The great majority of the literature on warfare concentrates on topics such as formations, maneuvers, equipment, and training. What they often leave out is the importance of the supply lines. The most cunningly devised plan will be worthless in the long term if your supply lines fail.
The same can be said for large-scale C++ development. Most of the books and articles out there deal with class hierarchies, object-oriented design, and mind-bending template tricks. However, when it comes down to it, a solid physical structure and good code layout will go a long way towards making all programmers productive. When the milestones near and the pressure piles on, a badly structured C++ codebase is likely to be as fatal as the cold, Russian winter was to Napoleon’s army.