Chapter Summaries

Joseph and Shaposhnikov discussed seeking American aid as Russian fronts suffered severe losses and lacked reserves. As the danger to Moscow grew, Joseph ordered the city sealed so no one could leave without his permission.

• Shaposhnikov urged Joseph to request more American aircraft and tanks to offset Russia’s damaged production capacity.
• Joseph hoped to obtain advanced American weapons, but Shaposhnikov warned that the Americans would prioritize their own needs and guard against Russia.
• Shaposhnikov reported that the Southwestern Front was close to collapse and that several front armies were asking for reinforcements.
• Joseph learned that Russia had few available troops, while newly mobilized forces still needed equipment and training.
• Shaposhnikov told Joseph that officials and their families were leaving Moscow for Siberia, and Joseph ordered Moscow blockaded so no one could leave without his permission.

Joseph ordered Moscow’s residents to remain in the city and build defenses as German forces approached, then summoned Zhukov to advise whether to reinforce the failing fronts. Zhukov urged Joseph to preserve the undertrained Reserve Front Army for Moscow’s defense, leaving the decision unresolved.

• Joseph ordered Shaposhnikov to block Moscow’s outbound roads and require his personal pass for anyone leaving.
• Joseph directed every Moscow resident to help build defensive fortifications.
• Shaposhnikov asked whether Joseph would ignore requests for reinforcements, and Joseph summoned Zhukov for his opinion.
• Zhukov warned that most of the Reserve Front Army was newly formed and untrained, and advised saving it for Moscow’s defense rather than sending it into field battles.
• Joseph frowned and considered Zhukov’s advice without announcing a decision.

Joseph appointed Zhukov Moscow Garrison Commander and ordered Moscow sealed against departures as German forces approached. Zhukov accepted the task, while an attempt by a high-ranking official’s wife to force her way out ended in her arrest.

• Joseph appointed Zhukov Moscow Garrison Commander and placed the Reserve Front Army under the Moscow Garrison District.
• Shaposhnikov advised keeping Zhukov’s appointment secret, and Joseph agreed.
• Russian troops barricaded Moscow’s major roads and barred anyone without a Kremlin pass from leaving.
• A crowd of civilians begged to leave Moscow, but an officer ordered them to return.
• A woman who claimed her husband was Deputy Head of Moscow District slapped the officer after he refused to let her pass.
• The officer ordered the woman arrested, and the civilians returned to Moscow.

As Moscow's civilians hurriedly built defenses under General Zhukov, Germany's commanders gathered in Berlin to plan a campaign against the Russian fronts. Field Marshal Manstein proposed encircling and destroying the Southwestern, Western, and Northwestern Fronts before the United States entered the war.

• Russian soldiers forced Moscow civilians to dig trenches in exchange for food as the city rapidly built defensive positions.
• Marshal Shaposhnikov handed responsibility for Moscow's defenses to General Zhukov, the new Moscow Garrison Commander.
• Marshals Blomberg, Guderian, and Rommel returned to Berlin to meet with Emperor Qin Tian and Field Marshal Manstein.
• Field Marshal Manstein explained that Germany wanted to destroy the main Russian forces before the United States entered the war.
• Field Marshal Manstein proposed that Army Group C feign an advance toward Moscow, then turn north to cut off the Russian Western and Northwestern Fronts while Germany's other army groups joined the assault.

Oscar and his marshals approved the Right Hook Plan to encircle and destroy Russia’s main forces before Germany faced the growing threat of the United States. On April 25, German Army Groups A, B, and C launched the offensive, with Army Group C driving into the weakened Russian Southwestern Front.

• Marshal Blomberg, Field Marshal Manstein, Marshal Guderian, and Marshal Rommel assessed the plan to crush Russia’s front armies and capture Moscow.
• Oscar named the operation the Right Hook Plan, and the three Army Group commanders returned to prepare it.
• On April 25, Army Groups A, B, and C began simultaneous offensives against the Russian military.
• Army Group C’s six Armored Divisions and twelve Mechanized Infantry Divisions attacked the depleted Russian Southwestern Front Army.

The German offensive shattered the Russian Southwestern Front Army, while General Kilponos waited for Moscow’s permission to retreat. By the time the order arrived, German Army Group C had nearly destroyed the front and advanced close to Moscow.

