Well, LotGH is back and I liked it so much. The space Jews of Phezzan got a kick in the ass from Emperor Reinhard and have returned to where they belong, and we can watch the conflict between the FPA and the Empire again. I understand more and more the complaints about this stage of "Legend of the Galactic Heroes". It is a pity that Tanaka did not throw out the plot with the Earth cultists, because they only spoil the story. Volume 5 started at about the same time and place as Volume 4 ended at the end of the year party. The beginning of this volume is an introduction to how both sides celebrate the last moments of peace before the next stage of the great war. Or at least for some, because the Empire has entered Phezzan territory, and FPA politicians are literally sentenced to fear of losing their positions. It was a lovely sight as the politicians got in Yang's ass without using lubricant and treated him like the servants of the Sultan as he walked around his harem. They were ready to do almost anything if he only promised them that he would do anything to send the threat away from their borders.
But let's not pre-empt the facts, before that happens, Yang leaves the Iserlohn fortress. Reinhard's tactic of attacking from two sides (on Heinesen from the Phezzan corridor and on the space fortress from the second corridor) caused that the most outstanding commander of the alliance had to fly away from his safe base. He had no other option, if he had not left her, the capital of his state would have collapsed, and the fortress, despite its firepower and self-sufficiency, would have collapsed in the end. In the worst case scenario, they would have to repeat the maneuver from Volume 3 - i.e. create another strong fortress and send it to the Iserholn area. In the worst case, Reinhard would have to sacrifice a lot of soldiers and money, but the losses would probably be smaller than in the case of the 1st battle. As this volume shows, despite the many advantages of the fortress, even it is not indestructible. Yang's garrison was unable to repair it - many of the defense turrets were destroyed and the armor was partially damaged, which in my opinion would make another strike much easier. However, Yang did not leave the fortress without a few surprises - he placed a lot of small bombs in various places, wiped all the data and software (which they took with them so that when they returned to the fortress at least the problem overcome) and left one big surprise. Unfortunately, we haven't found out what it is, at least for now (although it may be my fault and I forgot). These bombs are not a big problem, but Yang has placed so many and so many different places that Imperial engineers will look for them for a long time. They'll be so caught up in it that they probably won't see the greatest danger. In general, I liked this theme and how Yang and von Reuentahl behaved.
Speaking of what I like, in one of the chapters Yoshiki Tanaka touched on the topic Dr. Jacek Bartosiak likes to talk about, Tyrania Dystansu. The founder of the FPA and one of his successors said about it - "We will run so far that the Empire will not pay off to follow us and we will have peace for a long time." I did a cursory search of Google and YT and couldn't find an explanation for this phrase, so I'll explain it in abbreviated form. I don't think I would be wrong, but I might not write about something important. Thus, the Tyranny of Distance is referred to, for example, in the context of the war between China and the US in the Pacific. It is a gigantic area of 165,200,000 km² (for comparison, the area of Europe - 10,180,000 km²). So 16 times bigger. Although many years have passed since the Second World War, it is still a huge challenge for the US military in the event of a possible conflict. It is difficult to navigate safely, no reference points on water or land, and you have to rely on the position of the stars. In the world of LotGH, navigating such a large area is apparently easier, but the technology (even despite superluminal speed and others) is not able to overcome the problem of the enormous distance between the Empire and the Heinesen planet. You have to spend a lot of money, time on logistics, mobilize a lot of troops (because reinforcements will not arrive too quickly, if at all), and the supply lines are stretched to the maximum and very vulnerable - even if you devote a lot of soldiers and equipment to protect them. Reinhard learned this painfully when Yang took advantage of the fighting in his area.
Before I go to the most important paragraph, I will spend some time with Poplin and Julian, both of them have won my recognition in this volume. Julian for escaping Phezzan despite the Empire's blockade and stolen by a destroyer. True, he was more lucky than he was smart, but as it was said several years ago, when I played "WarCraft 3" on Battle Net or DotA1 - "luck is also part of skill". Having a lot of luck can also be one of the strengths, at least in LotGH, where it was used twice as one of the arguments in this context. As for Poplin, his statements about women, love and alcohol are always funny, frivolous and largely true. Besides, I like reading battles with him - it's such a Han Solo in this world. A very talented pilot that effectively destroys his opponents. Kind of a simple creation like we've seen a lot, but that's the type of character that doesn't mind. Without it, LotGH would be less interesting.
However, what I liked the most about this volume (aside from the fact that the story is finally back on track) are the very brutal battles. This is not the stage that I will remember forever (I mean the last stage of the war, in which one of the soldiers crawled for a moment with his lower body crushed, while his friend tried to stick his intestines into the abdomen that had been torn apart by the explosion - when he started delirious about his mother, I couldn't hold back my tears), but I can't wait to see it in a few years in the anime. People burned alive in spaceships, corpses of soldiers drifting in space along with the remains of spaceships, and a few other examples, have had a strong impact on my imagination. Especially the short fragment in which medics treated wounded soldiers. It was not the level of the Battle of Brenna from "The Witcher", where Sapkowski in a very realistic and at the same time disgusting way. showed what the field hospital looked like in those conditions, but it made a similar impression on me. The battle between Reinhard and Yang was so intense that the doctors did not have the time, let alone the opportunity, to properly heal the injured, so they had to amputate many legs, arms, injured internal organs and more, which could normally be saved without any problems. Most of them, at least. Some people did not agree to the installation of artificial organs, limbs or supplementing the deficiencies in the skin with its artificial counterpart, but unfortunately they had no choice. Either they will become the heroes of "Cyberpunk 2077" or "Ghost in the Shell" or they will die. Which Yang could not afford due to the limited military available to him.
This was because Reinhard did what he had announced in the earlier volume - "Negotiation time is over, now we're gonna get the fuck!" The FPA army suffered a devastating defeat, and although Alexander Bucock did everything he could, he was unable to stop Reinhard's troops. His troops were almost completely wiped out, and the humiliated general was ready to take his own life, as Greenhill did. If it weren't for Yang's quick decision to leave the fortress, he probably wouldn't have anything to come back to. It is true that he won the battle with Reinhard (when they both faced her on more or less similar terms), but he could not deal the final blow. All because of Hilda who saved her boyfriend. The wise woman predicted that her lover would probably fail, so she went with part of the Empire's troops, as well as Wolfgang Mittermeyer and von Reuenthal, to the capital of the FPA and threatened them with destroying the planet if their leaders did not order Yang to retreat. Well, even though I prefer Reinhard to his FPA counterpart, this battle clearly showed that the blonde is a worse tactician than the brunette. Reinhard has enormous talent, he can perfectly plan the attack (and not only) on many levels, but when he fights on equal terms with Yang, there is simply no chance in terms of tactics.
That's it. Of course, there were more things in the book (e.g. some interesting threads thrown at the end of the book), but I don't mention them because of too much spoilers. I don't want to spoil you too much fun - there are old anime that adapted these events, but most are waiting for the next seasons of the new anime. This year I do not plan to read any more volumes - I will take a break and finish in 2022. I do not want to end my adventure with this universe too soon, and besides - too much, it's not healthy. It is true that I do not absorb these books as fast as "The Witcher" when I read it for the 1st time, but I feel slowly bored. Not because the books are boring and the plot is predictable - on the contrary, after a slightly worse period, Yoshiki Tanaka returned to the highest form again and if it were not for my work and daily duties, I would be happy to read the next chapters. I just noticed recently that by bing-watching or reading too fast or playing games I take a lot of fun (+ some things I miss during sessions, or forget about them, which takes away my extra joy), and LotGH is too important title for me and I would like to enjoy reading as long as possible.