreans, and starting on 16 September, the Eighth Army broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and then began a general counteroffensive northwards. The 24th Infantry Division advanced to Songju, then to Seoul. The Army advanced north along the west coast of Korea through October. By mid-October, the KPA had been almost completely destroyed, and US President Harry S. Truman ordered General MacArthur to advance into North Korea as quickly as possible to end the war. The 24th Infantry Division, with the ROK 1st Infantry Division, moved to the left flank of the advancing Eighth Army, and moved north along Korea's west coast. The 24th Division then moved north to Chongju. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) entered the war on the side of North Korea, making their first attacks in late October. On 1 November, the division's 21st Infantry captured Chonggodo, from the Yalu River and Korea's border with China. Units of the Eighth Army and X Corps spread out as they attempted to reach the Yalu and complete the conquest of North Korea as quickly as possible.