After confessing to Bradley and others, General Wald patted his ass and returned to the military headquarters. In his position, it is not very important whether the 82nd Division can grab the reorganization quota of the Airborne Division. For him, this is nothing more than a small competition between the four existing armies of the army.

At first, Wald didn't even intend to bring the 82nd Division into the fray. Because the characteristics of the airborne division determine that most of the tasks it performs are strategic, it is indispensable to accept the command of the campaign or even a higher command when it is used. In other words, if the 82nd Division becomes an airborne division, even if it is still subordinate to the 4th Army at that time, he, the army commander, may not be able to have the final say on the battlefield.

However, in order to make the airborne division combat effective as soon as possible, the army staff not only gave the green light to the reorganization work in terms of personnel and materials, but also put down the word: only the most elite infantry can become paratroopers. They will select an infantry division with the strongest comprehensive combat capability from the whole army to be reorganized.

As soon as these words came out, the top leaders of the four group armies were a little unable to sit still. If the troops of your own group army are not selected by the General Staff, won't it show that you are not as elite as others, so how can you do it? Especially when the commander of the Third Army, Lieutenant General Kruger, publicly stated that he would send the elite 5th Infantry Division (Red Devils) to participate in the competition, Wald was even less likely to admit it.

Of course, if we only talk about the degree of elite, the 82nd Division, which has just completed the reorganization, is naturally not comparable to the original main divisions of the Fourth Army. However, those standing divisions have all been transformed into mechanized infantry divisions, and the gains and losses of pushing them back to reorganization are not worth the losses.

Although the 82nd Division has not yet completed all the recruit training subjects, its training achievements are obvious to all, and it already has the prototype of an elite unit. Let the 82nd Division compete for this changed place, if it happens, it will not only prove the strength of the Fourth Army, but also enrich the combat means of the group army. If it doesn't work, it's not a big deal. After all, the 82nd Division is a newly reorganized division, and it is not a shame to lose to an old unit like the Red Devils.

What's more, the 82nd Division was not without advantages. Its chief of staff is a "well-known" expert in airborne operations within the military. On more than one occasion, Wald had heard about the young colonel's outstanding performance at the seminar on the Battle of Crete. It is said that even the generals of the Army Air Force, who were speechless by him at the time, were convinced afterwards by his theoretical attainments in airborne operations. With such a person here, the 82nd Division may really be able to "emerge" in the competition.

Captain Wald played a good deck of cards, and Bradley and the others, who took over the task, were not so easy. That night, Ridgway, Swin, and John gathered at Bradley to discuss countermeasures.

"Omar, we only have more than two months left, and there are some extra training subjects, so I think it's better to put them first. Concentrate on completing the training of the assessment subjects first. "Artillery commander Swain first gave his opinion. In his view, successfully passing the assessment of the General Staff is the first priority, and those training subjects that are not within the scope of the assessment should give way first.

As deputy division commander, Ridgway knew more about the training of the division than Swing, and he did not approve of too many changes to the existing training plan: "I don't think the adjustment should be too large. Otherwise, once the training rhythm is disrupted, it will affect the progress. If the scheduled exercise is removed, the time gap is not too big. ”

"John, what are you doing here?" Bradley was pondering the differences between Ridgway and Swain, but found that John had not said a word, walked over to the large tactical board hanging on the left wall with a notebook, and began to write on his own.

"In the afternoon, I sorted out the training progress of each unit and made a rough table. I'll draw it out first, so that it will be easier to discuss the specific adjustment plan later. John didn't even know how to say.

"Yes, it's still thoughtful." After working with John for so long, Bradley gradually adapted to the other party's management philosophy. Some people may get dizzy with the sheer volume of data and graphs, but Bradley, who was a math instructor at West Point, is not.

Moreover, he also found that these data and charts can present complex facts in a more accurate and intuitive way, so that decision-makers can think more clearly. Therefore, at Bradley's initiative, various data tables began to appear more and more frequently in various internal meetings and reports of the 82nd Division. Although this change made the staff officers and clerks below complain, it was quite welcomed by the top level of the division headquarters.

In particular, the content to be discussed today not only involves the training of artillery units directly under the three infantry regiments and divisions, but also includes dozens of training subjects for many units, such as engineering, reconnaissance, medical care, communications, supply, and air defense. Without clear charts, it's hard to think through the whole thing by thinking about it alone.

"It's still you young people who have good brains." Watching John draw the table on the tactical board, Sven couldn't help but praise, "Such a complicated table, let alone drawing, I find it difficult just to look at it." ”

Ridgway was also pleased with John's ability to do his homework ahead of time: "Thank you, John. With this table, it will be much easier to discuss it for a while. ”

But at this moment, John was completely unable to respond to their compliments. While he was writing the tactical board, he silently remembered the projector of the computer office software of later generations. If there is a ppt, why use it so troublesomely, the hand is sour.

By the time John finished drawing his watch, more than 20 minutes had passed. "The training progress of all battalion-level units in the division is in this table, the left side of the table is the assessment subject, the right side is the non-assessment subject, and the tick indicates that the battalion's training of this subject has reached the standard."

"One, two, three......" Brigadier General Swin counted the spaces on the left and breathed a sigh of relief: "There are not many subjects that have not been completed." ”

"That's not to be taken lightly, the rest are hard bones." Bradley wasn't talking about the training subjects that hadn't been done yet, but about the blank spaces in the diagram of the hooks. "The 1st Battalion of the 503rd Regiment still has 7 subjects that have not reached the standard, when will the progress catch up?"

Bradley's mention of the 1st Battalion of the 503rd Regiment was a big problem for the 82nd Division, and Ridgway was not less troubled by the old fritter officers from the Pennsylvania National Guard in the battalion. Hearing Bradley mention the battalion again, Ridgway gritted his teeth: "Later, I will personally go to the 1st battalion to squat, and I don't believe that I can't clean up those leper dogs." ”

"If you want me to say, just change the battalion commander. First arrange an idle one for him at the division headquarters. At this time, you can't be soft. John knew that time was of the essence, and if it did, it could be a big deal. simply suggested that Bradley cut through the mess quickly and change the generals directly, and it was a hundred. As for the Martin regiment behind those people, if you offend, you will be offended. Forgive him for not daring to make any trouble at this time.

"I'll talk to Martin tomorrow." After thinking for a moment, Bradley finally nodded and approved of John's plan. Although Martin has been pretending to be a grandson recently, he is quite cooperative with the arrangements of the division. But in order not to affect the training progress of the whole division, Bradley could only use his henchmen.