Chapter Summaries

Tsuji Masanobu and Komatsubara Michitaro prepared to provoke a war with the Soviet Union, while Ueda Kenkichi and Isogai Rensuke covertly encouraged them. In Moscow, Yosef considered the Soviet Union’s options as war spread through Europe and decided to accelerate the Central Asia Highway to draw East Africa into the Far East conflict.

• Tsuji Masanobu urged Komatsubara Michitaro to prepare for war with the Soviet Union and said he would seek Ueda Kenkichi’s support.
• Ueda Kenkichi and Isogai Rensuke agreed to tell Tsuji Masanobu and Komatsubara Michitaro to handle the border cautiously but defend the Empire’s dignity, while pretending they knew nothing of any provocation.
• Yosef asked his advisers whether the Soviet Union should fight Germany, remain neutral, or attack threats such as Finland and Japan.
• Shaposhnikov recommended waiting while Germany fought Britain and France, then acting against Finland or Japan to secure Soviet borders.
• Beria reported that the Far East Empire had lost key cities and industrial capacity, leaving it gravely short of supplies.
• Yosef decided to speed up construction of the Central Asia Highway so East Africa could help tie down Japan.

Yosef argued that Germany’s growing influence in Persia could sever the Soviet Union’s western trade routes, making the Central Asia Highway essential to its survival in a future war. He ordered Litvinov to negotiate broad economic cooperation with East Africa and push for a railway, leaving the Soviet leadership prepared to open Central Asia to East African trade and investment.

• Yosef told Litvinov to handle negotiations over the Central Asia Highway and discuss economic development with East Africa.
• Yosef explained that Germany’s influence in Persia threatened Soviet routes through the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and Central Asia.
• Yosef declared the Central Asia Highway a crucial lifeline and urged the Soviet Union to cooperate with East Africa despite its reservations.
• Yosef instructed Litvinov to offer East Africa access to Central Asian trade, resources, and industrial investment in exchange for upgrading the route or building a railway.
• Shaposhnikov supported opening the Central Asian market, and the Soviet leadership accepted that cooperation with East Africa was necessary.

Soviet Foreign Minister Litvinov departed for East Africa to seek cooperation, while Prince Konica inspected Gwadar and traveled north to assess the Central Asia Highway. The inspection reached the Kalat Khanate, where rough roads highlighted the route’s uneven condition as Konica looked ahead to its vital Soviet section.

• On March 9, 1939, Litvinov left Moscow with a Soviet negotiating delegation and a letter from Yosef, hoping to secure East African cooperation against the Axis powers.
• Prince Konica arrived in Gwadar to inspect the port and Central Asia Highway, and Major General Willit arranged security for his visit, including a planned trip into Soviet territory.
• Konica inspected Gwadar’s port, airport, roads, warehouses, barracks, and military facilities, and he was satisfied with the city’s condition.
• Two days later, Konica and Willit departed Gwadar with a large convoy and a battalion of guards to inspect the highway through the Kalat Khanate.
• Willit explained that the Kalat Khanate’s highway section was rough because the small country lacked funds, while Afghanistan had invested more heavily in its route.
• As the convoy left the Kalat Khanate, Konica discussed the Soviet road section and the need for a reliable supply route to relieve pressure on the Far East Empire.

Prince Konica’s convoy traveled from Afghanistan into Soviet Tajikistan to inspect construction of the Central Asia Highway. At Salitash, he confirmed that fewer than three hundred kilometers remained before the southern route reached the Far East Empire, and urged the Soviet Union to finish the connection soon.

• Ahmad Gulbuz recognized the East African convoy in Buridak and arranged for Major General Willit and the exhausted travelers to rest there overnight.
• Prince Konica and Major General Willit discussed the highway’s effects on Afghanistan and continued north through Kabul toward the Soviet border.
• After checking the convoy’s identities, Soviet guide Petrov led Prince Konica’s party through Tajikistan’s dangerous mountain roads.
• At Salitash, Petrov explained that the southern highway ended about thirty kilometers east of the village and that Shule lay less than three hundred kilometers farther on.
• Prince Konica had Petrov mark the route on a map, confirmed that only about two hundred kilometers remained, and urged the Soviet Union to complete the highway.

