Twenty-six years ago, it was a sultry afternoon.

In the auditorium of the Army Officer Academy, an old soldier is giving a lecture.

Theoretically, the auditorium could accommodate all officers and cadets, and the staff auditorium was packed to the brim. Not only the entire Lu Academy gathered together, but many commissioned officers also came to listen to the lecture.

The identity of the veteran soldier is self-evident. He is Ned Smith, the Union Field Marshal, the founder of the Union Army, and the president of the Army Officers Academy.

"...Today people think that killing at eleven is a barbaric military law. But in the ancient empire, killing was only harsh, not barbaric." Principal Ned paused for a moment: "In different eras and different societies, the moral standards of war are also different.

We cannot use today’s standards to judge past events, let alone use past moral standards to excuse today’s behavior.”

It may disappoint some people who meet him for the first time, but Ned Smith does not have the so-called "general style".

On the contrary, he looked more like an old blacksmith in a dark little shop: his knuckles were thick, his palms were rough and black, and he was a little hunched over. Because his eyes were a little blurred, he always tilted his head slightly backwards unconsciously.

Principal Ned looked at the young faces: "War is moral, but war is unfair. It seeks to use the strong to bully the weak, to use the masses to defeat the weak, to defeat the few with the more..."

In the silent auditorium, a young man stood up abruptly, with the rebelliousness and stubbornness unique to his age in his eyes, and asked loudly and unconvincingly: "What should I do if the strong cannot bully the weak?"

The faculty and staff sitting in the front row all turned around to see who the daring guy was.

The questioner's friend, another handsome young man, pulled him hard, trying to get him to sit down.

But he refused to sit down, stiffened his neck, and stared directly at the Alliance Marshal on the stage.

"If the enemy is strong and we are weak." Principal Ned signaled the staff not to be nervous and replied sincerely: "It is best to wait until the enemy is weak and we are strong before fighting."

Years later, some people still remember this scene in the auditorium, some people forget it, and some people mistakenly remember the questioner as another person.

We mention this incident because twenty-six years later, the young man's son happened to be faced with the crisis situation of "the enemy is strong and we are weak, but we have to fight".

…

What strategy should we adopt when the enemy is strong and we are weak? Winters doesn't know because the Army Academy does not teach strategy.

When Marshal Ned set up the curriculum of the Union Army Officers Academy, he divided all courses into two categories: "military studies" and "general studies."

If there are [ten] hours of general education courses such as mathematics and grammar, then [six] hours of tactics courses will be [six] hours, only [one] hours of war history content, and [zero] hours of strategy-related courses.

To be precise, because the scale of the war is limited, no one has been able to clearly define "strategy", "tactics" and "grand tactics" so far.

When a single battle can determine the outcome of a war, it is difficult to distinguish the subtle differences between strategy, tactics and grand tactics.

Winters' understanding of strategy is not perfect, and naturally he has no strategy at all.

But facing the Teltowns with all their cavalry, Winters formulated basic combat principles.

Winters distilled it into three words: [weaken, limit, eliminate] - that is, "tempest".

Turn the clock hand and go back in time to when Winters just learned that the Turton Department was coming to thresh the grass valley.

"I have recalled all the battle cases I know." He explained the storm battle to his company commanders: "Fight the masses with a few, win with a few, and there is no way that does not rely on the terrain."

"We also have terrain advantages. The Dajiao River is a natural city wall, and the rivers in Lower Tiefeng County are like screens. Dajiao River, Langzhen River, Heishui River, Baishui River, and Pangtuo River. Every time we cross a river, Terdun Department

Their combat power will be weakened once. Every kilometer traveled, the Terdun tribe will have to divide its troops to plunder the land."

"Whether we can defend Tiefeng County and even annihilate the main force of the Terdun tribe depends on whether we can force the Terdun people to change the direction of their attack, force the Terdun people to follow the route we have drawn for them, and force the Terdun people to

People enter the battlefield chosen by us."

"Weaken, restrict, and annihilate. This is Operation Storm."

…

The hourglass turned over for the twenty-sixth time, and Ciel woke up Winters beside the fire.

"The seventh company has also arrived." Charles said softly.

"time."

"A quarter past one in the morning."

…

Time, time, every second is extremely precious.

If the road conditions are suitable, the infantry can cover 24 kilometers per day. A forced march can double this distance by abandoning all baggage.

At first glance, 24 kilometers sounds very close, and 48 kilometers is not far either.

However, countless victorious generals in the world died on this short one-day journey, resulting in the loss of their troops, humiliation of the country, and ruin of their reputation.

