envelop UN troops and push them back to Pusan. The 766th was not reinforced; North Korean planners intended it to move unseen around the UN lines while the majority of the UN and North Korean troops were locked in fighting around Taegu and the Naktong Bulge. By this time, however, North Korean logistics had been stretched to their limit, and resupply became increasingly difficult. By the beginning of August, the North Korean units operating in the area were getting little to no food and ammunition supply, instead relying on captured UN weapons and foraging for what they could find. They were also exhausted from over a month of advancing, though morale remained high among the 766th troops. The 766th Regiment specialized in raiding UN supply lines, and effectively mounted small disruptive attacks against UN targets to equip themselves. Disbandment At dawn on August 11, one 300-man battalion of the 766th Regiment entered the village of P'ohang, creating a state of alarm among its populace. The village was only protected by a small force of South Korean Navy, Air Force and Army personnel comprising the rear guard of the ROK 3rd Division. The South Korean forces engaged the 766th forces around the village's middle school with small-arms fire until noon. At that point, North Korean armored vehicles moved in to reinforce the 766th troops and drove the South Koreans out of the village. The village was strategically important because it was one of the few direct routes through the mountains and into the Gyeongsang plain. It also led directly to the land routes being used by the UN to reinforce Taegu. Upon hearing of the fall of P'ohang, UN Eighth United States Army commander Lieutenant General Walton Walker immediately ordered naval and air bombardment of the village. He also ordered ROK and US forces to secure regions around the village to prevent the further advance of the North Korean troops. Within a few hours, the village was being blasted by artillery forcing the Regiment's advance force to pull back. The 766th's forces congregated and fought in the hills around the village. They joined elements of the KPA's 5th Division, and did not enter P'ohang until night. UN forces responded to the threat with overwhelming numbers. A large force of South Korean troops, designated Task Force P'ohang, was massed and sent into P'ohang-dong to engage the 766th Regiment and the 5th Division.