"no plan survives contact with the enemy"
we are in the thick of it, and so if ANY date actually hits, it should be considered amazing
events are the timeline - we are given dates, yes, but the events are described, alluded to and dug on
when one considers the complexity (trying to play chess on a board with 6 or 7 sides and factions in control of each side) then the dates need to be flexible - hence my personal use of events as markers, a la Q
if no plan survives contact with THE enemy, expecting a plan to survive contact with the ENEMIES is going to frustrate one