1967 rolls in and new leadership: Fire in the Lake

With the most recent COUP! turn in my playthrough of Fire in the Lake...the Republic of South Vietnam sees a new leader in Nguyễn Văn Thiệu.

His new policy is to spend the US supplied injection of his economy on a new Hearts and Minds program in the outlying provinces of South Vietnam. Using this they spend a considerable amount of money to pacify Khanh Hoa, Binh Tuy and Quang Tri...provinces that were once troublesome.

He also sets up regular police patrols on Route 1 a previously unpatrolled major stretch of highway. ARVN police take over Phu Bon province as the United States folds up its base in Can Tho and exits the area along with 2 divisions of US Troops that are sent back to the United States.

Meanwhile the Communists are not idle. The NVA work hard to shift their forces into southern Cambodia quietly threatening the provinces of South Vietnam to which they lay adjacent.

The monsoon rains lift and we see the score in the game thus far as:

ARVN= 46
USA= 46
VC= 25
NVA = 10

Seems rather lopsided thus far but I could be playing this game really really badly.