• Lieutenant General Purkayev reported that German tanks had broken through the Russian defensive line, and General Kilponos weighed whether to hold or retreat.
• Lieutenant General Purkayev suggested leaving some troops behind to delay the Germans while the rest withdrew toward Moscow, and General Kilponos requested Moscow’s approval.
• Marshal Rommel ordered German Army Group C to continue its advance and destroy the Russian Southwestern Front Army as quickly as possible.
• German armored forces and aircraft encircled and destroyed Russian units while General Kilponos waited for permission to retreat.
• After Moscow authorized the withdrawal, General Kilponos ordered a retreat, but German Army Group C had already crippled the front and nearly annihilated it within three days, reaching close to Moscow.

Marshal Rommel ordered General Leeb to advance toward Podolsk and threaten Moscow while Germany focused on destroying the Russian Western and Northwestern Front Armies. Joseph rushed to reinforce Moscow, unaware that the German approach was a feint.

• Marshal Rommel told Colonel General Franz von Leeb to lead the 7th Army Corps and Puppet Troops toward the Podolsk line, while Erich Hoepner argued that a Russian counterattack could benefit Germany.
• Joseph summoned Marshal Shaposhnikov and General Zhukov after Army Group C drove close to Moscow, and Zhukov assured him the city’s defenses could repel German tanks.
• Joseph ordered the Reserve Front Army into Moscow and called for more troops from the rear to prepare for a decisive battle.
• Army Group C’s advance toward Moscow was revealed to be a show intended to distract Russia while Germany targeted the Western and Northwestern Front Armies.
• With Puppet Troop assistance, the German 7th Army Corps captured Podolsk in one day, and the 9th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Army Corps turned north and advanced rapidly.

German commanders planned to exploit Army Group C’s advance to encircle the Russian Western and Northwestern Front Armies. After German forces trapped the Western Front Army west of Moscow, Rommel sent troops north to cut off the Northwestern Front Army’s retreat.

• Marshal Guderian ordered Army Group B to destroy as many encircled Russian troops as possible before Army Group C attacked the Western Front Army’s flank and rear.
• General Bock warned that the Northwestern Front Army might recognize Germany’s plan, but Guderian said Army Group A would keep it engaged.
• Marshal Blomberg ordered Army Group A to attack, putting the Russian Northwestern Front Army under heavy pressure as its troops were routed and encircled.
• General Kurochkin, Lieutenant General Bogatkin, and Lieutenant General Vatutin appealed to Moscow for reinforcements but received orders to hold their positions.
• After capturing Podolsk, Army Group C’s assault troops advanced north and encircled the Russian Western Front Army west of Moscow.
• Marshal Rommel left the 17th and 18th Army Corps to reinforce the encirclement, sent two Ukrainian Army Corps north, and continued the advance with the 9th and 16th Army Corps to cut off the Northwestern Front Army.

German Army Groups B and C encircled the Russian Western Front Army and threatened the Northwestern Front Army, leaving Moscow’s leaders facing the danger of losing both armies. The chapter ended with the Russian command recognizing that the Germans had outmaneuvered them and that Moscow could be left undefended.

• German Army Group B renewed its assault on the Western Front Army while German Army Group C moved to outflank its rear, trapping Marshal Voroshilov’s forces.
• Lieutenant Generals Ponomarenko and Malankin urged Voroshilov to break out, and he ordered Malankin to request Moscow’s approval and a Reserve Front Army attack.
• General Kurochkin ordered the Northwestern Front Army to retreat after learning German forces were approaching its rear, but German Army Group A’s assault threatened to break its defenses.
• Joseph, Marshal Shaposhnikov, and General Zhukov learned that the Germans had feinted at Moscow to encircle both Russian front armies and feared the losses would leave Moscow exposed.

Joseph, Marshal Shaposhnikov, and General Zhukov considered how to save the Western Front and Northwestern Front from German encirclement without leaving Moscow vulnerable. Joseph ordered both fronts to break out, though he expected few troops to make it back.

• Marshal Shaposhnikov warned Joseph that the Germans intended to destroy the Western Front and Northwestern Front after nearly wiping out the Southwestern Front.
• Marshal Shaposhnikov explained that German forces were blocking both fronts’ retreat routes while Army Group B and Army Group A attacked them.
• Joseph asked whether Moscow’s garrison could attack the Germans to cover the fronts’ escape, and General Zhukov warned that the operation would require more than a million troops and could leave Moscow exposed.
• Joseph concluded that Moscow could not spare enough troops to rescue both fronts without risking the capital.
• Joseph ordered the Western Front and Northwestern Front to break out with all their strength.

