Chapter Summaries

Germany’s leaders met in Berlin to respond to setbacks on both fronts and the danger of losing Austria-Hungary. William II approved shifting the main effort east, leaving the Western Front on the defensive while German forces and reinforcements prepared to aid the Eastern Front.

• William II convened a conference with Falkenhayn and German commanders to decide how to address the worsening war situation.
• Falkenhayn urged Germany to concentrate on defeating Russia and preserving Austria-Hungary, while Hindenburg warned that Russia might invade Hungary through the Carpathians.
• Hindenburg and Ludendorff supported the eastern strategy, and the commanders accepted shifting Germany’s main effort toward the Eastern Front.
• William II approved the strategic shift and asked the officers to plan the Eastern Front campaign.
• Falkenhayn proposed halting the Western offensive, defending there while retaining Belgium, and transferring twenty to thirty divisions east, with at least fifty new divisions to be raised at home.

Germany shifted most of its strength east while its depleted Western Front held back the Allied advance. On May 15, 1915, Germany launched a massive offensive against Russia, and Nicholas II ordered his officials to obtain Allied supplies and Grand Duke Nicholas to hold the line.

• Beginning May 12, Germany transferred troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front while its remaining forces adopted defensive tactics against the Allies.
• By May 14, over 2.3 million Allied troops had advanced to Germany’s borders, but 53 German divisions stopped them at the frontier.
• William II and Falkenhayn turned their attention to the Eastern Front and planned a campaign to defeat Russia and force it out of the war.
• On May 15, Grand Duke Nicholas told Nicholas II that more than a million German troops had launched an offensive and that Russian forces were retreating amid severe ammunition shortages.
• Nicholas II ordered Minister Alexei to secure Allied weapons and ammunition within half a month, then told Grand Duke Nicholas to resist the German advance until aid arrived.

After intercepting Russia’s unencrypted telegrams, Hindenburg and Ludendorff launched an offensive that encircled and devastated Russia’s 10th Army Group, prompting Nicholas II to reinforce the front and seek foreign aid. By May 20, Russia had appealed to Australasia, and Arthur weighed the benefits of Germany turning east against the risk that Russia might collapse.

• Hindenburg and Ludendorff used intercepted Russian telegrams to plan an offensive that encircled Russia’s 10th Army Group, while Sivers escaped with fewer than half his troops.
• On May 17, most of the encircled Russian forces surrendered, leaving 170,000 prisoners and devastating the 10th Army Group.
• Nicholas II dismissed Sivers, ordered two Army Groups to fill the defensive gap, and sought weapons and supplies from Britain, France, Italy, and Australasia.
• Britain and France offered limited aid, Italy refused, and Russia appealed to Australasia on May 20.
• Arthur considered how Germany’s shift of its main offensive east could weaken Russia, even as it furthered his goal of prolonging the war.

Arthur reduced Russia’s enormous supply request to a purchase Australasia could fulfill, including payment partly in Russian immigrants, while Nicholas II dismissed Foreign Minister Alexei as a scapegoat for Russia’s crisis. Meanwhile, Emperor Franz Joseph I reluctantly approved Germany’s plan for a major joint offensive against Russia, leaving the Austro-Hungarian Empire committed to a high-risk attempt to save itself.

• Arthur cut Russia’s requested supplies to 300,000 rifles, 500 artillery pieces, ammunition, uniforms, grain, and medicine, and agreed to accept two million people and fifteen million pounds in payment.
• Arthur and Russia arranged airship, sea, and rail routes to deliver the supplies, while Nicholas II received support commitments from Australasia, Britain, and France and complained about Italy’s refusal to help.
• Nicholas II dismissed Foreign Minister Alexei and ordered him investigated, then asked Grand Duke Nicholas whether the army could hold against Germany’s offensive until allied supplies arrived.
• Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire planned a joint offensive to encircle Russian forces in Poland and Galicia, requiring Austria-Hungary to contribute 500,000 troops.
• Emperor Franz Joseph I weighed the risk of further losses against the threat of defeat and approved Germany’s plan.

