Recaps

President Roosevelt learned that the Island Nation might join Germany’s Allied Powers and convened his Cabinet to decide how to respond. The US leaders chose to threaten the Island Nation and suspend major supplies, expecting it to obey their demands and attack German colonies.

• William Joseph Donovan told Roosevelt that the Island Nation’s ambassador had met Germany’s representatives twice and that the Island Nation intended to join the Allied Powers.
• Roosevelt ordered the Intelligence Coordination Agency to confirm the Island Nation’s decision and summoned his Cabinet for an emergency meeting.
• Roosevelt and his officials discussed the danger of losing the Island Nation, whose military strength was central to US plans against Germany.
• Advisor Hopkins proposed warning the Island Nation and halting major supplies to pressure it into attacking the South Seas and Australian colonies.
• Roosevelt approved the plan and declared that the United States would punish the Island Nation and force it to follow orders.

After the United States discovered the Island Nation’s secret contact with Germany and halted exports of bulk goods, Fumimaro Konoe’s Cabinet decided to prepare for war against Germany and promise an offensive against the South Seas. The chapter ended with Kuniaki Koiso tasked with telling the Americans that the Island Nation would attack within three months in exchange for restored supplies.

• The US Ambassador confronted Shigenori Tōgō over the Island Nation’s secret approach to Germany, and Kuniaki Koiso assured him that the Island Nation would not betray the Anti-German Alliance.
• Kuniaki Koiso reported the American warning to Fumimaro Konoe, whose Cabinet blamed Germany for exposing their secret contact.
• Seishiro Itagaki and Mitsumasa Yonai argued that the Island Nation had to fight Germany while the United States and Buru remained powerful.
• Fumimaro Konoe learned that the United States had halted bulk-goods exports, threatening supplies needed for the Yamato-class Battleships.
• Fumimaro Konoe ordered Kuniaki Koiso to tell the Americans that the Island Nation would attack the South Seas within three months and needed continued resource shipments.

The United States resumed major trade with the Island Nation after it promised to attack the South Seas and Australia by the end of January 1940 and remain in the Anti-German Alliance. Joseph treated the crisis as temporarily resolved, ordered Buru to guard the Far East and prepare for a winter counterattack against Germany, then asked whether the Caucasian Front Army had finished forming.

• The Island Nation government promised the United States it would attack the South Seas and Australia by the end of January 1940 and would not betray the Anti-German Alliance, so President Roosevelt resumed major trade while warning that it was their last chance.
• Molotov told Joseph that the Island Nation had agreed to the United States' terms, and Joseph said Buru still had to beware of the Island Nation after Germany's defeat.
• Shaposhnikov warned that Buru could not threaten the Island Nation because its navy was weak, and Joseph blamed Germany for diverting Buru's resources from naval construction.
• Joseph ordered the Far Eastern Front Army to keep forming and said Buru had to prepare for a stronger German offensive after winter.
• Joseph asked whether Buru could counterattack Germany during the bitter cold, and Marshal Voroshilov agreed to try.
• Joseph asked whether the Caucasian Front Army had finished forming for a possible counterattack toward the Persian Gulf.

Joseph ordered the newly formed Caucasian Front Army to attack the Persian Gulf, aiming to deprive Germany of its crucial oil supply and strike back against German advances. Kozlov gathered his commanders in Tbilisi to prepare the operation, while the generals worried that they might ultimately have to face German troops.

• Joseph told his commanders that capturing or destroying the Persian Gulf oil fields could cripple Germany’s war effort.
• Joseph ordered the Caucasian Front Army to launch its offensive in one week and warned that its leaders would be held responsible for failure.
• Shaposhnikov understood that the army’s commanders faced severe consequences if they failed to take the Persian Gulf.
• Kozlov, Shamanin, and Tolbukhin prepared the Caucasian Front Army, which included five army corps with varied infantry, cavalry, artillery, and tank forces.
• On October 24, Kozlov summoned the army’s commanders and senior generals to an operational meeting, where they worried about a possible fight against Germany.

