Chapter Summaries

Joseph and Buru's commanders discussed how to prevent the German forces from reaching Moscow and turn the war in Buru's favor. The chapter ended with Joseph confident that mobilization, winter, foreign aid, and resistance behind enemy lines could help them defeat Germany.

• Voroshilov warned that German Army Groups B, C, and A could surround Moscow from three directions, and Joseph insisted they must prevent that outcome.
• Shaposhnikov said the Western, Southwestern, and Northwestern Front Armies had to delay the Germans for at least a month, giving Buru time to retrain troops and rebuild its defenses.
• Voroshilov proposed using the completed second mobilization to strengthen the army over winter and asking the Americans for more aid and an early entry into the war.
• Joseph said he would send the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs to the United States to press for American support.
• Shaposhnikov urged scorched-earth evacuations and guerrilla warfare, while other commanders proposed destroying transport routes to slow the German advance.
• Joseph told the commanders that Buru could defeat the Germans if it made full use of its advantages.

Joseph approved a plan to rebuild and greatly reinforce the Russian Front Armies so they could withstand Germany's advance and prepare for a counterattack next spring. He appointed Voroshilov to command the enormous Western Front Army.

• Voroshilov proposed rebuilding the depleted Front Armies during the winter, and Shaposhnikov gave Joseph the reorganization plan.
• Joseph questioned the Western Front's proposed size, but Voroshilov argued that it needed overwhelming numbers to face Germany and its allied forces.
• Joseph approved the Western Front's expansion and appointed Voroshilov as its commander, replacing Timoshenko.
• Joseph reviewed plans to reinforce the Southwestern and Northwestern Fronts, giving them the strength to support the Western Front and hold their positions.
• Joseph ordered the reorganization to proceed and said the troops should be ready to counterattack next spring.

Joseph proposed taking the initiative against Germany by sending troops from the Caucasus to seize the Persian Gulf and disrupt Germany’s oil supply. Despite warnings from Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov about Turkey, German reserves, and the risk of retaliation, Joseph ordered the Caucasian Front Army formed and sent toward the region.

• Joseph told Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov that Buru should attack Germany from another direction rather than remain on the defensive.
• Joseph pointed to the Persian Gulf and argued that capturing its oil supplies would weaken Germany and force it to divert troops.
• Voroshilov warned that Germany had stockpiled oil and could obtain supplies from Romania and Libya, while Joseph argued that an attack could still relieve pressure on the front.
• Shaposhnikov reported that Turkey was deploying troops eastward to guard against an advance on the Persian Gulf.
• Joseph dismissed the Turkish threat and said Buru should destroy the oil wells if it could not hold the region against Germany.
• Joseph ordered the formation of the Caucasian Front Army and told it to march toward the Persian Gulf.

Joseph approved the formation of the Caucasian Front Army and reassured the Buru Politburo that winter would give Russia a chance to defeat Germany. He sent Molotov to the United States to seek expanded military aid, and the US agreed to fly him there aboard a B-17 Bomber.

• Shaposhnikov proposed forming the Caucasian Front Army from five armies, and Joseph appointed Kozlov as commander, Shamanin as Political Commissar, and Tolbukhin as chief of staff.
• Joseph considered Voroshilov's future posts and planned to keep him on the Politburo while offering Shaposhnikov the position of People's Commissar of Defense.
• Joseph told the Politburo that winter would halt the German offensive and give Russian forces time to prepare and counterattack.
• Joseph asked Molotov to travel to the United States and request more military aid, including advanced fighter aircraft.
• The Buru Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested a B-17 Bomber to carry Molotov to the United States, and the US government agreed.

President Roosevelt and his advisers assessed Germany’s devastating early victories over Buru and the danger they posed to the United States. General George Marshall warned that the US Army could not defeat Germany alone, while Roosevelt hoped an alliance with Buru, the Island Nation, and Britain could still win the war.

• Roosevelt convened senior officials ahead of Molotov’s arrival as Joseph’s special envoy to discuss the war and the possibility that Buru would request American aid.
• Roosevelt and the officials reviewed Germany’s catastrophic offensive, which had inflicted more than a million casualties on Buru and seized vast territory.
• General George Marshall described Germany’s air attacks and armored tactics and warned that the US Army could not withstand a German offensive if its forces matched Buru’s.
• Marshall told Roosevelt that the United States alone had almost no chance of defeating Germany, but that allied forces could prevail by making Germany disperse its troops.

