Snowflakes fell in the night sky, and the heavy snow that should have been silvery gray reflected the moonlight with a hint of blood, as if everything was frozen in silence, and the sound of stamping on the snow and breathing was particularly harsh and insignificant.

If you give the guerrillas a hard list of various tasks, standing guard on a snowy night will definitely rank first.

The temperature in the mountains is lower than that in the plains, and the snowflakes that fall on the body will turn the cold-proof clothes into a wet and heavy torture instrument little by little, at this time the evening breeze of more than ten degrees below zero blows, the taste is not just "sour" can be described, in the winter the mountains can often find the victims who are frozen into ice lumps, and some people are finally frozen to madness, and actually take off all the clothes, and run wildly in the snow until they die of exhaustion. In the event of a blizzard, they will not even have a chance to go berserk, and they will become stiff corpses, buried deep under the snow, and will not be found until the next year's snow melts. It is not difficult to imagine that on a long snowy night without hot food or hot water, without even a chat partner, unable to light a fire or huddled in the bedding of a house, the night guard can almost be said to be a difficult task that everyone who has experienced it will never forget.

Even so, not a single partisan would refuse to take on the task, after all, no one wanted to be blocked under the covers by a night attacker, beaten into a sieve in his pants. I didn't want to die so badly, so I had to arrange light and dark double sentinels to stand guard every night regardless of the wind, frost, snow and rain.

After a violent tremor like a seizure, Barney felt as if he had warmed up, and he shivered as he took the flask from his bosom, the spicy, warm alcoholic drink slicing down his throat and a strip of salted jerky into his mouth.

In principle, it is not allowed to eat or drink alcohol during standing hours. However, the guerrillas were not regular troops in the first place, and they had to act cheaply in an environment where they could not maintain a stable supply of supplies. For example, drinking during standing guard time will indeed make people unresponsive, alcohol will also cause the loss of human body temperature faster, and excessive drinking will seriously affect the performance of tasks. However, during long winter nights, alcoholic beverages do improve blood circulation, raise body temperature in a short period of time, and reduce the possibility of frostbite at the ends of the limbs. In the cold nights when the fire cannot be lit to expose the sentry post, this is the best personal heating tool that the guerrillas can use.

Stimulated by the alcohol, the trembling of his body also stopped for a moment, and Barney's eyes were once again wide to search the vast snowfield.

In normal times, winter is a rest period when mountain people stop most of their activities and stay at home. Before, pickling food, collecting fuel, and repairing houses were all preparations to survive the winter.

Under the domination of the beautiful and merciless goddess of winter, even the bravest hunters dare not venture into the mountains.

The "Prince Eugen" brigade, also descendants of the mountain people, knew this, and they began to act as early as the first autumn leaves landed.

The goal was not to annihilate or sweep, but to interrupt the partisans' wintering reserves, drive them into the forests and mountains early, and then continue to blockade the mountains, engulfing them with cold and hunger.

From the standpoint of the Empire, this is probably the most cost-effective way to fight guerrilla warfare.

Stamped his almost unconscious feet, Barney thought.

Barney, who has just completed his primary literacy course, doesn't know what a "consumption ratio" or "strategy" is, but he knows what it means to save money and what to do to save it. The empire, which was formerly a consortium, knew how to make money, and should know how to save it, and since they were smart enough to knock Charlemagne's kingdom to the ground, there was certainly no reason for them to miss a way to save money and solve problems.

Most members of the Freikorps share Barney's view that the Defence Force is well-equipped, well-trained, morale-driven, experienced, and not fsed. Launching a large-scale offensive against mountains and forests that are easy to defend and difficult to attack and difficult for mechanized troops to move and exert is a "long is short" - this has been proven by many previous battles. Therefore, instead of wasting resources on encirclement and suppression operations with dubious results, it is better to start raiding and harassing in the autumn with the goal of disrupting the guerrillas' wintering material reserves, and then establish a sufficiently complete and solid encirclement and blockade line against the guerrilla areas in the winter, so that it will be difficult for many guerrilla forces to survive the first winter. Even if they are lucky enough to survive to the beginning of spring, it is questionable whether the survivors will have sound limbs and how much combat effectiveness they have.

