Chapter Summaries

Oscar ordered the German Empire to demand unconditional surrender from the United States, determined to eliminate it as a future threat. Field Marshal Manstein delivered the demand to Hull, who left the meeting without securing better terms as Germany threatened to resume its offensive.

• Oscar told his ministers that the Empire had to crush the United States and ordered a telegram to Field Marshal Manstein with the demand for unconditional surrender.
• Hull waited at the German frontline headquarters for Germany’s reply to the American peace request.
• Manstein told Hull that the Empire would accept only the Republic of America’s unconditional surrender, though the Americans could refuse and continue fighting.
• Hull offered territorial concessions and reparations but said the United States could not accept unconditional surrender.
• Manstein rejected Hull’s appeal and warned that Germany would soon destroy the remaining American forces.
• Hull left the headquarters feeling that his mission had failed.

President Roosevelt and the US leadership weighed Germany’s demand for unconditional surrender after it rejected peace talks. With Washington surrounded and the remaining American forces unable to resist, Roosevelt agreed to surrender unconditionally.

• Hull told President Roosevelt that Germany had rejected peace talks and demanded unconditional surrender.
• Roosevelt convened US military and political leaders to discuss whether to accept Germany’s terms or continue fighting.
• The leaders rejected unconditional surrender but learned from Marshall and Eisenhower that they could not break out of Washington or hold off the German advance elsewhere.
• Hull and other ministers argued that surrender would prevent further casualties, and Roosevelt agreed to surrender unconditionally to Germany.

After the United States surrendered unconditionally to Germany, Emperor Qin Tian and his ministers decided to abolish the United States and divide its territory among the Empire and its client states. The Republic of America was carved up, with the Americans left a reduced territory and forbidden to keep the name America.

• On June 12, 1941, President Roosevelt signed the United States' unconditional surrender, and American forces began handing their weapons and equipment to Germany.
• Emperor Qin Tian summoned the Empire's military and political ministers to discuss the fate of the United States, and Prime Minister Wachth argued that it must cease to exist.
• Wachth proposed that Germany occupy nineteen states and Washington, D.C., and Qin Tian approved the plan, describing migration as a long-term means of ruling the territories.
• Qin Tian and his ministers awarded American lands to Germany's client states, giving the largest share to the Kingdom of England and Wales.
• Germany kept Hawaii, while the Americans were left Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, and Alaska and could form a nation only under a different name.

Field Marshal Manstein reported that the United States had accepted Germany’s settlement plan but that American civilians had begun armed resistance. Oscar ordered their resistance crushed and shifted Germany’s focus to defeating the Island Nation, the last enemy in the war.

• Manstein told Oscar that the United States had accepted the settlement plan and that German forces were preparing to suppress resistance across its new territories.
• Manstein reported attacks on German troops by armed American civilians and said the army’s suppression campaign had begun.
• Oscar ordered the resistance put down harshly, and Manstein agreed.
• Manstein said Germany’s puppet states were pleased with their territorial gains and eager to fight the Island Nation.
• Oscar declared that Germany would now concentrate on the eastern theater and bring the war to an end by defeating the Island Nation.
• The chapter described the Island Nation’s large forces in Southeast Asia, its expanding navy, and its occupation of the former Dutch East Indies and New Guinea Island.

Oscar and Germany’s military leaders planned to destroy the Island Nation after the war in North America ended, weighing its fierce resistance against Germany’s military advantage. Oscar authorized nuclear weapons if necessary and urged the generals to finish the war within six months so the troops could return home for Christmas.

• Oscar warned the military leaders that the Island Nation’s forces were exceptionally tenacious and posed a serious threat despite their inferior industry and equipment.
• Rundstedt, Rommel, and Raeder discussed the Island Nation’s fighting spirit and Germany’s ability to defeat it now that the United States had been destroyed.
• Manstein presented a plan to reinforce German forces in the South Seas and Australia, defeat the Island Nation’s forces, and invade its mainland.
• Oscar authorized the General Staff Headquarters to use nuclear weapons if necessary, startling the marshals and generals.
• Oscar set the goal of ending the war within six months so German officers and soldiers could return home for Christmas.

Oscar learned that German forces in the South Seas and Australia could only hold back the Island Nation’s expanding military, so Field Marshal Manstein presented a plan to send major reinforcements to the Far East. Oscar approved the plan, which would bring German forces there to twenty Army Corps and add Atlantic Fleet and Air Force units.

