By July 1, Task Force Smith had fully arrived in South Korea and briefly established a headquarters in Taejon. The task force soon after began moving north by rail and truck to oppose the North Korean Army. Task Force Smith was the first of several small US units sent into Korea with the mission to take the initial "shock" of North Korean advancesGal Perl Finkel, President-elect Trump – the 'West Wing' lesson, The Jerusalem Post, November 15, 2016. and to delay much larger North Korean units with the goal, which would buy time to allow more U.S. units into Korea. Task Force Smith's mission was to move as far north as possible and to begin engaging the North Koreans to stem their advance so that the rest of the 24th Infantry Division could be moved into South Korea to reinforce it. The 24th Division commander, William F. Dean, personally ordered Smith to stop the North Korean force along the highway from Suwon and "as far from Pusan" as possible.
