Recaps

Napoleon III and Moltke prepared for the expected Franco-Prussian War as France faced a major numerical disadvantage. Meanwhile, East Africa’s campaign advanced slowly, and Austria prepared a covert plan to intervene in Italy after French troops left Rome.

• Napoleon III outlined a plan to take Frankfurt with the Rhine Army while MacMahon’s Châlons Army supported the advance.
• Bazaine warned Napoleon III that the German Allied Forces greatly outnumbered the French, but Napoleon rallied his generals to fight.
• Moltke anticipated a French move toward Frankfurt and ordered Prussian forces to withdraw to advantageous positions and avoid a direct clash.
• East Africa’s forces advanced ten to twenty kilometers a day as poor transport and supply routes slowed their campaign.
• An Austro-Hungarian envoy learned that French troops had left Rome and planned to persuade the Pope to accept Austrian protection.
• The envoy directed General Karl to keep his hidden force in Rome until Italy acted against the Papal States, giving Austria a pretext to intervene.

Napoleon III ordered France to invade Prussian territory after learning that Prussia could mobilize troops by rail far faster than France. As French and Prussian forces clashed near Saarbrücken, Wilhelm I and Moltke directed German armies to concentrate against the French and isolate MacMahon’s forces south of the Vosges Mountains.

• Lebeuf warned Napoleon III that Prussia’s superior railway network was rapidly increasing its forces at the front, and Napoleon III ordered an attack into Prussian territory.
• Lieutenant Camille LeRoux’s platoon repelled a Prussian company near Saarbrücken, killed its flag-waving officer, and pursued the retreating troops.
• Wilhelm I ordered the Prussian counterattack, while Moltke summoned the Second Army Corps toward Saarbrücken and directed the Third Army Corps to block French forces south of the Vosges Mountains.
• Frederick III ordered the Third Army Corps to advance toward the Vosges Mountains, sent cavalry toward Wissembourg, and assigned forces to guard against the Châlons Army.
• The Bavarian Kingdom General demanded that Bavaria’s two corps lead the advance into Wissembourg, and Frederick III allowed them to go ahead.

After the French army withdrew into defensive positions, German forces launched a broad counterattack, and Bavarian and Prussian troops attacked Wissembourg. General Abel Douay’s small French force resisted fiercely, but Krupp artillery silenced the French guns as the battle continued against overwhelming odds.

• After taking Saarbrücken, Napoleon III and Lebeuf rejected Bazaine’s plan to pursue the Prussian troops and ordered French forces to withdraw to defensive positions, while reserves moved forward.
• Moltke ordered German forces to counterattack along the front and directed the Third Army Corps to take Wissembourg on August 4.
• General Abel Douay arrived at Wissembourg on August 3 and learned that its neglected fortifications needed repairs, but German forces crossed the Lauter before he could prepare.
• Bavarian troops surprised Douay’s garrison on August 4, and his infantry, rifles, and machine guns inflicted heavy losses on the first attackers.
• Prussian and Bavarian infantry continued fighting from cover, while Krupp guns outmatched French artillery and then targeted French troops in their trenches.
• Twenty-nine German battalions pressed the eight French battalions, but the French resistance caused German casualties to exceed French losses.

Leopold and Kirchbach clashed over where the Hechingen Brigade should deploy, with Leopold choosing Daveluy despite Kirchbach’s doubts about the unit. Leopold returned to camp convinced the brigade could prove its worth in battle.

• Kirchbach assigned Leopold’s Hechingen Brigade to Waldwiesen while the Fifth Army Corps held Saverne, but Leopold rejected the post as too far from the front.
• Leopold chose Daveluy on Saverne’s flank and warned Kirchbach that his hastily assembled troops might struggle against French veterans.
• Kirchbach privately ordered Robert to station the Third Brigade at Wielversan and support the Hechingen Brigade if it came under threat.
• Leopold returned to camp angry at Kirchbach’s arrogance and told Heinrich that the Hechingen Brigade was better than Kirchbach’s recruits.
• Heinrich urged Leopold to prove the brigade’s strength through victory, and Leopold agreed that the unit could match elite forces apart from its lack of battlefield experience.