Litvinov and the Soviet negotiating delegation traveled through East Africa, marveling at its ports, electrified railways, cities, farms, and infrastructure. Their journey toward Rhine City left them increasingly astonished by East Africa’s development, though they had not yet reached the capital.

• Litvinov and the Soviet delegation arrived in Bosaso by ship and praised the port city’s planning, facilities, and prosperity.
• Litvinov and Spiridonov boarded an East African train and saw nearly a thousand kilometers of electrified railway crossing sparsely populated desert between Bosaso and Mogadishu.
• The delegation reached Mogadishu and traveled through advanced irrigated plantations along the Shebelle and Juba rivers toward Juba.
• The Soviets passed through greener savanna towns and admired Arusha’s gardenlike streets and the snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro.
• The train entered the East African Highlands, where Litvinov and the delegation saw vast grain fields, mechanized farms, paved rural roads, and widespread infrastructure.

The Soviet delegation toured East African cities and countryside, comparing the country’s urban planning, infrastructure, and agriculture with those of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany. They arrived in Rhine City impressed by East Africa’s scale and development, and prepared to meet Crown Prince Friedrich.

• Minister Litvinov and Spiridonov praised East African cities for their careful planning, while acknowledging that the Soviet Union prioritized rapid industrialization over comfort and aesthetics.
• Spiridonov judged East Africa’s rural development exceptional, citing its agricultural resources, extensive electricity coverage, and countryside roads.
• The Soviet delegation reached Mbeya city and recognized it as a major industrial and technology center that rivaled Moscow and Leningrad.
• The delegation arrived in Rhine City, where East African officials received them and arranged accommodation.
• An East African official told Litvinov that Crown Prince Friedrich would hold talks the next day while Ernst was away on an inspection tour.

Crown Prince Friedrich negotiated with Litvinov over Soviet-East African cooperation and secured guarantees for East African interests. The talks concluded with the Rhine Empire and Soviet Union Trade Cooperation Agreement, including a Central Asian trade corridor and railway led by East Africa.

• Crown Prince Friedrich challenged Litvinov to address the Soviet Union’s seizure of foreign assets after 1928, and Litvinov promised governmental guarantees for future agreements.
• Litvinov proposed expanding agricultural, mineral, and energy cooperation, while Friedrich questioned how trade could remain secure during the European War.
• Litvinov offered to upgrade the Central Asia Highway and build a railway to East Africa’s standards, alongside concessions in Afghanistan and access to Central Asian markets.
• Friedrich agreed to continue negotiations and required the Soviet Union to stop illegal ideological propaganda in East Africa; he also promised not to use the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile against the Soviet Union.
• East African and Soviet officials finalized the Rhine Empire and Soviet Union Trade Cooperation Agreement, with East Africa funding and leading the Central Asia Railway in exchange for Soviet mineral extraction rights.

Litvinov and the Soviet delegation reviewed East African news about Germany’s victories in Scandinavia, the war in the Far East, and Belgium’s strength. They overlooked a brief report announcing East Africa’s successful nuclear test in the Kalahari Desert, leaving the test’s significance concealed.

• Litvinov and Spiridonov read that Germany had occupied Denmark and attacked Norway, then discussed how the campaigns could help Germany secure iron ore and challenge the British blockade.
• Litvinov and Spiridonov considered whether the Netherlands and Belgium could help Britain and France resist Germany, including the Congo Free State’s potential contribution to Belgium’s forces.
• Litvinov and Spiridonov discussed East Africa’s unfavorable view of Japan and how that stance could deepen divisions between East Africa, Japan, and Germany.
• Litvinov spotted a short newspaper item reporting that East Africa had successfully completed its first nuclear test in the Kalahari Desert, but he mistook it for an ordinary scientific experiment.
• Ernst remained in the Kalahari Desert after witnessing the secret test, while the newspaper editors and Soviet officials failed to grasp the report’s importance.