Lieutenant General Kozlov prepared the Russian Caucasian Front Army to invade the Persian Gulf region and destroy its oil fields. On October 27, the Russians launched a surprise offensive against Turkish and Iranian forces, breaking through their defenses and driving them back.

• Lieutenant General Kozlov announced that the Russian Caucasian Front Army would launch its offensive in three days, aiming to reach the Persian Gulf and destroy its oil fields.
• Major General Tolbukhin confirmed that supplies were ready, and Kozlov ordered the generals to prepare for the attack.
• Caucasian Front Army headquarters assigned the 47th Army Corps to cross into northern Iran and advance toward Iraq while other units attacked through the mountains.
• At 8:00 a.m. on October 27, the Russian Caucasian Front Army bombarded Turkish and Iranian positions with more than a thousand artillery pieces.
• The 44th Army Corps, 45th Army Corps, 46th Army Corps, 47th Army Corps, and 51st Army Corps attacked across the front, forcing the unprepared Turkish and Iranian forces to retreat.

As Russian forces drove back Turkey’s two eastern army corps, President Kemal ordered General Enver to reinforce the front and demanded that Turkey fulfill its promise to Germany. The chapter ended with Kemal ordering the mobilization of three more army corps and declaring that Turkey would counterattack across the Caucasus.

• Russian forces battered the Turkish 1st and 2nd Army Corps, and Lieutenant General Muhammad warned that his corps could be wiped out within a week without reinforcements.
• President Kemal summoned senior officials in Ankara and demanded to know why Turkey’s elite forces were retreating.
• President Kemal argued that Turkey had to stop Russia’s advance to preserve German support and secure a share of postwar benefits.
• General Enver promised to lead the 3rd Army Corps to the front, while Kemal ordered the commanders there to hold their positions or face punishment as traitors.
• President Kemal ordered the formation of three additional army corps and announced that Turkey would counterattack across the Caucasus.

Russian forces launched a surprise attack on Iranian positions in northern Iran, routing the 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps with tank divisions and forcing them to retreat toward Tabriz. Russia’s unexpectedly strong Middle East offensive alarmed the world and gave the United States and the Island Nation hope that Germany’s oil supplies could be threatened.

• Russian 47th Army Corps and 51st Army Corps attacked the Iranian 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps, forcing them to abandon their frontline positions.
• Russian 6th and 54th Tank Divisions broke through Iranian defenses, overcoming poorly operated anti-tank guns and scattering the infantry.
• Russian troops accepted most Iranian soldiers who surrendered, while advancing tank crews accidentally killed some who had given themselves up.
• The Iranian corps retreated toward Tabriz, hoping to use urban defenses to delay the Russians until German reinforcements arrived.
• Russia’s offensive toward the Persian Gulf surprised other nations, and the United States and the Island Nation hoped it would weaken Germany by threatening its oil supplies.

Emperor Qin Tian and Germany’s leaders responded to a Russian advance from the Caucasus that threatened the Persian Gulf oil fields vital to Germany and Europe. Germany ordered two Army Corps to reinforce the region, hoping they would arrive in time to defend the oil and possibly seize Baku.

• Qin Tian warned his officials that hundreds of thousands of Russians were attacking south from the Caucasus and threatening Germany’s Persian Gulf oil fields.
• Field Marshal Manstein reported that Russian forces had badly damaged Turkish and Iranian troops and could soon advance into northern Iraq.
• Marshal Raeder urged immediate reinforcements, while General Alexander offered the ten Marine Divisions for the defense.
• Manstein proposed sending the 21st Army Corps and 22nd Army Corps to the Persian Gulf and counterattacking toward Baku.
• Qin Tian approved the plan, and Manstein ordered both Army Corps to travel by train to western ports and sail for the Persian Gulf.
• Gustav Stresemann reported that the Turkish President had promised the Turkish Army would do everything possible to hold back the Russian advance.

