"He’s not looking for speed," Elias explained to the silent command room. "He’s looking for a 'Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay' that we haven't checked. He thinks we’re blinded by the manual. He’s going to use the ravines to bypass our kill zone and hit our supply lines." "But the manual says—"
He drew a jagged arrow on the screen. It didn't go through the pass. It veered sharply north, into the "Devil’s Punchbowl"—a series of rocky ravines everyone deemed impassable. FM 34-130 Intelligence Preparation Battlefield
"The 14th Guards won't come through the pass," Elias muttered, his finger tracing the contour lines of the "Shattered Spine" ridge. "He’s not looking for speed," Elias explained to
Because Elias hadn't just read FM 34-130; he had learned to think like the ghost in the machine. He’s going to use the ravines to bypass
"Step 4," Elias whispered, the core of the IPB process. "."