Chapter Summaries

Oscar established his headquarters in Versailles and gathered German commanders to plan the assault on Paris. He rejected a request to preserve the city’s cultural sites at the expense of German soldiers, leaving the army set to attack with its full firepower.

• Oscar established his headquarters in Versailles and asked General Kluck to summon General Bülow, General Dithfurth, and General Ludendorff.
• The German corps commanders met on April 16, and Oscar warned them against complacency before the assault on Paris.
• Oscar ordered the corps to advance toward central Paris and said they should capture the city within two weeks despite the 500,000 Allied troops there.
• General Kluck, General Dithfurth, and Lieutenant General Ludendorff expressed confidence that the German Army could take Paris.
• Major General Manstein delivered a telegram from Wilhelm II relaying artists’ demands that German forces protect Paris’s buildings during the attack.
• Oscar said he would prioritize soldiers’ lives and allow the army to use its firepower against Paris.

Oscar rejected artists’ demands to spare Paris, prioritizing his soldiers’ lives and ordering the city taken within two weeks. Germany began its assault with massive artillery and air strikes, while the Allied commanders in Paris realized their plan to pressure Germany into restraint had failed.

• Oscar told his commanders to ignore the artists’ demands and authorized artillery, aircraft, and, if needed, armored forces to attack Paris.
• On April 17, four German army corps began their assault on Paris with a vast artillery bombardment.
• German shells struck the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower as the bombardment spread across the city.
• German bombers destroyed a street and Notre Dame Cathedral during successive air raids.
• General Allenby argued that international pressure over Paris’s cultural heritage would prevent Germany from using heavy weapons, but the German assault began regardless.

The Allied commanders’ plan to make international pressure deter Germany from attacking Paris failed when German heavy artillery and aircraft began bombarding the city. France and Britain condemned the attack, while the United States criticized it cautiously, as the battle for Paris began.

• General Allenby argued that Germany would hesitate to attack Paris to protect its reputation, and General Gallieni and General D'Esperey supported his plan.
• German artillery opened fire on Paris, shocking the three Allied commanders and disproving Allenby’s prediction.
• General Gallieni ordered the Allied units to prepare for battle as German shelling intensified and aircraft joined the attack.
• General Allenby called the German Crown Prince a barbarian, while General Gallieni and General D'Esperey faced the prospect of defending Paris against the assault.
• President Poincaré condemned the bombardment in a radio address and urged the French to keep fighting, while Britain issued a similar statement and the United States offered cautious criticism.

Wilhelm II and his advisers rejected calls to stop the German attack on Paris, prioritizing victory over the city’s cultural heritage. Wilhelm II backed Oscar and ordered the War Ministry to suppress German artists’ protests as foreign criticism continued.

• Bernhard von Bülow reported that German artists had sent a third protest letter demanding an end to the attack on Paris and punishment for Oscar.
• Falkenhayn and Tirpitz argued that capturing Paris was essential to defeating France and urged Wilhelm II to support Oscar.
• Wilhelm II declared the attack justified and said Paris’s destruction was acceptable if it helped the Empire win the war.
• Wilhelm II tasked Falkenhayn’s War Ministry with stopping the artists, and Falkenhayn proposed targeting some as foreign agents.
• von Kiderlen-Wachth raised international criticism, and Wilhelm II dismissed it as inconsequential if Germany won the war.

German forces broke through Paris’s defenses and advanced through the ruined city, using overwhelming firepower to overcome stubborn Anglo-French resistance. Manstein reported that the offensive was proceeding smoothly and German losses remained slight, leaving Oscar reassured.

• German troops broke through the Anglo-French defensive lines around Paris in one day and began street fighting, while armored forces halted outside the city to avoid anti-tank weapons.
• A German company’s first attack on a French position was pinned down by machine-gun fire, so the company commander ordered mortars and grenade launchers to bombard it before the troops advanced again.
• German forces captured the bombarded position and found only French dead, as the survivors had withdrawn.
• Fighting continued across Paris as German firepower steadily pushed back the French and British defenders, despite their stubborn resistance.
• Manstein told Oscar that the offensive was proceeding smoothly and German losses were slight, and Oscar felt reassured.

