Chapter Summaries

Russian cavalry charged the German defensive line as a last attempt to break the encirclement, but the 8th Armored Division smashed their attack with tanks and machine guns. The Russian cavalry and infantry retreated, leaving the encircled army with no way out.

• Lieutenant General François ordered the 8th Armored Division to stop the Russian cavalry charge.
• The 8th Armored Division advanced with more than two hundred tanks as Russian infantry cheered the cavalry on.
• Russian cavalrymen saw the German tanks, while Russian generals recognized them as the secret weapon that had helped defeat the 2nd Army Corps.
• The tanks fired cannons and machine guns into the cavalry, inflicting devastating casualties and halting the charge.
• The Russian cavalry collapsed and fled, and the Russian infantry retreated, ending their last chance to break through.

After the German 8th Armored Division drove the Russian forces back, the trapped Russian generals debated escape before General Leiningen-Kempf decided to surrender to Germany. His adjutant delivered a secret letter to Lieutenant General François, who was astonished by the offer.

• The German 8th Armored Division halted its pursuit after driving the Russians back nearly five kilometers so its tanks could be repaired.
• Russian generals discussed scattering to escape, but one warned that the Masurian Lakes swamps made flight perilous, leaving the decision to General Leiningen-Kempf.
• General Leiningen-Kempf, facing defeat and long-standing discrimination over his German heritage, decided he would no longer fight for the Tsar.
• General Leiningen-Kempf gave his trusted adjutant a secret letter offering to surrender to Germany.
• The adjutant delivered the letter to Lieutenant General François, who asked whether General Leiningen-Kempf truly intended to surrender.

Oscar and his commanders accepted General Leiningen-Kempf’s offer to surrender, while preparing for the possibility of a trap. The Russian 1st Army Corps surrendered to the German 8th Army Corps, leaving the Russian Northwestern Front Army nearly destroyed and East Prussia safer for the time being.

• Oscar consulted Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Max Hofmann, and Manstein about General Leiningen-Kempf’s surrender request, and they advised accepting it.
• Oscar ordered François to accept the surrender cautiously, prepare the 8th Armored Division’s tanks, and arrange to rescue Leiningen-Kempf’s family in Russia.
• François, Mackensen, and Seeckt informed Leiningen-Kempf that Germany had accepted and deployed their forces against possible treachery.
• Leiningen-Kempf told the Russian 1st Army Corps commanders he would surrender; his loyalist opponents were subdued by the guards.
• On August 27, François accepted Leiningen-Kempf’s sidearm as more than two hundred thousand Russian troops surrendered to the German 8th Army Corps.
• The surrender left the Russian Northwestern Front Army nearly destroyed and weakened Russia’s ability to threaten East Prussia or send troops into Poland.

Moltke the Younger reported Germany’s victory in the Battle of the French Border, while Wilhelm II celebrated news that Oscar’s 8th Army Corps had forced the Russian 1st Army Corps to surrender. As Oscar’s military reputation grew, Moltke worried that he might lose influence and his position as Chief of the General Staff.

• Moltke the Younger briefed Wilhelm II on the German victory in the Battle of the French Border and the Anglo-French forces’ retreat.
• Wilhelm II and Moltke the Younger expected Germany to advance toward the Marne River and Paris.
• A staff officer reported that General Leiningen-Kempf and more than 200,000 Russian troops had surrendered to Oscar’s 8th Army Corps.
• Wilhelm II celebrated the 8th Army Corps’ victories over the Russian 2nd and 1st Army Corps.
• Moltke the Younger worried that Oscar’s growing influence could threaten his position as Chief of the General Staff.

Wilhelm II and the German leadership praised Oscar’s victories, while Moltke the Younger and Prittwitz worried that his rising influence threatened their positions. Moltke sought to eclipse Oscar with a major victory in the west, and Wilhelm II approved his plan for the Battle of the Marne.

• Wilhelm II toasted Oscar, and Falkenhayn and other leaders praised his accomplishments as a businessman, designer, and military commander.
• Moltke the Younger worried that Oscar’s growing influence would cost him his position, while Prittwitz voiced his resentment toward Oscar’s success.
• Moltke the Younger told Prittwitz that their best chance was to win a greater victory on the Western Front and hoped Crown Prince Wilhelm would recover.
• On August 28, Moltke the Younger submitted his plan to attack the Anglo-French Allied Forces south of the Marne River and near Verdun.
• Wilhelm II approved the plan, and German and Allied forces began preparing for a battle that could determine the course of the war.

