Chapter Summaries

After the German Expeditionary Fleet devastated Tokyo, Emperor Taisho and the Island Nation's leaders debated how to respond. Yamagata Aritomo chose to accept Germany's terms, ending the conflict for now as Germany turned its attention to Britain.

• The German Expeditionary Fleet bombarded Tokyo for more than half a day, leaving much of the city in ruins and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths across the Island Nation.
• The Island Nation Coastal Defense Force failed to stop the fleet from withdrawing through Sagami Bay.
• Emperor Taisho raged over the destruction of Tokyo and the imperial palace while his ministers apologized.
• Yamagata Aritomo and the leaders debated whether to resist Germany or give up Southeast Asia, and concluded that the Island Nation could not win.
• Yamagata ordered Foreign Minister Kato Takaaki to contact Germany, and the Island Nation accepted all of Germany's conditions.

After the Island Nation agreed to withdraw from Germany’s colonies and Southeast Asia, Oscar ordered the Expeditionary Fleet to supervise its retreat and warned that the United States was helping it rebuild. He urged Germany to strengthen its navy and Pacific defenses, leaving officials preparing for a future conflict while Germany focused on defeating Britain.

• Wachth reported that the Island Nation had backed down after Admiral Spee bombarded Tokyo, and Oscar said its compromise spared it further attacks.
• Oscar ordered the Expeditionary Fleet to remain in the Far East and ensure the Island Nation withdrew from Germany’s colonies and Southeast Asia without taking resources.
• Wachth reported that the United States had lent the Island Nation two hundred million dollars, and Oscar suspected the money would rebuild its military.
• Oscar told Tirpitz that Germany needed stronger aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft to face enemies across several oceans.
• Falkenhayn promised to reinforce Germany’s forces in Southeast Asia and the Pacific after the war so they could hold out until help arrived.

Oscar considered Germany’s victory over the Island Nation temporary and focused on defeating Britain to end the war. He planned to seize Britain’s colonies and divide the British Isles into smaller states, including an independent Ireland and Scotland.

• Oscar assessed Germany’s recovered Pacific colonies as strategically valuable and expected the Island Nation to rebuild and fight Germany again.
• Oscar set Britain as Germany’s immediate priority, since the Channel made an invasion difficult and the war could not end while Britain remained undefeated.
• Oscar argued that Britain’s colonies had financed its powerful navy and that a unified British mainland could threaten Germany in a future struggle with the United States.
• Oscar planned to seize Britain’s colonies and divide the British Isles, supporting Irish independence and anticipating that Scotland might also seek independence.

Oscar planned to divide Britain after Germany defeated it and promised Irish leaders German support for independence in exchange for an uprising and an alliance. Griffith and Patrick Pearse accepted his conditions, leaving Irish independence tied to cooperation with Germany.

• Oscar proposed dividing Britain into independent countries after its defeat, and his ministers supported the plan.
• Oscar ordered his officials to arrange a meeting with Irish leaders and encourage independence movements in Scotland and Wales.
• Oscar met Griffith and Patrick Pearse, leaders of Irish Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and promised to help Ireland become independent.
• Oscar required the Irish leaders to launch an uprising during Germany’s attack and make Ireland a German ally after independence.
• Griffith and Patrick Pearse hesitated but accepted Oscar’s conditions.

Churchill inspected Britain’s coastal defenses at Dover and urged the generals to resist a German landing, hoping to preserve the homeland and strengthen Britain’s prospects in a future war. The generals pledged to fight, though whether their defenses could stop Germany remained uncertain.

• Churchill visited Dover with Richard Haldane, Ian Hamilton, and senior officers to inspect the coastal fortifications.
• Hamilton identified the coastline from Eastbourne to Margate as the likely focus of a German landing and described the British forces concentrated to defend it.
• Churchill declared that Britain would keep fighting and inflict heavy losses on Germany in hopes of forcing a favorable peace.
• Churchill considered preserving the homeland essential to Britain’s strength, while also preparing for retreat to Canada and an alliance with the United States if necessary.
• The generals pledged to give everything they had to resist the German attack.

On August 20, Field Marshal von Falkenhayn gathered the army and navy commanders in Calais to oversee the invasion of Britain. The German forces reported their readiness, and the chapter ended with the operation poised to begin.

• Field Marshal von Falkenhayn arrived at the operations headquarters in Calais and found the senior army and navy commanders assembled.
• Field Marshal von Falkenhayn asked whether the forces were ready, and the generals answered that they were.
• General Kluck, General Bülow, and General Hutier reported that their army corps, totaling 350,000, 280,000, and 200,000 men respectively, were ready to attack.
• Lieutenant General Ludendorff declared the 8th Army Corps ready, while Lieutenant General Seeckt reported that the Army Air Corps had deployed 1,200 fighters and 800 bombers.
• General Reinhard Scheer reported that the Imperial Navy and Marine Corps were ready, with a bombardment fleet and 100,000 marines prepared to support the invasion.