The Allies planned a Balkan Front under Marshal Martin to defeat Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey, open a route to Russia, and encircle the Central Powers. Arthur then held Australasia’s first wartime promotion and compensation ceremony, promising substantial payments and support for fallen and wounded soldiers and rewarding the Fourth Division.

• The Allies decided to create a Balkan Front led by Marshal Martin, who would command an Australasian expeditionary force alongside the Balkan states against Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey.
• Arthur supported the plan, seeing the campaign as a chance to avoid Western Front stalemate and demonstrate the Australasian Army’s strength.
• On May 25, 1915, Arthur addressed more than ten thousand Fourth Division soldiers and announced compensation, medical care, and education support for fallen and wounded soldiers’ families.
• Arthur promised each Fourth Division soldier a reward worth twice the nation’s average annual income, separate from wages.
• Arthur arranged for the Royal Family to fund and distribute the payments, and said soldiers and families could collect or deposit the money at the Royal Bank that day.

Commander Martin led the Allied Balkan forces in a massive invasion of Bulgaria, leaving the country close to defeat. Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand feared that he would be blamed and lose his throne.

• Fourth Division's Scott was promoted to major general, and other officers and soldiers received promotions and rewards.
• Commander Martin secured the support of Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia and took command of the Balkan front.
• Commander Martin chose to attack Bulgaria first, and on May 27, 1915, Allied forces invaded from the north, west, and south.
• The Allies bombarded Bulgarian positions with over a million shells in one day, then launched a ground assault led by Australasian colonial divisions.
• Bulgarian forces suffered nearly 40,000 casualties in two days as attacks spread across the country's borders.
• Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand avoided public view and feared that Bulgaria's defeat would cost him his throne.

Ferdinand secretly sought an end to the war that would preserve his throne, but Arthur made peace conditional on the Allies and Balkan states agreeing and Bulgaria ceasing resistance. Ferdinand then arranged for the Bulgarian Prime Minister to publicly call for surrender while the army retreated toward Sofia.

• Ferdinand secretly approached Britain and France about ending the war, then sent Kosinov to Australasia after learning Martin and Australasia held independent command on the Balkan front.
• Kosinov offered reparations, West Thrace, and a break with the Central Powers, while Arthur said Bulgaria must win the other nations’ consent and surrender its troops for negotiations to begin.
• Arthur promised to try to preserve Ferdinand’s throne, and Kosinov sent Ferdinand a coded telegram confirming that his mission had succeeded.
• As Bulgarian forces fell back toward Sofia, Ferdinand persuaded the Prime Minister to take responsibility for calling for surrender.
• The Prime Minister’s June 12 speech provoked public fury as government forces continued retreating and Allied troops advanced to encircle Sofia.

After Bulgaria surrendered, Commander Martin led the Allied Powers toward Constantinople while launching an invasion of the Anatolian Peninsula, leaving the Ottoman Empire overwhelmed on several fronts. Constantinople fell after a devastating siege, and Arthur sold Australasia’s military aircraft technology and planes to Britain, France, and Russia for more than sixty million pounds.

• The Bulgarian Army and government surrendered on June 14, 1915, and the Allied Powers took control of Sofia and disarmed Bulgarian troops.
• Commander Martin moved his forces south toward Constantinople and landed on the Anatolian Peninsula on June 17 to cut Ottoman supply lines and seize territory.
• Britain and Russia opened supporting offensives against the Ottoman Empire, which struggled to defend Constantinople and its other fronts.
• The Allied Powers bombarded Constantinople for six days, and the city fell on July 7 after the defenders endured heavy losses and shortages.
• Arthur agreed to sell military aircraft technology to Britain, France, and Russia, and Australasia earned 55.5 million pounds from technology sales plus six million pounds from aircraft orders.

Arthur recruited Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian expert in airships and rocket theory, after he arrived in Australasia with a group of immigrants. Arthur gave him research and teaching positions, funding, and a home in Sydney, setting him to work laying the foundations for Australasia’s future rocket and spaceflight research.