After the Russian 1st Army Corps surrendered, Nicholas II raged at General Leiningen-Kempf and considered how to defend the Kingdom of Poland. He ordered the Imperial Guard and another army corps to reinforce Poland, leaving General Gylinski with one last chance to hold it.

• Nicholas II destroyed his office after learning that the 1st Army Corps had surrendered to the Germans.
• Nicholas II accused Leiningen-Kempf of betraying him and agreed with Grand Duke Karl's proposal to send assassins after the captured general.
• Nicholas II asked how Russia could defend the Kingdom of Poland after losing half a million troops.
• Grand Duke Nicholas proposed sending the 2nd Imperial Guard Corps and the 9th Army Corps to Poland while Russia completed mobilization.
• Nicholas II approved the deployments and told General Gylinski that he had one last chance to hold the Kingdom of Poland.

Prime Minister Asquith convened the Cabinet to discuss Britain’s worsening position against Germany on land and at sea. The ministers argued that the Allies could still recover, while Asquith ordered more troops sent to France and pressed the Royal Navy to protect British shipping.

• King George V summoned Asquith and asked how Britain could reverse the war’s unfavorable course.
• Asquith told the Cabinet that Germany had devastated Allied forces on both fronts and was sinking British merchant ships in the Atlantic.
• Churchill argued that Germany’s early advantage came from Britain, France, and Russia being unprepared for war.
• Richard Haldane said Russia could replace its losses and claimed the Anglo-French forces could hold the Marne Defense Line; Grey added that France would keep fighting even if Paris fell.
• Asquith ordered more Expeditionary Force troops sent to assist France and asked Churchill how the Royal Navy would secure Britain’s sea routes.
• Churchill said the Navy was escorting merchant ships with Capital Ships but was still seeking a way to destroy Germany’s Commerce Raiding Fleet and submarines.

Churchill questioned Jellicoe and Beatty about protecting British shipping while countering the German fleet, and Beatty proposed luring German commerce raiders into an ambush with a large convoy from Canada. Churchill authorized the operation, which would use nearly all of the Royal Navy’s strongest capital ships, and the chapter ended before the convoy departed.

• Jellicoe told Churchill that escorted convoys had reduced shipping losses but required capital ships that might otherwise face the German High Seas Fleet.
• Churchill rejected relying on vigilance and assembling the main fleet only after German movements were detected.
• Beatty proposed using a Canadian supply convoy as bait while an elite fleet waited nearby to ambush German commerce raiders.
• Churchill approved the plan after Beatty explained that the convoy would deliver supplies even if the Germans did not attack.
• Beatty listed four George V-class battleships for the escort and a large force of battlecruisers and Iron Duke-class battleships for the ambush.

Oscar joined a German Navy meeting to discuss a Canadian convoy carrying urgently needed British supplies, which the Navy suspected was bait for its Commerce Raiding Fleet. He argued that Germany should stop the convoy without falling into the British trap and hinted at a plan to turn it against them.

• A convoy of more than twenty merchant ships departed Canada's East Coast on August 31, 1914, carrying metals and food for Britain.
• German intelligence reported the convoy, and the Navy judged that Britain had deliberately exposed it to lure the Commerce Raiding Fleet into an ambush.
• Scheer argued that the German raiders should attack because they could destroy the convoy and withdraw using their speed.
• Tirpitz asked Oscar whether the Navy should avoid the suspected trap, and Oscar said Britain must not be allowed to deliver the supplies or repeat the tactic.
• Oscar proposed playing along with the British scheme and making them lose the resources they used as bait.

Oscar proposed using the British plan to ambush Germany’s Commerce Raiding Fleet as an opportunity to destroy British capital ships, with the secret Derfflinger class Battlecruisers joining as reinforcements. Tirpitz and the other admirals approved the risky plan, and the German Navy prepared to act.

• Oscar explained that sinking the four King George V-class Battleships escorting the British convoy could deal the Royal Navy a devastating blow.
• Admiral von Pohl warned that the British might have an ambush force waiting for the Commerce Raiding Fleet.
• Oscar argued that British Battlecruisers would be vulnerable to Germany’s superior ships and proposed sending the secret Derfflinger class Battlecruisers as reinforcements.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz worried that deploying the Derfflinger class would reveal Germany’s 380mm guns, but Oscar said Britain’s accelerated shipbuilding made secrecy less valuable.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer supported Oscar’s plan, and Tirpitz approved it after the senior officers agreed.

