Chapter Summaries

Joseph met with Shaposhnikov as Germany prepared a major offensive against Buru and neared Moscow. Shaposhnikov warned that Buru was unlikely to defeat Germany without help, leaving Joseph to hope that Island Nation and the United States would tie down German forces.

• Shaposhnikov told Joseph that Germany was moving supplies and troops to the front and gathering forces from its vassal states for another large offensive.
• Joseph asked whether Buru's army could withstand the attack, and Shaposhnikov described Germany's advantages in armor, firepower, and aircraft.
• Shaposhnikov said Buru's chances depended on Island Nation and the United States drawing German forces away from the front.
• Joseph said he would press the Americans to enter the war soon and hoped Island Nation could weaken Germany.

Joseph and Shaposhnikov assessed the looming German offensive, Russia’s shortages of weapons and fuel, and the search for new oil supplies. Joseph ordered Moscow and Yuzefgrad defended and insisted that Russia had to win the war.

• Shaposhnikov warned Joseph that Germany intended to destroy Russia’s main forces that year and that hastily formed Russian units lacked weapons and combat strength.
• Joseph said Russia would accelerate weapons production and seek more American supplies, while Shaposhnikov explained that transport limits meant aid was focused on aircraft engines and fuel.
• Shaposhnikov reported that oil had been found in West Siberia and near the Caspian Sea, but only Caspian extraction could begin, and large-scale production would take time.
• Shaposhnikov said the Germans would likely target Moscow and Yuzefgrad, and Joseph ordered both cities held.
• Joseph told Shaposhnikov that Russia had nowhere left to retreat and that they had to win the war.

On April 8, Oscar reviewed preparations for the German military’s third phase of Operation Barbarossa, an all-out offensive against Moscow and Yuzefgrad. Manstein outlined the forces and air support committed to the campaign, and Oscar left satisfied that Germany had assembled enough strength to improve its chances of victory.

• Oscar summoned the Eastern Front’s senior commanders and asked Manstein whether preparations were complete.
• Manstein reported that most war materiel was assembled and presented the plan to destroy Buru’s forces in a two-direction offensive.
• Manstein assigned Army Groups A, B, and C, totaling 8.2 million men, to attack Moscow.
• Manstein assigned Army Groups D and E, totaling 3.8 million men, to attack Yuzefgrad.
• The German military committed more than 4,800 tactical aircraft and bombers from four strategic air groups to support the offensive and strike Russian cities and industry.
• Oscar approved of the preparations and believed Germany’s combined forces gave it a greater chance of victory.

As Germany prepared to attack Russia, Oscar and his commanders expected the German Air Force to overwhelm the Russian defenses. On April 15, German aircraft began taking off for the offensive, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Oscar announced that the offensive would begin in one week, and Field Marshal Kesselring assured him that the Air Force was ready.
• Germany continued moving troops and supplies to the front as Marshal Voroshilov feared Army Groups A and B would encircle his Western Front.
• Joseph refused Voroshilov's request for more troops but sent Zhukov's Reserve Front Army to block Army Group A.
• On April 15, all eight German aviation groups prepared to strike Russian airfields and support the offensive.
• Just after six in the morning, the first FW-190 took off, followed by a vast formation of German aircraft.

The German Air Force launched a major offensive toward Moscow and Yuzefgrad, aiming to destroy the Russian Air Force and seize air superiority. Russian radar detected the German formations and prompted a scramble, while both sides tracked each other’s aircraft as the battle began.

• Field Marshal Albert Kesselring ordered the German Air Force operation to proceed despite Field Marshal Edward Milch’s warning that Russian radar would prevent a surprise attack.
• Russian radar detected the German formations before they crossed the line of control, and the Russian Air Force scrambled aircraft from its airfields.
• Marshal Voroshilov ordered frontline army groups to prepare for battle after learning of the German mobilization.
• German radar detected the Russian aircraft taking off, and German headquarters directed FW-190 fighters to engage them ahead of the bombers and ground-attack aircraft.

The German Air Force committed over 2,500 FW-190 fighters to a major battle against Russian Yak-1s, using its speed advantage and tactics tailored to the new Russian aircraft. The fight over the Eastern European Plain continued as both air forces committed their full strength, with Russian pilots suffering severe losses.