• Barty reported that the latest 200,000 Russian immigrants included skilled specialists, among them Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
• The chapter recounted how Tsiolkovsky educated himself, became a mathematics teacher, researched airships, and lost his government position after Russia abandoned its airship program.
• Tsiolkovsky sent his résumé to universities in Australasia after a friend invited him to come, and Barty brought his rocket and spaceflight papers to Arthur’s attention.
• Arthur met Tsiolkovsky at Sydney Palace and appointed him honorary professor at the Sydney Royal Military Academy’s Aviation Academy and a member of the Royal Physical Chemistry Research Association of Australasia.
• Arthur arranged a Sydney home and jobs for Tsiolkovsky’s family and promised that the Aviation Research Office could eventually be handed over to him.

Arthur redirected Australasia’s ambitions toward the Persian Gulf, ordering Commander Martin to open a new front and seize territory from the Rashidi Emirate and the Ottoman Empire. The Australasian Expeditionary Force landed near Qatar and swept into Saudi Arabia, advancing toward Iraq as the Ottoman Empire’s crisis deepened.

• Arthur established the Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory and appointed Konstantin Tsiolkovsky to lead aerospace and rocket research while prioritizing victory in the war.
• Arthur planned to occupy the Persian Gulf coast from Iraq to Saudi Arabia and seek Qatar, while avoiding conflict with Britain over its existing holdings.
• Commander Martin took fewer than a hundred thousand Australasian troops south through the Suez Canal instead of attacking the Anatolian Peninsula.
• On July 15, 1915, the Australasian Expeditionary Force landed near Qatar and routed the Rashidi Emirate’s troops.
• On July 17, the Australasian Army entered Saudi Arabia and advanced along the Persian Gulf coast toward the Mesopotamian Plain.

After the Australasian Army advanced into the Mesopotamian Plain, the Ottoman Empire sought peace as Allied forces pressed in from several fronts. At the Constantinople talks, the Allies disputed territorial claims, and Australasia prepared to bargain with Britain over Persian Gulf lands.

• The Australasian Expeditionary Force resupplied in Kuwait City, then marched north into the Mesopotamian Plain while Colonial Division One stayed behind to guard the Persian Gulf coast.
• After Constantinople fell and Balkan troops attacked Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire contacted Britain, France, Russia, and Australasia to seek peace.
• The Allied Powers began a temporary ceasefire on August 5, 1915, and opened peace talks in Constantinople on August 11.
• Russia demanded territory in the Caucasus, Britain sought land in the Middle East and sovereignty over the Emirate of Mecca, France sought land near French Somaliland, and Australasia claimed the coast of the Emirate of Rashid and a port for the Mesopotamian Plain.
• Britain also claimed the Mesopotamian port, prompting Australasia's diplomats to prepare private negotiations with the British representatives.

Australasia's Foreign Secretary Daze negotiated with Britain's Foreign Secretary Grey over control of Iraq and the Persian Gulf coast. Grey agreed to trade Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain for the Mesopotamian Plain, while Daze offered closer postwar support for Britain in Europe.

• Daze visited Grey late at night and argued that Australasia's greater contribution to the Ottoman campaign entitled it to Iraq and the Saudi Persian Gulf coast.
• Grey proposed that Britain exchange other territories for Iraq while recognizing Australasia's control of the Saudi coast.
• Daze demanded Britain's Arabian Peninsula colonies, then offered to give up Iraq in exchange for Bahrain, Qatar, and either Kuwait or the Trucial States.
• Daze promised continued Anglo-Australasian cooperation and support for Britain's actions in Europe after the war.
• Grey accepted the exchange of Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain for the Mesopotamian Plain, citing Australasia's value as Britain's closest ally.

Minister Daize and Minister Grey agreed on territorial exchanges, and the Allies concluded the Constantinople Treaty, carving up much of the Ottoman Empire. Germany and Austria-Hungary launched a grand encirclement offensive against Russia, but Russian reinforcements prevented the planned encirclement at the cost of catastrophic casualties.

