 Kean then alerted 5th Regimental Combat Team commander Colonel John L. Throckmorton to prepare a force from the 5th Infantry to attack Sobuk-san and retake it. On the morning of August 21, the 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, attacked across the 24th Infantry's boundary and secured the southernmost ridges of the mountain against light North Korean resistance. That evening a strong force of North Koreans counterattacked and drove the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry off the mountain. At 12: 00 on August 22, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry again attacked the heights, and five hours later B Company seized the highest ridges. Kean now changed the boundary line between the 5th Regimental Combat Team and the 24th Infantry, giving responsibility for the southern ridges to the 5th, and Battle Mountain and P'il-bong to the 24th. During the night, the North Koreans launched counterattacks against the 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, and prevented it from consolidating its position. On the morning of August 23, A Company tried to secure the high ground 1,000 yards (910 m) southwest of the peak and link up with B Company, but was unable to do so. The North Koreans considered the Sobuk-san ridges so important that they committed substantial resources to defending them, and attacked the nearby 5th Regimental Combat Team daily.
