Chapter Summaries

After the German fleet devastated American shipyards and ports, Germany and the United States ended the conflict with an apology and four billion Mark in compensation. Public anger over Woodrow Wilson’s capitulation forced him to resign, and the Vice President succeeded him as President.

• The German fleet destroyed ports and shipyards in seven East Coast cities, further crippling American shipbuilding capacity.
• Oscar authorized Foreign Minister Wachth to negotiate peace, and Wachth secured a public apology and four billion Mark in compensation from US Ambassador Davidson.
• Germany and the United States signed a memorandum ending the conflict, after which the US government publicly accepted responsibility for starting it.
• Woodrow Wilson’s apology provoked demonstrations and drove his approval rating down to five percent.
• Woodrow Wilson resigned, and the Vice President succeeded him as President.

Over the ten years after Germany defeated the United States, Oscar strengthened the German economy, absorbed former territories, centralized the government, and prepared the military for another world war. In 1929, Germany remained dominant, but Oscar anticipated rising international tensions and pressed ahead with preparations for the coming conflict.

• Germany used its overseas colonies to drive rapid economic growth and surpassed the United States in industrial output by 1921.
• Germany absorbed northern France, Belgium, and Austria, while its policy of divide and conquer reduced resistance to integration.
• Oscar gradually stripped the German states of most of their autonomy and concentrated authority in the central government.
• Germany upgraded its mechanized army, began Blitzkrieg exercises, built carrier strike groups, and developed advanced aircraft and long-range bombers.
• Oscar expected international tensions and economic crises to push rival powers toward expansion, so he urged Germany to finish preparing for war.

The chapter described how Germany’s enemies—the United States, Britain, the Island Nation, and Buru—had rebuilt their military strength and prepared for future conflict. It left Germany facing a growing coalition of rivals, with its Pacific Fleet rising in importance as the Island Nation expanded its forces.

• The United States rebuilt its ports and navy, prioritized aircraft carriers, and continued to regard Germany as an inevitable future enemy.
• Britain cooperated with the United States and developed its own navy and air force, shifting from battleships toward aircraft carriers.
• The Island Nation expanded its navy with American support, while its government squeezed its impoverished population to fund military ambitions.
• Germany strengthened the Pacific Fleet in response to the Island Nation’s growing military power.
• After Ulyanov’s death, Joseph defeated Trotsky, developed Buru’s military, and pursued ties with Germany’s enemies.

Emperor Oscar reviewed the Empire’s strong economy and warned his Cabinet that America’s credit-fueled boom was likely to end in a crisis. He ordered the government to prepare for the fallout and exploit the opportunity to weaken the United States, as the crisis soon arrived.

• On April 14, 1929, Prime Minister Wachth convened a Cabinet meeting that Oscar attended.
• Trade Minister Hans and other ministers reported on Germany’s economic strength, while Count Puhl said its annual revenue totaled about fifty billion Marks including colonial income.
• Oscar warned that American consumer loans and overproduction had created false prosperity that could collapse when goods went unsold.
• Oscar ordered the Cabinet to prepare plans to shield the Empire from the crisis and weaken the United States.
• The German government began preparing contingency plans, while Americans remained confident in their booming domestic market until the economic crisis arrived.

After the 1929 stock market crash plunged the United States into economic crisis, Oscar and his ministers planned to exploit the collapse to strengthen Germany and further weaken its rival. Germany began buying American machinery, ships, and raw materials while recruiting scientists, engineers, and skilled workers, leaving the story with its industrial strength growing at America’s expense.

• On October 24, 1929, the U.S. stock market crashed, wiping out fortunes and triggering bankruptcies, bank failures, and unemployment.
• On October 31, Prime Minister Wachth told Oscar that Germany had escaped the worst effects but might struggle to export goods beyond its controlled territories.
• Oscar asked how Germany could deepen America’s losses, and Hans proposed buying its idle machinery and recruiting its unemployed experts and workers.
• Oscar assigned the Ministry of Trade to acquire American machinery, raw materials, and talent at the lowest possible cost.
• Starting in 1930, German companies bought American industrial equipment, raw materials, and merchant ships while German institutions and factories recruited American specialists and skilled workers.

