The Battle Orders of Billy Mitchell

摘要

On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 1918, Col. William Mitchell was putting the finishing touches on his plan for air operations in the World War I Battle of St. Mihiel in France. It was to be the world's first major air offensive, and Mitchell was, in reality, its "air boss"—the world's first joint force air component commander. He assembled the key members of his staff as well as the commanders of various aviation units at his headquarters. There, he patiently explained the plan to one and all. Convinced that they all understood his plan, he then issued his written battle orders. He wrote them himself. With his all-capitalized admonition for airmen to "take the offensive at all points," he had summed up the tenor of his command and produced an instant classic of military history.