About this time England and Germany knew that France was getting ready to aid the United States and they had been preparing to enlist the aid of other countries in order to complete the victories already won and gain control of the United States and divide up the territory. On September 6th, France made the first attack upon London and the same night attacked Berlin from the air, destroying many buildings, with the result that there was a large loss of life. Quickly following this, England, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and Japan called upon the other countries with whom they had treaties to join them in the final battles against the United States, promising a division of the spoils. All the world had become so jealous of the prosperity and success of the United States previous to this War of the Air that they were eager to join in the conquest and share in the great gold supply that had been gathered from all parts of the world by the United States. Turkey and Russia were the first to join the enemy; then quickly followed Rumania, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Morocco and Portugal. These new supporters to the enemy's cause rushed their airplane fleets to the Eastern shores of the United States; sent aid to England and Germany to help hold off France and keep the enemy from having to withdraw any forces from the United States to protect their own countries.
The enemy, knowing that they now had practically all of Europe against the United States, were confident that it would only be a matter of a few weeks to take Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington, then make their own terms and the United States would be forced to accept. The United States knew that the most desperate battle of the war was now impending and another council was held. They were expecting the first blow to be struck in Chicago. The enemy's reinforcements had arrived and were scattered in every direction. The night of October 1st proved to be one of the worst so far of the war. The enemy attacked Omaha, Kansas City, Denver, Cincinnati, Louisville, Milwaukee and St. Paul. The forces from Mexico attacked El Paso, San Antonio, Galveston and Houston. The greater part of the United States forces being concentrated around Chicago and the East, this scattered attack all over the South, West and North was disorganizing to our forces. There was great loss of life and property in all of these cities because they were not properly prepared for the attack which came suddenly and unexpectedly.
On the morning of October 2nd a Council was held and it was decided to immediately send as many airplanes as possible to help protect these cities because an attack was expected again that night. This was just exactly what the enemy wanted,—to get the United States to scatter forces, withdrawing part of their armies which were protecting Chicago.
On the night of October 2nd the enemy concentrated an attack of more than 50,000 planes against Chicago and broke thru the United States lines on every side. England, Germany and Russia turned loose their giant dreadnought battle planes, the largest that had ever yet been used in the War in the Air. Many of these planes carried 12- to 36-inch guns. They were equipped with the latest improved 12-cylinder motors; were operated by electricity as well as gasoline. These giant planes could be supplied with power thru the air by radio current. The attack was well-timed and they had every advantage of the United States forces. The first attack destroyed Chicago's great skyscrapers. The Board of Trade Building, Post Office and other Government buildings were completely destroyed. Loss of life was appalling. Over a million people lost their lives. More defenseless women and children were killed than in any other battle during the war.
When the sun rose over the great City of Chicago on the morning of October 3rd, buildings were smouldering in ruins in every direction. It was the greatest destruction that had ever been in the history of the world. No mortal tongue could describe the terrifying sights. There was a brief respite. As the sun rose the enemy's planes which had wreaked their vengeance, withdrew. The United States had lost more than 25,000 planes and their best aviators had gone down in this terrible disaster.
Colonel Gordon and Colonel Kennelworth had done wonderful work and fortunately their lives had been preserved for future use to their country. As Colonel Gordon made his way to headquarters to report to General Pearson, he thought of what he had read in the Acts 2:17: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke." He thought of how he had dreamed and prophesied and how he had believed the Bible knowing that these terrible things would come in the latter days. As he saw the blood, the fire, the smoke and the ruined city, for a moment he wondered why God should permit such destruction as this in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, but then he thought of what he had read in Isaiah 2:2: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." He prayed to God to hasten the day when men shall not make war any more.
The United States officers knew now that if they held out, Chicago would be completely annihilated because England's giant bombing planes were able to destroy every building and kill every living soul. General Pearson called all the commanding officers together and they quickly agreed that with the enemy outnumbering them 50 to 1, another attack would be soon over with and that it was a useless sacrifice of human life and their remaining planes to offer resistance. But before surrendering, they decided to ask the consent of the President and his Cabinet. The President hastily called the Cabinet together and when they assembled, their faces were grave. They all knew what had happened the night before in Chicago. The President with sadness in his voice read the decision of the commanding Generals and said: "This is the gravest crisis this country has ever faced. To surrender may mean the loss of our country and our liberty; to go on and fight may mean even worse. To surrender Chicago and wait for time to determine the next move may be the wisest plan. We can only trust to God and hope. What is your decision, gentlemen?" Not a man rose to discuss the matter. One by one they answered: "It seems best to permit our commanding officers to surrender Chicago."
News was quickly flashed to headquarters at Chicago and about 10 A.M. the white flag was hoisted from the few remaining tall buildings and a large plane was sent out to circle the sky with white flags floating from its wings. As soon as Chicago was surrendered, the enemy planes and land forces were brought up and they closed the gap between Chicago and St. Louis, leaving the Central lines intact and the Western lines holding the Pacific Coast.
The New York Stock Exchange closed to prevent complete panic because the people were panic-stricken and selling stocks regardless of price. They soon discovered that the enemy had bases for supplies and ships all up and down the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico. They were in control of the Northern border and in position to attack the Eastern Coast from the North, South, East and West. There was no minimizing the seriousness of the situation. The fall of Chicago had broken the heart of the American people. They were panic-stricken and it looked as tho for the first time in history, Old Glory would trail the dust. There was a great War Council held. To make a plea for peace at this time meant surrender to the enemy and accepting any terms that they might want to dictate. The leaders of the War Council were puzzled. They didn't know what move to make next since they were overwhelmed by great odds. The United States was practically alone in the fight. France and Canada were the only countries which had not joined forces against the United States. When the news of the fall of Chicago reached France, they realized that America was doomed.
The United States Government officials knowing the seriousness of the situation made no attempt to conceal it, but decided to play for time. They replied to the note from the enemy and asked for an armistice to last thirty days, in which neither side would make any attack until they discussed plans to see if it were possible to arrive at any acceptable terms. The enemy taking this as an admission of defeat and weakness on the part of the United States granted 15 days' time for a discussion of terms, and sent the following note: