Bloody Gulch massacre

The Bloody Gulch massacre was a war crime that took place in the Korean War on August 12, 1950, in "Bloody Gulch", west of Masan, South Korea. After a successful attack on two US artillery battalions that killed or injured hundreds of US soldiers, North Korea's Korean People's Army (KPA) 13th Regiment then killed 75 US Army prisoners of war. Otherwise this was one of the smaller engagements of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. The 75 soldiers were from the 555th Field Artillery Battalion of the US 24th Infantry Division and the 90th Field Artillery Battalion of the US 25th Infantry Division. Following the invasion of South Korea by North Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations voted to use force to defend South Korea. The United States subsequently committed ground forces to the Korean peninsula with the goal of fighting back the North Korean invasion and to prevent South Korea from collapsing. The 24th Infantry Division was the first US unit sent into Korea. The unit was to take the initial "shock" of KPA advances, delaying much larger KPA units to buy time to allow reinforcements to arrive. The division was consequently alone for several weeks as it attempted to delay the KPA, making time for the 1st Cavalry and the 7th and 25th Infantry Divisions, along with other Eighth United States Army supporting units, to move into position. Advance elements of the 24th Infantry, known as Task Force Smith, were badly defeated in the Battle of Osan on July 5, the first encounter between US and KPA forces. For the first month after this defeat, the 24th Infantry was repeatedly defeated and forced south by superior KPA numbers and equipment. The regiments of the 24th Division were systematically pushed south in engagements around Chochiwon, Chonan, and Pyongtaek. The 24th made a final stand in the Battle of Taejon, where it was almost completely destroyed but delayed KPA forces until July 20. By that time, the Eighth Army's force of combat troops were roughly equal to KPA forces attacking the region, with new UN units arriving every day.