Chapter Summaries

General Hamilton chose to concentrate the British Home Army at Canterbury and Maidstone for a decisive battle against the Germans, and Churchill approved the plan and promised reinforcements and air support. As British forces withdrew from the coast, German troops completed their landing on the British mainland by August 27.

• Haig proposed fighting at Canterbury, but Benson questioned whether the British numerical advantage would be enough to defeat the German forces.
• Gough suggested moving two elite corps from London to Maidstone, but Hamilton refused to weaken the capital’s defenses and instead ordered London’s tank units to reinforce the Southeast War Zone.
• Hamilton presented his battle plan to Churchill and Richard Haldane, who approved it and promised to send troops and provide air support if needed.
• Hamilton ordered the British corps to withdraw from the coastal areas and assemble five corps at Canterbury and two at Maidstone.
• German forces took advantage of the British retreat, used reinforced piers to speed their disembarkation, and had the main forces of three corps ashore by August 27.

German commanders discussed the British withdrawal and planned to attack the forces gathered at Canterbury before British reinforcements could arrive. Falkenhayn approved Ludendorff’s proposal to bring in the 8th Army Corps through Eastbourne and use it to help secure the campaign.

• Kluck, Bülow, and Hutier discussed the British withdrawal and expressed confidence that German forces could defeat them inland.
• Ludendorff warned Falkenhayn that British reinforcements from London could turn the campaign into a stalemate if the Germans failed to act quickly.
• Ludendorff proposed using battleship bombardment, air attacks, and the two Armored Divisions to encircle and destroy the British forces at Canterbury.
• Ludendorff recommended changing the 8th Army Corps’ landing site from Bournemouth to Eastbourne so it could support the 3rd Army Corps at Maidstone and block British reinforcements.
• Falkenhayn and the other commanders approved Ludendorff’s proposal.

German naval guns and aircraft devastated Canterbury as British casualties mounted, while General Haig urged the British commanders to shelter and wait for winter to weaken the German advance. The chapter ended with Hamilton agreeing to contact the air force about contesting German air superiority.

• German battleships and pre-dreadnoughts bombarded Canterbury, collapsing shelters and buildings and killing British soldiers.
• More than two hundred German bombers, escorted by fighters, devastated Canterbury and strafed British troops.
• General Hamilton reviewed the losses, as British casualties rose to more than twenty thousand on the 28th and thirty thousand on the 29th.
• General Haig advised Hamilton and General Benson against an offensive and recommended that British troops stay under cover and wait for winter.
• General Haig urged Hamilton to seek air support against German raids, and Hamilton agreed to contact the air force.

General Hamilton demanded air support as German air raids devastated British forces at Canterbury, while Royal Air Force Chief of Staff General Trenchard struggled with whether to commit Britain’s scarce fighters. Trenchard ordered the air force to act despite fearing its limited aircraft could not withstand the German air forces or save Britain.

• General Hamilton demanded aircraft from the Royal Air Force after three days of German air raids caused heavy British losses at Canterbury.
• General Haig suggested the air force might be afraid to face the Germans, and Hamilton insisted that it had to fight.
• A major general told General Trenchard that the Prime Minister had again ordered the Royal Air Force to reinforce Canterbury.
• General Trenchard weighed the British Army’s urgent need against the small number of Camel-class fighters and Britain’s supply shortages under the German blockade.
• The major general urged Trenchard to wait for more fighters, but Trenchard said the army might be defeated before then and decided the Royal Air Force could not avoid deploying.

The German Army Air Corps sent the 31st Fighter Group to escort the 41st Bomber Group on a raid against British positions southwest of Canterbury. British anti-aircraft guns ambushed the bombers, and the German fighters began attacking the gun crews as the surviving bombers fled.

• A young German pilot complained that the British had not sent aircraft to challenge their repeated bombing raids, and the Squadron Leader ordered the 31st Fighter Group to escort the 41st Bomber Group.
• Thirty-six Mark II fighters took off with thirty-six H1 bombers and crossed the Dover Strait without encountering the Royal Air Force.
• The 41st Bomber Group approached the British Army position southwest of Canterbury and prepared to drop bombs on defenses already battered by German naval guns.
• British anti-aircraft machine guns opened fire, destroying three H1 bombers and forcing the others to climb away and dump their bombs.
• The Squadron Leader of the 31st Fighter Group ordered the 1st Squadron to attack the British anti-aircraft crews.

