Chapter Summaries

President Roosevelt questioned Navy leaders about whether the U.S. fleet could defeat Germany in the Atlantic. The chapter ended with the United States fielding more carriers but facing German ships that were somewhat more advanced, while its newest capital ships were still under construction.

• President Roosevelt asked Admiral Harold Stark how the Navy's preparations were progressing, and Stark said they were largely complete but more strength was needed to defeat Germany.
• Admiral Harold Stark listed fifteen U.S. capital ships in service and described additional, larger ships under construction; Admiral James Richardson and Admiral Nimitz argued that the existing fleet's superior performance could offset Germany's numerical advantage.
• President Roosevelt learned that Germany could bring twenty-three capital ships against the U.S. fleet's fifteen, and Admiral Harold Stark said the Americans might still win by relying on their ships' performance.
• Admiral Harold Stark reported that the United States had twenty-four aircraft carriers available for the Atlantic, while Germany had sixteen, including eight Sovereign-class carriers that surpassed the Essex class in capacity and performance.

President Roosevelt and American naval commanders assessed the United States’ disadvantages against Germany in carriers and carrier aircraft. With war looming, Admiral Nimitz proposed a surprise attack on the German Atlantic Fleet to improve America’s chances.

• President Roosevelt asked Admiral Stark about the Independence-class carriers, and Stark said each could carry twenty-four fighters and nine Avenger Torpedo Bombers.
• President Roosevelt noted that Germany had twenty carriers across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, while Admiral Stark said German carrier fighters outperformed America’s current F4Fs.
• Admiral Nimitz argued that naval battles could turn on luck, but General Marshall said America should wait for more time to prepare if Russia could hold on.
• President Roosevelt said Germany would not give the United States much time, and Admiral Nimitz suggested declaring war soon or launching a surprise attack without a declaration.
• Admiral Nimitz proposed striking the German Atlantic Fleet before the Mediterranean Fleet could arrive, which could give America parity or an advantage in the Atlantic.

President Roosevelt decided that the United States would enter the war against Germany early, despite the military’s incomplete preparations, to help keep Russia from collapsing and prevent Germany from growing stronger. He gave the military one month to prepare and ordered the government to shift secretly to a wartime footing.

• President Roosevelt told US Army and American Navy generals that war with Germany was unavoidable and ordered them to prepare to attack within one month.
• President Roosevelt instructed Secretary of State Hull to tell Russia to hold on without revealing the United States’ exact timetable.
• President Roosevelt ordered the generals to prepare for war and promised government support.
• President Roosevelt announced to Cabinet Ministers that the United States would enter the war early to tie down German forces and help Russia hold out.
• President Roosevelt declared that the United States would secretly shift to a wartime footing and convert its industrial strength to military use.

On May 2, 1940, the American Navy began planning for war with Germany and settled on a surprise attack against the German Atlantic Fleet’s base in the Azores. Admiral Harold Stark weighed the risks of German land-based aircraft as commanders proposed using carrier fighters to protect the attacking fleet.

• Secretary Frank Knox told the American Navy commanders that the United States would attack Germany in one month and promised accelerated shipbuilding and full support.
• Admiral Harold Stark ordered the commanders to produce a feasible battle plan within one week using the forces already available.
• The American Navy organized its capital ships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers into formations for combat in the Atlantic.
• Admiral Nimitz proposed concentrating the fleet against the Azores to cripple or destroy the German Atlantic Fleet.
• Admiral Harold Stark warned that more than five hundred German aircraft on the Azores could threaten the attacking ships, while Admiral Ernest King and Lieutenant General Halsey argued that naval guns and carrier fighters could counter them.
• The American Navy drafted a plan to launch a surprise attack on the Azores within one week.

President Roosevelt approved the Navy’s plan for a surprise attack on the German Atlantic Fleet and the Azores despite its estimated sixty percent chance of success. He ordered funding for accelerated warship construction, while recognizing that Germany’s industrial power could make a prolonged naval war difficult to win.