As German forces pressed their attack on Paris, General Gallieni and General D'Esperey struggled to keep the Anglo-French defenders fighting while General Allenby doubted they could hold out. The French government, now in Orléans, learned that Paris was nearing ruin and faced an increasingly bleak future.

• General Allenby told General Gallieni that his troops had lost more than twenty percent of their strength and might soon be unable to resist the German offensive.
• General Gallieni urged Allenby to keep fighting, while Allenby privately resolved not to die if the battle was lost.
• After Allenby left, General D'Esperey warned that he was wavering, and Gallieni insisted that the French must continue defending Paris.
• The French government fled to Orléans and considered moving farther south to Bordeaux or Toulouse.
• President Poincaré asked War Minister Alexander Millerand about Paris, and Millerand reported that German artillery and aircraft were reducing the city to ruins.

German 150mm heavy artillery devastated British positions in Paris, leaving the Anglo-French Allied Forces unable to withstand the German assault. As losses mounted and reinforcements ran out, General Allenby resolved that he had to survive and return to Britain.

• A German Captain requested artillery support, and six 150mm Heavy Artillery pieces bombarded the British position with more than two hundred shells over ten minutes.
• German soldiers advanced onto the ruined position and found the British defenders annihilated by the bombardment.
• A staff officer told General Allenby that the 33rd Infantry Division had lost more than half its strength and wanted to withdraw, but Allenby ordered it to hold its ground.
• When the 37th Infantry Division requested support, Allenby said he had no reinforcements available and told it to rely on its own strength.
• General Allenby concluded that the Anglo-French Allied Forces could not defeat the Germans and resolved to return to Britain rather than die in Paris.

General Allenby decided that Britain and France could not win the war and persuaded the commanders of the British Expeditionary Force 4th Army Corps to surrender to Germany. The commanders agreed, leaving Allenby ready to put the surrender into action.

• General Allenby concluded that the British and French forces had no chance of victory and decided to surrender to Germany to save himself and his troops.
• General Allenby told his adjutant of his plan, and the adjutant agreed to carry out his orders.
• General Allenby summoned the corps and division commanders and described the dire state of the defense of Paris.
• After the commanders acknowledged that they could not stop the German advance, General Allenby proposed surrendering to avoid further casualties.
• The British commanders hesitated but then agreed to obey General Allenby's order to surrender.

Oscar negotiated the surrender of the British Expeditionary Force 4th Army Corps and accepted General Allenby’s terms, expecting the agreement to hasten Germany’s capture of Paris. He also considered whether Allenby could later help Germany consolidate control over Britain.

• Major General Manstein told Oscar that Major Edward, General Allenby’s adjutant, had arrived to discuss surrendering the British Expeditionary Force 4th Army Corps.
• Major Edward said General Allenby wanted to stop fighting and could speak only for the British corps, not the French forces.
• Major Edward requested guarantees for the British soldiers’ safety, supplies, medical care, freedom from forced labor, and return to Britain after the war.
• Oscar accepted the conditions, except that the British could not keep cultural relics looted in Paris, and promised to release the soldiers after the war.
• Oscar informed General Kluck and General Dithfurth of the agreement, and they welcomed the British surrender as a way to speed the capture of Paris.
• Oscar considered Allenby a capable potential ally who might help Germany establish influence in Britain.

General Allenby agreed to surrender the British Expeditionary Force 4th Army Corps to Germany in exchange for acceptance of his terms, including the surrender of looted Parisian treasures. He formally handed Oscar his sidearm on April 21, while German troops secretly occupied the southern districts of Paris and prepared to seize the bridges across the Seine.

