World War: Tartars, Tsars and Scars

Russia is a classic battleground. As Adolf Hitler's drive passed its initial phase last week, the new conqueror showed by the routes he chose and the techniques he used that he had studied hard the hard lessons of previous incursions:

The Tartars started well. Like the Nazis, they had some fancy techniques of war, some streamlined theories of slavery. The tough soldiers could live for months on a porridge made from mare's milk. If without food they would draw blood from their horses' veins. They could stay on horseback for two days on end,...