Admiral Reinhard Scheer sent the German High Seas Fleet and its hidden Derfflinger-class battlecruisers to attack the British convoy, while Hipper and Spee prepared to join the operation. British forces continued toward the same battlefield, unaware that Germany had accepted their trap.

• On September 1, 1914, Reinhard Scheer led three Derfflinger-class battlecruisers out of Wilhelmshaven under blackout, intending to break through the British blockade.
• Reinhard Scheer ordered Hipper and Spee to follow their predetermined plan and prepare to attack the British battlecruisers once the German ambush was revealed.
• After receiving Scheer's telegram, Hipper turned his fleet toward a rendezvous with Spee's squadron.
• Spee also turned his fleet and prepared to attack the British convoy, eager to add more enemy capital ships to his record.
• David Beatty led British battlecruisers toward the battlefield while four Iron Duke-class battleships secretly sailed from Scapa Flow to join them.

Vice Admiral David Beatty prepared a large British force to ambush the German Commerce Raiding Fleet, while Rear Admiral Carroll’s convoy crossed the Atlantic as bait. After U-48 spotted the convoy, Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered the German battlecruiser squadrons to attack its four King George V-class battleships quickly.

• Vice Admiral David Beatty ordered British battlecruisers to stay concealed and the Iron Duke-class battleship formation to increase speed.
• Rear Admiral Carroll’s four King George V-class battleships escorted a convoy of merchant ships from Canada toward Britain and reported that they had not spotted the Germans.
• U-48 surfaced after the convoy passed and reported its course and speed to the German Naval Ministry.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron to attack the four British battleships at once.

On September 3, 1914, the British Navy used a merchant convoy to lure the German Navy’s Commerce Raiding Fleet into a trap, while both sides prepared to turn the encounter into a battle of annihilation. The chapter left the fleets closing for battle, with Vice Admiral Spee focusing on destroying Carroll’s four King George V-class Battleships before British reinforcements arrived.

• Rear Admiral Carroll learned that the German fleet was approaching and ordered his warships to prepare for battle while the merchant ships fled south.
• Rear Admiral Carroll sent a Telegram requesting reinforcements from Vice Admiral David Beatty.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty ordered his battlecruisers and battleships to encircle the German fleet.
• Vice Admiral Spee rejected a proposal to pursue the fleeing merchant ships and ordered his main force to attack Carroll’s four King George V-class Battleships first.

Vice Admiral Spee led the German Navy Commerce Raiding Fleet into battle against Rear Admiral Carroll’s four British King George V-class Battleships, hoping to destroy them before British reinforcements arrived. After failed attempts to gain a better firing position, both fleets closed to 15,000 meters and opened fire.

• Rear Admiral Carroll ordered his four King George V-class Battleships to attack the German fleet.
• Vice Admiral Spee assigned six German Battlecruisers to engage the British ships, with two ships targeting each of the four Battleships.
• Rear Admiral Carroll repeatedly maneuvered to deny the faster German Battlecruisers favorable firing positions.
• Vice Admiral Spee ordered his fleet to hold course and prepare to fire, while seaplanes corrected the guns’ aim.
• The fleets closed to within 15,000 meters, and Vice Admiral Spee ordered the German ships to open fire.

The German and British fleets exchanged ranging fire at long distance, with German aircraft helping the German guns improve their accuracy. The Battlecruiser Blücher scored the first hit on Audacious, and its captain ordered concentrated fire.

• The German Navy's Commerce Raiding Fleet used seaplane observations to adjust its salvos, bringing its shells closer to the British ships.
• Rear Admiral Carroll spotted two German aircraft directing fire and ordered the British ships to open fire before they could close the distance.
• The Battleship King George V and the other British Battleships joined the exchange, with their shells landing closer to the German fleet.
• At 10:24 a.m., the Battlecruiser Blücher hit Audacious above the waterline, piercing its armor and destroying a secondary gun.
• The captain of Blücher ordered his ship to concentrate fire on Audacious and fire its main guns at maximum rate.