• The German Squadron Leader ordered his squadrons to destroy the Russian fighters, and German pilots prepared to face the newly deployed Yak-1s using intelligence and tactics supplied by Emperor Qin Tian.
• The Russian Regimental Commander ordered his pilots to attack, and dozens of German and Russian aircraft entered a brutal aerial melee.
• A German FW-190 shot down a Yak-1, then attacked its pilot's parachute, killing him.
• Yakov struggled to escape a faster FW-190, but the German fighter damaged his Yak-1 and killed him after he bailed out.
• More than 2,500 German FW-190s and a comparable Russian force fought for air superiority over the Eastern European Plain.

German FW-190 fighters overwhelmed the Russian Air Force in a devastating air battle, leaving Russian ground troops exposed to German attacks. After losing more than 1,500 aircraft in under half an hour, the surviving Russian planes fled.

• Barkhorn shot down a Yak-1 and dismissed the Russian fighter’s capabilities as his squadron leader praised the FW-190’s advantage.
• German fighters outmatched Yak-1s, I-16s, and American-supplied P-40s, inflicting far greater losses on the Russian Air Force.
• Russian infantrymen watched the air battle and argued over their air force’s poor performance until a battalion commander defended the pilots.
• German aircraft strafed a Russian pilot parachuting to the ground, then fired on soldiers after a machine gunner shot at them.
• The German Air Force shot down more than 1,500 Russian aircraft in less than half an hour, forcing the survivors to flee.

The German Air Force defeated the Russian Air Force’s interception and launched waves of attacks on Russian forward airfields. By afternoon, the airfields west of Moscow had been destroyed, and Germany held firm air superiority.

• General Hugo Sperrle reported that German fighters had broken the Russian interception, while Field Marshal Albert Kesselring learned German losses had reached about a hundred aircraft.
• General Hugo Sperrle said eight Dive Bomber Wings and eight Ground Attack Wings were heading to strike Russian airfields under fighter cover.
• Russian air defense troops prepared to defend their airfield as German fighters attacked and suppressed their anti-aircraft positions.
• German Dive Bombers and Attackers bombed a Russian field airfield, destroying its hangars, depots, control tower, and other structures.
• A second wave joined the attacks, and by afternoon the German Air Force had destroyed the airfields west of Moscow and secured air superiority.

Russian Air Force commanders Novikov and Gromov reported devastating losses against the German Air Force to Joseph. Enraged by their failure, Joseph dismissed them and ordered them exiled to labor-reform farms in Siberia.

• Novikov and Gromov learned that German FW-190 fighters had overwhelmed Russian aircraft and that German raids had devastated frontline airfields.
• Novikov and Gromov went to the Kremlin to report that the Russian Air Force could no longer contest German air superiority.
• Joseph accused Novikov and Gromov of failing him and relieved them of their posts.
• Joseph ordered the guards to arrest Novikov and Gromov and exile them to labor-reform farms in Siberia.

Joseph replaced the dismissed Air Force leaders as the German Empire prepared to exploit its air superiority with a major offensive. By April 16, German artillery and aircraft had devastated Russian defenses, though Russian troops continued to resist.

• Joseph dismissed Novikov and Gromov and approved Skoripko and Faraleyev as their replacements.
• Joseph urged the new Air Force leaders to keep fighting and promised to increase Yak-1 production.
• Kesselring reported that the German Air Force had gained air superiority, and Oscar ordered Manstein to launch the army offensive at dawn.
• On April 16, five German Army Groups began a huge artillery bombardment that wrecked Russian defensive lines.
• German aircraft attacked Russian artillery, inflicting heavy losses as Russian troops fought back under the bombardment.

Marshal Voroshilov ordered the Western Front to hold its positions as German artillery and air raids devastated Russian defenses near Moscow. German armored and mechanized divisions then began their assault on the front line.

• Lieutenant General Malankin reported that German artillery and aircraft had suppressed Russian guns and inflicted heavy losses.
• Voroshilov ordered the Western Front corps to defend their positions and tasked the 3rd and 4th Tank Army Corps with stopping the German armor.
• German attacks battered Russian defensive works across the front while Zhukov's Reserve Front Army remained in reserve behind the lines.
• Marshal Guderian ordered Army Group B to attack with its armored forces and divide and encircle the Russian defenders.
• Seven German armored divisions and twelve Mechanized Infantry Divisions launched their assault on the Russian defensive line.

