page_title: Battle of Nam River
section_title: North Korean crossing
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Nam River / Battle / North Korean crossing
caption_attribution_description: T 34 au musée des blindés de Saumur - T34/85
context_page_description: The Battle of Nam River was an engagement between United Nations Command and North Korean forces early in the Korean War from August 31 to September 19, 1950, in the vicinity of the Nam River and the Naktong River in South Korea. It was a part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously. The battle ended in a victory for the United Nations after large numbers of United States Army troops were able to repel a Korean People's Army attack across the river.
  Positioned in defense of Masan during the Battle of Masan, the US 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division took up positions along the Nam River, one of the many tributaries of the Naktong River on the southern flank of the Pusan Perimeter. The KPA 7th Division effected a crossing of the river on August 31, and though the 35th Infantry was able to stem the KPA advance, thousands of KPA troops were able to exploit a hole in the line and surround the regiment. What followed was an intense battle in which the US and KPA units were heavily engaged all along and behind the Kum River line. Eventually, though, the KPA force was routed and defeated by the US troops.
context_section_description: The KPA 7th Division troops committed all of their effort into attacking the US 35th Infantry line. At 23:30 on August 31, a KPA SU-76 self-propelled high-velocity gun from across the Nam fired shells into the position of G Company, 35th Infantry, overlooking the river. Within a few minutes, KPA artillery was attacking all front-line rifle companies of the regiment from the Namji-ri bridge west. Under cover of this fire a reinforced regiment of the KPA 7th Division crossed the Nam River and attacked F and G Companies, 35th Infantry. Other KPA soldiers crossed the Nam on an underwater bridge in front of the paddy ground north of Komam-ni and near the boundary between the 2nd Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel John L. Wilkins, Jr., holding the river front and Lieutenant Colonel Bernard G. Teeter's 1st Battalion holding the hill line that stretched from the Nam River to Sibidang-san and the Chinju-Masan highway. The 35th Infantry, facing shortages of materiel and reinforcements, was under-equipped but nonetheless prepared for an attack.
  At the river ferry crossing site in the low ground between these two battalions, the regimental commander placed 300 ROK National Police, expecting them to hold there long enough to serve as a warning for the rest of the forces. Guns from the flanking hills there could cover the low ground with fire. Back at Komam-ni he held the 3rd Battalion ready for use in counterattack to stop a KPA penetration should it occur. Unexpectedly, the National Police companies near the ferry scattered at the first KPA fire. At 00:30, KPA troops streamed through this hole in the line, some turning left to take G Company in its flank and rear, and others turned right to attack C Company, which was on a spur of ground west of the Komam-ni road. Elements of C and D Companies formed a defense line along the dike at the north edge of Komam-ni where US tanks joined them at dawn. The KPA, however, did not drive for the Komam-ni road fork 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the river as the US commander, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Fisher had expected; instead, they turned east into the hills behind 2nd Battalion.
  The position of B Company, 35th Infantry, on the 1,100 feet (340 m) Sibidang-san, flanked the Masan road 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Komam-ni and gave the company a commanding view over the surrounding countryside. It was a key position in the 25th Division line, and25th Division commander General William B. Kean was aware the KPA would consider it important ground to target for attack. The KPA preparatory barrage there lasted from 11:30 to midnight. Under this cover, two battalions of the KPA 13th Regiment, 6th Division, moved up within 150 yards (140 m) of the American foxholes. At the same time, KPA T-34 tanks, SU-76 self-propelled guns, and antitank guns moved toward Komam-ni on the road at the foot of Sibidang-san. A US M4A3 Sherman tank there destroyed a T-34 just after midnight, and a 3.5-inch Bazooka team destroyed a self-propelled gun and several 45 mm antitank guns.
  On the crest of Sibidang-san, an antipersonnel minefield stopped the first KPA infantry assault. More attacks followed in quick succession, all of which were repulsed by the US troops' superior firepower. By 02:30 the B Company riflemen were so depleted of ammunition that they began stripping machine-gun bullets from the ammunition belts and using them in their rifles. The 1st Platoon of C Company, at the base of the mountain behind B Company, climbed Sibidang-san in 45 minutes with an ammunition resupply for the company. Just before dawn the KPA attack subsided. Daylight revealed a vast amount of abandoned KPA equipment scattered on the slope just below the crest, including 33 machine-guns. Among the KPA dead was the commanding officer of the 13th Regiment.
  At daybreak on September 1, a relief force of C Company headquarters troops, led by US tanks, cleared the road to Sibidang-san and resupplied the 2nd Platoon, B Company, with ammunition just in time for it to repel another KPA assault. This failed assault resulted in the killing of 77 and capturin
caption: The T-34 tank was standard armor used by the North Korean Army in 1950 and was also present at Masan
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