Chapter Summaries

The German Air Force launched a massive surprise attack on Buru’s western airfields to destroy its aircraft and seize control of the skies. As Oscar learned the operation had begun, German planes were already heading toward their targets.

• German airfields prepared 1,440 fighters, 480 dive bombers, 480 ground attack aircraft, and 960 H-01 medium bombers for the attack on Buru.
• Field Marshal Kesselring and General Edward Milch confirmed the front-line air units were ready and expected to overwhelm the Bolshevik Air Force.
• At 5:30 a.m., German commanders ordered the aircraft to take off, with H-01 bombers followed by dive bombers, ground attack aircraft, and fighters.
• General Edward Milch told Kesselring that the last aircraft had departed and would attack Buru’s front-line airfields within an hour.
• Oscar learned from his secretary that the Air Force operation had begun as he traveled to the television station.

German aircraft entered Buru airspace to attack its airfields as war was declared, while Buru pilots scrambled to prepare their outdated fighters. The German formation reached its target area as delayed warnings finally reached the airfield, leaving Buru aircraft ordered to take off immediately.

• German fighter formations crossed into Buru airspace without being detected, as Buru lacked radar and relied on ground observation posts.
• At Mogilev, Buru pilots prepared for a routine patrol and complained that their I-16 and I-15 fighters could not match German BF-109s.
• The airfield alarm announced that Germany had declared war on the Empire, and Buru personnel rushed to prepare for battle.
• German commanders told their pilots they would reach the target area in ten minutes as the formation checked its aircraft.
• Buru observation posts spotted the German aircraft, but reports reached the airfield only after a delay.
• The airfield Commander ordered the aircraft to take off immediately as the German formation approached.

The German Air Force attacked a Bolshevik airfield, destroying its fighters, anti-aircraft positions, runway, and buildings. After the bombing began, a Stuka destroyed the fuel depot, and the battle continued.

• German FW-190 and BF-109 fighters shot down I-16s attempting to take off, forcing the remaining Bolshevik pilots to flee.
• The German Air Force Commander ordered fighters to suppress and destroy the airfield’s anti-aircraft positions.
• German fighters bombed and strafed the anti-aircraft positions, killing their crews and destroying their guns.
• More than thirty H-01 bombers dropped their bombs, wrecking the runway and airfield buildings.
• A Stuka dropped a one-ton bomb into the fuel depot, setting off a massive explosion that forced nearby aircraft to climb higher.

The German Air Force destroyed the Bolshevik airfield at Mogilev, shooting down the few aircraft that got airborne and demolishing the fuel and ammunition depots. The attack also devastated more than thirty airfields across western Buru, leaving the Bolshevik Air Force unable to contest German air superiority.

• German fighters pursued the Bolshevik I-16s that had escaped the bombardment and shot them down.
• Commander ordered Stuka bombers to destroy the airfield’s ammunition depot after the fuel depot was destroyed.
• German aircraft dropped their remaining bombs and strafed Bolshevik troops before withdrawing from the ruined airfield.
• A Bolshevik Air Force officer saw the devastation at Mogilev and despaired over Buru’s inability to withstand the German Air Force.
• German attacks destroyed more than thirty airfields across western Buru, devastating the Bolshevik Air Force.

The German Air Force celebrated a successful surprise attack that destroyed more than thirty Bolshevik airfields and over two thousand aircraft at a cost of fewer than twenty planes. In Moscow, Joseph demanded an explanation and ordered the air force to resist future attacks while accelerating aircraft development.

• General Edward Milch reported that German air strikes had destroyed all designated targets and caused fewer than twenty aircraft losses.
• Field Marshal Albert Kesselring praised the German Air Force's aircraft and pilot training and discussed the future TA-152 and jet fighters.
• Reports delivered to Joseph revealed that German raids had nearly destroyed more than thirty Bolshevik airfields and over two thousand aircraft.
• General Novikov blamed the surprise attack and Germany's superior aircraft performance for the Bolshevik Air Force's losses.
• Joseph spared General Novikov and General Golovanov from punishment but ordered them to stop future German attacks and speed up new aircraft development.

The German Army launched a massive artillery bombardment against Buru’s Russian positions while German air strikes hit frontline airfields. At Smolensk, General Timoshenko ordered the Russian artillery to return fire despite General Fominikh’s warning that the Russians were outmatched.