• Minister Daize and Minister Grey agreed that Britain would exchange Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait for the Mesopotamian Plain occupied by Australasia.
• The Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire signed the Constantinople Treaty, ceding territory and granting the Allies reparations and extensive privileges.
• The German and Austro-Hungarian armies began a grand encirclement plan aimed at trapping Russian forces in Poland and Galicia.
• At the end of July 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian forces launched an all-out offensive against the Russian Army.
• The Russian commander reinforced the Eighth Army with the Ninth and 11th Armies, blocking the encirclement but suffering more than three hundred thousand casualties.

Falkenhayn launched a German-Austrian central breakthrough near Görlitz, routing the Russian Third Army and expanding the advance despite desperate Russian counterattacks. Poison gas and artillery devastated the Russian Southwestern Front, while a gas accident killed hundreds of German soldiers and was concealed.

• Falkenhayn chose the Görlitz region for a central breakthrough and placed the German 11th Army under Mackensen, combining German and Austro-Hungarian forces for the assault.
• Germany used a Western Front feint with poison gas while secretly concentrating its forces in the east; on the last day of July, the main attack began and Ivanov ordered defenses strengthened too late.
• German artillery and aircraft battered the Russian positions, and the German-Austrian forces routed the Russian Third Army on August 1.
• Ivanov ordered Russian troops to counterattack, but German artillery and machine guns inflicted heavy losses as the breakthrough widened along the Vistula River.
• A shift in wind blew chlorine gas into German positions, killing hundreds; the German Staff Department concealed the accident, and the army resumed gas attacks the next day.
• The Russian Southwestern Front suffered more than 100,000 casualties in two days, while demand for Australasia's gas masks drove prices sharply upward.

The Russian Southwestern Front Army collapsed after the Gurlitz Offensive, losing Galicia, hundreds of thousands of men, and much of its remaining morale. Russia faced mounting domestic unrest and a dangerous encirclement on the Eastern Front, while German leaders debated how to exploit their victory.

• The Third, Fourth, and Eighth Army Groups retreated to the San River and endured heavy German bombardment and repeated assaults, suffering more than 100,000 casualties.
• After the Treaty of Constantinople, Balkan armies attacked the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it kept its forces in the German-Austrian offensive rather than withdrawing them.
• Hindenburg and Ludendorff pursued the Russians after they abandoned Przemyśl, and the German-Austrian offensive drove the Southwestern Front back across Galicia and behind Poland.
• The Gurlitz Offensive ended in a Russian defeat that cost more than 500,000 casualties and over 300,000 prisoners, while the German-Austrian forces suffered fewer than 100,000 casualties.
• Demonstrators in St. Petersburg and Moscow demanded that Nicholas II abdicate, and Nicholas II authorized Cossack cavalry to suppress the unrest by force if necessary.
• The German Staff Department considered how to exploit the Russian forces’ perilous position, but Falkenhayn and Hindenburg and Ludendorff disagreed over strategy.

Falkenhayn won William II’s support for a limited offensive, while Hindenburg secretly continued preparing his deeper plan as Russian forces retreated and German armies attacked. German advances met resistance, but Galvitz’s 12th Army finally secured a crossing on the Narew River at Rochany.

• Falkenhayn rejected Hindenburg’s plan to advance deep into Russia, persuaded William II to order the army to follow his own scheme, and Hindenburg secretly kept preparing his plan.
• Nicholas II dismissed Ivanov and appointed Alekseev to command the Southwestern Army, while Grand Duke Nicholas ordered Russian forces to retreat and avoid offensive operations.
• On September 3, the German 11th Army, the Bug River Army Group, and the Austro-Hungarian Fourth Army Group attacked Tomaszow and Krasnik with artillery positioned close to Russian lines.
• After the Russian army suffered nearly 100,000 casualties and its lines collapsed, Russian aircraft bought from Australasia bombed and strafed German-Austrian forces crossing the Bug River.
• Galvitz’s 12th Army failed to force its way across the Narew River at Pshasnich, then crossed farther away at Rochany and seized an important ferry crossing.

