August 22, 1941, was a tragic day for the Soviets, thousands of miles away. The Red Army sappers, who resolutely carried out Stalin's scorched earth policy, blew up with their own hands the greatest architectural achievement of the USSR - the Dnieper hydroelectric power station. Completed in 1932, the largest hydroelectric complex in the world, the dam was proudly displayed to foreign visitors as a communist monument, even though it was mostly designed and built by American engineers.

But for a U.S. Army officer like John, this day is definitely a day to remember and celebrate. After three months of intense congressional debate, the resolution to extend the Compulsory Military Service Act was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Army struggled at the last minute to keep the 900,000 recruits it had recruited 10 months earlier, and gained the authority to serve in all U.S. territories they were stationed in, including the Philippines and the Western Hemisphere, including Iceland.

Won the most "difficult" battle in the history of the U.S. Army, and successfully removed the thickest chain that bound them. Before the jubilant army leaders rolled up their sleeves and worked hard, they naturally had to reward their merits first.

Although John did not contribute much in this struggle, he was still included in the list of "meritorious persons" after being honored by Stimson's success. Exactly 10 days after the Atlantic Conference, he finally received a call from Marshall's office.

"Congratulations, John. I'm going to call you General Vanderbilt in the future. As soon as he walked into the staff building, John was confronted by a group of old colleagues from the War Department. Although the promotion order has not yet been issued, it is no secret that he is about to become the deputy commander of the brigadier general of the 82nd Division. Minister Jero, who was the leader, was the first to congratulate him, "There is still a lack of a deputy minister in the ministry, why don't you go to the 82nd Division, how about coming back to help me?" ”

"Of course it couldn't be better. As long as you say the chief of staff, I will be waiting for your call at any time. John laughed and laughed with Jairo, he didn't take the other party's "solicitation" seriously at all. Such an important position as the deputy minister of operations is simply not something that Jairo can decide on himself. Moreover, he knew very well that this position in history eventually fell into the hands of Eisenhower and became the starting point of his take-off.

Now that he has become a general before Eisenhower, it would be a little unkind to grab the position of deputy secretary of others. Anyway, he and Eisenhower were also good friends.

But the thought that Eisenhower was still a colonel made John a little excited. He wondered if he would take the time to go to the Third Army's exercise headquarters after returning to Louisiana. There were not many opportunities for the future Allied Supreme Commander to salute himself (Eisenhower was promoted to brigadier general as soon as the September exercises ended).

After joking with Jairo, John went straight to Chief of Staff Marshall's office. Receiving constant congratulations from his old colleagues along the way, John finally reached the top floor and was once again led by Taylor into the small reception room next to the chief of staff's office.

"Congratulations, John. General Ridgway will be there in a while. I've got all the coffee ready, would you like some? Taylor, who was clearly prepared, asked with a smile as he held the coffee pot.

"Matthew is coming too?" John asked, taking the coffee cup Taylor handed over.

"Chief of Staff Marshall is seeing both of you at the same time." Taylor put down the coffee pot, "The orders from the two generals, Bradley and Swain, have come down. This time, the chief of staff is estimated to talk to you about the next arrangements of the 82nd Division. ”

"That's right, Taylor. How was the last time I told you? John asked, sipping Maxwell coffee that Taylor had prepared for him.

"You mean the Airborne Division? Where has the staff been bothered about this lately. However, there was a meeting on the side of the Army Air Corps, which General Arnold did not attend, and the ...... presided over by Deputy Commander Spatz"

"That's not what I'm talking about." John interrupted Taylor, "It's a matter of you getting off the army, how are you thinking about it, is there a good position?" ”

"It's only been a few days, how can it be so fast." It's only been a month since John last talked about it, and of course there's no way Taylor could have found a home so quickly.

"Listen to me, Taylor. Now there's a good opportunity. John's fox tail was finally revealed, "I was promoted to deputy division commander this time, and the position of chief of staff of the 82nd Division will soon be vacant (before the succession to the office, the position of division chief of staff is still temporarily held by John), how about you replace me, how about being this chief of staff?" ”

"Chief of Staff? John, don't look at the jokes. Taylor apparently thought John was making fun of him, "I'm a major, and it's good to be a battalion commander or chief of staff if I go down, and I can also be the chief of staff of the division." ”

"What's wrong with Major, I'm still a captain (official rank)." John patiently persuaded, "Among the people who have gone down from your staff secretariat, there are still few people who have been promoted by leapfrogging?" Bradley used to be an assistant secretary to the chief of staff like you, and if you can be promoted directly from lieutenant colonel to brigadier general, why can't you be promoted from major to colonel? ”

After using Bradley's example to build up Taylor's confidence, John continued to persuade, "The opportunity is rare, you listen to my advice, and while there is no one eyeing this position yet, quickly find an opportunity to talk to Chief of Staff Marshall, it will be too late." ”

"Is this appropriate?" Taylor asked hesitantly. To say that he is not at all impressed, it is impossible. The 82nd Division is not a fish-belly unit, at least it is definitely the best among all the newly formed troops. If it can become the first airborne division in the whole army this time, it will have an unlimited future.

And the chief of staff of the division is the most important position under the three chief officers of the division headquarters, and it is the only way to the general. Coupled with the care of John, the former commander, Taylor can save a lot of trouble when he goes to the 82nd Division, at least the speed of opening up the situation is much faster.

However, would Marshall support him in going to the 82nd Division? Taylor was a little unsure. At this point, John was much more confident than he was. Historically, the first person to be optimistic about Taylor was Marshall. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Stilwell was bent on letting him go to China with him, and Marshall did not agree to mention it several times. He is considered to be a general who leads troops to fight, and there are no US troops in the China-Burma-India theater, so he can only serve as an ordinary staff officer there. Before the 82nd Division was ready to go to Europe, it was Marshall who appointed Taylor as the colonel's chief of staff of the 82nd Division.

"You just have the audacity to tell the chief of staff, I'll take care of it at the War Department." John patted his chest and hugged his bag, "I'll also say hello to Secretary Smith and ask him to help you say good things." ”

"Then I'll try?" John said all this, and Taylor didn't appreciate it anymore, but he slapped John in the face. "Whether it works out or not, thank you very much this time."

"What are you being polite to?" John affectionately patted Taylor on the shoulder. The feeling of accepting a future army chief of staff as a junior brother is cool, "In terms of ability, you are much better than me." I can do two knives like this, and you'll be fine. When you go back, remember to learn more about airborne operations, and let's work together to build the 82nd Division into an airborne elite. ”