It wasn't until after that Army General Staff meeting on the Soviet-Finnish "Winter War" that John began to really integrate into the team of the Operations Planning Division. The www.biquge.info is no longer excluded from the mainstream circle of the officers of the General Staff, as it used to be.

Major General Bull often assigned him assignments that required him to deal with other departments, and Deputy Chief Nevins frequently took him to various internal communication seminars of the General Staff.

Soon, John's low-key, pragmatic work attitude, gentle and humble way of treating people, as well as his "innate military sense" and occasional "whimsical ideas" (more than 80 years of historical experience is not given in vain) brought him good popularity.

In particular, as the group of middle-aged and young officers promoted by Marshall gradually gained a foothold in the General Staff, John, a young man who "has ideas, can do things, has a broad vision, and has a strong learning ability," has also been more and more recognized, and has become a popular figure in some elite small groups in the army.

In the process, John also got to know a lot of future "gods" who had not yet "made their mark". For example, Colonel Frank Allen Jr., Chief of the Press Photo Division of the General Staff.

This fierce division commander who would lead the "Big Red 1st Division" (the Army's 1st Mechanized Infantry Division, the ace unit of the US Army) from North Africa all the way to Sicily turned out to be a devout Christian. Prayer must be prayed before every meal, which is completely different from the image of sitting in a jeep and talking foul words in later movies.

Another example is Clark's current immediate boss, Colonel Loeus Rookes, Deputy Chief of the Training Division. This is a stern officer who is serious and pays special attention to rules and discipline. However, he has a good personal relationship with Bradley and is also the godfather of Bradley's daughter. John knew that Rookes would be his chief of staff when Bradley became commander of the Second Army in the future. Later, he also served as Deputy Chief of Operations at the Allied High Command.

Of these, the best relations with John were Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Jairo and Major Robert McClure.

Jairo is now the Chief of Staff under Deputy Chief Nevins and often goes to various meetings with John. After a few days of getting along, John found that Jairo was not only energetic and knowledgeable, but also gentle and patient. Since then, John has treated Jairo as half of his teacher, and likes to ask him for advice on any questions.

John sometimes wondered that historically, it was not for nothing that the War Office had chosen Jairo to be the lieutenant general commander of the 15th Army. (During World War II, Jairo served as commander of the 29th Division and then commander of the Fifth Army, and in January 1945 he became lieutenant general commander of the newly formed 15th Army).

This 15th Army is simply a wonderful flower of the American army during World War II. In total, there were only more than 3,000 people in the entire group army, all of whom were officers (not low in rank), and not a single soldier. These people were the children of the American upper class who came to gild the army before the end of the war, and their main job was to write the history of the war.

The position of the so-called commander of the 15th Army is actually similar to a nanny, and the main job is to watch these rich children stop causing trouble everywhere. Among the senior generals of the U.S. Army at that time, only Jairo, a person with profound academic skills, a gentle and patient personality, could be qualified for this work.

By the way, General Patton, after being relieved of his post as commander of the Third Army, was sent in November 1945 to succeed Gero as the second commander of the 15th Army as a plausible officer. As a result, less than a month into office, he died in a car accident while out hunting.

Another new friend John beyond, Major Staff Officer Robert McClure of the Military Intelligence Service, was in some ways the opposite of Jair. Jairo was a mild-mannered scholar-type officer who liked to concentrate on strategic and tactical issues. McClure was a very energetic young man, with a wide range of friends, who knew everyone well, and who was very eye-catching and not at all annoying.

In the Army Staff, McClure could talk to almost anyone and was very well informed. John's ability to become friends with him so quickly (mainly because McClure himself posted it on his own initiative) has a lot to do with his personality.

John knew that McClure's gift for interpersonal issues would play an important role in World War II. In 1941, he served as military attaché at the U.S. embassies in nine countries (the British and eight other governments-in-exile in Britain). Because of his outstanding performance (he got a lot of military intelligence), he was selected by Eisenhower to serve as the chief of the European Theater Intelligence Service, and since then he has followed Eisenhower all the way to the Allied High Command.

Before the separation of the Public Relations Division and the Psychological Warfare Division of the Allied High Command, McClure was almost alone in charge of the three important departments of public relations, psychological warfare, and press censorship. Although the rank was only that of brigadier general, it was an indispensable and important role in the Allied High Command.

One afternoon, John and Jairo went together on behalf of the Operations Planning Division to attend a combat case analysis meeting on the "Helgoland Bay Air Battle on December 18," led by the Army Air Forces Command.

General Arnold was not present, and the meeting was to be chaired by an old acquaintance, Lieutenant Colonel Harold George. No, he is now a brigadier general. The chief of operations of the Army Air Corps Command, nicknamed "Hal," like Bradley, has taken advantage of the change in the leadership of the Army to leap into the ranks of generals.

As soon as he entered the room, John saw his old friends Hoyt Vandenberg and Heywood Hansel, whom he had met at the Munitions Industrial Production Committee. The two core cadres of the strategic bombing faction have also recently been promoted, carrying a pair of silver leaves on their shoulders like John.

"John, long time no see." Hoyt greeted John happily, "I haven't seen you at the Ammunition Building (where the Army Air Corps Headquarters) is located since you went to Constitution Street." ”

"Hello, Hoyt." John began by congratulating him on his promotion. Historically, Hoyt was not promoted until July next year, and in this life, because of the advance of Marshall's personnel change plan, he also entered the fast lane of development early.

After a long exchange of pleasantries, John noticed a small lieutenant colonel with a serious expression sitting in the corner of the conference room. John thought he was from the Army Air Corps at first, but when he looked at his armband, it turned out to be from the Army Staff.

"Leonard, do you know that lieutenant colonel over there?" John asked Jairo in a whisper.

"Walter Smith, assistant secretary to Marshall's chief of staff, should have come to learn about the meeting on behalf of General Marshall."

Good fellow, it turns out that this little man is Eisenhower's most trusted assistant in the future, Lieutenant General Smith, chief of staff of the Allied High Command. John recalled, as if after the war, he also served as director of the CIA and deputy secretary of state, and it was this guy who avoided shaking hands with Premier Zhou at the Geneva conference with coffee in one hand and cookies in the other.