two divisions (5th and 7th) around Snuol. The beleaguered troops of 8th Task Force, when neither rescue column nor B-52 bombers were in sight, were about to raise the white flag to surrender to the PAVN. However, Hiếu executed his withdrawal plan in time to bring his troops back to Lộc Ninh. The troops' withdrawal was executed in three phases: on 29 May 1971, 1/8th Battalion pierced through enemy blocking line at the northern outpost to rejoin the 8th Task Force Command Post located at Snuol market; on 30 May 1971, 8th Task Force using 1/8th Battalion as the spear-head to pierce enemy blocking line, followed behind by 2/8th Battalion, Task Force Command Post, 1st Armored Squadron with 2/7th Battalion acting as rear cover, to withdraw from Snuol to the location defended by 3/8th Battalion, 3 kilometers Southeast of Snuol on National Route 13; on 31 May 1971, 3/8th Battalion replaced 1/8th Battalion as the spearhead in piercing enemy blocking line, followed by 3/9th Battalion, 2/7th Battalion, Task Force Command Post, 1st Armored Squadron with 1/8th Battalion acting as rear cover, allowing 8th Task Force to reach the border on a 3 kilometer stretch and to return to Lộc Ninh. Regarded by US advisers as the worst ARVN Division commander, Hiếu's forces had been badly handled during the Snuol operation, and his troops, according to II Field Force, Vietnam commander Michael S. Davison, were close to mutiny. Pushed by both Abrams and Minh to relieve him, Thiệu finally acceded and in April 1971 brought Col. Lê Văn Hưng up from Phong Dinh Province to take over the battered Division. Unfortunately, Hưng was the one ARVN officer whose candidacy American advisers had specifically recommended against. To the despair of US advisers Hiếu was promoted to deputy commander of I Corps. Easter Offensive Following their incompetent handling of the First Battle of Quảng Trị, both Hiếu and the I Corps commander Hoàng Xuân Lãm were relieved. Lãm was replaced by Lieutenant general Ngô Quang Trưởng, who succeeded in halting the PAVN advance at the Mỹ Chánh Line. Hiếu was replaced by Lieutenant general Lâm Quang Thi. Svay Riêng, 1974 In 1974, as Deputy Commander of Operations/III Corps, assistant to General Phạm Quốc Thuần, Hiếu applied Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics to alleviate the pressure exerted by the PAVN 5th Division originating from Svay Rieng Province in the Parrot's Beak area of Cambodian territory