<P> North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh addressed the Communist Party Central Committee in Hanoi . Ho said that "politics" was the weak point of the American and South Vietnamese enemy, and the domestic situation of the United States will not permit the U.S. to utilize its military and economic power in South Vietnam . The Committee decided that the communist forces in South Vietnam should seek a "decisive victory within a relatively short period of time", but must prepare to defend itself if the U.S. expands its war effort . </P> <Dl> <Dt> 31 December </Dt> </Dl> <P> U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam now totaled 184,314, compared to 23,310 a year earlier . U.S. casualties in 1965 totaled 1,928 dead, compared to 216 in the 1964 . South Vietnamese military forces totaled 514,000, including the Army and the Popular Force and Regional Force militias . The South Vietnamese armed forces suffered 11,242 killed in action, a five-fold increase in battle deaths since 1960 . 93,000 persons deserted from the South Vietnam's armed forces in 1965 . </P> <P> At year's end, the North Vietnamese army numbered 400,000, compared to 195,000 a year earlier . Air force and air defense capabilities were greatly expanded . 50,000 North Vietnamese cadre and soldiers infiltrated South Vietnam during 1965, equal to the total number infiltrated from 1959 through 1964 . Group 559, charged with transporting supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply communist troops in both South Vietnam and Laos, was expanded to 24,400 personnel and moved almost as much tonnage south in 1965 as it had in the preceding six years . </P>

How many u.s. troops were stationed in vietnam by the end of 1965