Aerial observation on 1 September
disclosed that North Koreans were moving
southward in the mountains above Kigye and
P'ohang-dong. The next day another major
enemy attack was forming north and northwest of
Kigye. In the afternoon, KMAG advisers with the
Capital Division estimated that 2,500 enemy
soldiers had penetrated a gap between the ROK
17th and 18th Regiments.
At the same time, enemy pressure
built up steadily north of P'ohang-dong,
where the N.K. 5th Division fed
replacements on to Hill 99 in front of the ROK
23d Regiment. This hill became almost as
notorious as had Hill 181 near Yongdok earlier
because of the almost continuous and bloody
fighting there for its control. Although aided by
U.S. air attacks and artillery and naval gunfire,
the ROK 3d Division was not able to capture this
hill, and suffered many casualties in the effort.
On 2 September Colonel Stephens' 21st
Infantry attacked northwest from P'ohang-dong
in an effort to help the ROK's recapture Hill
99. A platoon of tanks followed the valley road
between P'ohang-dong and Hunghae. Stephens
assigned K Company Hill 99 as its objective. The
21st Infantry made very slow progress in this
attack, and in some quarters none at all.
Casualties were heavy. By 1525 that afternoon K
Company could account for only thirty-five men.
The company was unable to take Hill 99 from the
well dug-in North Koreans who threw showers of
hand grenades to repel all efforts to reach the
top. Two tanks of the 6th Tank Battalion were
lost in this attack, one in an enemy mine field
and another because of a thrown track.