In 1919, Joseph learned that a major economic crisis had crippled the United States and saw a chance for Buru to acquire advanced industrial equipment without relying on Germany. The Politburo approved sending buyers to the United States, leaving Buru poised to strengthen its industry amid growing concern about Germany.

• Buru and Germany ended their cooperation as both sides sought to limit the other's influence and strength.
• Chicherin told Joseph that the American economic crisis had shut factories and left machinery idle.
• Joseph worried that a weakened United States would be less able to restrain Germany, which he knew could overpower Buru.
• Chicherin proposed buying American machinery and equipment to advance Buru's industry beyond the outdated technology Germany had supplied.
• Joseph won Politburo approval to send representatives to the United States, and Buru began buying equipment there.

Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal began to improve the American economy, but his Cabinet warned that Germany and Buru were exploiting the crisis and widening the gap with the United States. Roosevelt asked his ministers to find further ways to revive the economy while setting aside the contest with Germany for the moment.

• The prolonged crisis left Americans impoverished and desperate, while Herbert Hoover’s failed measures deepened public disappointment.
• Franklin Roosevelt won the 1932 election with promises of reform, then launched the New Deal and expanded government intervention and public works.
• By 1934, the economy had improved and Americans had regained some hope, though the crisis continued.
• Secretary of Commerce Daniel, Secretary of Labor Francis, and Secretary of State Hull warned Roosevelt that German purchases and recruitment had damaged American industry and widened Germany’s lead.
• Daniel said Buru had also benefited from the crisis, and Roosevelt asked his Cabinet for ways to further revive the economy.

President Roosevelt consulted Hopkins about the United States’ worsening economic and strategic position against Germany. Roosevelt decided to expand military procurement to stimulate the economy and prepare for the war he believed was inevitable.

• President Roosevelt and his Cabinet failed to find a practical solution to the crisis.
• President Roosevelt summoned Hopkins and described the United States’ predicament against a Germany growing stronger despite the economic crisis.
• Hopkins warned that the United States had lost ground and that confronting Germany would be exceedingly difficult.
• President Roosevelt argued that Germany would eventually attack the United States even if America abandoned the rivalry.
• President Roosevelt proposed increasing military procurement to revive the economy and strengthen the armed forces, despite the risks of debt and an arms race.
• Hopkins warned that military expansion could trigger a chain reaction, but President Roosevelt said it was the United States’ only remaining chance to prepare for war.

President Roosevelt launched a major military expansion to revive the economy and prepare the United States for possible war with Germany. After securing financing, he approved plans to enlarge the Army’s armored forces and dramatically expand the Navy, including new aircraft carriers and battleships.

• Roosevelt told Hull, Swanson, Dern, and Morgenthau that the United States would intensify its armaments expansion to stimulate the economy and defend against Germany.
• Morgenthau agreed to seek financing through government bonds and bank loans, while Roosevelt promised to negotiate with financial conglomerates; Hull warned that expansion could provoke Germany.
• The government secured loans and sold bonds successfully, and General Douglas MacArthur submitted a five-year plan to expand the Army’s armored forces from three divisions to ten.
• Roosevelt approved MacArthur’s plan to acquire tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, and more artillery for infantry divisions.
• Admiral William Harrison Standley proposed building fifteen aircraft carriers and five Montana-class battleships over five years while continuing other battleship construction.

Joseph responded to the threat of war by pushing to strengthen Buru’s military and secure control over the country. After appointing Yagoda as People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs, he ordered him to hunt down opposition figures, especially Trotsky’s followers.

• Litvinov reported that American military spending had revived its industry while burdening the government with enormous debt, and Joseph warned that the United States might seek war.
• Joseph proposed expanding Buru’s military at a Politburo meeting, where his proposal passed despite opposition from several members.
• Joseph concluded that internal opponents could threaten his rule and decided to purge them while Germany’s attention was drawn toward the United States.
• Joseph secured the appointment of Yagoda as People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs and told him to find and eliminate opposition elements.
• Joseph specifically ordered Yagoda not to spare Trotsky’s followers, whom he feared could weaken his control of the military during a war.

