On 17 October 1950, 27 British Commonwealth Brigade was ordered to capture the town of Sariwon, thirty-four miles to the north of the position then reached by the United Nations (UN) forces. Mounted on tanks and in trucks, the brigade rushed forward. The Argylls brushed aside the enemy dug in on the southern approach with a copybook attack and deployed in and around the town.

Having passed through Sariwon, 3 RAR advanced a further four miles across the undulating plain to the north-west and took up defensive positions as last light fell. It was soon very evident that the retreating North Koreans had no idea that UN troops were in the area as, all through the night and into the next day, the enemy kept stumbling into the brigade lines. Often friend and foe travelled side by side and many skirmishes resulted. On at least one occasion the brigade was mistaken for a Russian unit, with enemy soldiers approaching, oblivious to its true identity. About 1,500 prisoners of war were taken, complete with their equipment, when enemy soldiers were bluffed into thinking that they were surrounded. This contact was initiated when the