• German artillery opened fire along the front, and heavy shells steadily destroyed Russian fortifications and inflicted casualties.
• General Guderian ordered Army Group B’s artillery to fire all its prepared shells within two hours and destroy the Russian defensive line.
• German artillery crews worked to sustain the bombardment, hoping to reduce the casualties their infantry would face in an attack.
• A Russian general reported to General Timoshenko and General Fominikh that German air raids and shelling were crippling the frontline defenses.
• General Fominikh ordered the Russian troops to hold their positions, while General Timoshenko ordered the artillery to return fire despite Fominikh’s warning about their disadvantage.

Russian and German artillery exchanged heavy fire, with German guns and aircraft gaining the advantage and devastating Russian positions. The German Air Force continued attacking the Russian defensive line as Russian artillery losses mounted.

• The Buru Army opened fire on German artillery with its 122mm and 152mm Howitzers and a small number of B-4 heavy howitzers.
• German 210mm Heavy Guns and 150mm Howitzers countered, destroying a Buru artillery position within minutes.
• A stockpile of Russian shells detonated at one position, wiping it out in a huge explosion.
• The German Air Force reported that its aircraft would enter the battlefield in ten minutes after striking Buru airfields.
• German Dive Bombers, ground-attack aircraft, and fighters attacked Russian artillery and trenches, sharply increasing Russian losses.

German Army Group B began its offensive against the battered Russian fronts after a two-hour artillery barrage, with the 8th Army Corps leading the assault toward Smolensk. Russian commanders urgently called for antitank guns and tank reinforcements as German armor surged toward their positions.

• German artillery and air attacks devastated Russian defenses across several fronts, leaving Russian generals unable to protect their guns or preserve their lines.
• General Guderian ordered every army corps to prepare to attack, and German Army Group B assembled its forces for an assault across a front more than five hundred kilometers wide.
• At eight in the morning, German artillery shifted its fire to Russian rear positions, signaling the Russian soldiers to return to their damaged defenses.
• German Army Group B launched its attack, with the 8th Army Corps advancing toward Smolensk against the Russian 3rd Army Corps and part of the 3rd Tank Army Corps.
• Panther and Mighty Tiger tanks led the German assault, prompting Russian commanders to request antitank guns, reinforcements, and tank support.

Lieutenant General Romanenko sent the Russian 12th Tank Army Corps and the 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Division to stop the German 8th Armored Army Corps near Mogilev. The Russian tanks suffered heavy losses as the German 88th Armored Division opened fire, leaving Major General Chekhov shocked by the enemy’s long-range accuracy.

• General Timoshenko ordered Lieutenant General Romanenko to halt the German armored advance, and Romanenko committed the Russian 12th Tank Army Corps and the 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Division against the German 88th Armored Division.
• Major General Heinrich ordered the German 88th Armored Division to control the engagement range and destroy Russian tanks from a distance.
• German and Russian tanks met southwest of Mogilev, where German Mighty Tiger tanks used their superior guns and targeting equipment to pierce Russian armor.
• The German tanks destroyed more than thirty Russian tanks soon after the fighting began, and Major General Chekhov wondered how they could hit targets so accurately from far away.

German armored forces used their superior range, armor, and communications to devastate the Russian tanks. As the Russian losses mounted, Major General Chekhov requested permission to withdraw before his remaining tanks were destroyed.

• Colonel Karnovsky told Major General Chekhov that German targeting equipment gave the German tanks a decisive advantage.
• German Panther and Tiger tanks destroyed Russian BT-7 and T-28 tanks with accurate fire.
• Major General Chekhov ordered the Russian tanks to close the distance, but Major General Heinrich redirected German fire toward the faster BT-7s and kept the Russians at range.
• Russian shells failed to penetrate German armor, while German guns continued destroying Russian tanks.
• Colonel Karnovsky called the battle a slaughter, and Major General Chekhov sent a telegram requesting permission to withdraw after losing nearly half his tanks.

German armored forces destroyed the Russian tank formations and broke through the Western Front’s defenses. The German 8th Army Corps opened a breach in the Russian 3rd Army Corps’ line as German forces continued their advance.

