Battle of Osan

Pyongyang, July 5 (KCNA) -- The battle of Osan, the first ground warfare between our brave People's Army and the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces, was a prelude to the defeat of the U.S. imperialists in the Fatherland Liberation War.

In accordance with the operational plan set forth by President Kim Il Sung, our People's Army, which went over to a counteroffensive from the first day of the war, continued to expand its combat achievements and advance like the wind.

Much upset by this, the U.S. imperialists sought to deter the advance of our People's Army by dispatching the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, which was ready for action in Japan, to the Korean front. They airlifted the "Smith commandos", the advance detachment, to the front, daydreaming about a turn in the war phase.

With an insight into the enemy's sinister intention, President Kim Il Sung ordered some units of the People's Army to immediately march towards Phyongthaek. And he set the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces as the main target of attack and instructed to concentrate efforts on completely annihilating the advance detachment of the U.S. 24th Infantry Division.

On July 5, 1950, the units of the People's Army fought a fierce battle with the "Smith commandos", the first ground unit of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces, in the area of Osan.

In this battle, the soldiers of our People's Army encircled and annihilated an infantry battalion and artillery battalion of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces equipped with advanced weapons.

Commander Smith confessed that it was impossible to win victory from the beginning, the People's Army was, indeed, much stronger than we thought and, on the contrary, the reality proved that we were not such a strong army as we boasted.

And Dean, commander of the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, lamented that it was a disgrace to the honor of the United States of America.

Japanese military experts commented that the first battle of the U.S. forces in the Korean war was recorded as a defeat and the first curtain of the tragic defeat of the U.S. forces was raised. -0-