President Roosevelt and his advisers assessed the United States’ military inferiority to Germany after reviewing the German-Buru war. Roosevelt ordered discussions to acquire Buru’s B-4 heavy howitzer technology, while Marshall urged the rapid development of a powerful American heavy tank.

• Secretary of War Woodring argued that seeing Germany’s strength in its war with Buru gave the United States a chance to improve before facing Germany itself.
• General George Marshall warned Roosevelt that Germany’s 210mm self-propelled heavy howitzers could overwhelm American forces and that developing comparable artillery would take too long.
• Woodring and Marshall proposed obtaining Buru’s B-4 heavy howitzer technology, and Roosevelt instructed Secretary of State Hull to negotiate for it when the Buru envoy arrived.
• Marshall described how Germany’s Panther and Mighty Tiger tanks had crushed Buru’s armor and said American M3 and M4 tanks would also be outmatched.
• Marshall urged the United States to develop a powerful heavy tank as quickly as possible, and Roosevelt agreed.

President Roosevelt and American military leaders assessed the United States’ weapons and aircraft disadvantage compared with Germany and discussed ways to catch up. The chapter left them planning closer cooperation with Britain and greater aircraft development as they confronted Germany’s growing lead.

• President Roosevelt urged the United States to close its military equipment gap, and George Marshall pledged to accelerate heavy tank development and mass production.
• Henry Harley Arnold reported that German BF-109 and FW-190 fighters outperformed American fighters, while Germany’s next-generation aircraft might already be nearing test flights.
• George Marshall confirmed intelligence that Germany’s next-generation aircraft could soon enter service, and Roosevelt ordered Arnold to contact Britain about joint aircraft development.
• Arnold compared German and American bombers, saying American B-24 and B-25 aircraft could rival some German models, while Germany’s H-21 had a modest advantage.
• Arnold said American SBD dive bombers could still provide support and suggested the Army Air Corps could procure them if needed.

Admiral Harold Stark warned President Roosevelt that American carrier fighters lagged behind German aircraft, while Roosevelt urged faster weapons development ahead of America’s expected entry into the war. Hopkins and Hull warned that Buru might not survive until the promised 1941 entry date, and Roosevelt left the question of entering early for discussion after the Russian envoy arrived.

• Admiral Harold Stark told Roosevelt that the Navy’s F4F fighters were inferior to German carrier-based fighters and urged greater investment to speed the F4U’s development.
• Roosevelt told the assembled officials that the United States needed to use its remaining time before entering the war to develop better weapons.
• Hopkins and Hull warned Roosevelt that Buru might ask the United States to enter the war early because it might not withstand Germany’s offensive for two years.
• General George Marshall recommended providing Buru with more aid and entering the war early if Buru could not hold out, so the United States could attack Germany from another direction.
• Roosevelt said the officials would discuss early entry again after the Buru envoy arrived.

Roosevelt and his advisers discussed using the heavily armed Island Nation to open a new front against Germany and relieve pressure on Buru. Roosevelt decided it was time to order the Island Nation to fight, with American aid set to strengthen its military further.

• Hopkins proposed that the Island Nation attack the South Seas and Australia to force Germany to divert troops from Buru.
• Roosevelt and Hull questioned whether the Island Nation could shoulder the campaign, and Marshall argued that its army could mobilize millions of soldiers and tie down German forces.
• Stark described the Island Nation Navy’s battleships, battlecruisers, and aircraft carriers, emphasizing its growing strength.
• Woodring recommended continuing American supplies of steel, oil, and other metals to build up the Island Nation’s military.
• Roosevelt agreed that the Island Nation should be sent to fight Germany after years of American support.

Molotov arrived in Washington on September 27, 1939, and pressed the United States for more weapons and supplies to help Buru withstand Germany’s invasion. The Americans agreed to provide tanks and fighters but warned that the Siberian Railway could not carry the aid already waiting at Vladivostok.

• Molotov arrived at a Washington-area airbase, where Hull welcomed him and escorted him to a hotel.
• Molotov refused to delay for a banquet and began talks with Hull, Woodring, George Marshall, and Hopkins after a short rest.
• Molotov described Buru’s losses and asked the United States for more tanks, aircraft, weapons, and equipment.
• Hull agreed to provide Buru with one thousand M3 light tanks, five hundred M4 medium tanks, and five hundred P-39 fighters.
• Woodring warned that aid was piling up at Vladivostok because the Siberian Railway could not transport it to the front.