Ernst reaffirmed the secrecy and safety requirements surrounding East Africa’s nuclear program while promising recognition for its participants in the future. As the European War drove up demand, Lobito’s traders shifted their attention toward supplying Britain and France, while East Africa’s East Coast trade with the Axis powers suffered from the British blockade of the Suez route.

• Ernst told East African nuclear experts that their work must remain secret and that the state would recognize their contributions when they could be declassified.
• At Lobito, Mars Laimi and his secretary Tate discussed expanding the company’s Western European trade to profit from British and French wartime orders.
• Mars Laimi decided to recruit workers and order ships while reducing the company’s exposure to the North American market without abandoning South American trade.
• British restrictions on the Suez Canal reduced East African East Coast trade with the Axis powers and made the North African and Berlin-Baghdad railways important trade routes.
• Germany’s advance purchases of strategic materials helped it prepare for the blockade, while Italy used its position between East Africa and the Axis powers to profit from trade.

Ferdinand I and Karl I agreed to exploit France’s weakness in the European war by attacking its West African colonies, beginning with Dahomey and Upper Volta. They planned to rely on East African support, while leaving the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom poised for a larger struggle with Britain later.

• Ferdinand I arrived in Natitingou and met Karl I to discuss expanding their West African kingdoms.
• Karl I reported that the Habsburg Monarchy had over eighty thousand people and a seventeen-hundred-man army, while Ferdinand I said the New Austria Kingdom had a twenty-four-hundred-man army.
• Ferdinand I and Karl I judged that France’s weakened West African forces and vast territory made Dahomey and Upper Volta vulnerable to attack.
• Ferdinand I proposed that the Habsburg Monarchy seize Dahomey and the New Austria Kingdom receive Upper Volta, while they avoided provoking Britain over Nigeria and the Gold Coast.
• Karl I and Ferdinand I agreed that East African support would be essential, and Ferdinand I said East Africa intended to use them to reduce West Africa’s native population.

The Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom invaded French Dahomey and Upper Volta, with East Africa limiting their aims and forbidding them to fight under its banner. Karl I’s forces captured Porto-Novo and took control of Dahomey, while French forces in Upper Volta continued resisting and waiting for reinforcements.

• East Africa approved the kingdoms’ campaign but ordered them to keep it independent of East African authority and restrict its scope to Upper Volta and Dahomey.
• On April 17, 1939, Karl I led Habsburg troops toward Porto-Novo as another column advanced against French strongholds in Dahomey.
• Lafleche surrendered Jugu Town to a Habsburg cavalry detachment, and the French commander and two other Frenchmen were taken to Natitingou as hostages.
• Karl I’s army advanced through Dahomey, capturing towns and taking French officials prisoner with little resistance.
• After defeating the governor’s hastily assembled force and besieging Porto-Novo with artillery, Karl I accepted the French colonial government’s surrender; French forces elsewhere in Dahomey also laid down their weapons.
• The Habsburg Monarchy took control of Dahomey within a week, while the New Austria Kingdom’s campaign in Upper Volta proceeded smoothly but faced continued French resistance.

Colonel Tapriye confronted Governor Wajel over East Africa’s role in the Habsburg Monarchy’s invasion of Dahomey, but Wajel denied responsibility and offered to mediate. Tapriye left Togoland to report the situation in Senegal, while Wajel urged France to cooperate with East Africa.

• Colonel Tapriye accused Governor Wajel of helping the Habsburg Monarchy invade Dahomey, and Wajel denied that East Africa was involved.
• Tapriye cited East African weapons, uniforms, and the Habsburg Monarchy’s ties to East Africa, but Wajel argued that these did not prove responsibility.
• Wajel privately knew Togoland had supplied the Habsburg Monarchy and New Austria Kingdom with material and intelligence support, which had helped the invasion succeed.
• Tapriye warned that France might suppress the Habsburg Monarchy, and Wajel said France would have no grounds to blame East Africa if it did.
• Wajel offered to reprimand the Habsburg Monarchy and mediate, and Tapriye departed for Senegal to report the situation.

