Chapter Summaries

Crown Prince Wilhelm gathered military supporters to plot reclaiming the succession from Oskar by force. The conspirators decided to overthrow Wilhelm II as well and put Crown Prince Wilhelm on the throne.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm secured Moltke the Younger’s support and arranged another meeting to plan their operation.
• Moltke the Younger concluded that a mutiny was the only way to seize the palace and neutralize Wilhelm II and Oskar.
• Moltke the Younger and Lieutenant General Prittwitz joined Marshal Goltz, General Graf, and the Duke of Württemberg at Crown Prince Wilhelm’s estate.
• Marshal Goltz warned that Wilhelm II fully supported Oskar, leaving the conspirators with only extreme measures.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz proposed forcing Wilhelm II to abdicate, and Crown Prince Wilhelm agreed to have himself placed on the throne.

Crown Prince Wilhelm and his allies planned to overthrow Wilhelm II and seize the throne while keeping the war going. On the night of April 26, Imperial Guard troops mobilized and attacked the palace, launching a mutiny in Berlin.

• Duke of Württemberg, Moltke the Younger, and other allies agreed to force Wilhelm II to abdicate and counted on influencing thirteen Imperial Guard battalions.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm planned to detain Wilhelm II, bring the 4th Army Corps back from France, and neutralize Oscar while continuing the war.
• Moltke the Younger and Duke of Württemberg proposed launching the coup three nights later, and Crown Prince Wilhelm promised rewards to his supporters.
• On the night of April 26, Lieutenant General Graf's Imperial Guard troops mobilized without Wilhelm II noticing the betrayal.
• Imperial Guard troops seized roads, railway stations, and radio stations, arrested officials, and attacked the palace as a mutiny erupted in Berlin.

Rebels led by Lieutenant General Prittwitz and Moltke the Younger seized control of Berlin, attacked the palace and General Staff Headquarters, and captured Falkenhayn and other senior officers. Wilhelm II woke to news that the palace was under attack and demanded to know where the Imperial Guard was.

• Lieutenant General Prittwitz led rebel troops in storming the palace and ordering them to cut communications and search every room.
• The rebels disarmed loyal Imperial Guard units, took control of Berlin, and attacked the Naval Ministry and Army General Staff.
• Moltke the Younger led the capture of Falkenhayn and other officers at General Staff Headquarters, then revealed a plan to summon Oskar to Berlin and strip him of the Crown Prince position.
• Moltke the Younger worried that the rebels lacked the strength to withstand Oskar's forces if their coup became known.
• Wilhelm II woke to the gunfire, heard from Essen Jonath that armed men had attacked the palace, and angrily demanded to know where the Imperial Guard was.

The Imperial Guard seized the palace, and Wilhelm II learned that Lieutenant General Prittwitz had led the mutiny out of resentment toward Oscar. Prittwitz revealed that the soldiers served someone else, leaving Wilhelm II to ask who stood behind the coup.

• Wilhelm II ordered the Imperial Guard to suppress the attack, but Essen von Jonath reported that the phone lines were down and the Imperial Guard had joined the assault.
• Wilhelm II told Essen von Jonath to warn Oscar about the mutiny, then went to the palace hall as gunfire ceased.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz entered with Rebel Army soldiers and admitted he had rebelled because Oscar had taken the command and battlefield achievements he felt were his.
• Wilhelm II tried to persuade the soldiers to return to his side, but Prittwitz said they were loyal to someone else.
• Wilhelm II asked Prittwitz who the mutineers' true leader was.

Crown Prince Wilhelm’s mutiny succeeded, putting Berlin and Wilhelm II under his conspirators’ control. He confronted his father at the imperial palace and demanded an abdication decree, leaving Wilhelm II facing his son’s bid for the throne.

• Wilhelm II waited under Lieutenant General Prittwitz’s guard as Crown Prince Wilhelm’s forces seized Berlin and its key locations.
• Marshal Goltz reported that the mutineers had taken the imperial palace and placed Wilhelm II under control.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm, Prince Eitel Friedrich, and their allies went to the palace to confront Wilhelm II.
• Wilhelm II was shocked to discover that his trusted commanders and his sons had led the mutiny.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm demanded that Wilhelm II write an abdication decree and pass the throne to him.

