"By the way, Maxwell, there's something I want you to do me a favor with." After making up his mind to "turn" Taylor to the 82nd Division, John felt the need to arrange a move first, and by the way, also give the other party a little "hint".

"What's the matter, you say it." Taylor replied cheerfully.

"You should have heard about the formation of an airborne division by the army. Recently, you can help me keep an eye on this news. What's the situation, call me directly. John did this, firstly, to let Taylor understand and get in touch with some airborne business first, and secondly, to take advantage of the convenience of the other party's position to find out more information for the 82nd Division. After all, in the face of so many competitors in the whole army, only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can one not be defeated.

"What, you want to go to the Airborne Forces?" While John was at the Cretan Battle Seminar, Taylor sat in the corner of the room taking minutes. His first reaction was that John, a well-known "airborne tactician", wanted to jump from the 82nd Division and serve in the Airborne Forces, where he was better apt.

"It's not that I'm going to the Airborne Forces. It was Lieutenant General Wald who wanted our 82nd Division to compete for the 4th Army on behalf of the 4th Army. John quickly explained.

"Your 82nd Division also wants to be reorganized into an airborne division?" Taylor was taken aback. Although he had not paid close attention to this aspect of the situation before, as the assistant secretary to Marshall's chief of staff, a lot of news would still float to his ears.

In Taylor's impression, it seems that several standing divisions have revealed their willingness to be adapted into airborne divisions. And John's 82nd Division, but the mobilization division that was just rebuilt last year, has not even completed basic training until now. That's too much of a disparity. However, Taylor had seen some of the world in the Secretariat, and he immediately thought of the "specialness" of John and the 82nd Division.

First of all, the three commanders of the 82nd Division are all close associates of Marshall, and it should not be difficult to come to the chief of staff. Secondly, the 82nd Division is also a training benchmark for the whole army that is highly valued by General McNair, and there will not be much problem with the personnel establishment. In addition, John, the expert chief of staff, not only has his back to the big Buddha of Stimson, but also is quite favored by Arnold and other high-level officials of the Army Air Corps. Perhaps, the 82nd Division can really rise up this time and pick this big peach.

"I see. You can rest assured. I'll keep an eye on the situation on the staff side. Anyway, John just asked himself to help inquire about the news, and he didn't have to worry about other things as a young major, Taylor simply nodded in agreement.

"Thanks!" John happily patted the other man on the shoulder. Just as he wanted to find out more if Taylor was interested in airborne operations, Secretary Smith pushed the door open and walked into the reception room. "I'm sorry, Colonel Vanderbilt, for keeping you waiting. Chief of Staff Marshall lets you go over now. ”

"Okay, Smith, I'll do it." John got up and handed the cup back to Taylor, "Stay in touch, Maxwell, we'll talk next time." With that, he followed Smith and walked to the office of the Chief of Staff next door.

As soon as he entered Marshall's office, John was taken aback. Originally, he thought that only Marshall and Strong were inside, but he didn't expect a bunch of big people to sit in the office. General Arnold, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, General McNannie, Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army, Marin Craig, former Chief of Staff (currently Chairman of the Personnel and Reserve Forces Committee of the Department of the Army), General Nevins, Director of the Department of Operational Planning (the Division of Operations Planning has been upgraded from a Division to a Division), Commander of Army Logistics Forces, Summerville, and McNair, who is in charge of establishment, personnel, and training in the General Staff Department.

"Report sir! Chief of Staff of the Army's 82nd Infantry Division, John Vanderbilt, reports! John hurriedly stood up and saluted Marshall and the generals.

"Sit down, John." After returning the salute to John, Marshall said in a slightly tired voice: "It's almost 1 o'clock, and everyone must be hungry." I'll make a long story short and I'm calling you from Louisiana this time because I have an urgent assignment for you. ”

John, whose butt had just landed in his chair, was about to stand up to take the order, but was stopped by Marshall with a wave of his hand. "Listen to me first. This assignment is unique, unrelated to your current job responsibilities, and may require the help of your personal resources, so it is not mandatory. You can think it through before replying. ”

"Understood, Chief of Staff!" John replied simply, and began to mumble in his heart. With the help of his personal resources? This scope is large, is it logistics and transportation or military production? Or is it the connections of the Vanderbilt family?