After Kirov was assassinated, Joseph used the murder as a pretext to expand the NKVD’s powers and purge his political opponents. The arrests spread from senior Party leaders to the military, and Marshal Tukhachevsky was taken into custody.

• Joseph ordered Yagoda to investigate Kirov’s assassination, then amended Buru’s criminal law to speed trials and enable immediate executions.
• The NKVD began arresting people accused of involvement in Kirov’s murder and soon targeted Joseph’s opponents on fabricated charges.
• Yagoda led soldiers to Zinoviev’s home and arrested him despite Zinoviev’s protests.
• Kamenev was arrested the next day, and he and Zinoviev were later executed on charges of espionage and plotting to assassinate Kirov.
• The NKVD’s purge spread across Buru, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests and many executions.
• The NKVD arrested Marshal Tukhachevsky as Joseph moved to remove disobedient military leaders and people linked to Trotsky.

In 1936, the United States and Buru expanded their military forces as war approached, while Joseph consolidated power through the Great Purge. After reviewing intelligence, Oscar decided Germany must also prepare for war and called an Imperial Council meeting.

• Roosevelt expanded American armaments, and the resulting government and military orders revived the economy while piling up foreign debt.
• Joseph used the NKVD's arrests and executions to consolidate his control over Buru and ordered the military to prepare for war with Germany.
• Oscar reviewed Intelligence Bureau reports that war was approaching and dismissed the United States' confidence in defeating Germany.
• Oscar welcomed the damage Buru's Great Purge had done to its military and concluded Germany had a major advantage in a future war.
• Oscar ordered his secretary to convene the Imperial Council the next day to begin Germany's preparations for war.

Emperor Qin Tian and the Imperial Council planned Germany’s preparations for the coming war, directing large-scale spending and mobilization to preserve the Empire’s world hegemony. The chapter left Germany preparing to raise its forces to thirty-six army groups as its young population continued to grow.

• Oscar warned the ministers that Germany had to win the coming war to preserve its hegemony, nation, and people.
• Oscar ordered Prime Minister Wachth and Chancellor of the Exchequer Count Puhl to allocate twenty billion Marks annually for war materiel.
• Oscar asked Field Marshal Manstein how many forces the Army could mobilize for combat.
• Manstein reported that Germany could field twelve army groups within a month, form twelve more within three months, and add another twelve after a year.
• Oscar approved of the mobilization outlook, noting that Germany’s population had surpassed 120 million and that more young men would reach fighting age before the war.

Oscar assessed Germany’s strength for a possible war against Buru and warned that the Island Nation would attack German positions in the South Seas and Australia. He ordered reinforcements considered while Marshal Raeder reported the Imperial Navy’s readiness and fleet strength.

• Oscar said Germany could defeat Buru through steady advances and large campaigns, then use its naval and air power against other enemies.
• Oscar warned that the Island Nation would seize the chance to attack the South Seas and Australia once Germany went to war with Buru in Europe.
• Field Marshal Manstein proposed relying on local Colonial Army units and two elite army groups, but Oscar said the colonial troops would collapse in battle and were only useful for rear-area security.
• Field Marshal Manstein proposed sending two more army groups to the South Seas and Australia, and Oscar approved the safer plan.
• Oscar asked Marshal Raeder about the navy, and Raeder reported that the Five Grand Fleets were prepared with thirty-eight Capital Ships and twenty aircraft carriers.

Oscar reviewed the Empire’s military preparations and agreed that its Protectorates should fight alongside Germany in the coming war. He approved plans to command their armies and use them to reinforce the front and secure rear areas.

• Albert Catherine reported that the Imperial Air Force had thousands of aircraft and could expand its pilot numbers by recruiting trained civilians.
• Oscar told the military ministers to prepare for war within the next two to three years and secure victory for the Empire.
• Prime Minister Wachth argued that Germany’s Protectorates should join the Empire’s wars, and Manstein proposed using their armies for logistics security and countering guerrillas.
• Oscar ordered the Protectorate armies to obey German command once war began.
• Manstein presented quotas for Protectorate mobilization, and Oscar read the plan, recognizing Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic States as the Empire’s most trusted allies.