Crown Prince Wilhelm demanded that Wilhelm II abdicate so he could take the throne, backed by generals who had joined his mutiny. After Wilhelm II refused and struck him, Crown Prince Wilhelm shot him, leaving the Emperor collapsed on the floor.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm told Wilhelm II to abdicate and hand him the throne, but Wilhelm II angrily refused.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz and the other generals supported Crown Prince Wilhelm, while Wilhelm II accused Prittwitz and Moltke the Younger of betraying him.
• Moltke the Younger defended his actions, saying Wilhelm II had made him the scapegoat for the Western Front’s failure.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm urged Wilhelm II to issue an abdication decree before Oscar could learn of the mutiny and stop them.
• Wilhelm II slapped Crown Prince Wilhelm out of his wheelchair, and Crown Prince Wilhelm drew his pistol and shot him.

Crown Prince Wilhelm killed Wilhelm II and, with his supporters, plotted to seize power by forging an abdication decree and luring Oskar back to Berlin. The conspirators settled on claiming Wilhelm II was gravely ill, while Wilhelm secretly resolved to kill Oskar if he returned.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm shot Wilhelm II dead, and Empress Victoria confronted him before Prince Eitel Friedrich took her upstairs.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz and Duke of Württemberg called the killing self-defense, and Crown Prince Wilhelm asked how to secure the succession and bring Oskar back to Berlin.
• Moltke the Younger and Duke of Württemberg warned that Oskar commanded much of the army and navy, prompting Crown Prince Wilhelm to decide Oskar must die.
• Marshal Goltz proposed summoning Oskar in Wilhelm II's name, but Moltke the Younger rejected the idea because the Western Front battle was ongoing.
• Moltke the Younger suggested claiming Wilhelm II was gravely ill, and Crown Prince Wilhelm agreed to use that excuse to summon Oskar.

Oscar planned the German invasion of Britain after the French front was pacified, but urgent telegrams reported that Wilhelm II was gravely ill and Berlin had fallen to a rebel army. Oscar prepared to return to Berlin as the crisis left the Empire’s leadership and capital in danger.

• Oscar and Manstein discussed the forces, logistics, and corps needed to invade Britain after defeating the Anglo-French forces.
• A telegram reported that Wilhelm II was gravely ill and ordered Oscar to return to Berlin to take charge.
• Oscar instructed the Western Front corps to continue their offensive while he prepared to leave for Berlin.
• Karl von Jonath sent Oscar a warning that Crown Prince Wilhelm’s Rebel Army had seized Berlin and the imperial palace.
• Oscar failed to reach Karl again and concluded that Berlin was in grave danger and Karl was likely dead or in hiding.

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz learned that the Naval Ministry had been attacked and Berlin could no longer be reached, so he suspected a mutiny and ordered the Navy to intervene. He also decided to contact the Crown Prince, whom the Navy regarded as its rightful ally, while the 1st Marine Division prepared to march on Berlin.

• The Naval Ministry sent a Telegram to Wilhelmshaven reporting that the Imperial Guard had attacked it, and the duty officer informed Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and the naval commanders failed to contact Berlin and considered the possibility that the Imperial Guard had rebelled.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz ordered the 1st Marine Division to assemble and take the train to Berlin in two hours.
• Marshal von Pohl warned that moving troops without orders was a grave crime, but Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz accepted responsibility and insisted they act.
• Vice Admiral Hipper suggested contacting the Crown Prince, and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz agreed while ordering the division to prepare immediately.

Oscar mobilized naval and army forces to suppress a rebellion in Berlin while ordering the Western Front to remain stable. He did not know who had orchestrated the uprising, unaware that Crown Prince Wilhelm’s awakening had enabled the coup.

• Oscar received a Telegram announcing that the 1st Marine Division would reach Berlin the next morning.
• Oscar ordered General Hindenburg to take an Infantry Division and the 9th Armored Division to Berlin and crush the rebellion, and told other units not to act without his orders.
• Oscar summoned the Western Front corps commanders to Versailles and learned that the Crown Princess and his son were safe in Munich.
• After Major General Manstein left to send the Telegrams, Oscar wondered who was behind the rebellion and did not realize Crown Prince Wilhelm had awakened and led the coup.

Oscar learned that the Imperial Guard had rebelled in Berlin and prepared to return to suppress it while ordering his commanders to continue the war in France. The situation worsened when Major General Manstein reported that the 4th Army Corps was preparing to withdraw home, potentially joining the rebellion.