• Russian tank crews panicked and began retreating, disrupting their assault formation.
• Major General Heinrich ordered the German 88th Armored Division to attack, and Major General Chekhov ordered the remaining Russian forces to withdraw.
• The 88th Armored Division pursued and destroyed the Russian 12th Tank Army Corps’ and 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Division’s tanks and armored vehicles.
• The German 8th Armored Division annihilated the 15th Tank Corps and 179th Tank Brigade, stripping the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps of its main armored strength.
• German armored divisions outflanked the Russian 3rd Army Corps while the 81st, 82nd, 84th, 85th, and 86th divisions attacked its front and broke through in less than two hours.

General Guderian directed Army Group B’s advance toward Smolensk as German forces broke through Russian defenses and encircled troops across the front. With the German offensives progressing and tank losses low, the chapter left the campaign moving toward its planned effort to destroy the Russian armies before winter.

• General Guderian ordered Fedor von Bock to capture Vitebsk within two days and then advance on Smolensk.
• The 13th, 14th, and 15th Infantry Army Corps broke through Russian defensive lines and attacked their assigned targets.
• An officer reported that the 8th Armored Army Corps had defeated the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps, destroying hundreds of Russian tanks at little cost.
• General Guderian ordered infantry to deal with encircled Russian troops and sent the 8th Army Corps’ armored forces onward toward Smolensk.
• General Guderian reviewed the four Army Groups’ objectives and stressed that large-scale operations should end before winter.

German Army Group A prepared to attack Ulyanovsk after breaking through the Russian Northwestern Front’s outer defenses, while German forces advanced against the Southwestern Front and encircled the Southern Front in Ukraine. Germany had gained the early advantage in the war, and the Russian armies faced mounting threats on several fronts.

• General Kuznetsov concentrated the Northwestern Front’s defenses in Ulyanovsk and ordered troops and residents to build fortifications, trenches, and anti-tank ditches.
• General Blomberg, General Wilhelm Keitel, and General Walter von Reichenau agreed to attack Ulyanovsk with help from Finnish and Baltic armies and to capture it before early November.
• General Rommel led the 8th Armored Army Corps and other forces in breaking through the Southwestern Front’s defenses in two days and launching penetrations north of Ukraine.
• Germany and Ukraine assembled six armies totaling more than 1.2 million troops to encircle the Russian Southern Front and cut off its retreat.
• German Army Groups A, C, and D made progress across their fronts, giving Germany the initial upper hand in the war.

General Shaposhnikov briefed Marshal Voroshilov on the Russian front armies’ severe losses and the threat of collapse as Germany’s offensive overwhelmed their defenses. Voroshilov judged that the Southern Front Army had to retreat before German and Ukrainian forces encircled it.

• Germany’s air force destroyed most Russian aircraft at western airfields, and its army broke through the Russian defensive lines.
• General Shaposhnikov summoned Marshal Voroshilov to discuss the worsening situation at the front.
• Shaposhnikov reported that all four Russian front armies faced enormous crises and could be lost.
• Voroshilov agreed with Comrade Kuznetsov’s plan to abandon outer defenses and make a stand at Ulyanovsk.
• Shaposhnikov warned that the Western and Southwestern Fronts were struggling against Germany’s large, elite forces and superior tanks.
• Shaposhnikov said German and Ukrainian forces were preparing to encircle Marshal Budyonny’s Southern Front Army, and Voroshilov ordered it to retreat.

Marshal Voroshilov and General Shaposhnikov urged Joseph to retreat the army eastward to preserve its strength against Germany, but Joseph refused to abandon Buru’s western territories. They left knowing his stubborn decision would likely worsen the army’s losses.

• Marshal Voroshilov and General Shaposhnikov agreed that Buru’s forces could not withstand the German advance and that the Southern Front Army needed to retreat.
• Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov reported the front’s heavy losses to Joseph at the Kremlin.
• Joseph resolved that Buru had to defeat Germany and called for its people to unite.
• General Shaposhnikov asked Joseph to order a withdrawal into the interior to preserve the army and extend German supply lines.
• Joseph rejected the retreat and ordered the troops to hold their positions and fight, leaving Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov unable to change his mind.

German and Ukrainian forces prepared to encircle the Russian Southern Front Army near Donetsk, while Joseph refused to authorize its withdrawal from Ukraine. Marshal Budyonny received Moscow’s order and resigned himself to fighting to the death.