Oscar and his commanders planned how to delay the Russian advance toward the Persian Gulf and protect Germany’s oil fields. He ordered preparations for a new Army Group E and offered its command to General Rundstedt.

• Gustav Stresemann and General Rundstedt argued that Turkey’s forces could hold back the Russian attack, and Oscar told the Foreign Minister to thank Turkey and urge it to keep fighting.
• Field Marshal Manstein warned that the Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps threatened Iran, so Oscar ordered Iran’s army to reinforce the front and Iraq to build defenses in the Zarogus Mountains.
• Oscar warned Iran’s and Iraq’s rulers that Germany would remove its support if they failed to delay the Russians.
• Field Marshal Albert Kesselring warned that American B-17 bombers could threaten the Persian Gulf oil fields, and Oscar ordered an air group and more radar defenses deployed there.
• Oscar proposed forming Army Group E from the 21st and 22nd Army Corps and the Turkish Army, and General Rundstedt accepted command.

General Rundstedt took command of Army Group E as Germany prepared to send two armies and air support to the Persian Gulf. After learning of the German reinforcements, Joseph ordered the Caucasian Front Army to race toward Kuwait and destroy German oil fields before the armies arrived.

• General Rundstedt accepted command of Army Group E and asked to travel to the Persian Gulf to plan the campaign.
• Oscar approved deploying the 7th Air Fleet to the Middle East to strike Russian forces and help the Turks and Iranians hold out.
• Oscar told his commanders that Germany still needed to capture major Russian cities and destroy the Russian military’s remaining forces.
• Beria informed Joseph that Germany was sending two armies, totaling four hundred thousand men, toward the Persian Gulf.
• Shaposhnikov warned Joseph that the Caucasian Front Army could not withstand the German armies and said it had about half a month to reach Kuwait and destroy the oil fields.
• Joseph ordered the Caucasian Front Army to accelerate its advance, especially its two tank divisions.

The Russian Caucasian Front Army advanced against the defeated Iranian forces, but German reinforcements threatened to erase its advantage. Kozlov ordered his troops to press on while Iranian and Iraqi forces mounted desperate defenses to delay them.

• Tolbukhin reported that the Russians had taken more than a hundred thousand Iranian prisoners and that the survivors were retreating toward Tabriz.
• Kozlov ordered the 6th and 54th Tank Divisions toward Tabriz and told the 44th, 45th, and 46th Army Corps to keep the Turkish forces pinned down.
• Shamanin delivered news that Germany had sent two army corps to the Middle East, and Kozlov ordered the army to advance toward Kuwait before they arrived.
• The Iranian commander ordered his troops to resist for half a month, while König Reza Khan threatened them with consequences if they failed to stop the Russians.
• The Iranian Army’s desperate resistance slowed the Russian advance, and the Iraqi 1st Army Corps began preparing blocking positions in the Zagros Mountains.

The German 7th Air Fleet redeployed to Baghdad as German forces prepared to reinforce the Middle East front. On November 2, its aircraft began striking the Russian Caucasian Front Army to help Iran hold out until German ground forces arrived.

• Lieutenant General Alfred Kohler ordered the 7th Air Fleet to complete its redeployment to the Middle East and Persian Gulf within a week, arranging air transport for personnel and supplies.
• On November 1, the headquarters of the 7th Air Fleet moved to Baghdad, while several of its air wings and German ground personnel arrived or continued transferring to Iraq.
• General Rundstedt told Lieutenant General Alfred Kohler that Russian attacks were nearing the Zagros Mountains and asked the 7th Air Fleet to relieve pressure on the Iranians.
• Lieutenant General Alfred Kohler promised that the air strikes would begin the next day, though shortages would limit their initial intensity.
• On November 2, the 7th Air Fleet sent fighters to escort dive bombers and ground-attack aircraft as they attacked part of the Russian Caucasian Front Army's 47th Army Corps.