Lieutenant Colonel Henry led a Royal Air Force ambush against the German Army Air Corps' 31st Fighter Group, inflicting heavy losses on its bombers and fighters. The German pilots rallied and fought back, and the battle ended after both sides lost aircraft and ammunition.

• The German 31st Fighter Group bombed and strafed British anti-aircraft emplacements, destroying weapons and killing their crews.
• Lieutenant Colonel Henry led Camel-class fighters out of the clouds and launched a surprise attack on the German formation.
• The British fighters shot down numerous H1 bombers and several Mark II fighters before the German fighters organized a counterattack.
• German pilots used the Mark II fighters' performance advantage to shoot down British Camel-class fighters as the air battle intensified.
• The air battle ended after the German force's initial losses and both sides' depleted machine-gun ammunition curtailed the fighting.

After the Royal Air Force ambushed the German Army Air Corps and inflicted heavy losses, Lieutenant General Seeckt ordered his commanders to secure air superiority before the attack on Canterbury. The commanders recognized that they needed to destroy the British fighters, but the plan for doing so remained to be worked out.

• A major general reported that British ambushes had cost the German Army Air Corps twenty-eight fighters and thirty-seven bombers.
• Lieutenant General Seeckt ordered the Air Corps to fight the Royal Air Force for air superiority before the Army attacked Canterbury.
• The Wing Commander of the 3rd Fighter Wing reported that the British had introduced a capable new fighter, while the Wing Commander of the 4th Bomber Wing blamed the losses on surprise and pilot complacency.
• Lieutenant General Seeckt warned the commanders that failure to turn the situation around would harm the Emperor's view of the Air Corps.
• The Wing Commander of the 3rd Fighter Wing proposed destroying the Royal Air Force's advanced fighters, and Lieutenant General Seeckt agreed that air superiority required defeating them.

Lieutenant General Seeckt approved a dawn bombing plan to destroy British aircraft on the ground and secure air superiority for the Battle of Canterbury. After Field Marshal Falkenhayn backed the plan, German aircraft began taking off on August 30.

• The Wing Commanders of the 4th Bomber Wing and 3rd Fighter Wing proposed bombing British airfields at dawn with fighter escorts.
• Lieutenant General Seeckt approved the plan and ordered preparations for an attack the next morning.
• The German Army Air Corps submitted its battle plan, and Field Marshal Falkenhayn endorsed it.
• At four in the morning on August 30, ground crews prepared aircraft while pilots ate breakfast and received briefings.
• Lieutenant General Seeckt ordered the aircraft to take off, and German planes began departing at five in the morning.

The German Army Air Corps launched a mass air raid toward London and nearby Royal Air Force airfields. General Trenchard ordered the RAF to fight rather than retreat, and the first Camel-class fighters began taking off as the German formation approached.

• The German Army Air Corps sent more than a thousand aircraft west across the Dover Strait to attack four RAF airfields.
• RAF scouts near Canterbury heard the aircraft and reported that they were heading northwest toward London.
• General Trenchard ordered RAF aircraft to take off and air defenses to prepare, rejecting his adjutant’s suggestion to relocate and preserve their strength.
• RAF crews sounded the alarms and rushed to ready aircraft at the airfields around London.
• A prepared Camel-class fighter took off as ground crews worked to ready the remaining aircraft.

The German Army Air Corps overwhelmed the Royal Air Force defenders and suppressed the airfield’s defenses, clearing the way for the bombers to attack. H1 bombers opened their bomb bays and dropped aerial bombs toward the Royal Air Force airfield.

• The German Wing Commanders deployed their fighter groups to protect the bombers, destroy ground defenses, and engage British fighters.
• Sean led twelve Camel-class fighters toward a force of more than a hundred German Mark II fighters.
• Sean shot down two German fighters but was hit, and his damaged plane plunged to the ground before he could parachute to safety.
• German fighters shot down British planes and destroyed or suppressed the airfield’s anti-aircraft positions.
• German H1 bombers descended and dropped aerial bombs toward the Royal Air Force airfield.