Marshal Voroshilov and General Kilponos ordered their forces to break out toward Moscow despite the danger of weakening their fronts. Russian troops launched a costly assault on German defenses, but the chapter left them stalled under devastating German firepower.

• Marshal Voroshilov ordered the Western Front Army to withdraw troops and attempt a breakout after Moscow refused to send support.
• General Kilponos likewise ordered the Northwestern Front Army to prepare a breakout, despite the risk of its frontline collapsing.
• A political officer urged Russian soldiers to fight their way to Moscow and return to Joseph in the Kremlin.
• Russian forces attacked the German 17th Army Corps and 18th Army Corps, but German ground troops and aircraft inflicted heavy casualties and held the defensive line.

The Russian Western Front Army and Northwestern Front Army launched desperate attacks against German lines as Army Group B and Army Group A pressed their encirclement. That night, just over two hundred thousand Western Front Army soldiers escaped to Moscow, fewer than one-tenth of its strength.

• Marshal Guderian ordered Army Group B to intensify its offensive, and German forces routed or encircled Russian troops across the front.
• Marshal Voroshilov rejected Lieutenant General Ponomarenko’s suggestion to wait until night and ordered the Western Front Army to keep attacking.
• General Kilponos’s Northwestern Front Army tried to break through Army Group A’s lines but could not pull out many troops.
• Joseph kept the Moscow troops from attacking the Germans, leaving the encircled armies to break out alone.
• That night, a little over two hundred thousand Western Front Army soldiers bypassed the German lines and escaped to Moscow.

German forces encircled Moscow from the north, west, and south after destroying most of Russia’s Western and Northwestern Front Armies. Joseph rejected Zhukov and Shaposhnikov’s advice to evacuate, leaving Moscow’s defense and his own safety uncertain.

• German Army Groups A, B, and C surrounded Moscow after the Northwestern Front Army was destroyed and Marshal Voroshilov escaped with part of the Western Front Army.
• Marshal Voroshilov apologized to Joseph, who declined to blame him and avoided provoking conflict within the leadership.
• Joseph asked General Zhukov and Marshal Shaposhnikov how to respond to the German forces massing around Moscow.
• General Zhukov advised Joseph and the state institutions to withdraw east of the Ural Mountains so they could continue directing resistance.
• Joseph refused to leave Moscow, and Shaposhnikov warned that once the city was fully surrounded, escape might no longer be possible.

Joseph ordered Moscow strengthened and refused to evacuate as the German army completed its encirclement and prepared to attack. Oscar chose to leave Moscow’s eastern side open so Russian reinforcements would enter the city and be worn down in battle.

• Joseph rejected Marshal Shaposhnikov and General Zhukov’s efforts to persuade him to leave Moscow and ordered more troops and supplies sent there.
• Marshal Voroshilov proposed recruiting Moscow’s residents, and Joseph assigned him to mobilize them for military service.
• Joseph warned his commanders that they had to resist the German attack to save their country and themselves.
• Field Marshal Manstein reported that the Right Hook Plan had encircled Moscow and that the German troops needed two days to rest, reorganize, and replenish supplies.
• Oscar ordered the German army to leave Moscow’s eastern side unblocked so Russian reinforcements would keep entering the city and be ground down in battle.

German Army Group D broke through the Russian Southern Front Army’s defenses and advanced toward Volgograd, while Army Group E pushed the Russian Caucasian Front Army north of the Caucasus. The Southern Front commanders faced an order from Joseph to defend Volgograd at all costs despite their weakened forces.

• German Army Group D attacked the Russian Southern Front Army, while German Army Group E breached the Caucasian defensive line and fought the Russian Caucasian Front Army north of the mountains.
• German Army Group D advanced east from Rostov-on-Don, breaking through Russian defenses and bringing its advance units within fifty kilometers of Volgograd.
• General Tyulenev told Lieutenant General Zaporozhets and Major General Xishenin that the Germans could reach Volgograd within two days.
• Lieutenant General Zaporozhets said three Russian armies had been mauled and few troops remained to defend Volgograd.
• Major General Xishenin proposed withdrawing to Yuzefgrad, but Lieutenant General Zaporozhets revealed that Joseph had ordered them to hold Volgograd at all costs.

Marshal Brauchitsch launched a German and Ukrainian offensive toward Volgograd, while General Tyulenev sent the Russian 5th Tank Army Corps to stop them. The Russian tanks were routed by German armor and aircraft, and the German forces pursued them toward Volgograd.

