Chapter Summaries

Russia’s Bolshevik takeover alarmed the Allied Powers and gave Germany and Austria-Hungary an opportunity to redirect their forces. Germany halted Austria-Hungary’s plans to attack and prepared to negotiate with the Bolsheviks, while Britain’s cabinet gathered to consider the consequences.

• The Bolsheviks took power in Russia, leaving the Allied Powers uncertain whether Russia would continue fighting on the Eastern Front.
• Germany backed the Bolsheviks and Oscar prepared to use their victory to negotiate an end to fighting on the Eastern Front.
• Austria-Hungary prepared another offensive, but Germany ordered it to halt operations against the Russian Bolsheviks.
• Crown Prince Karl opposed obeying Germany, but Archduke Friedrich, Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf, and others rejected his stance, and Franz Joseph I ordered the army to remain defensive.
• Prime Minister Asquith convened the British Cabinet to discuss Russia’s upheaval and the threat of Germany attacking the Western Front with greater force.

Britain's leaders discussed how to respond to the Russian Revolution after Nicholas II's rule fell, and learned that the Bolsheviks were closely supported by Germany. Britain then sought help from other powers to arm Tsarist loyalists and intervene in Russia, leaving Japan, the United States, Britain, and France preparing to send troops.

• Churchill urged Britain to approach the Bolsheviks, but Sir Edward Grey reported that Germany had supported them and that Nicholas II was likely in rebel hands.
• Churchill argued that Britain must prevent the Bolsheviks from gaining strength, and Asquith approved sending American arms to Tsarist loyalists.
• Churchill proposed that Japan and the United States intervene in Russia, with Britain and France also contributing troops, and Asquith accepted the plan.
• Britain contacted France, the United States, and Japan, and Japan decided to send 100,000 troops to Vladivostok.
• The United States prepared to land troops at Murmansk, while Britain and France planned to send smaller forces.

As Bolshevik forces expanded across Russia, Ulyanov worried about foreign intervention and ordered harsher action against their opponents. He approved Joseph’s proposal to execute Nicholas II, and the former Tsar and his family were killed.

• Trotsky reported that Bolshevik forces had taken Moscow, and Ulyanov urged him to expand faster and purge anyone who resisted.
• Joseph told Ulyanov that the Allied Powers might intervene unless the Bolsheviks continued fighting Germany, while other foreign powers could aid their domestic opponents.
• Joseph proposed executing Nicholas II to deprive the rebels of a figurehead, and Ulyanov agreed and ordered him to keep it secret.
• Yurovsky arrived at the farm outside St. Petersburg and read the Bolshevik Supreme Council’s execution order to Nicholas II and his family.
• Yurovsky ordered the execution, and Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, and their five children were shot.

Wilhelm II and his advisers discussed Russia’s revolution and the German Empire’s prospects in the war. Oscar warned that the Bolshevik Party could become a future threat, while the Empire prepared to concentrate its forces against the Allies and challenge Britain at sea.

• Wilhelm II praised Oscar for helping the Bolshevik Party succeed in overthrowing Russia’s government.
• Oscar urged the Empire to suppress Bolshevik activity and prepare for a future conflict with the party, and Wilhelm II assigned him responsibility for the matter.
• Wilhelm II and Oscar discussed transferring most German forces from the Eastern Front to the Western Front and forming armored divisions.
• Tirpitz said the High Seas Fleet planned to fight a decisive battle against Britain in the first half of the following year, when new warships would enter service.
• Wilhelm II declared that the Empire would win on the Western Front and defeat the British Royal Navy.

Oscar persuaded Wilhelm II to pursue peace talks with the Bolshevik Party and proposed extracting extensive territorial concessions and war reparations from Russia. Wilhelm approved the plan, and von Kiderlen-Wachth was appointed to negotiate for Germany.

• Oscar argued that the Bolshevik Party would accept peace terms to focus on domestic enemies, and Wilhelm II agreed to pursue negotiations.
• Oscar proposed demanding Poland and the Baltic States, independence for Finland and Ukraine, possible occupation of Belarus, and at least six billion Marks in reparations.
• Bernhard von Bülow and von Kiderlen-Wachth questioned whether the Bolsheviks would accept such harsh demands, but Oscar insisted they would yield under threat of force.
• Bernhard von Bülow authorized von Kiderlen-Wachth to negotiate with Russia on Germany's behalf.