• Field Marshal Manstein warned Oscar that Germany could not defeat the Island Nation within half a year without reinforcements to the Southern Theater.
• Field Marshal Rundstedt reported that six German Army Corps and their supporting fleets and air groups could barely contain the Island Nation’s forces in the South Seas and Australia.
• The briefing described the Island Nation’s rebuilt Southern Army, air forces, and growing navy, including twenty-one aircraft carriers and more carriers under construction.
• Field Marshal Manstein presented a plan to send fourteen Army Corps, the Atlantic Fleet, and six Air Force groups to the Far East.
• Oscar expressed satisfaction with the reinforcement plan.

Island Nation’s leaders learned that the United States had surrendered unconditionally to Germany, leaving Island Nation exposed to German retaliation. Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and his ministers faced the consequences of their war against Germany as they feared the coming assault.

• Island Nation had struggled to advance against German forces in Indochina and Australia despite its conquests and resource shipments from the South Seas.
• News arrived that Germany had defeated the United States, Island Nation’s chief supporter, after a campaign lasting only months.
• Hideki Tojo told the Cabinet that the United States had surrendered unconditionally and its remaining forces had capitulated.
• Admiral Shigetarō Shimada and other leaders reacted with disbelief at the speed of the American defeat.
• Island Nation’s leaders realized that the United States had drawn them into war with Germany and that Germany would now turn its strength against them.

Hideki Tojo and his ministers debated how the Island Nation could survive Germany’s coming offensive while retaining its overseas territories. They agreed to pursue peace negotiations while preparing to resist Germany by force if talks failed.

• Kaoru Okawa warned Hideki Tojo that the Island Nation’s military could not match Germany after the United States was destroyed.
• Shigenori Tōgō proposed seeking peace with Germany to preserve the nation, but Hideki Tojo and Shigetarō Shimada said Germany would likely demand the return of the South Seas territories and the Philippine Islands.
• Kaoru Okawa asked whether the Island Nation could keep the Philippine Islands and Dutch East Indies while ending the war, and Hideki Tojo said that was impossible without defeating Germany.
• Shigetarō Shimada urged the Island Nation to resist Germany and inflict heavy losses in hopes of securing better peace terms.
• Shigenori Tōgō proposed negotiating a ceasefire while preparing for war, and Hideki Tojo and the ministers approved the two-pronged plan.

Matsumoto Taro approached Germany’s ambassador in Switzerland to seek peace after the Island Nation feared Germany’s victory over the United States. The Island Nation proposed a ceasefire based on the territories each side currently controlled, but Schneider rejected its excuses and had not agreed to the terms.

• Matsumoto Taro received orders from the Island Nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek peace with Germany while retaining territories under its control.
• Matsumoto Taro decided to contact the Germans despite believing the proposed terms were unlikely to succeed.
• Matsumoto Taro visited the German Embassy in Switzerland and praised Germany’s military victories to Schneider.
• Matsumoto Taro blamed the United States for the war and asked Germany to accept an immediate ceasefire based on current territorial control.
• Schneider sneered at Matsumoto Taro’s explanation, and Matsumoto Taro insisted that the Island Nation sincerely wanted peace.

Schneider rejected Matsumoto Taro’s peace terms, which demanded that Germany give up its colonies in the South Seas, and reported the Island Nation’s threats to Berlin. Qin Tian refused the terms and ordered the coming invasion to proceed without restraints against anyone who threatened German troops, leaving the Empire preparing for a final battle to destroy the Island Nation.

• Schneider told Matsumoto Taro that Germany would not accept the Island Nation’s proposed peace terms, while Matsumoto threatened that its people would fight to the bitter end.
• Schneider reported the failed meeting to the German government, and Ribbentrop relayed the Island Nation’s demands to Qin Tian.
• Manstein and Raeder condemned the Island Nation’s threats, and Qin Tian declared that Germany would destroy it.
• Qin Tian authorized frontline troops to kill anyone who posed a threat to German soldiers and urged his ministers to prepare for the final battle.
• Schneider called Matsumoto Taro and told him Germany rejected the Island Nation’s threats and its wish for peace.

