This book is about how one becomes a commander. You can clarify what level, type and type of troops, but these will already be details. Most importantly, this book is about how one becomes a commander during a war, on the line of combat contact. From the table of contents it is clear what was important for the author of the book and in what order in the formation of his unique “command voice”: the civilian population of the front line, the command staff of the unit entrusted to him and the regimental economy. The third is especially interesting - how his subordinates wear shoes/dress, what they eat, how they rest, and how they fight. The book describes the events of the German offensive on the Northwestern Front in 1915. During these events, a battle took place in Smorgon (Belarus). Alexander Svechin and his regiment fought in the tactical defense element. About his regiment, the regiment commander, Colonel A. Svechin, wrote that the regiment entrusted to him has “outstanding qualities and traditions,” if we add to this “the promotion of increased combat effectiveness and the active use of favorable opportunities” by the commander, then the result will be a small, but victory at Dukshty, and then a breakthrough near Lutsk.