German forces captured Riga but failed to encircle the retreating Russian Fifth Army, while Division Commander Martin’s Balkan offensive destroyed the Austro-Hungarian forces on the southern border. Strained by logistics, exhaustion, and Austria-Hungary’s withdrawal of troops, Germany halted its Eastern Front offensive and shifted attention west.

• The German Neman River Army Group captured Riga after driving the Russian Fifth Army back, but the Russian army escaped Hindenburg’s planned encirclement.
• Arthur promised Britain and France would attack on the Western Front and pledged that Australasia would support an offensive in the Balkans to aid Russia.
• Division Commander Martin’s forces captured Sarajevo, then joined with Serbian troops to trap the Austro-Hungarian Army along the Serbian border.
• On October 7, Division Commander Martin’s Balkan-front forces destroyed and captured most of the encircled Austro-Hungarian force after more than ten days of fighting.
• Germany’s Eastern Front advance stalled because of poor supply lines and exhausted troops, while Austria-Hungary withdrew forces to reinforce its southern border.
• Falkenhayn’s Staff Department halted the Eastern Front offensive and turned its attention to the Western Front, though Falkenhayn promised William II that the eastern campaign would resume later.

After the German offensive stalled, Russia was left reeling from military defeat, shortages, and growing unrest against Nicholas II and the Romanov monarchy. Nicholas II dismissed Grand Duke Nicholas and made himself Commander-in-Chief, leaving the Russian Army under a ruler with even less military ability.

• By October 11, 1915, Hindenburg halted his advance because disease, casualties, and failing logistics had crippled his army, while Falkenhayn’s offensive also failed for lack of troops.
• Germany shifted to defensive trench warfare on the Eastern Front, giving Russia a brief respite as unrest spread across the country and demands grew from Nicholas II’s abdication to overthrowing the monarchy.
• Director Barty reported to Arthur that Russian revolutionary and reactionary parties had rapidly multiplied, while corruption, shortages, and poor strategic decisions had left Russian soldiers severely unequipped.
• After the defeat in the Gurlitz Offensive, Rasputin urged Nicholas II to remove Grand Duke Nicholas as Supreme Commander.
• Nicholas II appointed himself Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army and Supreme Commander of Russia.

In October 1915, Arthur planned to use wartime military administration to expand Australasia’s control over New Guinea and its newly acquired Persian Gulf territories, while driving natives from German New Guinea. He also advanced naval expansion plans as the Hope and Dream battleships neared commissioning.

• Arthur planned to use resistance in Dutch-controlled western New Guinea as a pretext to seize the territory and unite the island under Australasian rule.
• Australasian forces continued forcibly expelling natives from German New Guinea, where at least 400,000 had been driven out and at least 200,000 killed.
• Arthur planned to settle immigrants in the Persian Gulf territories and eventually station troops and a fleet there to protect Australasia’s oil interests.
• The Hope and Dream battleships, fitted with newly developed 15-inch guns, neared service, while Arthur approved two more super-Dreadnoughts and dozens of smaller warships.

Russia’s military descended further into chaos under Nicholas II, as corruption crippled supplies and aircraft while German planes attacked the front. Alekseev’s forces repelled a German air raid, but Russia lost aircraft and remained unable to count on reliable repairs or replacements.

• After Nicholas II took command, Rasputin and corrupt officials diverted supplies, destroyed commanders’ telegrams, and sold weapons, leaving Russian troops short of food and equipment and causing aircraft crashes.
• Alekseev asked Colonel Sergei about delayed supplies and threatened the logistics department over dwindling provisions for the Southwestern Army.
• When German aircraft attacked the Russian positions, Alekseev ordered the troops into shelters and called Russian fighters to intercept them.
• Russian aircraft arrived after the bombing and gained the advantage over the German planes in the ensuing air battle.
• The Germans lost half their aircraft, with two more shot down during the retreat, while Russia lost three aircraft and had more than five damaged.
• Russia’s damaged aircraft could be repaired only if parts were available, but corruption made it uncertain whether replacement parts would reach them.