After Germany rejected the Island Nation’s peace proposal, Shigenori Tōgō reported the failure to Hideki Tojo. The Island Nation’s leaders chose to prepare for a fight to the bitter end, hoping heavy German casualties would force negotiations.

• Shigenori Tōgō read Matsumoto Taro’s Telegram and concluded that war with Germany was unavoidable.
• Shigenori Tōgō told Hideki Tojo that Germany had rejected the peace negotiations.
• General Gen Sugiyama urged the government to fight until German losses forced it to compromise.
• Hideki Tojo and the Cabinet agreed to fight Germany to the bitter end.
• Hideki Tojo placed the Island Nation under emergency status and ordered weapons distributed to civilians.

Germany concentrated massive army, naval, and air forces in the Far East and Australia for its planned invasion of the Island Nation. The chapter ended with the forces organized under Army Groups E through H and unified naval and air commanders.

• Germany sent fourteen army corps and 2.8 million troops east aboard a vast transport fleet, while the Navy escorted the ships through the Indian Ocean.
• German air units transferred to the Far East and Australia, giving Germany overwhelming air superiority over the Island Nation's forces.
• Germany reorganized its twenty army corps into Army Groups E, F, G, and H, appointing Rundstedt, Fedor von Bock, Wilhelm Keitel, and Frank von Leeb as commanders.
• The Imperial Navy placed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean Fleets under Rolf Kars, while the Imperial Air Force was placed under Hugo Spee.

Field Marshal Manstein convened German commanders in Rangoon to plan the war against the Island Nation and meet Emperor Qin Tian’s deadline of defeating it before Christmas. The meeting ended with Germany preparing to attack the Indonesian and Philippine Islands before striking the Island Nation’s Mainland, while the Navy and Air Force were assigned key roles.

• Manstein told the gathered commanders that all German forces had reached their posts and that they had five months to destroy the Island Nation.
• Manstein described the Island Nation’s large forces in the South Seas and on its Mainland, and warned German troops not to spare anyone who threatened them.
• Manstein announced that German forces would first attack the Indonesian and Philippine Islands, then invade the Island Nation’s Mainland.
• Manstein tasked Field Marshal Rolf Kars with eliminating the Island Nation Navy before the mainland invasion, and Kars pledged to seek an opportunity.
• Manstein assigned General Hugo Speet’s Air Force responsibility for air support and strategic bombing, and Speet agreed.

Field Marshal Manstein ordered the German forces to begin a major offensive against the Island Nation's Southern Army in three days. In Batavia, General Terauchi Juichi gathered his commanders as the threatened army braced for an attack it had little confidence of surviving.

• Field Marshal Manstein ordered Army Groups E, F, and G to attack Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, followed by operations against Borneo and the Philippine Islands.
• The German army, navy, and air force began preparing for the counteroffensive while the Island Nation's forces withdrew and strengthened their defenses.
• General Terauchi Juichi took command of the Southern Army, canceled his offensive plans after the United States fell, and shifted his forces to defense.
• General Terauchi Juichi inspected the coastal defenses and returned to Batavia on July 20.
• General Terauchi Juichi convened the Southern Army's field army and army commanders, who gathered tensely for a combat meeting.

General Terauchi Juichi ordered the Island Nation’s Southern Army to fight the advancing Germans to the death, as its generals prepared to defend key islands despite their military inferiority. After the meeting in Batavia, they returned to their assigned zones, hoping that heavy German losses might force a negotiated peace.

• General Terauchi Juichi warned the generals that the German offensive was near and ordered every unit to fight without retreating.
• General Seishiro Itagaki and the other generals said the Bushido spirit would help them defeat the Germans.
• The Southern Army’s forces were concentrated mainly on Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, with fewer troops on Borneo and in the Philippine Islands.
• The generals hoped that inflicting enormous casualties would make Germany retreat and allow the Island Nation to secure peace.
• After the meeting ended, the Southern Army generals left Batavia and returned to their defensive zones.

General Terauchi Juichi and Lieutenant General Tadaichi Tsukada prepared the Southern Army to resist Germany’s offensive, while hoping to hold the enemy back despite the Germans’ strength. On July 23, German air and naval forces began bombing Island Nation positions across the South Seas, opening the counteroffensive.