Field Marshal Manstein laid out how Germany’s protectorates and allied states would mobilize millions of troops for the coming war, with many assigned to rear duties or the Atlantic front. Oscar questioned whether the Imperial Army could command such a vast force, and Manstein explained how their support would ease Germany’s military burden.

• Manstein’s plan assigned Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic States troop quotas, including forces to assist Germany at the war’s outset.
• Manstein set mobilization targets for Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia-Slavonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina based on their populations and strength.
• Manstein included Finland, Yugoslavia, Ireland, Scotland, and England and Wales in Germany’s coalition, with England and Wales’s forces tasked with guarding against the United States and Britain and later joining an invasion of America.
• Oscar was astonished that the protectorates would mobilize 13.6 million troops overall and 6.8 million at the war’s start, exceeding the Imperial Army’s strength.
• Manstein told Oscar that most protectorate troops would serve in supporting roles and help Germany defend the Atlantic front while its main forces attacked Buru.

Oscar approved Manstein’s plan to raise and equip Protectorate armies cheaply, while Stresemann proposed drawing Europe’s other countries into Germany’s alliance. Oscar ordered their leaders invited to Berlin to rebuild the Allied Powers Group.

• Oscar worried that arming Protectorate armies would strain the Empire’s resources, and Manstein proposed using surplus weapons, limiting heavy equipment, and requiring the Protectorates to support their troops.
• Oscar approved Manstein’s plan, allowing Germany to demand Protectorate cooperation in his name.
• Gustav Stresemann proposed bringing Europe’s remaining countries into the German-led alliance to increase its strength.
• Manstein supported the proposal, and Oscar ordered the leaders of those countries invited to Berlin to rebuild the Allied Powers Group.

Germany invited European leaders and the leaders of its protectorates to a Berlin conference amid rising international tensions, prompting fears that Germany intended to unite their strength. In Berlin, Vittorio Emanuele III agreed with Mussolini that Italy should cooperate if Germany allowed it to rebuild its military, and the chapter left Italy preparing to submit to Germany’s plans.

• Germany invited leaders from across Europe and its protectorates to a conference scheduled for June 18 in Berlin.
• Foreign leaders arrived early and tried to uncover Germany’s purpose, but only Germany’s upper ranks knew about rebuilding the Allied Powers.
• Vittorio Emanuele III asked Mussolini what Germany wanted, and Mussolini suspected it planned to consolidate Europe against its rivals.
• Vittorio Emanuele III considered refusing because he still regarded Germany as an enemy and hoped to reclaim Sicily if Germany lost a future war.
• Mussolini argued that Italy could use the conference to rebuild its military and gain other benefits, and Vittorio Emanuele III agreed to follow his advice.

Kemal and Fatih decided that the Republic of Turkey should back Germany in the coming war and prove its usefulness by helping defend the Middle East. Gustav V also saw Germany’s plans as a chance to revive Sweden, while King Arthur of England and Wales wanted Germany to win so George V would not reclaim the throne.

• Kemal and Fatih agreed that Germany would likely win the coming war and that the Republic of Turkey should stand with it.
• Kemal proposed that Turkey support Germany in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, where Buru could threaten German oil supplies.
• Gustav V hoped Sweden could strengthen its standing by joining Germany and proving itself in the future war.
• King Arthur of England and Wales feared George V would return from Canada if Germany lost, so he wanted to help Germany win.

At the Berlin Conference, Oscar urged Europe’s leaders to unite under Germany and reestablish the Allied Powers for the coming war. Italy’s Mussolini and Vittorio Emanuele III declared that the Kingdom of Italy would join, leaving the other nations to decide their positions.

• Wachth opened the Berlin Conference by calling for European unity and stressing Germany’s strength ahead of a possible war.
• Oscar urged the European nations to stand with Germany, promising benefits to its allies and proposing that they reestablish the Allied Powers.
• The leaders debated Germany’s demand, while some feared being drawn into war and others prepared to join.
• Mussolini announced that Italy would join the Allied Powers and help Germany win the future war.
• Vittorio Emanuele III confirmed Italy’s commitment and swore that it would not betray Germany again.