In the snow-blanketed fields of eastern Europe hundreds of thousands of troops face each other in sub-zero, bitingly cold trenches and shell-smashed buildings, bracing for war.
Many are unseen, camouflaged, heavily-armed and hidden behind anti-sniper netting, huddled behind derelict buildings and exchanging the odd shot, mortar round or artillery shell.
After months of tension, they know they could be just a few words barked down a radio from a tsunami of armoured violence as Europe tips towards bloody conflict.