The battle that took place in Zhongtiefeng County was fundamentally a battle for time.

Teltown's massive roundabout strategy was to take advantage of the defenders' forces being attracted along the Big Horn River to get behind Winters and attack from both sides.

This is where the fighter jet appears.

Winters seized the time difference and pierced the opponent's chest with his sword when the fire-warmer fired his right uppercut, knocking back the scattered Teltons, who totaled about twenty hundred cavalry.

Although it was not a defeat, let alone an annihilation, it temporarily removed the threat from the west flank and gave the troops a chance to form a fist again.

At noon the next day after Winters repulsed the diversionary enemy, the Teltown vanguard attacked Tushe Field for the first time.

At that point in time, nine of the twelve companies of the Tiefeng County Infantry Regiment were deployed along the Big Horn River. These nine companies were generally short of men, exhausted, and were gathering together.

One company is stationed in Xiaoshi Town, and its combat strength is relatively complete.

The remaining three companies serve as the general reserve, originally stationed in Shengke Town, and are rushing to Xiaoshi Town and Tushechang.

The Terdun people are like an arrow, the tip of the arrow has already touched the heart of Zhongtiefeng County, and the follow-up tribes are rushing over.

If the fording field is breached, then Winters' two attempts to cross the Bighorn River will be completely in vain.

His scattered companies will be broken down one by one by the Teltuns, just as he repulses the scattered Teltuns.

The difference is that the Tertons can escape on horseback, but Winters' men don't even have a chance to escape.

It was Bud who led the refugee camp to withstand the first and second wave of enemy attacks, buying Winters another day.

During this day, Winters built a second line of defense behind the ford field.

At the same time, the twelve companies of the Tiefeng County Regiment and all the militiamen in Niuti Valley, Xiaoshi Town, and Shengke Town were gathering towards Tushe Field.

So Tai Chi actually wronged his Qing Ling Yu, because Winters really "built a wall overnight."

As for how the two-legged people built a more than ten kilometers long fortification wall overnight, Taichi still knows nothing.

What Taichi didn't even know was that Winters was still building the third wall.

…

The soldiers of the fifth company marched in silence, one column, without drumbeats or slogans, and even the military flag was rolled up.

Riding in front was the fifth company commander [Lannis].

The moon phase is perfect tonight, which is a good day for both parties to fight.

There was a faint sound of hoofbeats ahead, and it seemed that cavalry was approaching the column of the fifth company.

Lannis raised his hand to indicate that the flag bearer unfurled the military flag. The military policeman immediately took out an arrow and turned around to hand it to his comrades behind him.

After each soldier receives the arrow, he will immediately pass it on to the person behind him. At the same time, he will throw away all unnecessary items and move towards the military flag with only his weapons and armor.

Without any command, the fifth company formed a square formation in silence.

Lannis listened carefully, and the sound of hoofbeats became closer and closer, so he was sure that the other party was coming for the fifth company.

"Drum roll!" Lannis broke the silence.

The sound of a snare drum sounded like a shower, signaling to the soldiers of the fifth company that their position had been exposed and they were immediately ready to fight.

The visitors stationed their horses in front of the phalanx, and there were only a dozen of them.

"Who?" Lannis asked.

"It's me." Winters replied.

Lannis galloped out of the square and saluted Winters calmly.

"Can we still fight?" Winters asked.

"It's best to rest for two hours." Lannis replied truthfully.

"Turn around and go to Cow Hoof Valley." Winters didn't need to be polite about his old troops: "Tamas is building a third line of defense, and you will be under his command for the time being."

"Yes." Lannis raised his hand and saluted again.

Assigning a guide to Lannis, Winters took one last look at his old men and rode away.

The fifth company returned to marching formation again and headed southwest.

…

If it were a head-on battle, an open space of five kilometers by five kilometers would be enough to accommodate a grand battle involving 100,000 people.

The difficulty for the Tertun people and indeed all nomadic tribes is that they can use their mobility to turn five kilometers into fifty kilometers or even one hundred and fifty kilometers.

Advance when it's beneficial, retreat when it's unfavorable, don't be shy to run away, and attack when you're sure you can win. This is the great tactical advantage brought by high mobility.

For example, the straight-line distance on the map alone for the great detour of the Terdun people was more than 150 kilometers.

If we were to walk two thousand kilometers, humans might be able to compete with horses in terms of endurance; but if we were to run two hundred kilometers, they would not be as fast as horses anyway.
To be continued...