German armored forces broke through the Russian front, and Marshal Guderian ordered the infantry to join the attack. Marshal Voroshilov sent the 3rd and 4th Tank Army Corps to counterattack, and the 88th Armored Division encountered the 3rd Tank Army Corps on February 17.

• German armored divisions and Mechanized Infantry Divisions launched a massive assault on Russian positions.
• Russian anti-tank weapons failed to stop the Tiger-Panther tanks, while soldiers’ close-range attacks were largely cut down by German fire.
• German tanks broke through the Russian line, and the Russian frontline troops began to rout.
• Lieutenant General Karl Hilpert reported the breakthrough, and Marshal Guderian ordered German infantry to attack alongside the armored forces.
• Marshal Voroshilov ordered the 3rd Tank Army Corps and 4th Tank Army Corps to counterattack the German 88th Armored Division.
• On the morning of February 17, the German 88th Armored Division encountered the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps.

Lieutenant General Romanenko sent the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps toward the battlefield under orders to destroy the German 88th Armored Division, expecting support from the 4th Tank Army Corps. On April 17, the German division’s Mighty Tiger tanks met the Russian 12th Tank Army Corps and began destroying its tanks from long range.

• Major General Rebalco told Lieutenant General Romanenko that Marshal Voroshilov had ordered the 3rd Tank Army Corps to wipe out the German 88th Armored Division, with the 4th Tank Army Corps joining the attack.
• Lieutenant General Romanenko ordered his troops to prepare to depart, and the 3rd Tank Army Corps rushed toward the battlefield.
• At 9 a.m. on April 17, the German heavy tank battalion encountered the Russian 12th Tank Army Corps and opened fire from more than one thousand meters away.
• The German Mighty Tiger tanks destroyed Russian BT-5 and T-26 tanks as the Russians tried to close the distance.
• A Russian BT-5 round dented a Mighty Tiger’s frontal armor, and the German tank commander ordered his crew to fire back and destroy it.

Lieutenant General Romanenko sent the 15th Tank Corps and the 179th Tank Brigade to reinforce the battered 12th Tank Army Corps, whose tanks were fighting a German heavy tank battalion. The T-34s initially struck the German tanks’ vulnerable sides, but German reinforcements arrived and the battle turned into a fierce clash of armor.

• Lieutenant General Romanenko ordered the 15th Tank Corps and 179th Tank Brigade into battle and urged the 4th Tank Army Corps to join them.
• The German heavy tank battalion began retreating to maintain its distance as the Russian reinforcements approached.
• The 15th Tank Corps attacked alongside the 12th Tank Army Corps while the 179th Tank Brigade flanked the Germans with its seventy T-34s.
• The T-34s penetrated the side armor of several Mighty Tiger tanks before the Germans turned their fronts toward the brigade and destroyed Russian tanks with their 88-millimeter guns.
• The German 881st Tank Regiment arrived with Panther tanks, and its forces destroyed Russian tanks, including T-34s.

The German 88th Armored Division and German aircraft crushed the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps, inflicting heavy losses before turning to meet the arriving 4th Tank Army Corps. The 4th Tank Army Corps was routed and ultimately wiped out by the German forces.

• The German 881st Tank Regiment brought more than a hundred Panther tanks into the battle, devastating the Russian 179th Tank Brigade and forcing Russian tanks to retreat.
• German Panther and Mighty Tiger tanks, joined by dive bombers, inflicted severe losses on the Russian 3rd Tank Army Corps as Lieutenant General Romanenko called for the 4th Tank Army Corps to help.
• German aircraft attacked the Russian 4th Tank Army Corps on its way to the battlefield, reducing its tank strength from more than six hundred to fewer than four hundred.
• The 4th Tank Army Corps arrived to find the 3rd Tank Army Corps crushed, while the German 88th Armored Division prepared to face the new threat with reinforcements nearby.
• Major General Kryuchkin ordered the 4th Tank Army Corps to retreat, but German pursuit and interception by the 882nd Mechanized Infantry Division wiped it out.

Marshal Voroshilov learned that German armored forces had crippled two Russian tank army corps and breached defensive lines across several fronts. As German forces encircled Russian troops and Army Group B ran short of men to destroy them, Marshal Guderian ordered the vassal-state armies into battle.

