In the face of the doubts of many army aviation officers, John was mentally prepared. After making up his mind to serve in the 82nd Division, John began to study and organize information on airborne tactics.

Whether it was the Norwegian airborne, the capture of the Ebenemar fortress, the Battle of Crete, or the upcoming Battle of Vyazma (Soviet Union), Operation Husky (Sicilian landing), Operation Overlord, Operation Dragoon, Operation City-Garden, Operation University, and even the rescue of Filipino prisoners of war from the 11th Airborne Division of the United States, John carefully summarized the assistant summary. The officers of the Aviation Bureau could not refute him at all.

"Now I would like to share my views on the basic principles of airborne operations, as well as on the methods and safeguard measures for the deployment of troops, coordinated actions, combat command, and combat operations in the three stages of organizational preparation, airborne and ground combat." John threw the bombshell he had carefully prepared.

"First of all, I believe that the following five principles must be observed, whether it is an airborne operation for strategic surprise attacks, a campaign or tactical airborne operation for an in-depth attack, or a special airborne operation for attacking and sabotaging behind enemy lines."

"First, the combination of open space and land, the principle of close coordination. In combat, the Airborne Forces must coordinate their actions with transport and support aviation units under unified planning and command. When fighting with infantry, tank troops, and landing troops, it is also necessary to closely coordinate with them and carry out joint combat with air and ground. ”

"Second, suddenly airborne, the principle of winning with surprise. Meticulous selection of airborne time, place, attack target, and favorable route, covertly assemble and complete combat preparations, adopt all kinds of deceptive measures to confuse the enemy, and strive to enter from a low altitude or ultra-low altitude and complete the airborne landing in one voyage. After landing, take advantage of the favorable situation of a sudden airborne landing and quickly launch an attack with flexible combat actions to catch the enemy by surprise. ”

"Third, focus on use, rapid maneuvering. Airborne troops are often used in critical seasons and decisive directions. After receiving the mission, they must quickly maneuver to the designated area, use the airborne to quickly deploy troops, directly form a battle formation, and try to get as close as possible to or directly land on the intended attack target.

"Fourth, the principle of attacking in depth and combining offense and defense. The basic tasks of the Airborne Forces are to seize and hold key points and to attack and destroy the enemy's important targets. It is necessary to adopt flexible means of attacking in depth, and to achieve a combination of offense and defense, and to switch in a timely manner. ”

"Fifth, the principle of air replenishment and timely support. According to the course of the battle and the actions of the airborne troops, the airdrop and airborne follow-up supplies should be organized in a timely manner, and the airborne and technical support should be closely integrated with combat and technical support to ensure the continuous combat capability of the airborne troops. (Excerpted from the "Chinese Military Encyclopedia", General Assistant Chang doesn't want to write such a boring thing, but the plot needs it, let's make do with it.) ）

Five bombs were thrown out in a row, and the venue, which was still buzzing just now, suddenly fell silent. After a moment of silence, the venue exploded again like a stabbed hornet's nest. From Chief of Staff Marshall to elite young officers like Gavin, all of them who came to the seminar were knowledgeable. No one here underestimates John's seemingly empty five cardinal principles. It's clear to all. Whether there are clear guidelines or not, how important it is for a new tactic, a new class.

"Colonel Vanderbilt, can you elaborate on how these five principles can be applied to airborne operations?" General William Lee, whose nose was a little red with excitement, couldn't wait to ask. In the eyes of the "father of the airborne forces" of the United States, with these five basic principles, the formation, training, and use of the airborne troops will no longer be a matter of seeing flowers in the fog and crossing the river by feeling the stones.

"Okay, let's move on to the organizational readiness phase. From the time the airborne troops receive the combat mission to the time they enter the departure airport to complete the preparations for boarding, the main activities of the organization and preparation stage include formulating combat plans, organizing and distinguishing airborne combat units, preparing the departure airfield, assembling troops, and completing the preparations for boarding. The overall planning and preparation of airborne operations should be carried out under the supervision of the theater commander. For large-scale airborne operations, it is necessary to establish an airborne combat command center composed of airborne troops, transport aviation units, tactical aviation units, and other services and arms in the theater of operations......"