"Strong should have shown you some of the stuff about it. I think you also have an idea of where the United States and our Army are right now. The Iron Axis is no longer a threat to the free world that a single country can deal with alone. London has proposed a high-level meeting between the United States and Britain in the near future. President Roosevelt had agreed to attend, and Prime Minister Churchill would also attend in person, tentatively in Newfoundland. ”

Hearing this, John was already sure that he had guessed correctly. The task he is about to face is related to the Atlantic Conference.

"This meeting, Admiral Stark and I (Chief of Naval Operations, four-star Admiral Harold Stark) will also be present to represent the U.S. Army and Navy in a military roundtable. The British side was represented by Sir John Deere and Sir Roger Case. ”

John nodded knowingly, he still knew a little about John Deere and Sir Roger Case that Marshall had said. Both British field marshals had just been relieved of their duties, and Churchill had brought them over to reuse them.

The last time John went on a business trip to England, John Deere had just become Chief of the Imperial Staff. Not so long ago, he unfortunately became a scapegoat for the defeat of the Greek campaign and was dismissed from his post by Churchill. He was replaced by General Alan Brooke, the former commander of the Home Defence. Historically, after the Atlantic Conference, the old marshal was sent by Churchill to Washington to serve as the chief representative of the British side of the British Joint Chiefs of Staff (with the rank of marshal), and died of illness in Washington in 1944.

In John's impression, Sir John Deere still had some strategic vision, and was not a Churchill echo worm. During the work of the Joint Commission, he cooperated with the American side very happily and was deeply trusted and respected by Roosevelt, Marshall, and others. Sir Roger Case, on the other hand, is a nasty old man who can't see the situation clearly, and likes to rely on the old and sell the old.

To be precise, this World War I veteran, former Marshal of the Royal Navy, Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, and Commander of the Home Fleet is a typical Victorian veteran who clings to the afterglow of the British Empire. After the outbreak of World War II, Case, who had retired from the army and served several terms in the House of Commons, was brave enough to return to the service of the British Empire. It was as if the British Empire would have perished without him.

British First Sea Lord, Field Marshal Dudley Pound, Chief of the Naval Staff, could not save face from this old boss (John Deere was his chief of staff when he was commander of the Mediterranean Fleet) and pinched his nose to return him to active duty. However, at that time, all the high-ranking positions in the navy were overcrowded, so he could only be sent to Belgium first, where he was appointed as a personal adviser to Leopold III, responsible for coordinating the operational liaison between the Belgian and British and French armies.

After the surrender of Belgium, Sir Keith returned to London and became the head of a new department, the Joint Operations Command (hence the name of a pioneer of joint operations). This department is nominally responsible for commanding the army and navy to fight together, but in fact, no one in the army and navy listens to him as an old antique. This position is nothing more than a good-looking flower hat.

It's just that flower hats also have the use of flower hats. Soon, a relative of the royal family (Louis Mountbatten), who was in dire need of gilding, took a fancy to Case's flowered hat. Keith was dismissed on the grounds of ill health (vision loss). John felt that Churchill brought him to the conference, probably to repay the favor of 1940 (in 1940, wearing a marshal's gown, he gave a speech in the House of Commons and asked Chamberlain to get out).

"So, Chief of Staff, what do you need me to do?" After listening to Marshall's briefing, John asked.

Marshall smiled: "It's not that I need anything from you." Rather, President Roosevelt wanted you to accompany him to the meeting as his personal military adviser. The president was very impressed with your performance in the UK last year. I think he wants you to play a little bit in the meeting. ”

Private military advisers? John thought he would attend the Military Roundtable as a military representative. It turned out that Roosevelt took a fancy to the relationship between him and Churchill, and the so-called military adviser was just a name.

But why did Marshall come forward instead of Sting to communicate with him about this kind of thing? It stands to reason that there is no need for the White House to go through the General Staff, just go through the administrative system of the War Department. John vaguely felt that there must be something greasy in it.