Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 34 Cost-effectiveness
Chapter subtitle: The economics of war, not the economics of war
"Captain Arnold, your signature."
In fact, the U.S. military has a dual system of wartime (temporary) military ranks and permanent (formal) military ranks. This is to adapt to the U.S. military service system.
In peacetime, the United States implements a fully voluntary military service system, which means that the government will not conscript anyone except volunteers, so the size of the army is bound to be small. Therefore, the ranks of officers should not be too high, otherwise it would be a big joke that a major who should be at the deputy battalion level would only have a hundred men under him.
In wartime, such as during the Civil War and World War I, conscription is implemented, and the size of the army will expand rapidly, so standing officers will be awarded wartime ranks to match their commanding positions.
For example, Captain Arnold was a colonel during World War I and was in charge of an aviation brigade. As soon as the war ended, he was demoted to captain and was promoted to major this year.
As for Mr. Chandler, his rank of major was actually a wartime rank, but he was discharged before the end of the war, so he retained this rank. In fact, his permanent rank was only a second lieutenant.
Therefore, the permanent military rank of the US military is very valuable, and in wartime, one can at least jump up two or three levels.
Captain Arnold, who is 35 years old this year, is much more valuable than Major Cao Linsheng, who is 25 years old.
The future second-class man's father picked up the magazine and saw the following words written on it:
To Captain Henry Harry Arnold,
May you become a global eagle.
——Your friend, Neo Yuan.
"Global Eagle...hahaha." The captain said happily: "Thank you, Mr. Yuan. But I am satisfied to be the American Eagle."
This man's personality is as cheerful and humorous as described in the information, and he deserves the nickname "Happy Arnold". At the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting during World War II, his smiling face formed a sharp contrast with King's stern face all day long.
Our Master Yuan smiled and said, "Whether it's the American Eagle or the Global Hawk, in my opinion, your Air ForceIt will dominate future wars..."
He changed the subject and asked, "By the way, Captain Arnold, do you know Mr. William Mitchell?"
When the current member of the Army Aviation Committee heard this, a strange light flashed in his eyes. Instead of answering, he asked, "Mr. Yuan, do you also know Brigadier General Mitchell?"
Speaking of air force pioneers, the most famous is of course Italian Giulio Douhet and his book "Command of the Air" published this year. However, there are two others who are also regarded as the pioneers of later air combat theory, one is General Hugh Trenchard, who served as the commander of the Royal Army Air Force during World War I, and the other is Brigadier General William Mitchell mentioned by them.
This brigadier general, who was born into a famous French family in Wisconsin, currently serves as the deputy commander of the Army Air Service and chairman of the Aviation Committee. He is an important figure in the history of American aviation and the construction of the Air Force.
"No, I don't know him..." Our Master Yuan shook his head and said, "But I have read his article. The article said that airplanes have made battleships obsolete and useless. I strongly agree with this."
In this judgment, Brigadier General Mitchell is indeed a genius.
Of course, for a time traveler , it was natural for an aircraft carrier to eat a battleship. However, in the eyes of people at that time, it was really a huge joke that a toy made of wood made a fortress made of steel a joke.
"I see..." Captain Arnold nodded and said, "Of course I know Brigadier General Mitchell. He is my superior. However, when it comes to this article, there are still some disputes among us."
Cao Linsheng couldn't help but say in English: "Neo, you are talking about a battleship, a battleship that is truly the overlord of the sea, a battleship that can cause mountains to collapse and the earth to crack with one shot. And an airplane is just a large kite with an engine. What effect can it have against a battleship?"
Alas, this guy can only be a teacher and do business, he really has no talent in military affairs. But Yuan Yanshu was not pretending to be so strong for him.
"Lance, you can't just look at the present." Master Yuan pointed to the surroundings and said, "For example, when the train we take was first introduced, it was slower than a horse. Now, it can take us to places hundreds of kilometers away in half a day..."
"Master Ball, what I'm about to say next doesn't matter, right?"
"Host, don't worry about this. In fact, Du Hei and others have already made such a prediction. The fact that you can say it now means that others think you are just a more knowledgeable intellectual."
Reassured, Yuan Yan said confidently: "As long as the technology continues to develop, aircraft with faster speeds, heavier payloads, and longer ranges will surely appear. By then, let alone the battleships that are water fortresses, even the real fortresses on land will be nothing more than fixed targets in front of aircraft."
Major Cao said unconvincedly: "Neo, then will the battleship continue to develop? Besides, if there is a spear, there is a shield. Can't we just transform the cruiser or destroyer into a dedicated anti-aircraft ship?"
Well, this guy is worthy of being a West Point graduate. He does have some military knowledge.
"Lance, you are right about this point, but you still haven't considered a key issue." Yuan Yan said slowly.
The other party naturally asked: "What's the problem?"
"Value for money!" Master Yuan lit up his cigar as usual and started chatting... about people.
"In fact, regarding war, we economists also have corresponding war economics (War Economics). For example, Adam Smith called soldiers 'unproductive workers'..."
Just this year, Arthur Pigou, one of Keynes' biggest opponents, will publish a book called "War Economics", which makes him the "pioneer of war economics."
"As someone who studies economics, I think war is nothing more than a game of exchanging one's own resources for the other's resources, similar to chess."
"Whether these resources are oil, ammunition, steel, aluminum, crystal, gas, food, wood, or population... well, the so-called winner is the one who still has resources to invest in the battlefield, while the loser is either penniless or no longer willing to spend his resources."
"Lance, think about it, how much resources does a plane consume? How much resources does a battleship consume? So it all comes down to a mathematical equation."
"As long as the cost-effectiveness of aircraft far exceeds that of other tactical weapons, it will become the most important and critical war tool!"
