In what became known as Resolution of 1975, the party leadership reported that the war reached its "final stage". The army was to consolidate its gains, eliminate South Vietnamese border outposts and secure its logistical corridor, and continue its force build-up in the south. During 1976 the final general offensive would begin. The following month, PAVN field commanders and their political officers were called to Hanoi to assess the new strategy. It was first decided that an attack in the Central Highlands would have the greatest chance of success, but this concept was challenged by Lieutenant General Trần Văn Trà, COSVN's military commander. His staff already drew a plan for a direct attack against Saigon, and Trà quickly proposed that his forces launch a "test" attack in Phước Long Province to see how well the ARVN would fight and if the U.S. would react. Trà's plan offered the potential for great gain at low risk. First Party Secretary Lê Duẩn approved the plan, but warned Trà that failure would not be acceptable, telling him "Go ahead and attack...[But] you must be sure of victory." Opposing forces ARVN After the signing of the Paris Accords, the South Vietnamese government fielded the fourth largest military force in the world as a result of the American Enhance and Enhance Plus programs. The nation received new combat and transport aircraft, armored vehicles, helicopters, artillery pieces, and other equipment worth $753 million. The arms shipments were welcomed by Saigon, but the lack of sufficient training and dependence on the U.S. for spare parts, fuel, and ammunition caused maintenance and logistical problems. South Vietnamese forces certainly outnumbered combined PAVN/Viet Cong (VC) forces in the south with approximately one and one-half million troops in uniform. But almost 482,000 of this number belonged to either the Regional or Popular Forces, organizations of mixed reliability. Even the lesser number was misleading. Only about 200,000 of the remaining total served as regulars in the combat arms. The rest were in the administrative and logistical "tail" required to support them (of course, a large proportion of the active PAVN and VC forces were likewise engaged, on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, anti-aircraft networks, administration, etc., as is true of any modern army). The ARVN always had problems keeping men in the ranks, but during 1973–75, the problem reached epidemic proportions. During 1974, for example, only 65 percent of authorized manpower was