Field Marshal Falkenhayn outlined Germany’s plan to invade Britain, beginning with naval and air bombardments of the landing sites. The German Battleships opened fire on the British coast, formally starting the attack.

• Field Marshal Falkenhayn told the generals that the attack on the British mainland would begin that day and reviewed the invasion plan.
• Lieutenant General Seeckt and Major General Richter Fiers confirmed that the Army Air Corps and Navy bombardment formations would support the landings.
• Field Marshal Falkenhayn assigned the Marine Corps to land at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone, while the 8th Army Corps would land at Bournemouth and cut British supply lines.
• The three German Bombardment Groups reached their assigned waters and aimed their guns at British Army positions.
• The German Battleships opened fire on the British coast, beginning the attack.

German warships and bombers devastated British coastal defenses at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone ahead of the invasion. General Ian Hamilton warned London and ordered the front lines to stop the Germans from landing, while British morale collapsed under the bombardment.

• German Bavaria-class and Deutschland-class battleships bombarded British positions at Margate, destroying trenches, strongpoints, barbed wire, and mines.
• German warships also struck British defenses at Dover and Folkestone, leaving nearly all exposed fortifications destroyed.
• General Ian Hamilton received reports of the bombardment at Canterbury and ordered his adjutant to inform London that the German offensive had begun.
• General Ian Hamilton told frontline commanders to watch for the German attack and prevent the enemy from completing a landing.
• Six hundred German bombers joined the naval bombardment, and British commanders and soldiers watched their defenses being wiped out as morale fell.

The German Navy’s bombardment devastated British defenses along the coast while Ian Hamilton kept British artillery concealed. On the morning of the 21st, Falkenhayn ordered the German Marines to begin landing at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone.

• Ian Hamilton refused to expose British artillery in a futile exchange with the German Navy and kept the concealed guns in reserve to attack landing forces.
• After a day of bombardment, Churchill and Richard Haldane discussed the destruction of the coastal defenses and the need to stop the German invasion.
• Ian Hamilton ordered British troops to repair their positions overnight, but the German Navy began shelling them again at seven o’clock the next morning.
• Falkenhayn confirmed that the Marine Corps was ready and ordered the landing operation to begin.
• The German Navy shifted its fire deeper inland as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Marine Divisions landed at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone respectively.

The German Marine Corps launched a landing near Margate, but British artillery inflicted heavy casualties before naval guns began suppressing the shore defenses. The landing force continued toward the coast as the British guns were gradually silenced.

• Lieutenant General Alexander? Linsingen ordered the 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division to cross the sea in hundreds of landing craft.
• General Haig ordered the British 1st and 6th Army Corps and coastal-defense guns to bombard the German landing force.
• British shells destroyed landing craft and killed or wounded German Marines before they reached shore.
• Lieutenant General Alexander? Linsingen demanded that the British guns be suppressed, and his adjutant reported that German warships were already firing on them.
• German naval guns wrecked British artillery positions and gradually suppressed the bombardment, though the Marines had already suffered substantial casualties.

German forces launched a brutal landing against British defenses, with naval guns and aircraft suppressing British positions as Marine Corps troops fought to establish a beachhead. The Germans gained a foothold on the beach, but the battle remained fierce and the landing’s success was still uncertain.

• German naval guns and British artillery exchanged fire, sinking landing craft and inflicting casualties on both sides as Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen watched the Marine Corps losses mount.
• The Imperial Army Air Corps attacked British artillery and strafed troops moving toward the front, pinning the defenders down and causing devastating casualties.
• The first German landing craft reached the beach, where British fire killed several soldiers and destroyed the empty craft with a mortar shell.
• More German landing craft came ashore, and Marine Corps troops used their squad automatic weapons to exchange fire with British soldiers while artillery continued to strike the beach.
• German forces gained a firm foothold, but they still needed to drive back the British and secure the beachhead for the troops following them.

Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen’s German Marines broke through the British defenses at Margate with naval and air support, then established a beachhead despite heavy casualties. With the position secured, German Army corps began landing to reinforce it.

• Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen requested stronger naval support as the 1st Regiment faced heavy British attacks.
• Major General Richter Fiers sent two light cruisers and five destroyers close to shore to bombard the British positions.
• The 1st Regiment breached the British first line of defense, and Linsingen ordered the rest of the 1st Marine Division to land.
• German amphibious tanks helped drive the British back, and the 1st Marine Division established a beachhead at Margate four kilometers long and two kilometers deep.
• The other two Marine Divisions achieved similar results, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Army Corps began landing to reinforce the beachheads.

After German forces secured beachheads at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone, General Hamilton and his commanders discussed Britain’s worsening position. Hamilton decided to launch a night counterattack to drive the Germans into the sea.

• German forces established beachheads at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone and began landing more troops.
• General Haig and General Benson described the heavy British losses and the Germans’ advantages in artillery, tanks, and aircraft.
• Hamilton said he would request tank support from London and ask the air force to send fighters.
• Hamilton proposed a night counterattack, arguing that darkness would limit German air support.
• Haig and the other generals agreed to attempt the counterattack despite expecting heavy casualties.