As France struggled to defend its West African colonies from the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom, it sought East African mediation rather than risk losing support during its war with Germany. France agreed to cede Dahomey and Upper Volta, while the two kingdoms promised to respect its remaining interests; they then looked toward British colonies as future targets.

• Colonel Tapriye and his adjutant discussed East Africa's growing trade and influence, blaming Germany for France's troubles in West Africa.
• Governor Boisson learned that the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom had occupied Dahomey and threatened Upper Volta, and concluded that French West Africa could not defeat them without risking wider colonial unrest.
• Boisson referred the crisis to mainland France, and Prime Minister Daladier asked East African ambassador Kahel to mediate and help preserve France's remaining interests.
• Kahel offered East Africa's mediation, and Daladier accepted rather than jeopardize supplies needed for France's war against Germany.
• France, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the New Austria Kingdom signed an agreement transferring Dahomey and Upper Volta to the two kingdoms, which pledged not to attack France's other West African holdings.
• The Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom planned to consolidate their new territories before pursuing British-held Gold Coast and Nigeria.

Germany launched its war against the Low Countries with air raids and airborne attacks on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Dutch resisted the assault on The Hague, leaving the German paratroopers unable to capture the city without support from ground forces.

• France accepted negotiations with the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom while Britain remained focused on Germany's war against the Low Countries.
• On May 9, 1939, Dutchman Yodeler woke from a nightmare about German bombs and reassured his wife Laura that The Hague was safe.
• German aircraft bombed The Hague and Rotterdam at three in the morning, while Dutch air-raid sirens sounded and antiaircraft guns opened fire.
• German paratroopers landed near The Hague's airports, but Dutch troops counterattacked and prevented the Germans from taking the city.
• Germany began attacks on Belgium and Luxembourg as the Dutch government chose to resist rather than surrender.

Japan’s Kwantung Army launched a surprise attack on Soviet forces at Khalkhin Gol, escalating the Nomonhan War while Japan’s army and navy pursued separate campaigns. Yosef mistook Japan’s offensive for part of a German plot to encircle the Soviet Union, prompting Moscow to seek cooperation with Britain and France.

• Tsuji Masanobu persuaded Komatsubara Michitaro to attack the Soviet Union before Japan’s war in the Nanyang region could constrain the Kwantung Army.
• Komatsubara Michitaro ordered Higashi Hachizo’s 23rd Cavalry Regiment and Yamagata Takemitsu’s 64th Regiment to advance into the disputed Khalkhin Gol region.
• Soviet-Mongolian troops stopped Higashi Hachizo’s crossing with artillery and machine-gun fire, and the Soviet 57th Army sent reinforcements as the fighting escalated.
• Ueda Kenkichi arrived in Hailar, while Japanese newspapers praised the campaign and the navy continued preparing for war in the Nanyang region.
• Yosef ordered the Soviet forces to retaliate and, after Prokofiev suggested Germany had prompted Japan’s attack, directed the Soviet leadership to prepare for a two-front war.
• Yosef’s government moved to seek British and French cooperation, and Soviet diplomats in both countries resumed efforts to establish an alliance against Germany.

After Japan launched the Nomonhan War without consulting Germany, Adolf accepted that Germany would wait and see while focusing on Britain and France. France seized the chance to pursue Soviet cooperation, and Daladier left convinced that the Soviet Union might eventually help reverse France’s position against Germany.

• Adolf learned from Stahmer that Japan had started its war against the Soviet Union without informing Germany and condemned the move for disrupting German plans.
• Adolf decided Germany would let Japan test Soviet strength while keeping its attention on Britain and France.
• Daladier urged Suritz to strengthen French-Soviet cooperation and consider a military alliance against the Axis powers.
• Suritz agreed to report France’s proposal to Moscow and support closer cooperation, though he could not promise an alliance.
• Daladier met with France’s military and political leaders and announced that Soviet support might change the course of the war.

