to proceed to the coast at Qui Nhơn for evacuation. North Vietnamese forces attacked them there from the north and two of the division's regiments had to fight their way through to the beaches for pick-up. At 02:00 on 1 April, what was left of the division was extracted by sea. Two regimental colonels, after being ordered to evacuate, refused to leave, preferring suicide rather than retreat or surrender. The division's third regiment, the 47th, ran into an ambush at Phu Cat and suffered heavy casualties, losing about half of its troops. When it later regrouped at Vũng Tàu, the 22nd numbered only slightly over 2,000 men, its commander also having chosen suicide over surrender. Huế–Da Nang Campaign The situation for the South Vietnamese in the I Corps Tactical Zone regained some stability after the defeat of a three-division PAVN push during late 1974. By early the following year, I Corps fielded three infantry divisions (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), the elite Airborne and Marine Divisions, four Ranger Groups and the 1st Armored Brigade. The northern provinces were under the command of one of South Vietnam's finest and most aggressive generals, Ngô Quang Trưởng. Until mid-March, the PAVN had limited their offensive operations to attempts to cut Highway 1, the main north–south line of communication, between Huế and Da Nang and between Da Nang and Chu Lai. To confront the South Vietnamese, PAVN Brigadier General Lê Trọng Tấn had amassed a force of five divisions and nine independent infantry regiments, three sapper regiments, three armored regiments, twelve anti-aircraft and eight artillery regiments. At a meeting in Saigon on 13 March President Thiệu was briefed on the military situation by Trưởng and the new III Corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Toàn. Thiệu then laid out his plan for national consolidation. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces to hold the Da Nang area. Trưởng was shocked to discover, however, that the Airborne Division was to be removed to III Corps (unknown to Trưởng at the time, the Marine Division was also already slated for redeployment with both units then forming a new national reserve). General Trưởng was recalled to Saigon on 19 March to brief Thiệu on his withdrawal plan. The general developed two contingency plans: The first was predicated on government control of Highway 1, which would be utilized for two simultaneous withdrawals from Huế