Field Marshal Falkenhayn and the German commanders prepared to hold their beachheads in Britain against a decisive British counterattack overnight. The British attack began in darkness, leaving the outcome of the landing uncertain.

• Field Marshal Falkenhayn learned that the Marine Corps had secured beachheads at Margate, Dover, and Folkestone, while German army divisions began landing.
• General Kluck and the other commanders planned to hold the beachheads until dawn, with Admiral Reinhard Scheer promising naval fire support.
• The German corps commanders ordered their troops to defend their positions as the soldiers built fortifications, planted landmines, and prepared flares.
• At ten o'clock, General Haig ordered more than fifty thousand British soldiers from three elite Infantry Divisions to attack the German line.
• The British Army's 2nd Army Corps and 3rd Army Corps launched attacks at the same time.

British forces launched a night raid to drive the German landing force back into the sea, but German mines exposed the attack and triggered a devastating response. The British pressed on in a frontal assault under overwhelming German land and naval fire.

• General Hamilton sent elite British divisions forward for a night raid against the German positions.
• A British soldier stepped on a German mine, and further explosions exposed the British attack.
• German troops fired flares to illuminate the attackers and opened up with machine guns, mortars, and grenade launchers.
• British officers ordered their soldiers to charge despite the German fire.
• German field artillery and naval warships joined the bombardment of the advancing British forces.

General Haig ordered British artillery to support a night assault on German positions, despite the danger of hitting British troops. The fighting remained fierce, with the British elite divisions suffering far heavier losses as the Germans held their line.

• German flares exposed the attacking British soldiers, and German weapons inflicted heavy casualties on their night assault.
• General Haig ordered British artillery to fire despite warnings that shells might hit their own troops.
• British shells struck both German and British positions, and Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen ordered German warships to suppress the British artillery.
• German naval bombardment reduced the pressure on the front line, while British and German forces continued exchanging fire.
• A British heavy machine gun pinned down German troops until a mortar and grenade launchers destroyed it.
• British soldiers charged again toward the German positions and were cut down by dense defensive fire.

Field Marshal Falkenhayn urged the German defenders to hold until dawn, when naval, air, and army support would strengthen them. The British briefly broke through a German position, but German reinforcements and Amphibious Tanks drove them back.

• Falkenhayn learned that the British attack was inflicting heavy losses but that German forces expected to hold, and he ordered the troops to endure until dawn.
• A British mortar destroyed a German machine gun, allowing the British to break through the defensive line.
• Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen sent the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Marine Division to reinforce the threatened position.
• Fresh German troops and Amphibious Tanks stabilized the line and killed or drove out the British soldiers who had entered it.

General Haig and General Hamilton committed more British reserves to repeated assaults on the German defensive line, but German troops drove the attackers back at heavy cost. As dawn approached, German aircraft took off to support the exhausted defenders, who prepared to counterattack.

• General Haig ordered the 4th Infantry Division into battle after German forces repelled the British assault with tank support.
• The British 2nd Army Corps and 3rd Army Corps committed more reserves, but German troops repeatedly retook breached positions.
• General Hamilton ordered the frontline troops to attack regardless of losses as British casualties mounted and time ran short.
• German ground crews prepared aircraft while pilots ate breakfast, then the fighters and bombers took off toward the battlefield at dawn.
• The exhausted British and German troops continued fighting as the German defensive line held and a German counterattack approached.

General Haig ordered the British forces to withdraw after their overnight assault failed to break the German defenses. German naval guns, aircraft, and a counterattack turned the withdrawal into a rout, while the exhausted Germans held off on attacking the cities until reinforcements arrived.

• General Haig ordered the British troops to prepare to withdraw before daylight exposed them to German naval and air attacks.
• Lieutenant General Alexander Linsingen ordered German troops to rest, then counterattack after the promised bombardment and air raid.
• German naval guns and aircraft struck the retreating British, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing them to flee.
• German army and Marine Corps troops counterattacked, and many British soldiers surrendered while others abandoned their equipment and ran.
• The Germans drove the British through several coastal defensive lines, but delayed attacking the cities until fresh troops arrived.

After defeating the British counterattack and securing coastal positions, the Germans prepared to bring their main forces ashore. In Canterbury, General Hamilton proposed abandoning the coastal cities and concentrating British forces inland for a decisive battle.

• The German 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Army Corps repelled the British counterattack, seized coastal defensive lines, and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Field Marshal Falkenhayn praised the German forces and ordered preparations to speed the landing of the main forces, including heavy weapons.
• General Hutier reported that the lack of usable docks was slowing the disembarkation of heavy equipment, and Field Marshal Falkenhayn promised logistical support.
• General Haig, General Benson, and General Gough reported heavy British losses and weakening morale to General Hamilton.
• General Hamilton proposed retreating from Margate, Dover, and Folkestone to Canterbury to escape German naval bombardment and fight a decisive battle inland.