Theworld’sstrongestarmiesdiscoverthatNaturecanbeasecretallyoranunbeatablefoe.Noteventhestrongesttroopscanmatchthepowerofnature.Ineachofthetenstoriesinthisvolume,well-armedforcessetofftobattlehumanenemiesbutfindthemselvesfightingtheenvironmentinstead.Sometimesaleadercarefullyplanstheperfectattack,onlytofindgeographyintheway.Othertimestheclimateinterferesunexpectedly.In119BCE,GeneralWeiQingusedasandstormascoverandwasabletoattacktheXiongnunomadsbysurprise.Napoleon’splantoquicklysubduetheRussianswasfoiledbythesavage“GeneralWinter.“AmassivenetworkofundergroundtunnelsgavetheVietCongguerillasanunbeatableadvantageoverthemuchstrongerAmericanforces.ThebattlebetweenIndiaandPakistanoverbordershaspittedbothcountriesagainsttheinhospitableSiachenGlacier.Nature’sobstacleshaveleadtocrushingdefeats,inspiredaccidentalvictories,andencouragedsurprisinginnovation.