The Russian Caucasian Front Army captured Saqqez and crossed the Zagros Mountains into northern Iraq, but German air raids and Iraqi defenses slowed its advance. As Russian forces pushed south, German transport ships carrying the 21st Army Corps entered the Persian Gulf, leaving the Russian operation close to failure.

• Lieutenant General Kozlov ordered Lieutenant General Batov to intensify the attack on Saqqez, and the Russian 51st Army Corps broke through two Iranian defensive lines.
• German aircraft struck the Russian assault formations, halting their momentum and giving the Iranian troops time to regroup.
• On November 2, the Russians captured Saqqez, and the 47th and 51st Army Corps began crossing the Zagros Mountains under German air raids.
• On November 5, two mountain Infantry Divisions of the Russian 47th Army Corps attacked the Iraqi 1st Army Corps’s defenses, breaking through on November 8.
• The Russian corps advanced south through northern Iraq while facing German air raids and Iraqi resistance, as transport ships carrying the German 21st Army Corps entered the Persian Gulf.

General Rundstedt welcomed the first troops of the German 21st Army Corps to Kuwait and planned to send its leading units to the front quickly. He aimed to counterattack and destroy the Russian forces in Iraq before they could retreat north across the Zagros Mountains.

• General Rundstedt met Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the Port of Kuwait, where the Emir welcomed the German army and thanked it for protecting Kuwait.
• The 211th Mechanized Infantry Division disembarked, and Lieutenant General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord reported the 21st Army Corps' arrival to General Rundstedt.
• Equord told Rundstedt that the corps would take until November 13 or 14 to disembark, while the 22nd Army Corps was due to arrive two days later.
• Rundstedt and Equord agreed that the first arriving armored and mechanized divisions would rest briefly and then move to the front to contain the Russian advance.
• Rundstedt planned to accelerate a counterattack to destroy the Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps before they retreated beyond the Zagros Mountains.

The Russian Caucasian Front Army learned that German troops had reached Kuwait and could no longer complete its mission to seize or destroy the Persian Gulf oil fields. Lieutenant General Kozlov halted the advance and appealed to Moscow, leaving Joseph to decide whether the army should retreat or continue.

• At Tikrit, the Russian 47th Army Corps had fewer than fifty tanks left and faced more than 200,000 Iraqi troops backed by the German Air Force.
• Major General Shamanin, Major General Torbushin, and Lieutenant General Kozlov confirmed that German forces had reached Kuwait and discussed the danger of advancing toward Baghdad.
• Kozlov said the army could not withstand a German attack and suggested retreating north of the Zagros Mountains, but he feared Joseph's orders and the consequences of retreating.
• Torbushin proposed halting the advance and reporting to the General Staff Headquarters, and Kozlov agreed.
• Shaposhnikov brought the Caucasian Front Army's dilemma to Joseph, who reacted angrily after learning the oil-field mission could not be completed.

Joseph ordered the exhausted Caucasian Front Army to keep advancing toward Baghdad despite Shaposhnikov’s warning that it could not withstand the Germans. As Russian forces approached from Tikrit, German troops reached Baghdad and Rundstedt chose to counterattack and destroy them.

• Shaposhnikov warned Joseph that the Caucasian Front Army was depleted and could not stop two German corps, but Joseph ordered it to continue its plan and forbid retreat.
• Kozlov received Joseph’s orders and commanded the Caucasian Front Army to resume its march toward Baghdad at dawn.
• On November 11, the German 21st Army Corps advanced from Kuwait while the Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps moved toward Baghdad under German air attack.
• The German 21st Armored Division and two mechanized infantry divisions reached Baghdad on November 12, while the Russian forces remained eighty kilometers away.
• Rundstedt decided to counterattack and destroy the advancing Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps, and the German 22nd Army Corps began disembarking to join the operation.

General Enver rebuked the Turkish commanders for their poor performance, then ordered a counterattack against the Russian forces in Turkey. The Turkish armies destroyed the Russian 44th, 45th, and 46th Army Corps, with the 1st Army Corps advancing into Georgia.

