Chapter Summaries

After the United States backed down from its confrontation with Germany, Prime Minister Asquith and the British Cabinet faced the prospect of Britain being isolated and starved by a German blockade. Churchill warned that the Royal Navy had virtually no chance of defeating Germany, leaving the British Empire in a life-or-death crisis.

• The United States withdrew its challenge to Germany’s Prohibited Navigation Zone, leaving Britain’s overseas trade at risk of being cut off.
• King George V questioned Prime Minister Asquith about the war and showed little confidence in Britain’s chances.
• Asquith convened the Cabinet to discuss what Britain should do without American help.
• Sir Edward Grey, Churchill, and Lloyd George discussed why the Americans had retreated from the confrontation.
• Churchill told the Cabinet that Britain’s fleet was outmatched by Germany’s modern warships and had virtually no chance of victory.

The British Cabinet debated whether to continue the war against Germany or seek peace as Britain’s military position worsened and its new warships remained years from service. Asquith was left weighing peace against the likely loss of Britain’s colonies and a crippling reparations bill.

• Churchill told Grey and the Cabinet that Britain’s best chance depended on delaying a decisive battle until new warships entered service, but Germany was expected to act before then.
• Lloyd George suggested that Britain consider making peace with Germany to limit its losses.
• Churchill and Haldane argued that Germany would demand Britain’s overseas colonies and would not make peace without weakening the Empire.
• Grey supported contacting Germany to learn what terms it might accept, and Asquith asked how great Germany’s demands would be.
• Churchill predicted that Britain could lose India, Australia, and most of its African colonies, while facing reparations several times greater than Russia’s.
• Asquith and the Cabinet were left conflicted over whether to seek peace.

Prime Minister Asquith weighed peace with Germany against continuing a war Britain was unlikely to win, and authorized Sir Edward Grey to open negotiations. He left Churchill preparing to fight if diplomacy failed.

• Prime Minister Asquith kept Churchill and Sir Edward Grey behind after the Cabinet meeting to discuss Britain's options.
• Prime Minister Asquith asked whether Britain could preserve its core interests by seeking peace, and Sir Edward Grey warned that Germany would likely demand India and many colonies.
• Prime Minister Asquith authorized Sir Edward Grey to offer Britain’s African and Middle Eastern colonies and one hundred million Pounds Sterling in reparations for a ceasefire.
• Churchill told Prime Minister Asquith that Britain’s chances of defeating Germany were very small because its warships were inferior and victory at sea would depend on luck.
• Prime Minister Asquith authorized Sir Edward Grey to negotiate and told Churchill to prepare for war if the talks failed.

Wilhelm II and his officials rejected the idea of negotiating a genuine peace with Britain, believing Germany should keep fighting until it could defeat and carve up the British Empire. Oscar was tasked with sending Britain terms so severe that it would refuse them, and he drew up demands that left the war set to continue.

• Wilhelm II celebrated Britain’s offer to seek peace, and Wachth and Bülow advised continuing the war to secure greater gains.
• Oscar agreed that Germany should defeat Britain rather than settle for a negotiated peace, but proposed presenting terms Britain could not accept.
• Wilhelm II assigned Oscar responsibility for formulating Germany’s terms, and Oscar consulted Foreign Minister Wachth.
• Oscar demanded that Britain surrender its colonies, allow Ireland to become independent, pay fifty billion Marks in reparations, and accept strict limits on its military.
• Oscar’s terms also required Britain to transfer its large warships to Germany and give up submarines and aircraft.

After rejecting Germany’s harsh peace terms, Prime Minister Asquith committed Britain to continuing the war and preparing for a German attack on the homeland. The chapter ended with King George V backing the government’s decision to fight.

• Asquith rejected Germany’s terms, and Sir Edward Grey agreed that Germany intended to defeat Britain by force.
• Asquith ordered the Cabinet to stop discussing peace and told Churchill to prepare the Royal Navy for a decisive battle and a possible German landing.
• Asquith instructed the Army to mobilize for overseas and homeland defense, while Richard Haldane outlined plans to expand the forces.
• Asquith called for new equipment to counter German tanks, and Haldane reported that British tank prototypes and anti-tank weapons were in development.
• Asquith visited King George V, who supported the government and military in their resolve to fight.

