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Originally Posted by Sandro
No, the descision to remain in the White City was the only choice available. Anything else would have resulted in untold destruction and death.
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It depends on the level of supplies/rations that have been allocated in Minas Tirith by the authorities and who the recepients were. Remember that more supplies translate into longer holdout times for armed defenders. time-based attrition may meant nothing to the armies of Sauron, but the Gondorians were placing the ante on the arrival of the Rohirrim and the return of the King, every second bought was an added advantage.
The same can be said of the English garrison at Chateau Gaillard in Normandy. When Philip of France invaded in 1202, the English commander - Roger de Lacy could only hope to hold out as long as he could until King John arrived with reinforcements. A quick stock check of the castle's supplies showed that by rationing meagrely, the armed defenders could theoratically hold out for another one year or so. As such non-combatants were ruthlessly cast out of the castle walls and left to fend for themselves in no-man's land. Relief for the hapless innocents came only when Philip toured the siegeworks and gave them a escape route through the ranks of the French army to the rear and fed them.
In RoTK, Pippin joined the Gondorian Beregrond and the men of his watch in a meal that was rather generous but nevertheless rationed. I should suspect that as the siege drags on, rations would be more meagre and scarcer still. Who knows if Beregrond's copmpany had already compromised their allocated ration stocks by feeding a "halfling prince"? Feeding a city of civilians would be highly uneconomical and would sap the will of armed soldiers through inadequacy of rations or distractions. Housing civilians also meant that considerations such as hospital beds and field surgery must be provided to them in addition to physically protecting their bodies. And should the walls be breached, progressive street fighting strategies and tactics would be compromised because bridges can't be demolished in fears of isolating some non-combatants on the other end and apartment blocks cannot be converted into stronghouses because they were occupied and the occupants did not evacuate in time.
Evacuation of non-combatants was still the safer bet.