From the book Following the steady expansion in military strength and combat commitment that occurred between 1965 and 1968, and the general stabilization that took place in 1969, a significant contraction was begun in fiscal year 1970. There were reductions in over-all Army strength, division force structure, troop deployment, combat operations, and battle casualties. Army strength at the end of June 1970 was 1,322,548 down more then 248,000 from the peak of 1,570,000 reached in June 1968. The over-all reduction was made possible by the withdrawal of about 115,000 American troops from Vietnam, almost 59,000 of them Army. This left as little over 300,000 Army troops in the combat zone in June 1970, as compared with the high of 361,000 in June 1969. By fiscal year 1970, on the other hand, the enemy had been severely punished, the level of combat had dropped, a troop withdrawal was in progress, and Republic of Vietnam forces were assuming increasing battlefield responsibility. Despite the operations in Cambodia, American casualties dropped sharply.

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