The German Army Air Corps destroyed the Royal Air Force’s main airports, crippling its fighter forces and leaving Britain unable to provide air support to its army. After Lieutenant General Seeckt reported the results, Field Marshal Falkenhayn praised the operation, and Seeckt promised to eliminate any remaining British air threat before the attack on Canterbury.

• German aircraft bombed a British airport, destroying its planes, hangars, ammunition and fuel depots, and other facilities.
• General Trenchard learned that all four major airports had been destroyed and ordered rescue efforts and repairs, despite the Royal Air Force having fewer than twenty intact aircraft.
• The German Army Air Corps reported destroying more than one hundred and seventy British fighter planes while losing more than forty aircraft of its own.
• Field Marshal Falkenhayn praised General Seeckt for the operation, and Seeckt told General Kluck that the remaining British aircraft posed no serious threat.

After German air attacks destroyed most of the Royal Air Force, Churchill feared Britain would struggle to win the Battle of Canterbury. Falkenhayn ordered the German forces to launch their prepared offensive, using armored divisions to encircle the British forces around Canterbury.

• Churchill learned from General Trenchard that the Royal Air Force had lost ninety percent of its main combat strength and might not recover in time to help at Canterbury.
• Falkenhayn praised General Seeckt and told the German generals that the Army Air Corps would provide air support for the coming battles.
• Falkenhayn ordered the 1st and 2nd Army Corps to attack toward Canterbury, with the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions spearheading an attempt to break through and encircle the British forces.
• Falkenhayn assigned the 3rd Army Corps to attack Maidstone and pin down the British 3rd and 8th Army Corps, while the 8th Army Corps would join as needed.
• The commanders of the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions reported that their tanks were ready for combat.

German forces launched a massive bombardment against British positions before sending tanks, infantry, and aircraft into the attack. The German assault broke into the British defenses, which lacked enough anti-tank weapons to stop it.

• On August 31, German 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps prepared to attack with artillery, warships, and more than four hundred tanks.
• At 7:30 a.m., German artillery and naval guns bombarded the British fortifications while General Hamilton ordered General Haig and General Benson to hold their positions.
• After half an hour, German artillery fire shifted deeper into the British lines, and British commanders moved their troops into defensive positions.
• The German 1st Armored Division charged the 22nd Brigade of the British 8th Infantry Division, whose anti-tank guns destroyed some tanks before German tank fire silenced them.
• German aircraft strafed the trenches and bombed them, collapsing a stretch of defenses and inflicting heavy losses on British soldiers.

German armored forces broke through British positions while General Hamilton refused to commit the scarce British tanks, insisting they be saved for a later counterattack. General Haig ordered his troops to fight on, but the 8th and 10th Infantry Divisions were overwhelmed and the battle line collapsed.

• General Haig ordered the 8th Infantry Division to hold for an hour and sent the 10th Infantry Division to reinforce it, while requesting tank support from Theater Headquarters.
• General Hamilton refused to send tanks to the front and ordered General Haig and Major General Benson to rely on fortifications and anti-tank weapons.
• General Haig cursed Hamilton's decision and ordered the frontline troops to fight to the death without retreating.
• German tanks smashed through British defenses as machine-gun fire failed to damage them and only a few British soldiers managed to destroy tanks.
• The 8th Infantry Division and the arriving 10th Infantry Division could no longer hold their positions, and British soldiers fled as the battle line collapsed.

German armored forces broke through successive British defensive lines and advanced toward Canterbury, routing several corps and capturing Boulogne and Catmar. By the chapter’s end, the German 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions had nearly encircled Canterbury and split the British defenses into several sections.

• German tanks and infantry overran British frontline positions, forcing surviving soldiers to flee as the German 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions broke through.
• General Kluck ordered the 1st Armored Division to press into the British rear while the 4th and 5th Infantry Divisions followed.
• The German 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions defeated British divisions and advanced toward Canterbury, despite tank losses from mechanical failures.
• General Haig learned that the British 1st Army Corps’ defenses had been breached and ordered the inexperienced 6th Army Corps to hold the Germans back.
• German armored forces broke through the 6th Army Corps’ line, routed more than three divisions, and took over ten thousand prisoners.
• The German 1st Armored Division captured Boulogne and the 2nd Armored Division captured Catmar, cutting the British defensive line into several pieces.

