Editing Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (section)

===Thiệu's collapse===
[[File:71-0046 Nguyen Van Thieu.jpg|thumb|250px|Thiệu addresses the 514 men graduating class during dedication ceremonies at the new national police academy near Saigon (1971)]]
However, a worse collapse occurred in the northernmost I Corps, after a series of U-turns by Thiệu. It added to the fall of the highlands, which had already earned Thiệu much criticism.<ref name=tel/> I Corps fielded three infantry divisions, the elite Airborne and Marine Divisions,<ref name=w246/><ref name=df66>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 66.</ref> four Ranger Groups and an armored brigade,<ref name=df69>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 69.</ref> under the command of [[Ngô Quang Trưởng]], regarded as the nation's finest general.<ref name=w246/><ref name=df66/><ref name=wb>{{cite news|title='The Most Brilliant Commander': Ngo Quang Truong|author=Willbanks, James H.|newspaper=Historynet|year=2007|access-date=14 July 2010|url=http://www.historynet.com/the-most-brilliant-commander-ngo-quang-truong.htm}}</ref><ref name=wp>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012402276.html|title=Ngo Quang Truong; South Vietnamese Army General|author=Sullivan, Patricia|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=25 January 2007|access-date=16 July 2010}}</ref> Until mid-March, the North Vietnamese had only tried to cut the highways, despite having five divisions and 27 further regiments. At a meeting on 13 March, Trưởng and the new III Corps commander, Lieutenant General [[Nguyễn Văn Toàn (general)|Nguyễn Văn Toàn]] briefed Thiệu.<ref name=w246/><ref name=df66/> Thiệu laid out his plan to consolidate a smaller proportion. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces south to hold Đà Nẵng,<ref name=w247>Willbanks, p. 247.</ref> South Vietnam's second largest city, thereby abandoning Huế. Offshore oil deposits were thought to be nearby.<ref>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 68.</ref> Thiệu also decided to remove the Airborne and Marines, leaving I Corps exposed.<ref name=w246/><ref name=df66/>

Thiệu called Trưởng to Saigon on 19 March to detail his withdrawal plan.<ref name=w247/> The president then stunned Trưởng by announcing that he had misinterpreted his previous orders:<ref>Dougan and Fulghum, pp. 68–69.</ref> The old imperial capital of Huế was not to be abandoned, despite losing two divisions.<ref name="df69"/><ref name=w248>Willbanks, p. 248.</ref>
In the meantime, the withdrawal preparations and the increasing North Vietnamese pressure caused civilians to flee, clogging the highway and hampering the withdrawal.<ref>Willbanks, pp. 247–48.</ref> Trưởng requested permission for a withdrawal of his forces into the three enclaves as planned; Thiệu ordered him to "hold onto any territory he could with whatever forces he now had, including the Marine Division", implying that he could retreat if and when needed.<ref>Vien, p.  102.</ref>

Trưởng returned to Đà Nẵng to the start of a North Vietnamese offensive.<ref>Dougan and Fulghum, pp. 69–70.</ref> Thiệu made a nationwide radio broadcast that afternoon proclaiming that Huế would be held "at all costs",<ref name=df70>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 70.</ref> contradicting the previous order. That evening Trưởng ordered a retreat to a new defense line at the Mỹ Chánh River to defend Huế,<ref name=w250>Willbanks, p. 250.</ref> thereby ceding all of Quảng Trị Province. He was confident that his forces could hold Huế, but was then astounded by a late afternoon message from Thiệu that ordered ''"that because of inability to simultaneously defend all three enclaves, the I Corps commander was free ... to redeploy his forces for the defense of Đà Nẵng only."''<ref name=w248/><ref name=df70/><ref>Vien, p. 104.</ref> The people of Quảng Trị and Huế began to leave their homes by the hundreds of thousands, joining an ever-growing exodus toward Đà Nẵng.<ref name=w247/>

Meanwhile, the North Vietnamese closed in on Đà Nẵng amid the chaos caused by Thiệu's confused leadership.<ref>Willbanks, pp. 247–50.</ref><ref name=df73>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 73.</ref> Within a few days I Corps was beyond control.<ref name=df74>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 74.</ref> The South Vietnamese tried to evacuate from the other urban enclaves into Đà Nẵng, but the 1st Division collapsed after its commander, Brigadier General Nguyễn Văn Diệm, angered by Thiệu's abandonment, told his men that ''"We've been betrayed ... [i]t is now "sauve qui peu" ["every man for himself"] ... See you in Đà Nẵng."''<ref name=df70/><ref name=w250/><ref>Hosmer, Kellen and Jenkins, p. 109.</ref> The overland march, pummelled by communist artillery the entire way,<ref name=w248/><ref name=df70/> degenerated into chaos as it moved toward Đà Nẵng. The remainder of the force deserted or began looting.<ref name=w250/> Only a minority survived and some disillusioned officers committed suicide.<ref name=df73/><ref>Willbanks, pp. 250–51.</ref>

As anarchy and looting enveloped Đà Nẵng, with a defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to make a decision.<ref name=w2523/><ref name=df79>Dougan and Fulghum, p. 79.</ref> When his communications with Saigon were sundered by communist shelling, Trưởng ordered a naval withdrawal, as Thiệu was not making a decision either way.<ref name=w2523/><ref>Dougan and Fulghum, pp. 80–81.</ref>

With no support or leadership from Đà Nẵng, the evacuation turned into a costly debacle, as the communists pounded the city with artillery, killing tens of thousands. Many drowned while jostling for room on the boats; with no logistical support, those vessels sent were far too few for the millions of would-be evacuees.<ref name=w2523>Willbanks, pp. 252–53.</ref> Only around 16,000 soldiers were pulled out,<ref name="Dougan and Fulghum, p. 83">Dougan and Fulghum, p. 83.</ref> and of the almost two million civilians that packed Đà Nẵng, little more than 50,000 were evacuated.<ref name="Dougan and Fulghum, p. 83"/> As a result, 70,000 troops were taken prisoner,<ref>Willbanks, p. 253.</ref> along with around 100 fighter jets.<ref name=w255>Willbanks, p. 255.</ref><ref>Momyer, p. 76.</ref> During the fall of Đà Nẵng, no pitched battles had been fought.<ref>Willbanks, p. 251.</ref><ref>Dougan and Fulghum, pp. 74–80.</ref> In quick succession, the few remaining cities along the coastline "fell like a row of porcelain vases sliding off a shelf" and half the country had fallen in two weeks.<ref>Isaacs, p. 380.</ref><ref>Willbanks, pp. 254–255.</ref> When his hometown of Phan Rang fell, retreating ARVN troops showed their disgust at Thiệu by demolishing his family's ancestral shrines and graves.<ref>Willbanks, p. 268.</ref>