"Let's look at the airborne stage again. This stage consists of three stages: loading, conveying and landing......"

"Finally, there is the ground combat phase. There are four main links: the gathering of forces, the launching of an attack on the predetermined target, the organization of defense, and the transfer and withdrawal from the battle......"

John is not an empty talker who can only endorse, and at this stage, when it comes to understanding airborne tactics, it is estimated that no one in the US Army can match it. Even William Lee, Gavin and others, who were personally involved in the "air infantry" program, did not think about it as meticulously and comprehensively as he did. In the face of the wheel battle of the officers of the army aviation that followed, he was not stage frightened at all.

John knew very well in his heart that although the idea of "pocketization" of the Airborne Forces was not without reason. In a few decades, this may even become a mainstream trend in the development of airborne tactics around the world.

Because with the development of air defense technology, even the United States, as a post-war superpower, will definitely not be easy to complete all the airlift support tasks of a brigade-scale airborne operation. Moreover, the use of a large number of expensive large transport planes to carry out airborne operations in areas controlled by the enemy is likely to pay a heavy price.

In later generations, the so-called practice of parachuting an entire division into the air was actually only a need for training and propaganda. The size of the airborne forces that will be put into operation, although it will vary depending on the nature of the mission and the size and composition of the enemy's forces, is usually below the brigade size. Some special operations missions even use only company-sized or even smaller units.

For example, in Grenada's "Operation Fury" in 1983, "Operation Justice" in Panama in 1989, and the special operations in Afghanistan in 2002, the US military carried out airborne operations. In these operations, the mission of the Airborne Forces was to seize airfields and establish forward bases for the follow-up of subsequent troops. It is usually carried out by 1 to 3 airborne infantry battalions, and the airborne brigade headquarters is directly responsible for command. In fact, in the decades after World War II, there was not a single large-scale airborne operation involving tens of thousands of paratroopers.

However, this concept of "pocketization" of the Airborne Forces is clearly not suitable for the current US military. Because for the US military, which is about to enter the battlefield of World War II, the first thing to consider is to win this war, and as for the material and labor costs that need to be paid, it can only be placed in the back row.

This is also the reason why, as soon as John came up, he talked a lot about the strategic significance of the Airborne Forces. As long as the U.S. military leadership recognizes the strategic usefulness of the Airborne Forces, those operational and tactical weaknesses are not enough to justify the formation of a large-scale Airborne Force.

In fact, in the eyes of most American officers, the losses suffered by the German 7th Parachute Division were more acceptable than the strategic significance of the successful capture of Crete. This is why, historically, Hitler abandoned the continuation of large-scale airborne operations because of the Battle of Crete. And the reason why the Americans, with deep pockets, formed several airborne divisions in one fell swoop.

John knew in his heart that the Army Air Corps officers who spoke out against him were actually drunkards who didn't mean to drink. The reason why they try their best to limit the size of the Airborne Forces is simply because once the establishment of the Airborne Forces reaches the division level, they basically lose the possibility of incorporating them into their own system.

John was not of much interest in the question of whether the Airborne Forces should be subordinate to the Army or the Air Force. In any case, whether the airborne troops are subordinate to the air force like Germany and China in the future, or to the army like Britain and the United States, they must be under the unified command of a joint command center when they are used. Neither the Army nor the Air Force can exert the power of airborne tactics alone.

But now, John's ass is sitting on the side of the infantry (the US Air Force is not yet independent, and this conflict of interests is actually between the Infantry Bureau and the Aviation Bureau within the Army), and he also wants to get a piece of the pie in the expansion of the Airborne Forces, so he will naturally strongly oppose the "pocketization" of the Airborne Forces.

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