enough for any relief effort to succeed. The decision was then reached. Phước Long City and province would be surrendered to PAVN forces as a matter of expediency, since it was considered to be strategically less important than Tây Ninh, Pleiku, or Huế – economically, politically, and demographically. The fighting around Phước Long continued until 6 January 1975, after which the town became the first provincial capital permanently seized by PAVN. Of the more than 5,400 ARVN troops originally committed to the battle, only 850 returned to government lines. The PAVN captured 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. More important for the North Vietnamese was the apparent total indifference with which the U.S. regarded this loss. The psychological blow for the government and people of South Vietnam was severe. According to the chief of the ARVN General Staff, General Cao Văn Viên, "Almost gone was the hope that the United States would forcibly punish the North Vietnamese for their brazen violations of the cease-fire agreement ... What more encouragement could the communists have asked for?" Word of the fall of Phước Long reached the North Vietnamese Politburo in the midst of its Twenty-third Plenum, and the body immediately ordered the General Staff to develop a follow-up plan. The Politburo's assessment that the United States would not re-intervene in the war was proven correct, the weakness of the ARVN's defenses had been exposed, and, just as important, a solution to their most critical ammunition shortage – targeting and capturing ARVN artillery stocks – was found. Lê Duẩn declared that "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage so great as we have now." The first target chosen was Duc Lap Camp, a border outpost in II Corp's Darlac Province. Once again, Trần Văn Trà's influence drove some members to propose a bolder plan: attack Buôn Ma Thuột, the provincial capital. This time, Lê Duẩn was reluctant to agree, that is until Lê Đức Thọ threw his weight behind the more radical strategy. General Dũng was ordered south to take direct command of the new offensive, which had been named Campaign 275. Campaign 275 (Central Highland campaign) General Dũng already worked out a plan for taking Buôn Ma Thuột. Called the "blossoming lotus", the objective was to avoid outlying South Vietnamese positions and strike at the primary target first, "like a flower bud slowly opening its petals."