The training proved to be overly intense. Andrei expected it to be difficult, but Rodionov exceeded all expectations and showed no mercy to the boys. They spent literally eighteen hours a day poring over maps and weapons samples, learning how to navigate the terrain, wisely select, equip, and camouflage positions, mark landmarks, and attack and defend. To relax their minds, he drove them around the area at the pace of a herd of antelope frightened by predators, and he himself ran with them, swearing and slapping the lagging ones. Eventually, the constant lack of sleep and fatigue began to take its toll on his charges: they increasingly lost concentration and, as the major put it, "became dumb." One would think it was time to ease the pressure? No! Ultimately, the "dumbness" made Rodionov e
