Sensing that the provincial capital of An Lộc would be the next target, the III Corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Minh dispatched the 5th Division to hold the town. They were reinforced by two battalions of the Ranger Group (on 7 April) and by two additional infantry battalions (on 10 and 11 April). The 21st Division, which had been stationed in the Mekong Delta, was rushed to Chơn Thành Camp to join a regiment of the 9th Division as a relief force. All forces in the area were placed under the command of Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng, commander of the 5th Division.