• General Enver scolded Lieutenant General Arslan and Lieutenant General Muhammad for barely holding the line against a smaller Russian force.
• Lieutenant General Ilhan proposed a counterattack, and General Enver ordered the Turkish 3rd Army Corps to attack with the 1st and 2nd Army Corps.
• On November 13, the Turkish 1st and 3rd Army Corps attacked and nearly annihilated the Russian 44th Army Corps in less than two days.
• The Turkish 1st Army Corps advanced into Georgia while the 3rd Army Corps joined the 2nd Army Corps against the Russian 45th and 46th Army Corps.
• The Turkish 2nd and 3rd Army Corps trapped and wiped out the Russian 45th and 46th Army Corps.

General Rundstedt ordered German forces to encircle the Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps and destroy them before they could retreat. After a heavy artillery barrage and a tank assault, the Russian forces were defeated, and their senior commanders killed themselves rather than surrender.

• General Rundstedt ordered the 21st Army Corps to cut off the Russian 47th and 51st Army Corps while the 22nd Army Corps attacked from the front.
• Lieutenant General Equord led the 21st Armored Division and two mechanized infantry divisions from Baghdad on November 13 to block the Russians' retreat.
• On November 15, German heavy artillery bombarded the Russian positions, causing devastating casualties.
• The 22nd Armored Division and its accompanying mechanized infantry divisions attacked, while German forces encircled the Russian troops from behind.
• Russian soldiers were killed, surrendered, or attempted suicidal attacks, while Lieutenant General Kozlov, Major General Shamanin, Major General Torbushin, and the corps generals shot themselves after the defeat.

After the Caucasian Front Army was destroyed, Shaposhnikov informed Joseph that Buru could not defend the Baku oil fields against the Germans. Joseph insisted that Baku had to be held, while Shaposhnikov warned that oil reserves and possible American aid could only buy them time.

• Shaposhnikov learned that the 47th and 51st Army Corps had been wiped out and their commanders killed, then went to report to Joseph.
• Shaposhnikov told Joseph that the Caucasian Front Army had been lost and Turkish forces had advanced into Georgia and Armenia.
• Joseph recognized that the Germans would threaten the Baku oil fields, which supplied nearly all of Buru’s oil.
• Shaposhnikov said Buru lacked enough troops to defend Baku and that the Germans could not be stopped with the forces remaining in the Caucasus.
• Joseph ordered that the Baku oil fields must be held, while Shaposhnikov pointed to stored oil and possible American supplies as ways to prolong Buru’s resistance.

Joseph ordered troops and resources sent to defend the Baku oil fields and to destroy them if they could not be held. As Turkish forces neared Baku, the Russians evacuated what they could and destroyed the oil facilities and wells.

• Joseph told Shaposhnikov to reinforce Baku, evacuate its oil and workers, and destroy the oil fields if they were about to fall to the Germans.
• Joseph reestablished the Caucasian Front Army under Lieutenant General Vatutin and ordered it to defend the Northern Caucasus Mountains.
• The Turkish Army advanced through Georgia and Armenia, facing guerrilla resistance and carrying out massacres under Enver’s orders.
• General Rundstedt ordered Enver to seize Baku before German forces could cross the mountains, and Enver led the Turkish 3rd Army Corps toward the oil fields.
• As the Turkish 3rd Army Corps approached Baku, Russian troops evacuated personnel and equipment, then detonated explosives that destroyed the oil facilities and set the wells ablaze.

Germany had decisively defeated Buru in the Caucasus, capturing the Transcaucasus and Baku oil fields, while Joseph falsely claimed victory to keep the Russian public confident. American military assessments warned that Buru might last only a year and a half without foreign reinforcements, leaving the Anti-German Alliance facing the prospect of a swift German victory.