Ulyanov and Joseph agreed to negotiate peace with Germany while trying to limit Russia’s losses. Joseph maneuvered to make Trotsky lead the talks, which began in Brest with polite but insincere exchanges.

• Joseph told Ulyanov that Germany had offered peace talks and would likely demand major concessions.
• Ulyanov decided to negotiate, instructing the Bolsheviks to accept only terms that were not too harsh.
• Joseph declined to represent the Bolsheviks and proposed Trotsky, hoping the negotiations would damage his rival’s standing.
• The Bolshevik Supreme Council appointed Trotsky as plenipotentiary representative, and Germany appointed von Kiderlen-Wächter.
• On December 12, Trotsky and von Kiderlen-Wächter opened peace talks in Brest with courteous statements about ending the war and maintaining peaceful relations.

German Foreign Minister von Kiderlen-Wachth presented severe peace terms to Trotsky and the Bolshevik delegation, including territorial cessions, disarmament, and reparations. Trotsky rejected the terms but left with three days to consult his authorities before Germany ended negotiations and threatened to use force.

• Von Kiderlen-Wachth demanded a ceasefire, Russian demobilization, territorial concessions, transfer of capital warships, recognition of Ukraine and Finland, and twelve billion Mark in reparations.
• Trotsky objected to the harsh terms and offered to cede Poland and pay two billion Mark instead.
• Von Kiderlen-Wachth mocked Trotsky’s appeal to the Russian people and warned that Germany would seize what it wanted by force if talks failed.
• Trotsky said he would report the demands to his authorities but maintained that the Bolsheviks could not accept them.
• Von Kiderlen-Wachth gave the Bolsheviks three days to provide a satisfactory answer before Germany terminated negotiations.

The Bolshevik Supreme Council debated Germany’s harsh peace terms after receiving Trotsky’s telegram from Brest. Joseph urged the leaders to accept a treaty and withdraw from the war, warning that rejecting Germany could destroy the revolution, while Ulyanov weighed the consequences.

• The Supreme Council read Trotsky’s telegram and reacted with anger and alarm to Germany’s demands.
• Ulyanov questioned whether they should accept the terms, while Kamenev and others opposed them as a betrayal of Russia.
• Joseph asked what Germany would do if they refused and warned that the Bolsheviks could not withstand a German attack.
• Kamenev argued Germany was too occupied with Britain and France to attack Russia.
• Joseph warned that Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire could threaten the Bolsheviks and urged a treaty and withdrawal from the war.

After the Russian Bolshevik Party failed to answer Germany’s demands, Oscar ordered German forces to threaten an invasion. Faced with the two army corps at the border, Ulyanov decided to accept Germany’s terms, though Kamenev and Trotsky opposed him.

• The Russian Bolshevik Party’s leaders argued for days without reaching a decision, and von Kidren-Wachth left Brest with the German delegation.
• In Berlin, Oscar rejected calls to lower Germany’s demands and ordered the 8th Army Corps and 9th Army Corps to stage an advance toward Russia.
• The two German army corps moved to the border and deployed in attack formations, alarming the Bolshevik leaders.
• Ulyanov told Joseph that the Bolsheviks had to agree to Germany’s demands rather than risk war.
• Joseph warned Ulyanov that Kamenev and Trotsky opposed the terms, and Ulyanov ordered him to find a way to overcome their resistance.

Ulyanov tried to persuade the Bolshevik Supreme Council to accept Germany’s demands rather than risk a military attack, but two votes failed to give him a majority. Afterward, he privately pressed Trotsky to reconsider his opposition, while secretly vowing to punish those who defied him once the crisis passed.

• Joseph argued that the Germans’ advancing forces could defeat the Bolsheviks and urged the Supreme Council to accept their demands, while Trotsky insisted the threat might be a bluff.
• Ulyanov stopped Kamenev’s personal attack on Joseph and argued that compromise with Germany was necessary while the Bolsheviks faced internal and external enemies.
• The Supreme Council voted five to eight against Ulyanov’s position, and his appeal to compromise the following day lost by six to seven.
• Ulyanov grew furious and resolved to deal with those who opposed him after the crisis, then summoned Trotsky to his office.
• Trotsky confirmed that he opposed compromise, and Ulyanov pressed him to consider the risk of losing the revolution if Germany attacked.