• Admiral Harold Stark told President Roosevelt that the Navy had roughly a sixty percent chance of victory if it prepared adequately.
• President Roosevelt approved the plan, but warned Frank Knox that German spies and the German Home Fleet could turn the attack into a fierce battle.
• Frank Knox said he had ordered major shipyards to build warships around the clock in three shifts and requested financial support.
• President Roosevelt promised a special decree allocating funds to the Navy and said the war would ultimately depend on industrial strength.
• President Roosevelt noted that Germany’s shipbuilding capacity and access to resources could make it harder for the United States to win through replacement production alone.

With German forces surrounding Moscow but delaying their attack, Joseph and his commanders debated Germany’s intentions and prepared for the coming battle. Joseph took comfort in news that the United States would soon declare war on Germany, while Zhukov warned that American intervention depended on defeating the German Navy.

• Joseph asked Marshal Shaposhnikov, Marshal Voroshilov, and General Zhukov why Germany had surrounded Moscow without attacking or sealing off the east.
• Marshal Shaposhnikov suggested the Germans were replenishing supplies, and Zhukov predicted an attack within a week.
• Zhukov proposed that Germany had left the eastern route open to weaken Russian morale, while Shaposhnikov praised the route as a way to bring in troops and supplies.
• Joseph vowed that Russian forces would defend Moscow and accepted the commanders’ reassurances, though they privately understood Germany’s real intention.
• Joseph announced that the United States would soon declare war on Germany, and Zhukov cautioned that American forces would need to defeat the German Navy before they could intervene in Europe.

Germany prepared a massive bombing campaign against Moscow to weaken Russian defenses before the army’s offensive. Oscar authorized the Air Force to spend a week reducing the city to ruins, after which strategic bombing would resume elsewhere.

• Germany put Russian prisoners of war to work building roads, railways, and airfields to improve supplies for the advancing army.
• On May 6, Albert Kesselring and Edward Milch reported that the Air Force had assembled seven tactical air groups and four Strategic Air Force groups on the Eastern Front.
• Albert Kesselring said five tactical air groups and four Strategic Air Force groups would bomb Moscow before the army attacked.
• Oscar ordered Edward Milch and Albert Kesselring to spend one week bombing Moscow into ruins, then send the Strategic Air Force groups back to strategic bombing.
• Oscar said the destruction and casualties would make the army’s attack on Moscow easier, despite the cost and the likelihood that the Russians would keep fighting.

The German Air Force launched a massive bombing raid on Moscow, prompting air-raid alarms and Russian preparations for defense. Joseph ordered the city’s troops to resist, while Zhukov learned that Moscow’s air defenses were substantial but the depleted Russian Air Force would not join the battle.

• Before dawn on May 7, German crews loaded bombers and fighters with bombs and rockets for an assault on Moscow.
• At six in the morning, German air formations took off and gathered in the sky west of Moscow.
• Russian radar detected the formations, and air-raid sirens warned Moscow’s residents to seek shelter.
• Joseph ordered Zhukov to prepare Moscow’s troops for battle, then went to shelter in a basement.
• Zhukov learned that Moscow had two thousand anti-aircraft guns but that the battered Russian Air Force would not participate in the raid.

The German Air Force attacked Moscow to suppress and destroy Russian air defense positions before its bomber formation arrived. Russian defenses inflicted losses but suffered heavy damage, and the attack was still underway.

• German fighters reached Moscow and dropped bombs, drawing fierce fire from Russian air defense guns.
• Russian anti-aircraft fire destroyed an FW-190 and killed its pilot.
• An FW-190 attacked a Russian air defense position with rockets, destroying guns and killing troops.
• A German Dive Bomber dropped a five-hundred-kilogram bomb that obliterated an air defense position.
• A Russian machine gunner fired at an FW-190, but the fighter destroyed the gun and killed him.
• German fighters and Dive Bombers inflicted grievous losses on Moscow's air defenses as the bomber formation approached.

The German Air Force suppressed Moscow’s anti-aircraft positions and began a massive bombing raid on the city. The chapter ended with bombs leveling an entire section of Moscow.

• Joseph ordered Zhukov to resist the German air attacks and promised that Moscow’s defenses would shoot down German planes.
• Zhukov’s officers warned that German fighters and dive bombers were destroying anti-aircraft positions, so Zhukov ordered the guns to conserve their strength until the bombers arrived.
• German fighters and dive bombers destroyed Russian anti-aircraft positions, clearing the way for the bomber formations.
• Hundreds of H-11 medium bombers and more H-21 heavy bombers reached Moscow and came under fire from the remaining anti-aircraft guns.
• The German bombers dropped their bombs across the city, and the explosions leveled an entire section of Moscow.

