capital of ban me thuit fell over the weekend. >> it involved a lot of bloody combat. for the first 11 months the south vietnamese fought quite well. but by 1975, it became more and more clear that the north vietnamese were building up a formidable logistical system that portented real danger for the south vietnamese. >> the communists began the first major attack of their offensive. saigon's troops made a stand. it was a vital one. the entire central highland might be lost. and south vietnam could be cut in two by the north vietnamese and the viet cong. >> the plan that the north vietnamese conceived would be a two-year plan. what happened was that when attacking the central highlands town of ban my thuit, the thieu government lost composure. >> the troops were ordered by president thieu to pull out of the central provinces.