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 35 Sending Warmth
Subtitle of this chapter: Four Pioneers of Air Force Theory
Because the S value has recently reached 90%, our Master Yuan was extremely restrained in his remarks.
As we all know , the early aircraft (planes and airships) of World War I were used only for reconnaissance.
Then, because the aircraft of both sides kept colliding in the sky, the pilots started shooting at each other with pistols and eventually used machine guns, so they were given the function of anti-aircraft.
The Germans, who had added a lot of points to their war tools, were the first to bomb the British mainland with Zeppelins, and later developed several heavy bombers. Near the end of the war in 1918, the Zeppelin Giant bomber dropped a 2,200-pound bomb on London.
This forced even the most conservative generals of various countries to admit that aircraft equipped with bomb-dropping devices could indeed be used to bomb enemy targets deep inside their territory.
In fact, there was no need to wait until World War II. In the Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 and ended in 1939, the Air Force demonstrated even more powerful power.
In modern military history, the first air force to bomb civilians during the civil war was Franco's Falange Air Force in Spain. This was the famous Gornica incident, which caused protests around the world. Picasso also painted a painting of the same name to express his anger.
Well, the second air force that was so promising belonged to the Seres skinheads, who were still . The most famous one was the bombing of the Great Magic City on February 6, 1950, which not only caused power outages and water shortages in the entire city, but also caused thousands of casualties. The monument to the "February 6 bombing" is now located near the Xujiahui Road Taikang Road overpass in the city center.
"Hahaha, Mr. Yuan's statement is very fresh and interesting, and also a little... um, inspiring."
"Happy Arnold" praised in a half-hearted way: "To be honest, this is the first time I've heard of such a statement."
Major Cao Linsheng shook his head and said, "Neo, you think the war is too simple."
Yuan Yan shrugged and said, "Officers, war is simple. To put it bluntly, the ultimate goal of mankind to start a war is to compete for resources. In order to achieve this ultimate goal, we need to allocate our own resources in the most effective way, so as to overwhelm the opponent's resources."
"The reason why muskets made knights exit the stage of history is that it takes no more than three months for a farmer to become a qualified musketeer, while it takes at least several years to train a knight."
"Similarly, the last war proved that modern warfare is about who can throw more steel and gunpowder at the other side more efficiently. From the perspective of a military layman like me, aircraft are the most cost-effective choice for carrying out this mission."
"Whoever can rule the sky can rule the land and the sea!"
After hearing what he said, Major Cao still looked hesitant, but Captain Arnold really thought about it seriously.
He carefully considered his words and said, "Although Mr. Yuan's words are a bit extreme, I have to admit that they do make some sense. Well... at least Brigadier General Mitchell will like your last sentence. Maybe you will become good friends."
Yuan Yan suddenly asked casually, "Oh, then I must meet this war hero and genius. Is he in Washington now?"
Captain Arnold said cheerfully, "Yes, Mr. Yuan. I'll introduce you to each other if I have the chance."
"Oh, thank you very much."
Our Master Yuan seems to be curious about getting to know William Mitchell, but in fact, this brigadier general is more important than the father of this second-rate man in front of him, and is a target he values more.
It is very difficult to propose a new idea or to create a new doctrine, and it is even more difficult to get people to generally accept a new idea or doctrine. This is especially true in the military academic community.
Mustache once said that generals always use the experience of the previous war to prepare for the next war.
Of course, this was wise before the industrial age, but it was stupid in the 20th century when technology was changing rapidly . However, most people were stupid before they suffered losses. Geniuses are a minority after all, and these few geniuses will be severely suppressed by the stupid majority.
The experience of Air Force theorists is the best illustration of this.
In 1916, the famous Douhet was dismissed from his post and sent to a military court. In October, the military court found Douhet guilty of leaking military intelligence, sentenced him to one year in prison, and fined him.
The reason was that he submitted a written report to the highest authorities in Italy, severely accusing the Italian Army Commander of incompetent command and unpreparedness for war, which prevented Italy from winning.
William Mitchell was also a thorn in the side of the US military. He constantly put pressure on his superiors to develop the air force and improve equipment, and his words were often very fierce. A critic, Edward Warner, wrote: "Mitchell wrote articles and gave speeches like a radical party member, became more and more impatient with the opposition, and was more and more inclined to condemn the opposition as stupid, reactionary, and despicable, saying that they were blinded by self-interest."
This would result in his demotion to colonel and his transfer to San Antonio, Texas in April 1925 as an air officer in the Eighth Army District. However, this did not stop him from continuing to work to emphasize the importance of air power.
When the Navy airship Shenandoah crashed in a storm on September 3, 1925, he publicly accused the War and Navy departments of negligence and incompetence. In December, he was tried by an Army military court, found guilty of insubordination, and suspended from military service for five years.
As the saying goes, "adding icing on the cake is not as good as helping someone in need." Yuan Yanshu wants to establish good relations with future members of the U.S. Air Force, so now he has to cheer for the second-class people.
"Speaking of pioneers in air warfare theory, in addition to the well-known Italian Douhet, British Hugh Trenchard, and American William Mitchell, there is also Mr. Yuan Yanshu from our country."
"Einstein once said of Mr. Yuan, 'As long as this Chinese is willing, he will become the best master in any subject, because he has a natural intuition, an intuition about the right direction of history.' And Mr. Yuan Yanshu has indeed shown such intuition in many aspects, including air combat theory."
"He became a staunch supporter of the Air Force in the 1920s, believing that cheap and easy-to-use aircraft would dominate future wars. He spoke out for William Mitchell when he was suppressed by the US military, which earned him the favor of the entire US Air Force community."
"During the Anti-Japanese War, he also worked hard to establish several overseas Chinese aviation volunteer teams with donations from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Many people praised Mr. Yuan for his patriotism, but he always answered modestly that the money was better than putting it in the bank to earn interest.. "
"However, the irony is that the person who believed most in 'Yuan's Air Force Cost-Effectiveness Theory' was actually a Japanese, and he was Isoroku Yamamoto..."
——Excerpt from PLA basic textbook "A Brief History of World Air Forces"