Reinhard Scheer and Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper reflected on the German High Seas Fleet’s strength and discussed Oscar’s plan to end battleship construction as aircraft carriers became the future of naval warfare. They hoped to defeat Britain in a decisive battle before the new carriers entered service.

• Reinhard Scheer told Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper that Germany had surpassed Britain in capital ships and credited Oscar with the Navy’s growth.
• Hipper worried that Germany would stop building capital ships while Britain and the United States expanded their fleets.
• Scheer argued that battleships and battlecruisers would soon be obsolete, and described a carrier exercise showing aircraft attacking target ships.
• Hipper acknowledged that stronger aerial torpedoes could threaten battleships and accepted that the Dreadnought era would not last.
• Scheer said construction had begun on four more aircraft carriers and hoped Germany would defeat Britain before they entered service.

Admiral Reinhard Scheer and Vice Admiral Hipper debated Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz’s risky proposal to infiltrate Scapa Flow and attack the British fleet. Oscar approved the plan and ordered the navy to give Dönitz full support.

• Vice Admiral Hipper told Admiral Reinhard Scheer that Oscar had predicted future navies would rely on aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines.
• Vice Admiral Hipper presented Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz’s proposal to send a submarine into Scapa Flow for a surprise attack on the British fleet.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer worried that the mission was too dangerous, while Vice Admiral Hipper argued that Dönitz should be trusted to attempt it.
• Unable to agree, Admiral Reinhard Scheer and Vice Admiral Hipper submitted the plan to the Naval Ministry.
• Oscar learned of the proposal from Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz, approved it, and ordered the navy to prepare and support Dönitz.

Oscar approved Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz’s risky plan to infiltrate Scapa Flow with the new U-200 submarine, and Dönitz led the U-037 toward the British harbor. By nightfall, the submarine had reached the harbor’s approach and continued underwater, while the British remained unaware of its presence.

• Oscar approved Dönitz’s Scapa Flow attack plan and arranged support for his crew and prototype submarine.
• Dönitz and his crew spent ten days preparing the U-037 before leaving Wilhelmshaven on March 12.
• Dönitz planned to fire twelve torpedoes in two rapid salvos against British battleships inside Scapa Flow.
• The U-037 avoided British warships and reached a point less than fifty kilometers from Scapa Flow by the next dusk.
• After nightfall, Dönitz took the U-037 underwater and advanced toward Scapa Flow without the British detecting it.

Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty prepared for an imminent battle against the stronger German Navy, with Beatty assigned to hold off its battlecruisers. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz led U-037 into Scapa Flow and launched torpedoes at three British battleships.

• Vice Admiral David Beatty warned Admiral John Jellicoe that German warship movements suggested the enemy was preparing for a decisive battle.
• Admiral John Jellicoe ordered Vice Admiral David Beatty to lead the Battlecruiser Squadron and hold back the German battlecruisers.
• Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz guided U-037 through Scapa Flow’s narrow channel and spotted the British Capital Ships at anchor.
• Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz aimed U-037’s torpedo tubes at three large battleships and ordered the first salvo fired.

German submarine U-037 launched a surprise torpedo attack on the British Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, badly damaging several battleships. Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz fired a second salvo and ordered the submarine to flee as the harbor descended into chaos.

• Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz ordered U-037’s crew to reload torpedoes and turn toward new targets under cover of night.
• A British sailor spotted torpedo wakes, but two torpedoes struck the Battleship Warspite and flooded its hull.
• Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty realized German submarines had attacked Scapa Flow as more explosions hit the fleet.
• Admiral John Jellicoe identified the Warspite, the Valiant, and the Conqueror as damaged by the attack.
• Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz ordered U-037 to fire its remaining six torpedoes, then dive and flee.

Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz led the U-037’s escape from Scapa Flow as British forces hunted it after a devastating torpedo attack. The submarine survived depth-charge blasts and escaped by dawn, while the Royal Navy struggled to rescue its damaged battleships.

• Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz ordered the U-037 to speed toward the channel and escape Scapa Flow.
• The Colossus and Neptune were hit by torpedoes, leaving the Colossus sinking and the Neptune badly damaged.
• Admiral John Jellicoe ordered rescue efforts and sent more destroyers to search for the German submarines.
• British destroyers dropped depth charges as the U-037 crept underwater toward the open sea.
• The U-037’s pressure hull withstood the blasts, and the British Navy abandoned its pursuit after dawn when the submarine had escaped.

After a German submarine attack left five Royal Navy battleships severely damaged at Scapa Flow, Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty assessed the losses and the fleet’s dwindling prospects. Jellicoe concluded that Britain still had to fight the coming decisive battle unless its government chose to surrender.

• Admiral John Jellicoe received a damage report detailing how Warspite and Valiant had sunk in the harbor while Conqueror, Colossus, and Neptune were badly damaged.
• Admiral John Jellicoe ordered Vice Admiral David Beatty to report the losses truthfully to London.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty warned that the damaged battleships would make the coming battle difficult, and Admiral John Jellicoe feared the Germans would soon force a decisive engagement.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty suggested hiding in the naval harbor, but Admiral John Jellicoe and Beatty recognized that German attacks and Britain's blockade made that impossible.
• Admiral John Jellicoe said the Royal Navy had to fight for victory unless the government decided to surrender, and Vice Admiral David Beatty agreed.

Churchill learned that German submarines had ambushed Scapa Flow and badly damaged or disabled five Royal Navy Battleships. With the coming decisive battle potentially only a month away, he confronted Jellicoe and Beatty over the losses, leaving Britain’s chances of victory even worse.

• Churchill considered using the Royal Navy’s pre-dreadnoughts if the Grand Fleet suffered heavy losses in a decisive battle.
• Churchill received a telegram reporting that German submarines had ambushed Scapa Flow and cost the Grand Fleet several Capital Ships.
• Churchill ordered Jellicoe and Beatty to London to explain the attack and the fleet’s losses.
• Beatty reported that Conqueror, Colossus, and Neptune needed about a month of repairs, while Warspite and Valiant needed at least three months.
• Churchill warned that the Germans would not wait three months, and Jellicoe acknowledged that Warspite and Valiant could miss the decisive battle.

After German submarines damaged five British battleships at Scapa Flow, Prime Minister Asquith and the naval leaders faced the prospect of losing an imminent decisive battle. Churchill proposed sacrificing the Grand Fleet to destroy most German capital ships, and Jellicoe pledged the fleet would pursue that goal.

• Asquith questioned Jellicoe about the submarine attack, and Jellicoe admitted the Germans had caught the Royal Navy off guard and damaged five battleships.
• Jellicoe explained that the fleet would have equal numbers of battleships in a near-term battle but would be outmatched by German ships.
• Churchill warned that Germany was likely to seek a decisive battle soon, and Asquith asked whether Britain was doomed to lose.
• Churchill proposed that the Grand Fleet sink more than eighty percent of Germany's capital ships, even if the British fleet were destroyed.
• Churchill argued that crippling the German Navy would let Britain use its pre-dreadnoughts, secure resources, and build enough ships to challenge Germany later.
• Jellicoe pledged that the Grand Fleet would give everything to achieve Churchill's strategic objective.

Oscar and Tirpitz waited anxiously for news of Dönitz’s U-037 after its raid on Scapa Flow. The submarine’s success was confirmed, and Dönitz and his crew returned to Wilhelmshaven as national heroes, with Dönitz promoted to Naval Colonel.

• Oscar and Tirpitz waited through the night at the Naval Ministry for news of U-037’s mission.
• Dönitz and U-037 escaped British destroyers after their batteries ran low, but damage to the submarine’s radio prevented them from reporting their progress.
• German intelligence learned that U-037 had heavily damaged five British Battleships at Scapa Flow, including Warspite and Valiant.
• Oscar and Tirpitz celebrated the damage to the British fleet and waited for Dönitz and his crew to return.
• Dönitz and U-037 arrived at Wilhelmshaven on March 16, where Oscar, Tirpitz, Scheer, and Hipper welcomed them.
• Dönitz was promoted to Naval Colonel.

