"Who do you say Ike is?" Receiving a report from the adjutant that the chief of staff, Eisenhower, had a brigadier general and wanted to come over to visit him, the commander of the Third Army, Lieutenant General Walter Kruger, asked with a puzzled expression.

"Brigadier General Vanderbilt, the newly appointed deputy commander of the 82nd Division." Adjutant Gordon replied, "The one who designed the new logistical supply process." ”

"I remember, the deputy chief of logistics under Harold (Major General Bull) in the past. What is he here for? When John first arrived at the Army Staff, Kruger was the assistant chief of staff in charge of the Operations Planning Division. Although the two are not familiar with each other, they have dealt with each other a few times.

"Isn't there a subject to assess the new logistics supply process in this exercise? Chief of Staff Eisenhower was worried that the implementation of the new process by our group army would not take long and that something would go wrong during the exercise, so he brought more than a dozen people from the 82nd Division to observe the exercise, which actually helped the regiments below to familiarize themselves with logistics operations. Gordon patiently explained, "I heard that he came to bring those people back this time. It seems that because their division has been transferred to the 28th Division, many officers are not enough. ”

"What's his relationship with Ike?" The rhetoric that John came up with was not easy to use in Kruger. As a veteran who had participated in all foreign wars since the Spanish-American War (he joined the army in 1898 and was already chief of staff during World War I), and was six years older than John, Kruger, who had always been perceptive, saw at a glance that there must be other reasons for John's trip.

The officers of the 82nd Division observed the affairs of the regiment, and he had heard Eisenhower's report before. To let these people go back, a phone call is enough, where is the need for a brigadier deputy division commander to make a special trip. Besides, John didn't show up when these people came, and it was even more impossible when he left.

"I don't know, I seem to know it very well. He came at noon and remained in Eisenhower's office until now. Why don't I inquire? Gordon told him everything he knew.

"Forget it, you go talk to Ike and let them come together." Kruger decided to meet John first. Although in his heart, he is not very cold to the new deputy commander of the 82nd Division.

This is not surprising. A slight comparison of Kruger and John's resumes shows that their military careers are simply two extremes.

Born in Platau, West Prussia, Germany, Kruger did not immigrate to Ohio with his family until he was almost 10 years old (the name Walter Kruger itself has a distinctly Prussian character, and there was also an SS lieutenant general in Germany called this name during World War II), and he was deeply influenced by Prussian military culture, and he dreamed of becoming a good general from an early age

At the age of 17, Kruger, who was still in high school, dropped out of school and went to Cuba as a volunteer to fight in the Battle of Santiago (Spanish-American War). He joined the regular army at the age of 18 and worked as a private, step by step, and it took him 43 years to climb to the position of commander of the Third Army and commander of the Southern Military District of the United States.

And John, a son of a wealthy family with a deep background. I didn't go to a military school, I didn't go to the battlefield, I didn't even participate in formal military training, I joined the army for less than two years, and with the support of the background and a little expertise in logistics, I actually became a general.

Of course, Kruger's opinion of John was not about his promotion to brigadier general. If John had stayed at the staff or gone to Somerville to do logistics, Kruger might have raised his hands in favor. After all, when he was in the General Staff, he had also seen John's ability in logistics, and if he specialized in the art industry, he should have raised a senior talent.

However, John did not let a good logistics officer do it, but he had to run to the field unit as a commander without his ability. In the eyes of Kruger, who has always been strict and serious, and there is no room for sand in his eyes, this is simply a joke on the lives of soldiers, and it is strange that he can get used to it.

Kruger originally wanted Gordon to find a random reason to send John away, but after thinking about it, everyone is coming, so it's better to see him.

First, John had worked under Kruger before, and although it was not for a long time, he could barely be regarded as his "old subordinate", which was important in the army. If Kruger didn't care about the slightest incense and didn't even see his face, it would inevitably be cold when it came out of the old subordinates of the Combat Planning Department of the former General Staff, such as Bull, Nevins, and Jairo.

Second, the Third Army owes the 82nd Division a favor in the matter of observing the regiment, and now that the deputy division commander has arrived, Kruger should come forward to express his gratitude.

Third, Kruger was still very satisfied with Eisenhower, the chief of staff of the army group that he had chosen. In the first phase of the exercise, the Third Army fought beautifully, successfully copied the rear of the Second Army, forcing Lieutenant General Ben-Lear to withdraw his 180,000-strong army. Kruger showed such a big face, no matter what, he had to give the heroes behind the scenes, and formulated the entire battle plan Eisenhower gave face.

Finally, and most importantly, Kruger is well aware of who is behind John. has been in the army for more than 40 years, and Kruger, who has experienced ups and downs, is no longer the upright boy he was back then.

Krueger was also a member of the conservative faction. Later, because of his straight temperament, rushing mouth, and firing map guns at every turn, he offended his superiors and colleagues (mainly MacArthur's group), and was expelled from his position as chief of the operational planning department of the Army General Staff to study at the Naval Academy, and then was retained to teach for six years. In the end, if Marshall hadn't pulled him, Kruger would have been completely swept away by the Army (which is one of the reasons why Marshall later arranged for him to serve as commander of the Sixth Army in the Pacific Theater).

After suffering such a big loss, if Kruger doesn't have a long memory, then he has a problem with his brain. Anyway, John was not a soldier under him, and if something happened in the future, Lieutenant General Wald of the Fourth Army would have a headache. He couldn't afford to offend Stimson, Marshall, McNair and a large number of other people for this.

A short time later, John was led by Eisenhower to Kruger's office.

John had no intention of visiting Kruger when he came this time. It was only after Eisenhower's reminder that he remembered that he was no longer a mid-level officer, and as an army general, he had to pay homage to the docks when he arrived on someone's territory. It's one thing for people to see you, and it's another thing for you to say hello or not.

John originally thought that it was just a purely ceremonial visit, and it was estimated that it would only be a matter of ten minutes. Who knows, after casually asking him a few questions, Kruger actually took the initiative to mention the adaptation of the airborne division, and also mentioned a person who surprised him. John's classmate when he was training at Fort Leavenworth Military Academy - Colonel Van Vliet.

At the beginning, seeing that Van Vliet was being excluded in the Fifth Division, John also thought about helping him and letting him come to the 82nd Division as his immediate boss. Unexpectedly, at this time, Van Vliet, who had been training in the headquarters of the Third Army for more than a year, returned to the Fifth Division and became the chief of staff of the division. And this fifth division was precisely the unit that the Third Army was launched to prepare for the renaming of the Airborne Forces. Unexpectedly, in a blink of an eye, he actually became an opponent with Van Vliet, and the world was really full of surprises.