• Lieutenant General Tadaichi Tsukada told General Terauchi Juichi that the Southern Army was ready and could aim to delay the Germans and inflict casualties.
• General Terauchi Juichi admitted that stopping the German advance would be extraordinarily difficult, and he and Tsukada invoked Amaterasu Omikami for support.
• German forces completed their preparations, with army units in position and the German Navy and Air Force ready to provide fire support.
• On July 23, German aircraft took off from Indochina and Australia to attack Island Nation defenses on Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea.
• German Navy capital ships bombarded Island Nation coastal positions in the Malacca Strait, northern Java, and southern New Guinea as German aircraft attacked from the sky.

German forces began a major offensive against Sumatra and Java, bombarding Island Nation defenses and preparing landings while the Island Nation's commanders ordered their troops to brace for the assault. The chapter ended with General Terauchi Juichi learning that German bombers had devastated airfields across Java, Borneo, and Sumatra.

• German warships and aircraft bombarded Island Nation coastal positions in northwestern Sumatra, inflicting heavy losses.
• General Yamashita Tomoyuki ordered the 14th Area Army to conserve its strength under bombardment, then fight to the death when German landings began, and called for reinforcements.
• German forces attacked Java Island, using Batavia as a feint while preparing major landings at Cirebon, Pekalongan, and Semarang.
• General Terauchi Juichi ordered the Island Nation's Air Force to attack German ships in the Java Sea.
• Lieutenant General Tadaichi Tsukada reported that German bombers had struck airfields on Java, Borneo, and Sumatra, devastating the Island Nation's Air Force.

The German Air Force destroyed most of the Island Nation's Army Air Force in the South Seas, while German forces began a coordinated offensive against Sumatra Island, Java Island, and New Guinea Island. Deceptive bombardments inflicted heavy casualties before the German Marine Corps launched its landings.

• German strategic air groups bombed Island Nation's Army Air Force airfields on Sumatra Island, Java Island, and Borneo, causing heavy losses.
• General Terauchi Juichi ordered the Southern Army to resist as German forces attacked Sumatra Island and New Guinea Island and the homeland offered no support.
• German naval forces bombarded the Island Nation's Army defenses near Port Moresby on New Guinea Island.
• General Tomoyuki Yamashita ordered his troops into position after the first German bombardment of Sumatra Island stopped, but German ships and aircraft resumed their attack.
• German forces repeated the deceptive bombardment tactic on Java Island and New Guinea Island, then began Marine Corps landings on all three islands.

German forces launched amphibious landings on Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, overwhelming Island Nation defenses with naval gunfire and air support. The Marine Corps secured beachheads, allowing German Army corps to come ashore and begin attacks on coastal cities and Island Nation forces.

• German Marine Corps Divisions 1, 2, and 3 landed on northern Sumatra after bombardment by the German Navy and Air Force.
• Island Nation troops fought back with artillery and machine guns, but German aircraft and armed helicopters destroyed their firepoints and weakened their defenses.
• German Marines broke through the coastal defenses and established secure landing beaches on Sumatra, after which German Army corps began landing and attacking coastal cities.
• German Marine Corps Divisions 4, 5, and 6 landed at Cirebon, Pekalongan, and Semarang on Java, while German forces struck Batavia without landing there.
• German Marine Corps Division 7 landed south of Port Moresby on New Guinea, followed by Army Corps 22 and 24, which were assigned to defeat Island Nation forces there.

German forces overwhelmed the Island Nation’s defenses at Semarang and Banda Aceh, prompting desperate counterattacks by the 5th Area Army and 16th Army Corps. The chapter ended with the 4th Tank Wing destroyed and the 27th Independent Mixed Brigade collapsing.

• Lieutenant General Hagi Saburo reported that the 42nd Division had lost over two-thirds of its troops and that German forces were landing near Semarang.
• Lieutenant General Higuchi Kiichiro ordered Lieutenant General Sano Torata to counterattack and requested reinforcements from Batavia.
• General Terauchi Juichi ordered the 38th Army Corps to reinforce the beleaguered 5th Area Army.
• German forces attacked Banda Aceh, where the 48th Division had already lost two infantry wings during the landing.
• Lieutenant General Nagano Yuichiro ordered the 4th Tank Wing and 27th Independent Mixed Brigade to counterattack.
• German armed helicopters destroyed every tank in the 4th Tank Wing, and the 27th Independent Mixed Brigade collapsed.