destroyed. The highway between Huế and Da Nang was cut at Phú Lộc after severe fighting on 22 March. South of Da Nang, the ARVN 2nd Division barely managed to contain a PAVN drive toward Tam Kỳ and the coastal plain. On the morning of 24 March, however, the 711th Division, backed by armored elements, seized Tam Kỳ, driving the population north toward Da Nang by the thousands. PAVN forces then cut Highway 1 between Quảng Ngãi and Chu Lai, a move to which the 2nd Division was too battered to respond. With Corps approval, South Vietnamese troops from Quảng Ngãi fought their way northward, but only a few managed to reach Chu Lai. In a single day the situation in I Corps had deteriorated beyond control. With the withdrawal to the three enclaves completed, Trưởng issued the following orders: the 1st Division and other units in the Huế area were to withdraw overland toward Da Nang while the Marine elements were to be retrieved by ship from Huế; the 2nd Division, its dependents, and the remains of the Quảng Ngãi sector forces were to withdrawn by sea to Re Island, offshore from Chu Lai. During 26 March, command and control collapsed and discipline in the 1st Division eroded after its commander told his men "We've been betrayed ... It is now sauve qui peut (every man for himself) ... See you in Da Nang." The overland march, pummelled by artillery the entire way, degenerated into chaos as it moved toward Da Nang. No sooner had the remains of the force reached the city than soldiers began to melt away, searching for their dependents. On the coast near Huế, only one regiment of the 1st Division, about 600 Marines and 7,700 civilians were picked up by naval vessels. From the north, two PAVN divisions, along with armor and artillery elements, enveloped the western flank of Da Nang. To the south, two more divisions closed in and brought the center of the city into artillery range. Da Nang then collapsed into anarchy and chaos. "Hunger, looting, and crimes were widespread. Traffic was impossible...the mass stranded in the city was estimated at approximately one and one-half million." At noon on 28 March, with a coherent defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to commit himself to a clear-cut decision. When his communications