The German Air Force bombed Moscow relentlessly for a week, destroying the city and inflicting severe losses on the Russian forces. After inspecting the ruins, General Zhukov vowed that the Russians would still defend Moscow.

• More than four hundred H-11 medium bombers bombed Moscow, followed by H-21 heavy bombers that devastated the city and its defenses.
• General Zhukov ordered Moscow's anti-aircraft forces to retaliate, but German fighters and dive bombers attacked their positions and caused heavy losses.
• Joseph received a report that the Germans had sent several thousand bombers and feared Moscow would be reduced to ruins.
• Field Marshal Albert Kesselring ordered the Air Force to continue bombing until Moscow was destroyed within a week.
• After a week of raids, German bombers left Moscow in ruins, and General Zhukov inspected the devastation as Russian officers reported heavy military and civilian losses.
• General Zhukov declared that the Russian army had to hold Moscow despite Germany's power.

German Army Group commanders planned an assault on Moscow that would preserve German lives and use puppet-state armies for street fighting. After a massive artillery bombardment crippled Russian defenses and artillery, German forces launched a full-scale attack on the city from three directions.

• Marshal Guderian, Marshal Blomberg, and Marshal Rommel agreed to begin the assault after the Air Force ended its bombing, using artillery and air support to limit German casualties.
• On May 14, more than 30,000 German artillery pieces began a half-day bombardment of Russian positions outside Moscow.
• The Russian artillery returned fire but was overwhelmed by German guns and tactical air attacks, and its surviving units withdrew into Moscow.
• The commanders of the three German Army Groups ordered their troops to attack Moscow from three directions.

German armored forces broke through the Russian defenses on the outskirts of Moscow in a single day, forcing the survivors to flee into the city. Marshal Guderian ordered the troops to begin urban warfare the next day, and fighting in Moscow commenced on May 15.

• Thirteen German army groups launched an offensive with fifteen Armored Divisions and thirty Mechanized Infantry Divisions, while Russian forces prepared to defend the suburbs.
• German aircraft and tanks destroyed Russian anti-tank guns and other defensive positions as the armored assault advanced.
• Russian soldiers attacked German vehicles with explosives, but German tanks and infantry continued to tear through the defense lines.
• German forces routed the Russian defenders, killing or capturing over three hundred thousand and driving the rest into Moscow.
• Lieutenant General Karl Hilpert reported the breakthrough to Marshal Guderian, who ordered troops to enter Moscow and called on the vassal states to prepare for urban warfare.
• On May 15, German forces entered Moscow and brutal urban warfare began.

After the Germans drove Russian forces from Moscow’s outskirts, Zhukov assured Joseph that the city’s ruins would restrict German armor and allow the Russians to resist. On May 15, the Germans began their assault into Moscow, where fierce street fighting continued as both sides suffered losses.

• Lyapin reported to Zhukov that German armor had overrun the suburban defenses and forced Russian units to retreat into Moscow.
• Zhukov met with Joseph, explained the defeat, and promised that urban fighting would limit the German armored advance.
• On May 15, German forces attacked Moscow from the south, west, and north with artillery support.
• A German infantry fighting vehicle suppressed a Russian barricade until an anti-tank gun destroyed it, allowing the Russians to counterattack.
• A German platoon leader ordered machine guns, mortars, grenade launchers, and snipers to suppress the Russian defenses.

German forces used heavy artillery to destroy a Russian street position and continued their costly advance through Moscow. At Army Group B headquarters, Marshal Guderian ordered puppet-state forces to enter the city beginning May 18.

• A German company commander halted an attack on a Russian position and requested artillery support.
• Twelve German 150mm howitzers bombarded the Russian position, killing nearly all its defenders and clearing the way for another German attack.
• German forces continued their daylight advance while Russian night raids inflicted losses and further depleted Russian troops.
• Marshal Guderian told Army Group B’s assembled commanders to commit troops to the fighting in Moscow.
• Lieutenant General Sakel and the other puppet-force commanders agreed to send troops, and Guderian ordered them to begin entering Moscow on May 18.

