 On 11 May, in response to increasing PAVN pressure, about 30 B-52s were called in to hit PAVN positions, but those strikes had little effect as artillery and mortar rounds continued to fall on Khâm Đức and the surrounding outposts.Consequently, Cushman recommended to Westmoreland that Khâm Đức, now defended by more than 1,500 allied troops encumbered with 272 civilians, be evacuated.Westmoreland agreed, believing that Khâm Đức lacked the "defensive potential of Khe Sanh".