Meanwhile , during these actions in its rear , the 1st Battalion , 23rd Infantry , was cut off 3 miles ( 4 @.@ 8 km ) west of the nearest friendly units . On September 1 the regiment ordered it to withdraw to the Changnyong area . At 14 : 00 a tank @-@ infantry patrol was sent down the road , but it reported that an estimated North Korean battalion held the mountain pass just eastward of the battalion 's defense perimeter . Upon receiving this report the battalion commander requested permission by radio to remain in his present position and try to obstruct the movement of North Korean reinforcements and supplies . That evening Freeman approved this request , and 1st Battalion spent three days in the isolated positions . During this time C @-@ 47 Skytrain planes supplied the battalion by airdrops .