France tried to keep its morale up by suggesting the Soviet Union would join the war, while Japan escalated its failing campaign at Nomonhan and prepared to seize the East Indies. In Batavia, Governor Staveren and Hulst chose neutrality amid the Netherlands’ expected defeat, while fearing East Africa might exploit the crisis to take the colony.

• Prime Minister Daladier urged French officials to hold the front until the Soviet Union entered the war.
• Lieutenant General Komatsubara Michitaro and Major Tsuji Masanobu decided to commit every soldier after the 23rd Division suffered heavy losses against Soviet forces.
• Tsuji Masanobu sent Kwantung Army Headquarters a misleading report of Japanese success, prompting Ueda Kenkichi to order reinforcements for Nomonhan.
• Japan prepared to attack the East Indies with two fleets, two divisions, and one mixed brigade.
• Governor Staveren and Hulst concluded that the Dutch East Indies should remain neutral while the homeland’s fate was decided.
• Staveren ordered his officials to avoid clashes with East Africans, fearing East Africa would use the Netherlands’ crisis as an excuse to seize the colony.

General Wavell faced Italy’s invasion of Egypt and the threat to Malta, while British forces struggled to match the Italian numbers. He planned to exploit Italy’s vulnerable supply lines and use mobile desert units to harass the invasion, leaving the battle for Egypt unresolved.

• The intelligence chief told General Wavell that at least one hundred thousand Italian troops had crossed into Egypt from Cyrenaica and that Italy had also attacked Malta.
• General Wavell discussed Malta’s defenses and the need to coordinate with Admiral Cunningham, whose Mediterranean Fleet was responsible for naval operations.
• General Wavell judged Egypt’s defense the priority because Britain had only a little over thirty thousand troops in western Egypt against Italy’s far larger force.
• General Wavell and the intelligence chief reviewed Italy’s supply difficulties, including British and French attacks on the North African Railway and East Africa’s restrictions on exports to Italy.
• General Wavell proposed forming agile units from the Western Desert Force to attack Italian supply convoys and harass the advancing army.

After fishermen in the Southern Ryukyu Islands reported a massive Japanese fleet heading south, East Africa and other powers watched Japan’s movements. On May 29, 1939, Japan attacked the Dutch East Indies, destroying the Dutch Navy’s main forces and leaving Sumatra and Java exposed to invasion.

• Fishermen told Miyako Island Police Department director Kragman that dozens of Japanese warships, including aircraft carriers, had sailed south, and Kragman inferred their likely destination was Nanyang.
• Kragman praised the fishermen, promised them rewards, and sent their intelligence to the local naval department.
• Pacific Fleet headquarters ordered East African bases and strongpoints to monitor and guard against Japanese movements as Britain, France, and the United States also watched the fleet.
• Japan’s fleet passed through the South China Sea and approached the Dutch East Indies while the colony remained unaware of the coming attack.
• On May 29, Japan split its fleet and attacked Dutch naval bases at Sabang, Padang, Surabaya, and Batavia, wiping out the Dutch East Indies Navy’s main forces in less than a day.

Governor Staveren decided that the Dutch could not defend Batavia against Japan and rejected surrender, choosing to withdraw northward instead. He wanted a retreat route that would let the Dutch escape into East Africa’s sphere of influence.

• Governor Staveren dismissed resistance in Batavia as hopeless because the colonial army was weak and Japan had overwhelming military strength.
• Staveren concluded that the Dutch East Indies Navy was likely defeated and that Batavia was in danger.
• Hulst asked whether they should withdraw or surrender, but Staveren refused to surrender because it would stain their reputation.
• Staveren rejected Hulst’s suggestion to retreat to Bandung, judging it too close to Batavia and vulnerable to Japan.
• Staveren decided the Dutch should withdraw northward to a place from which they could escape into East Africa’s sphere of influence.