Two days later, John received official orders from Commissioner Boer to go on an expedition to England. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Commissioner Bull also knew that John's wife was about to give birth, and it was somewhat "inhumane" to send him to London to be bombed. However, the list of expeditions is not something he can decide.

After reading the order issued by Chief of Staff Marshall, Bull shrugged helplessly. "John, I don't want to send you on an overseas mission at this time. But it can't be helped, who called us soldiers. The departure time on the order is the day after tomorrow, so you won't have to go to work tomorrow, so stay at home with your family. ”

"Thank you, Director!" John took the order from him, saluted, and prepared to turn away.

"Wait a minute, there are four people from the staff department on the list of inspection groups this time, and Chief of Staff Marshall may want to talk to you in the afternoon. Secretary Smith will inform you of the exact time. ”

"Can you ask who the other three are?" John is curious to know who the other three "unlucky guys" are.

"Colonel Thomson from the Ordnance Division, Colonel Marin from the Supply Division, and Lieutenant Colonel McClure from the Intelligence Division."

All three men were known to John, and Colonel Thomson was the deputy of Major General Barnes of the Ordnance Service, whom he had met at the Aberdeen Weapons Test Site. Marin is the deputy chief of transport dispatch in the Supply Division, and John has been in contact with him a lot lately.

As for McClure, that's all too familiar. It's just that when we ate together at the officers' cafeteria at noon yesterday, he was still a major, when did he become a lieutenant colonel?

Major General Bull saw John's doubts: "McClure was just promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel today. He was in a special situation, and after the inspection, he would remain in London and serve as army attaché in England and the six government-in-exile of the Czech Republic, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. ”

John knew that this appointment was the starting point for McClure's meteoric success. McClure, who was quick-witted and long-sleeved, served as an army attache stationed in nine "countries" at the same time, and became the person in the whole United States who knew the most about the intelligence of the German-Italian occupation zone. As a result, he was selected by Eisenhower in 1942 to serve as the chief of intelligence in the European theater of operations, and in just over three years he went from major to brigadier general.

Coming out of Major General Bull's office, John went to McClure to congratulate him. McClure, who was well-informed, already knew that John would go to England with him this time. As soon as they met, he joked with John.

"John, I heard that the British are very generous this time, and they have prepared a first-class ticket for us on the Queen Mary, which is a grade worse than that of the King and His Majesty the Queen."

John was made laughing and crying by his words. A year ago, flying to Great Britain in the first class of the Queen Mary would have been a "luxury" experience, even though he had booked a more expensive suite each time.

But now, this luxury high-speed cruise ship has been converted into a troop carrier, and it is said that all the high-end furniture, wainscoting, drapery, paintings, chandeliers, carpets, ...... Everything was dismantled, even the paint in the cabin was polished off.

McClure's first-class cabin is actually a cubicle with a single bed, which is a little better than the hammocks that Canadian recruits sleep in.

"You're quite easy to be satisfied, it seems that being promoted is different, and everything is pleasing to the eye when you are in a good mood." John couldn't help but tease.

"Be content, if it weren't for His Majesty's light, they might have let us go with the HX-82 transport formation. The Queen Mary is at least an eastbound blue streamer, and it only takes four days to reach Scotland. If the HX-82 formation is replaced, those slow merchant ships that can't even run 12 knots will not be allowed to drift at sea for more than half a month. ”

"In that case, I'd rather fly over. From Washington to Newfoundland, to Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, it can only take two days at most. John couldn't accept wasting his time on the road, and he wanted to get back before his baby was born.

"It's a pity that there is no airline that can provide transatlantic civil aviation services right now. Even if there were, the old men in the White House and Congress would not dare to sit down. McClure told John to stop dreaming, and unless Roosevelt was willing to lend them his "Holy Cow" plane, it was better to take the ship honestly.

In the afternoon, John received a call from Secretary Smith that Chief of Staff Marshall wanted to see him. When he arrived at the chief of staff's office on the sixth floor, he found that there were already many officers queuing up in the outer reception room.

"John, here." McClure beckoned to him, "We'll have to wait a while, Major General Simpson from the Replenishment Corps Command has just entered." ”

John nodded. Last week, the Senate voted to pass the Compulsory Military Service Act, which would make all U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 35 obligated to serve in the military. The U.S. Army has been raised from less than 300,000 at the time of John's enlistment to 900,000.

Roosevelt and Marshall had planned to expand the Army to 1.2 million men, but Congress did not agree. Roosevelt instead signed an order granting Marshall the right to recruit 238,000 men from the state National Guard, and to establish recruit training centers and reserve officer training corps in various locations.

Now, Maj. Gen. Simpson, as the top person in charge of recruit training in the Supplementary Corps Command, naturally has the highest priority to meet with Marshall.

"I've heard that the first conscription announcements have been issued, and Major General Simpson is moving fast enough." Colonel Marin leaned in and joined them in the discussion.

"No, no, the big boss of Pennsylvania Street obviously has his own ideas about the war in Europe, maybe he will make a big move after the election."

John roughly calculated that at this rate, the first recruits were expected to be in training camp by the end of September. After 12 weeks of recruit training, these recruits also go to the training bases of various arms and receive 4-6 months of training in the skills of each branch. It is estimated that by the end of next year, all the recruits will be trained and their combat effectiveness will be initially formed. At that time, it was almost time for the attack on Pearl Harbor to begin.

About 20 minutes later, Major General Simpson came out with a heavy heart. John had expected Marshall to meet all four of them at the same time. Unexpectedly, Secretary Smith led Thomson and Marin in first, then McClure, and finally him.

"Report to Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel John Vanderbilt reports!" As soon as he entered the house, John stood up and saluted Marshall.

"Sit down, John." Marshall returned the salute and motioned for John to sit in the chair across from him for work. "I think you should know the point of this expedition."

"Yes, Chief of Staff." Before receiving the official order, Uncle Stimson called him and gave him a special explanation. What Roosevelt wanted was not a barrage of casualties and material damage reports, but evidence that would convince the MPs that the British could keep fighting.

"The main task of my visit was to examine the fighting will and mental state of the British government, the military and the general public, and to ascertain the extent to which they were determined to continue fighting. In addition, it is necessary to examine the readiness of their war follow-up forces to see what material support they need from us. ”

"Very well, John. Do you know why I'm meeting you alone, your mission is completely different from theirs. Marshall stared into John's eyes and said something that surprised him.