This chapter is subtitled: The Four Pioneers of Air Force Theory

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Because the S value has recently reached 90%, our Master Yuan's words are extremely restrained.

It is well known that the early days of World War I were used for reconnaissance purposes (airplanes and airships).

Then, because the aircraft of the two sides always met in the sky, the pilots first fired at each other with pistols and finally with machine guns, so they were given the function of anti-aircraft.

The Germans, who had added a lot of points to the tools of war, were the first to bomb the British mainland with zeppelins, and later developed several heavy bombers. Towards the end of the war in 1918, a Led Zeppelin Giant bomber dropped a 2,200-pound bomb on London.

This makes the most conservative generals of various countries have to admit that aircraft equipped with bomb dropping devices can indeed be used to bomb the opponent's deep targets.

In fact, it was not until World War II that the air force showed more power in the Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 and ended in 1939.

In modern military history, the first to use the air force to bomb civilians during the Civil War was the Falangist Air Force in Franco, Spain, which became known as the Gornica Incident, which once caused protests around the world. Picasso also painted a famous painting of the same name to express his anger.

Well, the second such promising air force belongs to the Seris skinheads, who are still bombing the mainland after 49 years. The most famous is the bombing of the Great Demon City on February 6, 1950, which not only caused power and water outages in the city, but also caused thousands of deaths and injuries. The monument to the "26 Bombings" is now located in the center of the city near the Taikang Road overpass on Xujiahui Road.

"Hahaha, Mr. Yuan's statement is very fresh, and it is quite a bit of a blow, and there are some ...... Well, enlightening. ”

"Happy Arnold" "praised" both genuinely and falsely, "Seriously, this is the first time I've heard such a statement. ”

Major Cao Linsheng shook his head and said, "Neo, you are thinking too much about war. ”

Yuan Yan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Two officers, the war is originally very simple. To put it bluntly, the ultimate purpose of human warfare is to compete for resources, and in order to achieve this ultimate goal, it is necessary to allocate its own resources most effectively, so as to overwhelm the resources of the other side. ”

"The reason why the musket made a knight retire from the stage of history is because it takes no more than three months for a farmer to become a qualified musketeer, and it takes at least several years for a knight to be trained."

"In the same way, the last great war proved that modern warfare is about who is more efficient at throwing more steel and gunpowder at each other's heads. In the opinion of a military layman like me, the aircraft is the most cost-effective choice for this task. ”

"Whoever rules the sky will rule the land and the sea!"

After hearing him finish saying this, Major Cao still looked unclear, but Captain Arnold really thought about it seriously.

He pondered the words and said, "Although Mr. Yuan's words are a bit extreme, I have to admit that there is some truth in them. Well...... At least Brigadier Mitchell will like your last sentence. Maybe you'll become good friends. ”

Yuan Yanqian asked "casually": "Oh, then I must know this war hero and genius, is he also in Washington now?" ”

Captain Arnold said refreshedly, "Yes, Mr. Yuan." If I have a chance, I'll introduce you to you. ”

"Oh, thank you so much."

On the surface, our Master Yuan seems to be out of curiosity to get acquainted with William Mitchell, but in fact, this brigadier general is now more important than the second-class father in front of him, and it is his more important target.

It is very difficult to come up with a new idea and create a new doctrine, and it is even more difficult to get people to accept a new idea or doctrine universally. This is especially evident in military academic circles.

Before, generals always used the experience of the previous war to prepare for the next one.

Of course, this was wise before the industrial era, but it was foolish in the twentieth century, when technology was rapidly changing. But the vast majority of human beings are stupid before they suffer losses, geniuses are a minority after all, and these few geniuses will be severely suppressed by the stupid majority.

The plight of the Air Force theorists is simply the best illustration.

In 1916, the famous Duhei was dismissed from his post and sent to a military court. In October, a military court found him guilty of leaking military intelligence and sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine.

The reason for this was that he submitted a written report to the highest Italian authorities, in which he severely criticized the Italian army commander for his incompetence in command and for his lack of preparation for war, which prevented Italy from achieving victory.

And William Mitchell is also a thorn in the US military. He constantly pressured his superiors to develop the air force and improve equipment, often in heated terms. One critic, Iver Werner, wrote: "Mitchell, who writes and speaks like a Radical, becomes increasingly impatient with the opposition and is more and more inclined to denounce it as stupid, reactionary, vile, and blindfolded by self-interest." ”

This would result in him being demoted to the rank of colonel and transferred to San Antonio, Texas, in April 1925 as an Air Force officer in the Eighth Military District. However, this did not stop him from continuing to work on emphasizing the importance of air power.

When the Navy airship Shenandoah was wrecked in a storm on September 3, 1925, he publicly accused the War Office and the Admiralty of negligence and incompetence. In December, he was tried by an army military tribunal, convicted of disobedience to his superiors, and suspended from military service for five years.

The so-called icing on the cake is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow, Yuan Yanqian wants to have a good relationship with the future US Air Force people, so now he has to wave the flag and shout for the second-class people.

"Speaking of the pioneers of air war theory, in addition to the well-known Italian Du Hei, the Englishman Hugh Trenchard, and the American William Mitchell, there is also Mr. Yuan Yanqian of our country."

"Albert Einstein once said of Mr. Yuan, 'As long as this Chinese is willing, then he will become the premier master of any discipline, because he has a natural intuition, an intuition about the right direction of history.'" And Mr. Yuan Yanqian did show this intuition in many aspects, including the theory of air warfare. ”

He became a big fan of the Air Force since the twenties, believing that cheap and easy-to-use aircraft would dominate future warfare. And when William Mitchell was suppressed by the U.S. military, he spoke out for him, which made him favored by the entire U.S. Air Force community. ”

During the Anti-Japanese War, it was also under his vigorous campaign that several overseas Chinese aviation volunteer teams were established with donations from overseas Chinese in Nanyang. Many people praised Mr. Yuan for his patriotism, and he always replied modestly that it was better to put the money in the bank and eat interest. (note 1)

"However, the irony is that the person who believes most in the 'Yuan's Air Force cost-effective theory' is actually a Japanese, and he is Yamamoto Fifty-six ......"

——Excerpt from PLA basic textbook "A Brief History of the World Air Force"

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Note 1: You know, Murong can only go so far.

It's decided, there will definitely be a sequel to this broken book, which is called "Accompanying the Evil Guest", the question is where to send it? 8)