Although both General Cushman at Da Nang and General Krulak in Hawaii had their suspicions about Westmoreland's motivations, they accepted the changes with good grace. The two Marine generals acknowledged the validity of the MACV commander's desire to have his forward headquarters in place, under his deputy, in the northern sector, where, he believed the decisive battle of the war was about to begin. On the 27th, General Westmoreland ordered an advance echelon of the new headquarters under Army Major General Willard Pearson to Phu Bai. With the forward deployment of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, III MAF prepared to counter the expected enemy offensive in the north.92*

*The outbreak of the Tet offensive delayed the formal establishment of the MACV Forward headquarters until 12 February. See Chapter 11