• The German Army halted its advance in the Northern Caucasus for the winter and planned to resume its offensive with Army Group D in spring.
• Joseph announced that Buru had won the battle and exaggerated the Caucasian Front Army's achievements to bolster public morale.
• Qin Tian learned of Joseph's claims and recognized that propaganda was helping sustain Buru's confidence despite its battlefield losses.
• The US Army and Navy concluded that Buru could hold out for no more than a year and a half without help from other countries.
• President Roosevelt and other senior American officials recognized that Germany might defeat Buru far sooner than they had expected.

President Roosevelt and senior US officials reviewed a war game predicting Buru’s defeat by Germany and concluded that the worsening situation threatened American security. The chapter ended with Admiral Harold Stark warning that the German Navy outmatched the US fleet in key areas, leaving officials doubtful that the United States could defeat Germany at sea.

• President Roosevelt told the officials that the war game showed Buru would probably fall and that the United States needed to change its original plan.
• General George Marshall said Germany’s superior forces and tactics could deal Buru a fatal blow by spring, especially after Buru lost the Baku oil fields.
• Woodring and Hopkins warned that Buru had to keep German forces occupied, but American supplies were delayed and might arrive too late to help.
• President Roosevelt asked whether the United States could withstand Germany if Buru lost, while General George Marshall and Admiral Harold Stark stayed silent.
• Admiral Harold Stark compared the US and German fleets and said Germany had the advantage in carriers and carrier aircraft, leaving the officials worried that the US Navy could not secure a route to Europe.

President Roosevelt and his advisers discussed expanding the US Navy, balancing carrier construction against pressure to build battleships stronger than Japan’s Yamato-class. They planned to exploit a possible German fleet deployment to the Pacific, but the outcome of their proposed Atlantic campaign remained uncertain.

• Roosevelt asked Secretary Swanson about naval construction, and Swanson reported that eight carriers were being built while the Navy had no battleship plans.
• Hull urged the United States to build battleships with 18-inch guns, and Swanson agreed to a costly class stronger than the Montana-class.
• Stark said Japan had promised to attack Germany at the end of January next year, which could draw German fleets away from the Atlantic.
• Roosevelt and his advisers hoped Japan would draw Germany’s Mediterranean Fleet into the Pacific and ease American pressure in the Atlantic.
• Stark estimated a 50 to 60 percent chance of victory if the Mediterranean Fleet moved east and outlined a plan to attack the Azores before confronting the German Home Fleet.

German Navy marshals discussed their fleet, future aircraft carriers, and efforts to stop American supplies reaching Buru. They planned a larger carrier class, while Dönitz sought to neutralize the Bolshevik Navy so German submarines could tighten their grip on the Arctic route.

• Lütjens asked Raeder to assign the four Sovereign-class aircraft carriers at Kiel to the Home Fleet, but Raeder said he needed the Emperor’s instructions.
• Raeder said a second batch of four Sovereign-class carriers would soon enter service and that construction of a fifty-thousand-ton carrier class would begin afterward.
• Raeder named the planned carriers the Nordic God-class, prompting Dönitz to declare that Germany would build the world’s most powerful navy.
• Dönitz reported that German submarines had sunk more than ten American merchant ships carrying supplies to Buru through the Arctic route.
• Dönitz said he had sent more submarines north and argued that eliminating the Bolshevik Navy would let them block the route more effectively.

Marshal Raeder proposed destroying the Bolshevik Navy at Murmansk before Germany fought the United States, and Emperor Oscar approved the Home Fleet’s plan. The chapter ended with Oscar and Raeder discussing further German naval development.

• Marshal Raeder argued that the Bolshevik Navy threatened Germany’s rear and recommended eliminating it before a decisive battle against the Americans.
• Marshal Lütjens proposed sending four Kaiser-class Battleships and two Constellation-class aircraft carriers, while Raeder cautioned him to avoid major losses.
• Raeder returned to Berlin by train and presented the Home Fleet’s battle plan to Emperor Oscar the following evening.
• Oscar approved the operation and ordered Marshal Lütjens to act, hoping for a perfect victory.
• Oscar and Raeder discussed building aircraft carriers and the supporting warships needed to protect them.