Ulyanov persuaded Trotsky to resume peace talks with Germany, but the negotiations stalled until Oscar ordered German forces to advance into Russian territory. Facing the threat, the Russian Bolshevik Party approved Germany’s terms, and Trotsky signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

• Trotsky agreed with Ulyanov that the Bolsheviks should resume negotiations with Germany rather than risk their revolution.
• The Russian Bolshevik Party offered to restart peace talks, and Wachth prepared to press Germany’s advantage.
• At negotiations in Brest on January 8, 1915, Wachth demanded half of Belarus and ten billion Marks in reparations, but Trotsky rejected the terms and talks deadlocked.
• Oscar ordered the 8th Army Corps and the 9th Army Corps to cross the line of control and advance into Russian territory.
• Ulyanov convened an emergency meeting, and eight of thirteen voters supported accepting Germany’s terms.
• On January 18, 1915, Trotsky signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ceding the Baltic States, Poland, and half of Belarus, recognizing Ukrainian and Finnish independence, and agreeing to ten billion Marks in reparations.

After Germany secured a harsh peace with Russia, Wilhelm II praised Oscar for his role and turned Germany’s attention to defeating France and ending the war in the west. Oscar warned that Britain might have to be invaded if it refused to surrender, and Wilhelm II agreed that Germany could defeat it after winning command of the sea.

• Wilhelm II praised Oscar for the victory over Russia and credited his leadership with strengthening the German Empire.
• Oscar modestly attributed the achievements to Wilhelm II’s wise leadership and preparation.
• Wilhelm II declared that Germany’s priority was victory on the Western Front and, if possible, ending the war that year.
• Oscar said Germany should crush France and might need to land in Britain if the British refused to surrender.
• Wilhelm II accepted that Germany could defeat Britain if the Imperial Navy beat the Royal Navy.

Wilhelm II considered conquering Britain, then met with Prime Minister Bernhard von Bülow and Foreign Minister von Kiderlen-Wächter to address Austro-Hungarian anger over Germany’s armistice with Russia. Oscar proposed compensating Austria-Hungary with gains in the Balkans and elsewhere while keeping Russia’s ceded territories for Germany.

• Wilhelm II discussed the possibility of defeating Britain and landing German forces there.
• Foreign Minister von Kiderlen-Wächter reported that Austria-Hungary had protested Germany’s armistice with Russia for disregarding its interests.
• Prime Minister Bernhard von Bülow suggested transferring some of Germany’s gains to Austria-Hungary to preserve the alliance.
• Oscar proposed offering Austria-Hungary expansion in the Balkans instead of any Russian territories.
• Foreign Minister von Kiderlen-Wächter supported Oscar’s proposal, while Bernhard von Bülow worried Austria-Hungary would resent Germany’s larger gains.
• Oscar suggested offering further concessions, such as Italian territory or war reparations, but said Germany need not accommodate Austria-Hungary if it remained dissatisfied.

Germany offered the Austro-Hungarian Empire Balkan and Italian expansion and two billion marks in compensation for excluding it from the peace settlement with Russia. Franz Joseph I accepted the offer and reaffirmed the alliance with Germany.

• Wilhelm II approved Oscar's proposal to deny Austria-Hungary Russian territory but offer it two billion marks and support for expansion in the Balkans and Italy.
• Wilhelm II sent Foreign Minister Wachth to Vienna to explain Germany's position to Austria-Hungary.
• Crown Prince Karl spread rumors that Germany had made a separate peace with Russia, but Franz Joseph I confronted him and the rumors disappeared.
• Wachth apologized to Franz Joseph I for Germany's secret negotiations with Russia and explained that Germany would keep the territories it had gained.
• Franz Joseph I accepted Germany's compensation and declared that Austria-Hungary would remain Germany's ally.

Franz Joseph I and Mario Weber accepted that Austria-Hungary lacked the strength to challenge Germany, despite their anger over Germany’s separate peace with Russia and its division of spoils. Wachth’s deliberate snub of Crown Prince Karl weakened Karl’s standing at court, leaving him furious and resentful of Germany’s gains.

