Pacific Stars and Stripes information

For date 680524

South Vietnam

Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "340,000 Red Troops Slain In S. Vietnam Since 1961" S&S Washington Bureau. Washington - Vietnam War statistics released at the Pentagon tell of a growing toll of enemy forces that is staggering and lead some to wonder how much longer the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese can continue to fight at the present rate. The best available figures show, for example, that since 1961, they lost 340,000 men in battle in South Vietnam, or almost as many as intelligence sources believe are in the whole of the North Vietnamese Army. Enemy dead in the first four and one third months of 1968 (Jan. 1-May 11) number more than 91,000. This is greater than the total killed for all of 1967. Last week alone the Reds lost 5,552 men. The compilation of figures on enemy dead is based on the best information available, including actual body count. Prisoner interrogations and battlefield commanders' reports and defense figures estimate the enemy toll since 1961:

1961 - 12,133, 1962 - 21,158, 1963 - 20,575, 1964 - 16,785, 1965 - 35,436, 1966 - 55,524, 1967 - 88,104, 1968 to May 11 - 91,118.

As the casualty rate goes up, defense officials also note an drop in the Viet Cong main, local, guerrilla and part-time soldier strength, and a continuing rise of North Vietnamese troops in the South as units and fillers for VC outfits. The Pentagon estimates total enemy strength in South Vietnam are between 207,000 and 222,000 in all categories from part-time guerrillas to NVA regulars. In addition Pentagon officials say the enemy also has between 30,000 and 40,000 administrative auxiliaries, including tax collectors in Communist-controlled areas of South Vietnam. To maintain the NVA at its strength of about 400,000, Pentagon officials say the North Vietnamese are now drafting 100,000 of the estimated 120,000 youths who reach draft age each year in North Vietnam.