The British and German fleets exchanged fire, with Audacious suffering repeated hits and the German ships largely suppressing the British. King George V scored two hits on Moltke, but neither caused serious damage, leaving Rear Admiral Carroll’s hopes disappointed.

• Blücher and Seydlitz hit Audacious, damaging its deck, starting a fire, and worsening its crew’s morale despite Rear Admiral Carroll’s order to keep fighting.
• Lothringen bracketed Ajax, while Centurion and Goeben bracketed each other and began exchanging concentrated fire.
• King George V scored two hits on Moltke, damaging its side and striking its stern turret without penetrating the armor.
• Vice Admiral Spee ordered damage control and the replacement of Moltke’s turret crew, while British sailors cheered before seeing that the ship remained nearly unscathed.

The German Navy’s battlecruisers overwhelmed the British ships with superior protection and inflicted devastating damage on the British fleet. The Battleships Audacious and Centurion sank, leaving only two British Battleships facing six nearly unscathed German Battlecruisers.

• Rear Admiral Carroll saw British shells hit Moltke but cause only minimal damage because the shells’ sensitive fuzes detonated before penetrating its armor.
• A German shell pierced Audacious’s conning tower, killing its officers and captain, and Blücher and Seydlitz intensified their bombardment.
• After further shell hits opened its hull and destroyed its steering gear, Audacious requested permission to abandon ship, and Rear Admiral Carroll nodded.
• Goeben’s salvo damaged Centurion’s funnel and penetrated its No. 4 turret, triggering an explosion in the magazine.
• Centurion sank stern-first after the magazine explosion, leaving the British Navy with only two Battleships against six German Battlecruisers.

After two British battleships sank, Rear Admiral Carroll warned David Beatty that the remaining ships could not hold out much longer. German battlecruisers pressed their attack while British reinforcements raced toward the battlefield, and German scouts spotted at least nine approaching British battlecruisers.

• Rear Admiral Carroll ordered a telegram sent to David Beatty warning that his force might not last another half hour.
• Vice Admiral Hipper and Vice Admiral Spee redistributed the German battlecruisers to encircle King George V and Ajax.
• David Beatty received Carroll's telegram and ordered his battlecruiser squadrons and the 1st Battleship Squadron to hurry toward the battlefield.
• The German battlecruisers continued bombarding King George V and Ajax as the British reinforcements accelerated toward them.
• A report informed the German commanders that British warships were approaching from the south, east, and west, including at least nine battlecruisers.

German forces detected British reinforcements approaching, but continued attacking the trapped British battleships. Ajax lost power after a hit from Von der Tann, was overwhelmed and sank before Vice Admiral David Beatty's reinforcements could arrive, leaving him furious.

• Vice Admiral Hipper and Vice Admiral Spee learned that nine British Battlecruisers were approaching and ordered their ships to keep firing while Spee reported the reinforcements to Admiral Scheer.
• Rear Admiral Carroll received Vice Admiral David Beatty's promise that reinforcements would arrive within half an hour and urged his men aboard King George V and Ajax to hold on.
• Von der Tann struck Ajax's boiler room with a 305mm Shell, crippling its propulsion and allowing the three Blücher-class Battlecruisers to intensify their attack.
• Ajax caught fire, took more than ten hits, broke apart, and sank within five minutes.
• A staff officer told Vice Admiral David Beatty that Ajax had sunk, and Beatty swore that the Germans would pay for the loss of four British capital ships.

The British reinforcements forced Vice Admiral Spee and Vice Admiral Hipper to abandon their attack on the battered King George V and regroup for a new confrontation. After seaplanes spotted four approaching Iron Duke-class battleships, the German commanders withdrew to join Admiral Scheer before fighting a decisive battle.

• Vice Admiral David Beatty ordered the British fleet to advance at full speed and destroy the German battlecruisers.
• Vice Admiral Spee and Vice Admiral Hipper continued attacking King George V, damaging her hull and flooding her compartments.
• The British reinforcements arrived and opened fire, disrupting the German attack and forcing Vice Admiral Spee and Vice Admiral Hipper to turn away.
• Rear Admiral Carroll ordered King George V and the damaged fleet to withdraw to Portsmouth Naval Base.
• Seaplanes spotted four Iron Duke-class battleships heading toward the battlefield, and Vice Admiral Hipper ordered the German fleet to retreat and join Admiral Scheer.