• Lieutenant General Malankin reported that the 3rd Tank Army Corps and 4th Tank Army Corps had suffered devastating tank losses against German forces.
• Marshal Voroshilov learned that other Russian fronts had also been breached, while the Caucasian Front Army struggled to hold its position.
• German armored and mechanized divisions continued deep penetrations, splitting Western Front forces into isolated, encircled groups.
• Lieutenant General Karl Hilpert warned Marshal Guderian that Army Group B lacked enough troops to eliminate the encircled Russians.
• Marshal Guderian ordered the vassal-state armies into battle to reinforce the German offensive.

Germany and its puppet-state allies used their combined forces to destroy Russian units trapped in encirclements across the Eastern Front. After a week of fighting, Germany had gained the initiative as Russian losses mounted.

• Lieutenant General Sakel ordered the 1st Polish Army Corps to advance, and Polish, Belarusian, Hungarian, and Bohemian troops joined the German offensive.
• German and Polish forces attacked the Russian 20th Army Corps’ 61st and 69th Infantry Corps, annihilating them after three days and taking the survivors prisoner.
• German and Belarusian forces surrounded and destroyed the remaining Russian troops of the 20th Army Corps after the 7th Mechanized Corps suffered heavy losses.
• German and puppet-state forces continued eliminating Russian units across several fronts, while the Russian Caucasian Front Army struggled under bombardment.
• Lieutenant General Karl Hilpert reported that units under the 3rd Army Corps had destroyed a Russian Infantry Corps and crushed a Mechanized Infantry Corps, and Marshal Guderian acknowledged the report.

Emperor Qin Tian’s German Empire pursued a strategy of destroying Russia’s fighting forces rather than focusing on capturing territory. As German advances devastated the Russian Western Front and trapped more than a million troops, Marshal Voroshilov requested reinforcements and ordered the encircled forces to fight on.

• The chapter explained how Emperor Qin Tian’s German Empire avoided the Third Reich’s strategic and logistical mistakes and aimed to destroy the Russian army’s living strength.
• Lieutenant General Ponomarenko reported that five Russian infantry army groups had been wiped out, two tank army groups had lost combat effectiveness, and more than a million troops were encircled.
• Marshal Voroshilov asked whether the Western Front could counterattack to relieve the encircled forces, but Lieutenant General Malandin said German armored attacks made it extremely difficult.
• Lieutenant General Malandin said the Western Front needed powerful armored reinforcements to confront German Army Group B’s three thousand tanks.
• Marshal Voroshilov decided to request reinforcements from General Zhukov’s Reserve Front Army and ordered the encircled troops to break out or fight to the death.

The Russian Northwestern and Southwestern Fronts struggled to withstand powerful German offensives, and the Southwestern Front asked Moscow for reinforcements despite fearing Joseph's reaction. Rommel planned to destroy the remaining Southwestern Front forces and then attack the flank of the Russian Western Front alongside Army Group B.

• General Kurochkin, Lieutenant General Bogatkin, and Lieutenant General Vatutin debated how to respond as German Army Group A pushed back the Northwestern Front and Joseph forbade retreat.
• General Kilponos and Lieutenant General Zheltov urged the Southwestern Front to request reinforcements as German Army Group C devastated its forces.
• General Kilponos ordered Lieutenant General Purkayev to send a Telegram to Moscow requesting reinforcements, despite fears of angering Joseph.
• Marshal Rommel told General Franz von Leeb that German forces could crush the remaining Southwestern Front by massing their armored forces for a rapid assault.
• Marshal Rommel said that after defeating the Southwestern Front, Army Group C would attack the flank of the Russian Western Front in coordination with Army Group B.

As German forces advanced toward Moscow, Joseph heard that the Russian military could not match them and would need American intervention and aid. He decided to urge the United States to enter the war and increase assistance as the Arctic route reopened.

• Muscovites began fleeing east as German forces continued their advance and the Russian military failed to stop them.
• Shaposhnikov told Joseph that Russia lagged behind Germany in air power, equipment, training, and troop numbers, and that the American entry into the war might be their best hope.
• Joseph feared that Russia would be destroyed if it could not defeat Germany, but accepted that Russia could not turn the war around alone.
• Shaposhnikov reassured Joseph that Russia and the other countries resisting Germany were partners whose cooperation would continue until Germany was defeated.
• Joseph ordered Russia's representative in the United States to demand American entry into the war and more aid, including shipments through the Arctic Ocean route.