• Oscar hoped Britain would refuse to surrender so Germany could defeat it outright and install a pro-German government afterward.
• Major Edward reported that Germany had accepted the surrender terms but demanded that the British hand over the cultural relics they had looted from Paris.
• General Allenby accepted the demand and arranged the surrender with the German military for the early hours of April 21.
• The British commanders informed their troops of the surrender, and those who opposed it were arrested.
• General Allenby presented Oscar with his sidearm as German troops took over the British defensive sector south of the Seine without alerting the French.
• Oscar praised Allenby and suggested that he could receive an important position if Germany later set foot on the British Isles.

Oscar and the German commanders planned a surprise armored assault to seize the Seine bridges and open a path into northern Paris. The attack began at dawn, and German tanks reached the French bridgeheads before the defenders understood what was happening.

• Allenby considered turning to Germany for support so he could gain power after Britain’s defeat.
• Oscar and the German commanders chose to seize the Seine bridges with armored troops, infantry, air support, and artillery.
• The 1st and 5th Army Corps prepared elite forces to attack the bridges at five in the morning.
• Oscar ordered the assault, and German tanks advanced across the bridges while the French defenders mistook their engines for British vehicles.
• German tanks surprised the French at the bridgeheads, and a tank cannon blasted apart a French fortification.

German forces crossed the Seine into northern Paris after the British surrendered, taking the French defenders by surprise. French efforts to destroy the bridges failed, leaving the German advance unchecked and the French 1st Army Corps battered and retreating.

• German tanks and infantry crossed the bridges, overwhelmed the French guards, and secured the crossings.
• General Gallieni and General D'Esperey learned of the attack and suspected the British had surrendered.
• General Gallieni ordered artillery to destroy the bridges and sent the 1st Army Corps to counterattack.
• German artillery and aircraft suppressed the French guns, whose shells failed to damage the bridges.
• The French 1st Army Corps failed to drive the Germans back and withdrew after half a day of fighting.

After British troops surrendered and German forces seized the Seine bridges, French defenders struggled to hold Paris while the government fled south and debated its response. Three days later, the remaining French troops surrendered, and General Gallieni shot himself.

• General D'Esperey reported that his 1st Army Corps had failed to retake the Seine bridges and suffered heavy losses.
• General Gallieni told D'Esperey to keep resisting until they received orders from President Poincaré.
• President Poincaré condemned the British surrender, demanded an explanation, and allowed Gallieni to decide whether to continue fighting or surrender.
• The British government called the surrender an isolated incident, assured France of its continued support, and sentenced General Allenby to death in absentia.
• After three more days of fierce German attacks, the remaining French troops in Paris surrendered, and General Gallieni shot himself.

Oscar toured the ruins of Paris after German forces captured the city, then returned to Versailles to plan the next stage of the war. Despite Paris’s fall and the destruction of much of the Allied strength, Oscar resolved to continue fighting until France was thoroughly defeated.

• Oscar entered Paris with German officers and learned from General Kluck that only scattered French resistance remained.
• Oscar and the generals viewed the ruined Seine riverfront and collapsed Eiffel Tower before leaving Paris for Versailles.
• Major General Manstein reported that the Anglo-French forces had suffered heavy losses but might grow to roughly two million troops as France formed new army corps.
• Oscar declared that the war had to continue until the French were thoroughly defeated.

Oscar planned the final German offensive in France, assigning five army corps to advance south and two to move west toward Le Havre while the 4th Army Corps guarded the supply lines. The commanders prepared to finish the French campaign before a later invasion of Britain.

• Oscar ordered the army corps to advance south through France and west toward Le Havre, aiming to destroy French resistance and prevent the British Expeditionary Force from escaping.
• General Kluck warned that the Germans needed troops to guard northern France and protect their stretched supply lines.
• General Bülow proposed leaving the 4th Army Corps under the Duke of Württemberg to secure logistics, and Oscar approved.
• Lieutenant General Ludendorff and General Kluck urged Oscar to send the navy to support the attack on Le Havre, and Oscar agreed.
• Oscar cautioned the commanders against overconfidence and told them to prepare to end the French campaign before planning a landing in Britain.
• The next day, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Army Corps advanced south, the 1st and 8th Army Corps headed west, and the 4th Army Corps guarded the supply lines.