• Oscar learned that Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz had sent a Marine Division to Berlin without the Emperor’s orders.
• Oscar told the summoned commanders that the Imperial Guard had mutinied, the Naval Ministry and General Staff had fallen, and the palace was likely under attack.
• Oscar explained that a Telegram in the Emperor’s name had summoned him to Berlin, but the Emperor’s steward had warned him it was a trap.
• Oscar said he had sent one Infantry Division and one Armored Division to Berlin to join the Marine Division, and ordered the commanders to keep fighting in France.
• Major General Manstein reported that the 4th Army Corps was preparing to withdraw home, and Oscar realized its return could greatly strengthen the rebels.

Oscar ordered the 4th Army Corps to halt its return to Württemberg after learning the Duke of Württemberg was suspected of rebellion, and prepared the 8th Army Corps to stop it if necessary. The 4th Army Corps’s deputy commander and chief of staff complied with Oscar’s orders, and Oscar left for Berlin.

• Oscar ordered Manstein to summon the 4th Army Corps’s deputy commander and chief of staff, and directed Ludendorff to prepare the 8th Army Corps to intercept the 4th Army Corps.
• Oscar told Kluck that the 1st Army Corps might need to suspend its offensive against the British Expeditionary Force while the 8th Army Corps was away.
• Lieutenant General von Fabek and Lieutenant General Kurulus questioned the Duke of Württemberg’s order to return home and decided to seek Oscar’s instructions.
• Lieutenant General von Fabek and Lieutenant General Kurulus received Oscar’s telegram, halted their troops, and reported that they would travel to Versailles.
• Oscar accepted that the two officers had not known of the Duke of Württemberg’s involvement and ordered them to keep protecting the logistical supply lines.
• Oscar set out for Berlin.

Major General Alexander Linsingen led the 1st Marine Division to Berlin, where it seized the railway station and joined General Hindenburg’s forces in surrounding the city. Oscar was expected to return the next day, and the loyalist troops waited for his orders while the rebels remained trapped inside Berlin.

• Alexander Linsingen took the 1st Marine Division toward Berlin and planned to secure the railway station and outer strongpoints.
• After Imperial Guard checkpoints stopped the division from entering Berlin directly, Linsingen ordered his troops to disembark and attack the city.
• The 1st Marine Division’s armored attack overwhelmed the Imperial Guard defenders at Berlin Railway Station, and most of the two battalions surrendered.
• General Hindenburg brought the 9th Army Corps’ 8th Armored Division and 101st Infantry Division to Berlin after learning the Marines had secured the railway station.
• The 9th Army Corps joined the 1st Marine Division to encircle Berlin and awaited Oscar’s return and orders.

In Berlin, Crown Prince Wilhelm’s mutiny weakened as he learned he had lost the 4th Army Corps and that the 1st Marine Division was advancing on the city. Artillery fire began, leaving him panicked and facing the likely collapse of the rebellion.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm worried that his plans had unraveled after Wilhelm II’s death and Oscar’s continued control of most of the military.
• Duke of Württemberg reported that von Faebeck and Holmes had obeyed Oscar’s orders, leaving him without command of the 4th Army Corps.
• Moltke the Younger told Crown Prince Wilhelm that the 1st Marine Division had arrived outside Berlin and was advancing toward the city.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm realized the Imperial Guard could not defeat the Marines and feared the mutiny would fail.
• Artillery fire sounded in the distance, and Crown Prince Wilhelm angrily accused Tirpitz of rebellion while showing his panic.

Crown Prince Wilhelm’s coup faltered as the Marine Corps captured Berlin’s railway station and Army reinforcements arrived. Oscar reached Berlin and ordered the rebellion crushed by force, leaving his forces poised to attack the rebels’ strongholds.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm, Moltke the Younger, and the Duke of Württemberg learned that the Marine Corps had attacked and feared their coup would fail.
• Lieutenant General Prittwitz reported that Marine Corps tanks had seized key routes and were attacking the railway station, which Moltke urged General Graf to defend.
• The Marine Corps captured the railway station, allowing the 9th Armored Division and 101st Infantry Division to arrive and surround Berlin with the Marine Corps.
• Oscar arrived at Berlin Railway Station on the evening of April 28 and learned that his awakened elder brother, Crown Prince Wilhelm, had launched the coup.
• Oscar ordered Hindenburg and the other commanders to suppress the rebellion by force and crush it quickly.

