Oh my heavens, you'll have to forgive me for making this personal. You write of empire and and an enemy with numbers that have no limit. I don't know what your personal experience with war is, but my husband fought in Vietnam--a conscript. 13 months in the jungle, fighting an enemy against which he harbored no animosity, except the animosity born of the desire to survive. But there he was, with 'dirty face', unwashed uniform (unless you count the rain that fell on it almost ceaselessly). There was no 'front line'. They just moved around, with fatal consequences for many.
You really capture the sense of war, as he experienced it.
Great story.
I am pleased that my word are close to true. Thanks for nice words.