German forces achieved their planned objectives near Canterbury, while the British commanders argued over how to stop the advance. The chapter ended with General Hamilton agreeing to deploy the tank units in a counterattack the next morning.

• Field Marshal Falkenhayn learned that the 1st and 2nd Army Corps had broken through British defenses and ordered the navy to bombard British troops overnight.
• Falkenhayn heard that the 3rd Army Corps had advanced near Ashford and ordered it to pin down the British 3rd and 8th Army Corps.
• General Haig warned General Hamilton that German forces near Boulogne and Camart threatened the British connection to London.
• General Benson said that routed divisions, lost equipment, and weakened morale made a British counterattack difficult.
• General Haig insisted that the British deploy their tank units for a counterattack, and General Hamilton finally agreed.

British forces launched a major attack on Boulogne, committing their tanks and infantry after a heavy artillery bombardment. German naval guns and aircraft devastated the British artillery, and the chapter left the British tanks advancing into German anti-tank fire.

• Hamilton ordered Haig to launch a counterattack at daybreak with all available tanks and infantry, targeting Boulogne before Camart.
• On September 1, four British armored brigades and three Infantry Divisions attacked Boulogne after more than five hundred British artillery pieces opened fire.
• German naval guns and Army Air Corps aircraft struck the British artillery positions, destroying guns and inflicting severe casualties.
• Haig ordered the British tanks to attack immediately, and more than five hundred tanks surged toward the German lines.
• The German 1st Armored Division deployed Anti-tank Guns, and one 37mm shell pierced a Hound tank's armor and detonated its ammunition.

British tanks launched an assault on the German defensive line but were devastated by German anti-tank guns, armored forces, and aircraft. The British counterattack failed, and fewer than one hundred of the more than five hundred attacking tanks returned safely.

• German anti-tank guns destroyed British tanks as General Haig and General Hamilton watched the assault falter.
• A British tank crew turned back after being hit, causing a collision that disrupted the British formation.
• The German 1st Armored Division charged into the battlefield and destroyed more British tanks, while the British crews fled.
• More than a hundred H1 bombers joined the attack and bombed the British tanks.
• The British tank force suffered a disastrous defeat, with fewer than one hundred tanks returning and its crews losing the will to fight.

After the British counterattack failed, German forces launched a major offensive that devastated the Southeast War Zone and forced British commanders to consider retreating toward London. General Hamilton sought reinforcements, but German troops had cut off the route between his army and the capital.

• General Haig halted the British 3rd Infantry Division’s planned attack after the tank units suffered disastrous losses.
• General Haig advised General Hamilton to adopt a defensive posture and request reinforcements from London.
• The German 1st and 2nd Army Corps attacked, encircling British units and driving many soldiers to surrender.
• British losses mounted through September 1 and 2 as German armor and bombardments shattered their defenses.
• General Haig urged General Hamilton to abandon the Southeast War Zone and retreat toward London before the army was destroyed.
• General Benson warned that German forces had blocked the route to London and that the 3rd and 8th Army Corps were unable to reinforce them.

Richard Haldane and Churchill decided that London could not spare troops to reinforce the collapsing Southeast War Zone, though Churchill ordered the trapped forces to try to escape. General Hamilton and his commanders realized London had abandoned them and feared their defeat would leave the capital unable to resist Germany.

• Richard Haldane received General Hamilton’s request to send the 4th Army Corps and 5th Army Corps from London to break through toward Canterbury and cover the retreat.
• Richard Haldane told Churchill that British losses in the Southeast War Zone exceeded three hundred thousand and the 1st and 2nd Army Corps were nearly crippled.
• Richard Haldane warned that reopening the route to Canterbury could trap more troops, and Churchill agreed London needed to preserve its defenses.
• Churchill ordered Richard Haldane to have as many troops as possible withdraw from the Southeast War Zone, and Richard Haldane issued an order for them to seek a breakout.
• General Hamilton and General Haig condemned the order, concluding that Richard Haldane had abandoned their forces and that London would also fall after their defeat.