Words and Phrases to Drill alliance campaign conquest crucial decisive declaration desperate efficient engage equip heroic instruct invasion launch limp (v.) minus occupation offensive raw reckon region render resistance siege stroke (n.) toll underestimate weaken at the cost of be faced with be/get bogged down bide one’s time bring to a halt catch sb. off guard drag on engage/ be engaged in (doing) sth. in the case of press on/ ahead reckon with stand/get /be in the way take a gamble take its/a toll thanks to turn the tide (against) Cloze 1.Text-related Complete the passage with words chosen from the Words and Phrases to Drill box. Change the form where necessary. When Hitler decided to launch his (1)_______ of Russia, he thought that nothing could (2)______ _____ ____ ____of his armies. (3)______, it seemed, was inevitable. He had surprise on his side, (4)_______ Stalin ______ _____ _____ by (5) ___________ his attack without a (6) _________ of war. Hitler expected the (7) ________ to last only a few months. In the event, it was to (8) _____ _____ for much longer. Like Napoleon before him, he had made a fatal mistake in failing to (9) ______ _______ the severity of the Russian weather. Many German soldiers were to die from the cold as winter set in, (10) _________ the German advance _____ _____ ______.