German auxiliary forces increasingly took over the fighting in Moscow as they gained experience and improved their casualty exchange ratio against the Russians. Marshal Guderian ordered most German troops withdrawn, leaving the auxiliary forces to carry on the battle.

• A Russian battalion attacked a Polish company holding a street, and mortar fire destroyed one of the Polish heavy machine guns.
• An FW-190 fighter bombed and strafed the Russian attackers, destroyed their mortars, and helped the Polish defenders hold until reinforcements arrived.
• The auxiliary forces’ casualty exchange ratio against the Russians improved as they gained combat experience, easing pressure on the German military.
• Lieutenant General Karl Hilpert reported that auxiliary forces were gaining ground in Moscow, and Marshal Guderian ordered German troops to withdraw in stages.
• The 13 German Army Corps withdrew all but 13 infantry divisions from Moscow, while the auxiliary forces committed 58 infantry divisions to the city.

Russian forces suffered mounting losses as German auxiliary troops pressed the attack in Moscow, and General Zhukov urged abandoning Moscow and Yuzefgrad to preserve Russia’s strength. Joseph rejected the retreat, leaving Zhukov to continue fighting as Russia’s position worsened.

• Belarusian troops charged Russian positions in Moscow but were pinned down by Russian machine-gun fire.
• General Zhukov and Marshal Shaposhnikov recognized that Germany was using auxiliary forces to bleed Russian troops in Moscow and Yuzefgrad.
• General Zhukov proposed abandoning the cities and retreating east beyond the Ural Mountains to preserve Russia’s forces and stretch German supply lines.
• General Zhukov went to the Kremlin and urged Joseph to order the retreat, but Joseph rejected the proposal and told him to focus on fighting.
• Joseph kept Zhukov in command and relied on the hope that the United States would enter the war as scheduled.

Oscar and Germany’s senior officials discussed the growing threat from the United States as American industry shifted to wartime production and its military expanded. They reviewed new American tanks and asked when Germany’s King Tiger could enter mass production.

• Germany’s leaders turned their attention from the weakening Russian front to the United States, which they regarded as their greatest potential enemy.
• Prime Minister Wachth told Oscar that the United States had secretly entered a wartime footing and that its entry into the war might be near.
• Foreign Minister Stresemann argued that America would intervene to keep Russia and the Island Nation fighting against Germany.
• Field Marshal Manstein reported that the US Army had expanded to five million troops, was adopting M4 and M5 tanks, and was developing the M26.
• Oscar acknowledged that American tanks could threaten German armor and asked how soon the King Tiger tank could enter mass production.

Oscar reviewed Germany’s preparations for a possible war with the United States, prioritizing heavy tanks, fighters, and strategic bombers. He then turned to Raeder to ask how the navy was preparing to face the American fleet.

• Manstein reported that the King Tiger tank was progressing smoothly and could enter mass production within three months.
• Oscar ordered Panther production halted, resources shifted to Mighty Tiger tanks, and twelve heavy tank battalions formed once King Tiger production began.
• Manstein warned that the US Army Air Corps was replacing P-40 fighters with P-47s and P-51s, while Kesselring said German fighters could match or surpass them.
• Oscar ordered Germany to expand its strategic bomber force to destroy American industrial bases.
• Oscar asked Raeder about the navy’s preparations for its expected clash with the American Navy.

Oscar and Marshal Raeder assessed the growing threat posed by the American Navy and discussed Germany’s readiness for a possible surprise attack. Oscar ordered the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets to prepare for war and demanded faster aircraft-carrier construction.

• Marshal Raeder reported that the American Navy had a powerful fleet of battleships and aircraft carriers, with more ships under construction.
• Raeder said Germany’s carrier aircraft gave its navy an advantage in the Atlantic, though the United States was introducing stronger fighters and could quickly replace losses.
• Oscar ordered the Home Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, and Mediterranean Fleet to enter emergency war readiness, with Mediterranean ships gathering at Gibraltar.
• Oscar demanded that construction of the Sovereign-class and Northern God aircraft carriers be accelerated to replenish any wartime losses.