Oscar ordered the army to crush Crown Prince Wilhelm’s rebellion, hoping to secure his succession while wondering whether Wilhelm II had survived. German forces retook Berlin’s key locations and rescued the imprisoned officials, while Wilhelm II’s fate remained unknown to Oscar.

• Oscar considered using the rebellion to eliminate Crown Prince Wilhelm as a rival and inherit the throne sooner.
• General Hindenburg, Major General Rommel, and the German forces launched a nighttime assault across Berlin, with the 9th Armored Division leading the attack.
• The German Army retook the Army Staff Department, and Field Marshal Falkenhayn escaped with several imprisoned generals.
• Other high-ranking officials, including the Prime Minister, were rescued and met with Oscar.
• The officials learned that Crown Prince Wilhelm had masterminded the rebellion and understood that he had gambled everything to reclaim his lost position.

Oscar’s ministers backed him as the lawful successor if Wilhelm II died, while Wilhelm’s rebellion faltered under the Empire’s advancing forces. Wilhelm and his allies learned that their defenses were collapsing, unaware that Wilhelm II had already been killed during the mutiny.

• Bülow, Wachth, and Hindenburg worried about Wilhelm II’s safety and agreed that Oscar should inherit the throne if anything happened to him.
• Oscar reassured the ministers that Wilhelm II would be safe once they suppressed the rebellion.
• Lieutenant General Graf reported that more than fifty thousand troops and over two hundred tanks were closing in, forcing the Imperial Guard’s defenses to shrink toward the palace.
• Wilhelm panicked as he realized Oscar had avoided his trap and mobilized a powerful force against Berlin.
• Moltke the Younger and Prittwitz regretted joining Wilhelm’s mutiny as their chance of success dwindled.

Duke of Württemberg, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and their allies faced defeat as Oscar's forces advanced on the palace. Moltke the Younger proposed using Wilhelm II's name and threatening his life to lure Oscar into the palace and seize him.

• Duke of Württemberg regretted joining Crown Prince Wilhelm's rebellion for promises of greater autonomy and feared the consequences of defeat.
• Moltke the Younger told Crown Prince Wilhelm that the rebels had almost no chance of turning the battle around.
• Moltke the Younger proposed summoning Oscar to the palace in Wilhelm II's name and taking him prisoner when he arrived.
• Moltke the Younger suggested threatening to kill Wilhelm II if Oscar refused to come, and Crown Prince Wilhelm approved the plan.

Oscar’s forces had cornered the rebels in the imperial palace, but he hesitated to attack while Wilhelm II remained inside. Moltke the Younger arrived as an envoy and argued that the rebellion had been their only way to restore Crown Prince Wilhelm’s claim, leaving Oscar’s side to confront the rebels’ belief that a peaceful resolution was impossible.

• The 9th Armored Division captured the rebels’ last stronghold outside the imperial palace, leaving fewer than two thousand rebels entrenched there.
• Hindenburg urged Oscar to attack, but Oscar hesitated because Wilhelm II was still inside and an assault might endanger him.
• Bülow suggested demanding the rebels’ surrender, and Oscar agreed to consider it before learning they had sent an envoy.
• Moltke the Younger arrived at Oscar’s headquarters after submitting to a search and faced Oscar’s questions about his part in the rebellion.
• Moltke defended the mutiny as necessary to restore Crown Prince Wilhelm’s position, and von Kiderlen-Wachth fell silent when Moltke challenged the possibility of a peaceful solution.

Oscar faced pressure to enter the palace, but Essen von Jonait revealed that Prince Wilhelm had killed Wilhelm II. Oscar ordered Moltke the Younger arrested and launched an assault to retake the palace and capture the rebels.

• Moltke the Younger ordered Oscar to enter the palace, while Hindenburg and other officials warned that it was a trap.
• Essen von Jonait and Karl von Jonait arrived, and Essen reported that Wilhelm II had been killed by Prince Wilhelm.
• Jonath told Oscar that Prince Wilhelm had shot Wilhelm II after the Emperor refused to abdicate.
• Oscar accused Moltke the Younger of complicity, slapped him, and ordered his arrest.
• Oscar ordered Hindenburg to assault the palace and capture the rebellion’s ringleaders.