Molotov negotiated with Hull and other American officials over aid for Buru, securing plans to ship supplies through the Arctic Ocean and a promise that the United States would enter the war before the first half of 1941. Hull also said the United States would persuade the Island Nation to attack German Pacific colonies next spring, easing pressure on Buru.

• Molotov asked the Americans to send supplies to Murmansk through the North Atlantic, but Hull rejected the route as too dangerous.
• General Marshall proposed using the Arctic Ocean in summer, and Molotov agreed to preparations for shipping supplies to Buru next year.
• Molotov urged the United States to enter the war sooner, warning that Buru could be devastated if left to fight Germany alone.
• Hull promised to report the request to the President and assured Molotov that the United States would declare war on Germany before the first half of 1941.
• Hull said the United States would persuade the Island Nation to attack German Pacific colonies next spring, and Molotov welcomed the plan.

German Army Group B prepared to capture Smolensk before shifting to defense for the winter, while German forces continued their assaults on other Russian strongholds. The chapter left Smolensk, Kursk, Voronezh, and Ulyanovsk surrounded as their defenders faced imminent attacks or starvation.

• General Guderian told the Army Group B commanders that capturing Smolensk was their last operational objective before the troops shifted to defense.
• General Fedor von Bock and Lieutenant General Georg von Küchler assessed the Russian defenders as isolated and unable to receive reinforcements.
• General Guderian ordered the 3rd Army Corps and allied Polish and Belarusian corps to capture Smolensk and eliminate its defenders within half a month.
• General Guderian directed the rest of Army Group B to build defensive lines and prepare for the Russian winter counterattack, with Moscow as the following year's objective.
• German Army Group C continued attacking the Russian remnants in Kursk and Voronezh.
• German Army Group A, Baltic forces, and the Finnish Army besieged Ulyanovsk, where General Kuznetsov's troops and more than a million civilians faced dwindling food supplies.

German and allied forces bombarded Smolensk before launching an assault against the encircled Russian defenders. General Timoshenko learned that Joseph had replaced him with Marshal Voroshilov and faced the coming battle with his army abandoned and vastly outnumbered.

• German, Polish, and Belarusian artillery shelled Smolensk while General Timoshenko learned that Moscow would send no reinforcements and ordered his units to hold their positions.
• General Timoshenko's confidant revealed that Joseph had reorganized the Western Front Army and appointed Marshal Voroshilov as its commander.
• German artillery and aircraft devastated much of Smolensk and inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian defenders.
• General Bock ordered the German 3rd Army Corps, 1st Polish Army Corps, 2nd Army Corps, and 1st Belarusian Army Corps to attack Smolensk.
• German and allied troops launched brutal street fighting against the outnumbered Russian forces.

German forces from the 3rd Army Corps fought their way into Smolensk and began clearing its streets and buildings, while Russian troops resisted fiercely despite being outmatched. The Germans captured a barricade, but the city’s defenders continued to inflict casualties as the battle spread through the ruins.

• Under General Fedor von Bock’s orders, four German Infantry Divisions broke through the Russian defenses outside Smolensk and entered the city.
• A German platoon used mortars, Grenade Launchers, machine guns, and snipers to suppress and destroy Russian defenders at a street barricade.
• German soldiers captured the barricade and began clearing buildings, where Russian troops fought back and a wounded soldier detonated a grenade, killing and wounding several Germans.
• Russian forces repeatedly counterattacked positions captured by the Germans, turning the fighting for streets and buildings into a costly back-and-forth struggle.

The Polish 1st Army Corps attacked Smolensk, advancing through fierce street fighting despite heavy casualties. Polish artillery destroyed a Russian position and allowed the Polish troops to capture it, while the Russians faced an enemy with overwhelming manpower and firepower.

• Lieutenant General Sakel ordered Polish commanders to keep advancing and promised priority replacements for units suffering losses.
• Five Polish infantry divisions attacked Smolensk, but the Russians’ stubborn resistance caused heavy Polish casualties.
• A Polish battalion failed to break through Russian defenses on a street and requested artillery support from Division Headquarters.
• The Polish troops withdrew as ordered, and Russian soldiers celebrated their apparent victory.
• Polish artillery blanketed the Russian position, killing nearly all its defenders, and Polish troops captured the street.