Wilhelm II and Tirpitz discussed the submarine attack that had damaged five British Battleships and agreed the time had come for a decisive naval battle. Oscar revealed that Germany’s secret aircraft carriers were ready, and Wilhelm authorized attacks on British coastal cities and shipyards if the British fleet refused to fight.

• Wilhelm II praised Tirpitz and the submarine force after a single submarine heavily damaged five British Battleships.
• Oscar said Dönitz had been promoted to Colonel and would receive a more important role in the submarine force.
• Tirpitz argued that Germany’s Capital Ships outnumbered and outperformed Britain’s, making a decisive battle timely.
• Oscar revealed that Germany’s aircraft carriers were ready for combat and could use Carrier-based aircraft to attack British ships.
• Oscar warned that Britain might avoid battle, so Wilhelm authorized bombardments of British coastal cities and shipyards to force the fleet out.

On March 16, 1915, Oscar and Germany’s senior naval commanders approved a plan to force the British Royal Navy into a decisive battle near Scapa Flow, using raids, aircraft carriers, and overwhelming strength. Oscar warned them to win with minimal losses so Germany could secure naval supremacy and deter the United States.

• Oscar told the naval commanders that the coming battle would decide whether Germany could defeat the British Navy and control the seas.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer outlined a March 19 advance toward Scapa Flow, with Admiral Spee raiding northern British coastal cities and Admiral Hipper tracking and attacking British battlecruisers.
• Scheer said the German fleet would bombard British coastal cities, including London, if the British continued to avoid battle.
• Fleet Admiral von Pohl raised concerns about civilian deaths, but Oscar said victory outweighed the damage to Germany’s reputation.
• Oscar stressed that the fleet had to defeat Britain while minimizing losses because the United States might return to the conflict.

On March 19, 1915, Wilhelm II and Germany’s leaders sent the High Seas Fleet out from Wilhelmshaven to seek a decisive battle with the British Navy. As the fleet sailed into the North Sea, two aircraft carriers followed under cover of night, and nations around the world braced for the coming clash.

• Wilhelm II delivered a speech wishing the Imperial Navy victory as officers and sailors cheered at Wilhelmshaven.
• The High Seas Fleet left port in squadrons under commanders including Reinhard Scheer, Hipper, and Spee.
• The German Navy deployed more than 120 vessels, relying on improved capital ships and smaller warships to challenge Britain’s numerical advantage.
• Two German aircraft carriers passed through the Kiel Canal and joined the fleet in the North Sea with 24 fighters and 72 torpedo bombers.
• News of the German fleet’s departure spread, and nations around the world anticipated a decisive contest between Britain and Germany.

The British Cabinet learned that the German fleet had left Wilhelmshaven and prepared the Royal Navy for a decisive battle. At Scapa Flow, Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the Grand Fleet to ready itself to sail as it awaited Churchill’s orders.

• Churchill confirmed to Prime Minister Asquith that the German main fleet had put to sea, and the Cabinet discussed the threat of a decisive battle.
• Asquith told Churchill to lead the Royal Navy’s preparations, while Churchill planned to wait until the Germans’ whereabouts were exposed before engaging.
• Churchill’s order that the Grand Fleet fight to the bitter end weighed on Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty.
• Jellicoe received word that the German fleet was likely heading for the Grand Fleet and ordered preparations to leave port and fight.

Admiral Reinhard Scheer and his officers planned to force the British Royal Navy out of Scapa Flow after confirming it remained in port. The chapter left Vice Admiral Spee leading the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron to attack Edinburgh that evening.

• Admiral Reinhard Scheer said German intelligence confirmed the British main force remained at Scapa Flow.
• Vice Admiral Hipper warned that attacking Scapa Flow would be too dangerous, while the fleet’s deployment weakened Germany’s blockade of Britain.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer and Vice Admiral Spee agreed that attacking British coastal cities could force the Royal Navy to put to sea.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered Vice Admiral Spee to destroy Edinburgh’s port and shipyards that evening.
• Vice Admiral Spee led the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron out to carry out the attack.