Walton Walker
The Eighth Army commander, Lieutenant General Walton Walker, then ordered the US 25th Infantry Division, under Major General William B. Kean, to take up defensive positions on the Pusan Perimeter's southern flank west of Masan. By August 15, the 25th Infantry Division had moved into the line, but rough terrain west of Masan limited the choice of its positions. The mountain group west of Masan was the first readily defensible ground east of the Chinju pass. The mountain ridges of Sobuk-san dominated the area and protected the road from Komam-ni to Haman to Chindong-ni, the only means of north–south communication west of Masan.