Word: delta
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...Saigon fears that because the Communist forces are stronger than ever, they will continue their "choking strategy" aimed at Hue and Danang in the North, the Central Highlands city of Kontum, Tay Ninh near the Cambodian border, the area around Saigon, and the heavily populated and agriculturally rich Mekong Delta. Saigon's troops, short of weapons and ammunition, will find themselves stretched thin and on the defensive throughout their country...
Most of the fighting was centered in the heavily populated and agriculturally rich Mekong River Delta area, known as Military Region IV. The Communists launched their attacks-primarily by rocket and mortar-against bridges, roads, district and provincial capitals, and government outposts manned by the increasingly feeble regional militia. Kien Tuong and Dinh Tuong provinces were particularly hard hit (see map). Communists in Kien Tuong, using a shoulder-fired missile, shot down a huge Chinook helicopter, killing all 54 government troops aboard. A major target was Highway 4, linking the Delta with Saigon...
Saigon's forces also face serious internal problems. The regional militia has frequently proved to be unreliable. So far this year, militiamen have abandoned 40% of their 2,500 outposts in the Delta. The morale of regular ARVN troops, which has seldom been high, has recently fallen even farther, due in part to the continuing corruption within the Thieu regime and among ranking military officers (TIME, Nov. 11). Moreover, Saigon's economic squeeze-the result of the increased price of imported oil and a decrease in U.S. aid-has forced ARVN to economize on the battlefield. Many outposts...
With a few breaks, the Crimson stand an excellent chance of knocking off Cincinnati. But without the services of the tree-like Banks, Sander's quintet will have to do what the "Belle of Louisville" does to Cincinnati's "Delta Queen" each Spring in America's only extant steamboat race--cut corners on the bigger boat...
Death Rate. The health dividends from the federal investment were even greater. Delta blacks had long been plagued by many poverty-related ailments, from iron-deficiency anemia to parasitic infections like hookworm. The hospital alone could not significantly reduce the incidence of these ailments, but it did help those who came to it. Although the death rate for babies born in the region is more than 35 per 1,000 live births (among the nation's highest), there were only five deaths among the 1,047 babies born last year at Mound Bayou's community hospital...