• Franz Joseph I told Mario Weber that Austria-Hungary could neither break with Germany nor safely switch sides, and Weber agreed that staying with the Allied Powers offered the best chance of gaining territory and reparations.
• Wachth met Archduke Friedrich and Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf, who understood Germany’s approach to Russia, then returned to Germany without visiting Crown Prince Karl.
• Crown Prince Karl raged that Wachth had treated him with contempt, while the account revealed that Wachth had snubbed him deliberately because of his actions against Germany and Oscar.
• Austro-Hungarian nobles reconsidered drawing close to Karl after recognizing that Germany disapproved of him and might constrain him after the war.
• Karl grew even more resentful when Germany claimed vast Russian territories that he believed should have been shared with Austria-Hungary.

Churchill faced Britain’s worsening food and shipping crisis as German submarines ravaged its sea lanes, and ordered the Royal Navy to find a way to stop them. Jellicoe presented a plan to disguise armed merchant ships as bait, leaving Britain’s submarine campaign set to begin.

• Churchill worried that German attacks on merchant and fishing ships could starve Britain before its new warships were ready.
• Churchill ordered the British Grand Fleet to find a way to eliminate German submarines.
• Admiral John Jellicoe struggled to locate submarines with Britain’s rudimentary Sonar and saw little success in earlier attacks.
• A British Navy staff officer proposed disguising armed merchant ships to ambush submarines that surfaced to capture them.
• Jellicoe presented the plan to Churchill, who approved using twenty merchant ships as bait.

British Navy Captain Schmidt searched the Atlantic for a German submarine to avenge his brother, while U-113 received a report of a British merchant ship nearby. U-113 pursued the vessel, unaware that it was bait in a British trap.

• Captain Schmidt searched the sea aboard a British merchant ship and ordered his crew to withdraw if they found no German submarine before dark.
• The crew of U-113 discussed the lack of British ships and their wish to attack American merchant vessels, but the Submarine Captain ordered them to continue north.
• U-113 received a Naval Ministry telegram reporting a British merchant ship to the north and hurried to pursue it.
• U-113 headed toward the merchant ship, unaware that Captain Schmidt and his crew were waiting to trap it.

A British merchant ship lured U-113 into a trap and sank it with concealed rapid-fire guns, revealing that Britain had been destroying German submarines with armed merchant ships. After learning of the tactic, Oscar ordered German submarines to stop capturing British vessels and sink every one they encountered.

• Captain Schmidt ordered his crew to pretend to obey U-113’s signals while preparing concealed guns to attack.
• When U-113 came within two hundred meters, Schmidt ordered the British sailors to uncover the guns and open fire.
• U-113 tried to dive but was hit by rapid-fire shells, flooded, and sank with its crew.
• German submarines lost more than a dozen vessels to British merchant-ship traps before one escaped and reported the tactic.
• Oscar learned that Britain had used deception rather than advanced technology and ordered submarines to sink all British vessels instead of capturing them.

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz argued that the United States lacked the military strength to threaten Germany despite its industrial power, and Oscar reconsidered his caution toward America. He planned to discuss the issue at an Imperial Council as Germany prepared to defeat Britain and France and secure its position as world hegemon.

• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz told Oscar that American merchant ships had undermined Germany's blockade strategy by keeping Britain supplied.
• Oscar said Germany should avoid provoking the neutral United States before defeating Britain and France, but Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz argued that America's army and navy posed little immediate threat.
• Oscar realized he had mistaken the America of the present for the superpower of his later life and agreed that Germany had no need to fear it yet.
• Oscar proposed discussing a solution at the Imperial Council, which Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz agreed to attend.
• After Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz left, Oscar resolved to pursue a Western Front breakthrough, defeat the Royal Navy, and force Britain to surrender before the United States could intervene.

On February 15, 1915, Wilhelm II heard plans for a German naval battle against Britain in March or April and an army offensive on the Western Front in mid-April. German leaders expressed confidence in victory, and the chapter ended with Wilhelm asking whether Britain would surrender if both operations succeeded.

• Wilhelm II convened the Imperial Council and said he hoped the German military would achieve a major breakthrough that year.
• Count Tirpitz announced that the Imperial Navy planned to fight a decisive battle against the British Navy in March or April and then seize control of the Atlantic.
• Falkenhayn said eight German army corps, equipped with tanks and other weapons, would attack the Anglo-French Allied Forces in mid-April and take Paris.
• Wilhelm II approved the plan to let the navy strike first and weaken the Allied Forces by cutting their supplies and reinforcements.
• Wilhelm II asked whether Britain would surrender after German victories, and Count Tirpitz said Germany could land in Britain if it refused.