• Marshal Brauchitsch ordered German and Ukrainian corps to attack Volgograd, with Yugoslav and Italian armies assigned logistical support.
• General Tyulenev ordered the 5th Tank Army Corps to the front after the German offensive began.
• On April 25, the German 2nd Army Corps broke through Russian defenses at Bestre and trapped parts of the Russian 12th Army Corps.
• The Russian 5th Tank Army Corps arrived with more than six hundred outdated T-26 and BT-5 tanks.
• German Tiger and Panther tanks destroyed more than half the Russian tanks in half an hour, and the survivors fled.
• The German Air Force’s 4th Air Group bombed the retreating Russians, destroying more than a hundred tanks as German armor pursued them toward Volgograd.

General Rundstedt ordered Army Group E to destroy the Russian Caucasian Front Army and then cut off the Russian Southern Front Army’s retreat to Yuzefgrad. Army Group E wiped out the Caucasian Front Army and helped destroy the Southern Front Army by early May.

• General Rundstedt planned to send a strike group north after defeating the Russian Caucasian Front Army, cutting the route between Volgograd and Yuzefgrad.
• The 21st and 22nd Armored Divisions and four mechanized infantry divisions attacked the retreating Russian Caucasian Front Army near Pyatigorsk and broke through its defenses.
• After German infantry and allied Turkish and Persian troops encircled the Russians, the Russian Caucasian Front Army was completely wiped out.
• Army Group E’s strike group reached the Don River in three days and cut off the Russian Southern Front Army’s retreat.
• General Tyulenev sent heavy forces to reopen the route, but German armored forces repelled the attack.
• At the beginning of May, the Russian Southern Front Army was destroyed, with only a very small number escaping to Yuzefgrad.

After destroying the Russian Caucasian and Southern Front Armies, German forces advanced to Yuzefgrad and encircled the city. The Germans prepared to attack while the Russian commanders vowed to defend it to the bitter end.

• Manstein reported the destruction of the Russian Caucasian and Southern Front Armies to Oscar, who praised the German army groups and said he would consider awarding Rundstedt a marshal’s baton after Yuzefgrad fell.
• The German D Army Group and Army Group advanced east along the Don River without meeting Russian resistance as the Yuzefgrad Front Army pulled its forces inward.
• German armored divisions reached Yuzefgrad, and German and puppet-state troops surrounded the city on three sides while the Volga remained open to Russian transport.
• General Staff Headquarters rejected Rundstedt’s proposal to seize Volzhsky and cut the Volga supply route, as Oscar wanted Russian forces drawn into a costly battle for the city.
• Yeryomenko, Khrushchev, and Bodin held meetings about the defense, and Khrushchev urged the Russian troops to fight the Germans to the bitter end.

President Roosevelt convened a military conference to consider whether the United States should declare war on Germany before completing its preparations. General Marshall described Russia’s catastrophic losses and the Island Nation’s failures in the Pacific, leaving the American generals facing the prospect that their allies might soon be defeated.

• Roosevelt told the generals that Germany’s victories might force the United States to change its strategy.
• Marshall reported that Germany had committed more than ten million troops to the Russian front and had destroyed over seven million Russian troops.
• Marshall said German forces had wiped out several Russian fronts and were encircling Moscow and Yuzefgrad.
• Marshall reported that Germany’s Pacific fleets had nearly destroyed the Island Nation Navy’s carriers and capital ships.
• Marshall said the Island Nation Army had lost more than seven hundred thousand troops in Borneo and was unlikely to seize the South Seas and Australia.

President Roosevelt forced the US military leaders to accept that war with Germany was unavoidable and ordered them to prepare for victory. The Army had mobilized five million troops and was upgrading its tanks and fighters, while its leaders remained concerned that German forces were still superior.

• President Roosevelt told the generals that the United States had to enter the war to escape its debt crisis and survive.
• Admiral James Richardson and Secretary of War Henry Stilson warned that Germany's military was formidable and victory was uncertain.
• President Roosevelt ordered the generals to use every possible means to win and asked General Marshall about the Army's preparations.
• General Marshall reported that the Army was eighty percent ready, had mobilized five million troops, and was forming armored divisions with upgraded tanks.
• General Marshall said the Army Air Corps was shifting production from P-40 fighters to P-47 and P-51 fighters to challenge German aircraft.
• President Roosevelt accepted that the Army would not enter combat until the Navy won, or would defend the homeland if the Navy lost.