• General Brauchitsch announced that six army groups were ready to encircle the weakened Russian Southern Front Army, and ordered the 2nd Army Corps to cut off its retreat the next morning.
• General Maxim confirmed that Ukraine’s three army groups were in position and that more troops could be mobilized.
• Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov warned Joseph that the Southern Front Army risked being destroyed and relayed Budyonny’s request to withdraw and receive reinforcements.
• Joseph rejected the withdrawal and ordered reinforcements sent, unwilling to suffer the loss of face that retreat would bring.
• Marshal Budyonny received Joseph’s order and concluded that the Southern Front Army would have to fight to the bitter end.

The German 2nd Army Corps defeated the Russian 9th Army Corps and advanced south to cut off the Southern Front Army’s retreat. Marshal Budyonny faced the encircled army’s collapse as German forces blocked its route into Buru territory.

• On September 20, the German 2nd Army Corps attacked the Russian 9th Army Corps, while Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko ordered his mechanized forces to meet the assault and requested reinforcements from Marshal Budyonny.
• The German 2nd Armored Division and mechanized infantry divisions destroyed the Russian 2nd Mechanized Corps, crushed the 18th Army Corps, and forced the rest of the 9th Army Corps to retreat.
• Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko sent the 2nd Cavalry Corps to cover the withdrawal, but German tanks routed the cavalry after an hour of fighting.
• General Brauchitsch ordered the other German army groups to intensify their attacks after learning that the 9th Army Corps had been defeated.
• On September 21, the German 2nd Armored Division cut off the Southern Front Army’s retreat, while the rest of the 2nd Army Corps blocked its route into Buru territory.

The German and Ukrainian forces surrounded the Russian Southern Front Army, and Marshal Budyonny ordered the 9th Army Corps to break through the German line while other units held the encirclement. Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko’s attacks failed under German artillery and aircraft, leaving the trapped Russian troops with no way out but to keep fighting.

• Marshal Budyonny learned that the 9th Army Corps had collapsed and ordered Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko to concentrate his forces and reopen the retreat route.
• Marshal Budyonny ordered the 12th and 18th Army Corps to hold their positions and sent the Independent 9th Infantry Corps as reinforcements.
• Lieutenant General Zaporozhets authorized political workers to arrest anyone who disobeyed orders.
• Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko sent the 14th, 35th, and 48th Infantry Corps against the German 2nd Army Corps’ defensive line, but German firepower stopped their attacks.
• German artillery and Predator ground attack aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian attackers, while Supervisory Squads fired on soldiers who tried to retreat.
• Lt. Gen. Cherevichenko recognized that his troops were being sent to their deaths, but the political officer insisted they would prevail under Comrade Joseph’s leadership.

German and Ukrainian forces annihilated the Russian Southern Front Army in Ukraine, breaking the Russian western defensive line. With the front collapsing, German D Army Group planned another invasion of Buru territory and an advance on Yuzefgrad.

• German tanks and infantry pushed through Russian defenses as Russian soldiers fought desperately and Ukrainian troops charged alongside them.
• Lieutenant General Vladimir and General Maxim praised the Ukrainian army’s performance and hoped to gain greater benefits from Germany after the war.
• The Russian 18th Army Corps collapsed first, followed by the 12th Army Corps, as soldiers fled or surrendered.
• By September 25, German and Ukrainian forces had annihilated the Russian Southern Front Army; Marshal Budyonny committed suicide, while Lieutenant General Zaporozhets surrendered.
• German D Army Group prepared to invade Buru territory again, as the Russian western defensive line collapsed across its length.

After catastrophic defeats across the western front, Joseph met with his commanders in Moscow to discuss how Russia could continue the war. He approved plans to rebuild the Southern Front Army but warned that the greatest danger was the German advance toward Smolensk and Moscow.

• German forces inflicted massive losses on Russia’s western front armies, leaving Kursk, Voronezh, Smolensk, and Ulyanovsk under threat or in German hands.
• Joseph confronted his commanders in the Kremlin and acknowledged that the western defensive line was close to collapse.
• Voroshilov blamed Russia’s defeat on German strength and tactics but vowed that future battles would bring victory.
• Shaposhnikov proposed rebuilding the Southern Front Army with seven army corps and more than a million troops to defend Yuzefgrad.
• Joseph approved the plan but warned that the main crisis was the German advance toward Smolensk, which could bring Moscow within reach.