spartans_in_darkness

Tep SECRETh'CeMIIHh'X1
(V) A panicked convoy stalled on Route21 eastor Ban Me Thuot
from the Center detailed a twelve-day struggle
through the jungle and marshlands of the coast
before he reached Nha Trang. He personally witnessed
the capture of some of the Pleiku Center's
officers and their dependents by PAVN units."
By the end of March, little more than half of the
personnel from the Pleiku Center eventually
made it out to the"safety" of the coast. 8 2
CD) In the northern
provinces of South
Vietnam, the communist
forces also pressed
their attacks. In lVIR L
five PAVN divisions
pushed defending
ARVN units back into
coastal positions in the
cities of Hue, Danang,
Quang Tri, and Chu Lai.
Since these were port
cities and could be supplied
by sea, it was
hoped that they could
be turned into bastions.
However, the final
defense of all these
cities would not be
made. Thieu intervened and ordered two divisions
to be transferred to Saigon for the southern
defense plan. Quang Tri and Chu Lai were abandoned.
The planned bastion defense of Hue collapsed
when new orders from Saigon designated
Danang as the enclave to be defended. The ARVN
divisions trying to reach Danang for the evacuation
to the south were cut off by PAVN units. The
(V) Refugees
bOq~ding
a ship in
Dqnqng
harbor
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