幼女戦記Ⅱ

They cut quite a bit from the story (volume 6 was skipped and we're on volume 7 now), but at least they kept the plot continuity. We finally see Ildoa and Calandro (who have the relevance they deserve) and the first friction between Zettour and Ruderdorf (it made me smile that Zettour supported Ildoa's peace proposal after reading the LN, who knows, knows... ). I'm also happily surprised that they included the Tanya-Uger-Weiss reflection on the end of the war, considering it was from volume 6. Now, after this series of "political" episodes, finally can't wait to see Operation Iron Hammer adapted and go back to see pure bloody combat. Ps. Poor Weiss and his promotion, he won't be able to buy all the alcohol he wants anymore :`(

If you've seen the entire first season, the movie, and the released second season episodes, yes. BUT, it's important to note that the manga, anime, and light novel, while they share the same basic plot, have numerous variations. For example, the manga is slow (quite behind the anime and an eternity behind the LN) and features numerous episodes that were barely covered in the other two (like the campaign in the southern continent or the battle of Dodoobird), and realistically, it still at the beginning of volume 5. However, if you like seeing Tanya and the others drawn with cuteness and seeing the story from a more "human" perspective, I recommend it. If you want to read the "official" story, try the light novel: it's much more complex given the presence of numerous tactical and logistical excerpts, but personally, I love it (I'm on volume 12), and it's also very advanced in the story (I think 2-3 volumes and Carlo Zen will finish it, but that's just my guess).

Well shit now they did it I would wager big money that this is the thing that will break the empire's back. The Stalingrad of the Mage universe. A stupid blunder that will cost most of their army. And i say that without knowing what will happen next time. I just feel it in my bones, my synapses tell me that they gonna be bogged down in leningrad and then gonna get encircled and without the flexibility of ww2 organisations this is gonna hurt even more. This is gonna be a total shit show and we are gonna witness it in color.

In reality (heavy spoiler ahead, I warn you before continue): Operation Iron Hammer is one of the Empire's most decisive victories during the war (second only to Operation Lock Pick, which annihilated the Francois Republic), destroying a significant portion of the Federation's army and conquering numerous territories. We can call it the Empire's pinnacle of success in the war. The serious problem comes after the victory: the Empire is in a position to negotiate, and most of the army supports Zettour in negotiating peace with the Allies with Ildoan aid (Ruderdorf himself, though reluctant, seems to be in favor of it), but the politicians and the government reject any peace proposal unless it is clearly favorable to the Empire (they are all in for a total victory, because they must safeguard public opinion). Furthermore, after this defeat, the Federation's army begins to evolve from a "horde" commanded by political commissars to a "thinking" army, as Tanya puts it, more autonomous and tactically capable of at least containing the Empire(like the evolution of the red army on the eastern front in our timeline) . The greedy pursuit of victory by the empire's upper echelons (as opposed to the rationality of Zettour and Tanya) will be the cause of its inevitable defeat

Zettour and Rudersdorf as high positioned as they are are ultimatelt still a cog of the machine. A cog that drives other cogs, sure, but still a cog. Rudersdorfs and the more greedy/old fashion, "hit em til it die" are too aggressive and ambitious in their demands (tho in this AU it's more fair, cuz they ARE the original victims). Zettour is often considered too scholarly (ironically) and when it comes to curb stomping a down enemies, Rudersdorf gets a bigger say. When they did not pursue the Francois remnant flee that was the fall of the first domino. This episode is the speeding up from smaller to bigger pieces.

So, the Empire seems kinda fucked when they refuse to accept anything less than the total surrender of their enemies. They're already depleting their manpower reserves, the frontlines are stretched thin fighting just the Russy, and there's the chance of Ildoa joining the Allied Powers and opening another front to try and get some clout for helping to end the Empire. At this point, they're probably gonna need a military coup to remove Ruderdorf and force the Kaiser to accept a peace that won't make them hated for the rest of time.

Really loved the episode and the take on logic / realism vs feelings / idealism. In war, when you've suffered through years of fighting, your comrades dying, all the resources and money spent, it's really difficult to act logical. I harken back to when the US was withdrawing from Afghanistan; to me it just seemed utterly logical and I wanted money / troops to stop being sent to what I saw as a lost cause. The reaction from veterans on the other hand was astonishing. The people I thought would be glad not for future soldiers not to be sent there and suffering under things like PTSD were upset that they felt like all the time they spent there were now "wasted." I also kind of think of when I played Civilization games. When douchebags like Alexander, Atilla, and Montezuma attack me and I manage to fend them off, I absolutely refuse to make peace with them even if I'm spending production on military and would be better off going back to building tech and culture like before. I have to destroy those jackoffs who attacked me even if it sets me back.