However, the upper echelons of the "Freikorps" did not see it that way.

- The enemy's goal is to extinguish all resistance as quickly as possible, and they will not tolerate tens of thousands of mobile troops squatting behind pillboxes and barbed wire for a whole winter.

In order to effectively eliminate the guerrillas, in addition to the drive and blockade operations, the empire will most likely carry out a three-dimensional offensive with the center blossoming and the periphery attacking on all fronts.

- Judging by the signs of a series of enemy movements, this offensive is likely to start before the New Year.

This is what the higher-ranking commanders said, although there is no specific information to support the judgment of the commanders, but in view of the previous series of correct judgments, the guerrillas have avoided one crisis after another, and the "Freikorps" continue to grow. Barney could only choose to be convinced.

"When will those pointy-eared devils be killed?"

Spit out doubts and mist from their mouths, and the young partisans cast blank eyes on the endless darkness.

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"If they're going to do it, it's going to be a few days, and it's estimated that as soon as the snow stops and the weather clears, they'll start moving. ”

"Raids between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day? well, that's a lot like what they do. ”

The girl shook her head and smiled bitterly, she knew very well that the Defence Force had always been cautious in the duration of its operations, and any date of combat operations was based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as troop movements and weather, and none of them were decided on a whim.

When moving in the mountains in winter, you have to consider the effects of wind and snow. In particular, this operation is a three-dimensional coordinated operation of all arms of the armed forces, and the units participating in the battle must be coordinated and unanimous; if the most important airborne assault force and air force cannot be dispatched, the other ground forces can only fight a standard sweep and encirclement even if they are reluctantly dispatched. This would be a waste of all their previous efforts, and they would not be able to accept such an outcome.

In addition to the above considerations, there is another factor that cannot be ignored - the New Year is just around the corner, and this is a time when people are psychologically relaxed and unprepared for surprise attacks. Once the battle has begun, the effect of surprise attacks and disruption of the chain of command will be even more obvious.

"As long as the snow is still falling, the encirclement operation can only be postponed, and we can make the troops more dispersed and hidden, avoiding the enemy's edge. Circumvent their backs and harass the logistical lines, disrupting their deployments so that they cannot take care of each other. We will also continue to attack lines of communication and harass enemy garrisons and material storage. Forcing them to end the encirclement as soon as possible and return to the rear to guard important transportation hubs and strongholds. In this way, this winter can be regarded as surviving. I believe that with the victory of the anti-encirclement and suppression, we can attract more people who are unwilling to be enslaved to join our cause, which will be a strong guarantee for the development of the next strategy. ”

The boy stood up and talked, the flickering light of the fire illuminating the resolute side face, and raised his clenched fists to his chest.

"Dictatorship...... No matter how wise a monarch or how good an emperor is, it is impossible for one person to determine the way of life and the trajectory of life for all. The progress of mankind, the progress of history, should not be determined by road signs. ”

It was an oath-like word.

It is also a prayer from the bottom of my heart.

Even though he may be criticized by the majority, he is determined to carry out this revolutionary road to the end with many like-minded comrades.

- I don't know if we are stupid or crazy, but I know how to gallop forward.

That's all.

The slender arms hugged the boy, and the breath with body fragrance and the soft touch from his back brought an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

"We ...... Will win. ”

Clenched fists, words of comfort and in response to an oath sounded behind him.

Just as the young revolutionary companions were basking in the warmth of the moment, 90 kilometers away from them, swarms of steel reptiles were putting the finishing touches on the battle, and the multi-legged metal beasts dug their long feet deep into the snow, their slender dorsal components pointing at targets hidden beneath the wind and the horizon.

There are still less than 15 minutes before the "vaulting" operation is fully launched.