German and allied forces steadily advanced through Smolensk, using air and artillery support to break Russian defenses while Guderian ordered the offensive to avoid unnecessary losses. After three days, nearly half the city had fallen, and General Bock predicted Smolensk could be taken within a week.

• Guderian received a report that German, Polish, and Belarusian corps were advancing on Smolensk, with the allied forces taking heavier casualties.
• Guderian ordered the troops to advance steadily and requested stronger air support for the attack.
• A German ground-attack aircraft destroyed a Russian anti-aircraft machine gun, allowing German soldiers to overrun the position.
• German and allied forces used air and artillery strikes to keep forcing Russian troops from their defenses.
• After three days, nearly half of Smolensk had fallen and more than one hundred thousand Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded; Bock predicted the city could be taken within a week.

As German forces intensified their siege of Smolensk, General Timoshenko’s commanders confronted the grim prospect that their battered troops could not hold out much longer. Timoshenko ordered them to keep resisting for Joseph’s sake, though he privately believed their fate was already sealed.

• German forces inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian troops in Smolensk, leaving the Western Front Army’s surviving corps badly depleted and demoralized.
• At a military conference, General Fominikh and other political officers insisted that the Russians would win if they kept fighting, while General Timoshenko asked what they should do.
• Major General Korobkov challenged the optimistic claims, pointing out that the Russian forces faced overwhelming German numbers.
• Fominikh accused Korobkov of betraying Joseph and the nation, but Timoshenko stopped the argument before it further weakened the army.
• Timoshenko ordered the commanders to hold Smolensk and pin down the Germans, while privately recognizing that the remnants of his army would likely soon be destroyed.

General Timoshenko met with Major General Korobkov, who resented the political officers and Moscow’s decision to rebuild the Western Front under Marshal Voroshilov. Facing a looming German assault, Korobkov urged surrender, and Timoshenko began to consider the possibility.

• General Timoshenko received Major General Korobkov and warned him that criticizing the political officer system could bring severe consequences.
• Major General Korobkov told General Timoshenko that Moscow had rebuilt the Western Front with more than twenty army corps and appointed Marshal Voroshilov as its commander.
• Major General Korobkov argued that the Western Front had been abandoned, while General Timoshenko silently weighed whether Korobkov’s words might be a trap.
• Major General Korobkov proposed surrendering to the Germans to survive the expected defeat.
• General Timoshenko rejected surrender at first, but Korobkov’s despair and his own sense of being discarded left him glimpsing a possible way forward.

General Timoshenko, Major General Korobkov, and Major General Golubev agreed to surrender their forces to Germany and launched a coup against the Western Front’s political workers. After seizing control and arresting the Front Army Political Commissar, General Timoshenko sent an offer of surrender to Germany, knowing that Joseph might punish their families.

• General Timoshenko agreed to support Major General Korobkov’s plan to surrender and summoned Major General Golubev, who agreed to join them.
• General Timoshenko ordered the operation to begin, and Major General Korobkov and Major General Golubev arrested political workers in their army corps.
• Major General Korobkov’s troops took control of Area Army Headquarters and arrested General Fominikh, while General Timoshenko’s guards did not resist.
• General Fominikh accused General Timoshenko of betraying Joseph, the Party, and their country, and Timoshenko vowed to kill Joseph if their families were harmed.
• General Timoshenko contacted Germany to ask whether it would accept their surrender.

General Timoshenko surrendered the Russian Western Front Army at Smolensk, and Oscar accepted the surrender on the condition that willing Russian prisoners form a German-controlled Russian Liberation Army. The chapter ended with Smolensk under German control and Moscow’s defenses exposed.

• General Fedor von Bock halted the German and allied attacks after Russian envoys announced that the forces in Smolensk were preparing to surrender.
• Field Marshal Manstein reported Timoshenko’s surrender request to Oscar, who agreed to accept it.
• Oscar proposed forming a Russian Liberation Army from captured Russian troops, with Timoshenko as its Commander, and Manstein approved the plan.
• General Guderian presented Germany’s terms, and Timoshenko accepted them to gain an army and pursue revenge on Joseph.
• On October 2, 1919, Timoshenko surrendered more than one hundred thousand troops, and Smolensk fell under German control.