Wilhelm II celebrated Germany’s victories after the capture of Paris and heard his commanders predict France’s imminent defeat and a future invasion of Britain. The chapter left him confident that the German Empire would win the war and dominate the world.

• Wilhelm II praised the German forces for defeating the Anglo-French Allied Forces and capturing Paris.
• Field Marshal Falkenhayn reported that France’s weakened, poorly equipped forces were unlikely to withstand the German Army’s continued advance.
• Field Marshal Count Tirpitz said the Crown Prince had ordered preparations to encircle the British Expeditionary Force at Le Havre ahead of a future landing in Britain.
• Wilhelm II declared that Germany would force France to surrender and destroy Britain if it continued to resist.

Moltke the Younger and Lieutenant General Prittwitz resented Oscar’s victories and rising influence, while accepting that they had failed to undermine him. Prince Friedrich brought Prittwitz to a secret meeting at an estate in Potsdam, and Prittwitz emerged two hours later smiling.

• Moltke the Younger brooded over his defeat and admitted that Oscar’s position as heir seemed unshakable.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz blamed Oscar for his stalled career and grew agitated over Oscar’s growing power.
• Prince Friedrich arrived and invited Prittwitz to meet someone, but withheld the person’s identity.
• Prittwitz went with Prince Friedrich to an estate in Potsdam and emerged two hours later smiling.

Lieutenant General Prittwitz visited Moltke the Younger and urged him to hope for a return to power, while Moltke warned him to accept the political reality and retire. Prittwitz revealed his resentment over losing command of the 8th Army Corps and prepared to persuade Moltke to join his cause.

• Moltke the Younger worked on a book about military command after hearing that Lieutenant General Prittwitz had come to see him.
• Prittwitz praised Moltke’s military ability and said that his supporters in the Army still hoped he would lead them again.
• Moltke admitted he wanted to return to office but said Oscar’s influence and Falkenhayn’s successes made that impossible.
• Moltke advised Prittwitz to retire and leave Berlin to avoid being targeted by people seeking the Crown Prince’s favor.
• Prittwitz rejected Moltke’s advice and said he could not accept losing the 8th Army Corps command to the Crown Prince’s intervention.

Moltke the Younger agreed to accompany Lieutenant General Prittwitz to learn about a supposed opportunity to bring down Oscar. At a secluded estate in Potsdam, Prince Eitel Friedrich led him to meet the former Imperial Crown Prince, Wilhelm II’s eldest son.

• Moltke the Younger listened as Lieutenant General Prittwitz complained about Oscar and the loss of influence.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz claimed they had a legitimate opportunity to bring Oscar down, and Moltke the Younger agreed to hear more.
• Moltke the Younger and Lieutenant General Prittwitz drove overnight from Berlin to a secluded estate in Potsdam.
• Prince Eitel Friedrich greeted Moltke the Younger and led him upstairs to a bedroom.
• Moltke the Younger saw Wilhelm II’s eldest son, the former Imperial Crown Prince, seated in a wheelchair.

Crown Prince Wilhelm secretly revealed to Moltke the Younger that he had awakened and asked for help reclaiming the crown-prince position from Oscar. Moltke chose to support Wilhelm, accepting the risk of a dangerous struggle for power.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm told Moltke the Younger that he had awakened half a month earlier and was gradually recovering.
• Wilhelm said he had kept his awakening secret from Wilhelm II because he wanted to reclaim his former position from Oscar.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm offered Moltke the Younger the posts of Minister of War and Chief of Staff, a ducal title, and hereditary lands in return for his support.
• Moltke the Younger weighed the possible rewards against the danger of failure and agreed to help Crown Prince Wilhelm with all his strength.