The Hechingen Brigade fortified Daveluy while French General de Failly planned a surprise attack to capture Saverne and support the Châlons Army. His feint at Stanley drew away Kirchbach’s reinforcements, leaving Saverne exposed as the French advance began.

• The Hechingen Brigade built and improved extensive defenses around Daveluy, and Heinrich explained to Leopold that fortifications protected soldiers against the French rifles’ longer range.
• French scouts reported the positions of Prussia’s Fifth Army Corps, and de Failly planned for the Twelfth Infantry Division to feint at Stanley while the Fourteenth Infantry Division and cavalry attacked Saverne.
• De Failly ordered a brigade of the Twelfth Infantry Division to block the Prussian troops at Daveluy and said the attack on Saverne would help relieve Marshal MacMahon’s forces.
• The French Fifth Army Corps advanced under cover of darkness and engaged the Prussian troops at Stanley, whose commander urgently requested reinforcements.
• Kirchbach sent two infantry brigades from Saverne to Stanley, while the French cavalry approached Saverne from the southeast and the main force advanced from the west.

Ernst arranged additional ships to transport German, Austrian, and Italian immigrants to East Africa, while preparing Zambia for their settlement. He also instructed Tom to keep Hechingen’s Marseille business out of politics and let the Medina Family handle local affairs.

• Tom reported that the Hechingen fleet had freed 64 ships for the planned migration, and Ernst ordered him to hire Dutch, Italian, Greek, and Spanish vessels as needed.
• Ernst planned to resettle Italian immigrants in Zambia alongside Far Eastern and German settlers, using established East African communities to guide their farming and labor.
• The chapter explained that East Africa had already received many southern German migrants and that its culture and ties leaned toward the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Ernst told Tom to supply goods in Marseille while leaving political activity to the Medina Family, which could build support in southern France during the war.

After the German forces captured Wissembourg, the Hechingen Brigade and the French Fifty-Fourth Brigade prepared for a clash near Daveluy. Leopold and Heinrich learned that French troops had entered a nearby forest and planned a midnight surprise attack, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Wissembourg residents lowered the drawbridge for the Prussian Army, and the German forces defeated the French after fierce street fighting.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm and the German generals observed a moment of silence over General Douay’s body in Wissembourg.
• The commander of the French Fifty-Fourth Brigade planned to seize Daveluy at daybreak, believing the Hechingen Brigade was weak and isolated.
• Heinrich reported that a French force had entered the forest west of Daveluy, and Leopold concluded it might threaten the Hechingen Brigade.
• Heinrich persuaded Leopold to prepare a midnight surprise attack, using the forest and darkness to reduce the French Chassepot rifles’ advantage.

Heinrich persuaded Leopold to launch a night attack on the French Fifty-Fourth Brigade, and the Hechingen Brigade caught the unprepared French forces in a chaotic assault. After the French scattered, fled, or surrendered, Robert’s Third Brigade arrived as the Hechingen Brigade began clearing the battlefield.

• Leopold and Heinrich gathered the Hechingen Brigade’s officers, agreed on a night attack, and settled the units’ assignments after discussion.
• The Hechingen Brigade prepared for battle as Otto warned his recruits and gave them cigarettes and beer.
• At midnight, Heinrich observed the disordered French positions and fired the first shot at 12:57, sending the Hechingen Brigade into the camp.
• The French Fifty-Fourth Brigade struggled to organize in the darkness, and Hechingen soldiers overwhelmed them as French troops fled or surrendered.
• Robert’s Third Brigade arrived after the fighting, while the Hechingen Brigade cleared the battlefield and captured French soldiers who later wandered out of the forest.

As Prussia and France became locked in war, Italy prepared to seize Rome, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire placed the Papal States under its protection. Victor Emmanuel II nevertheless ordered an invasion while reinforcing Venice against possible Austro-Hungarian interference.

• The Hechingen Brigade counted 256 casualties after defeating the French Fifty-Fourth Brigade, whose commander Allied had been killed.
• Garibaldi and Italy’s Foreign Minister urged Emmanuel II to take Rome while France and Prussia were occupied, but a telegram revealed that the Pope had placed the Papal States under Austro-Hungarian protection.
• The chapter flashed back to Pius IX accepting Austro-Hungarian protection and signing agreements that granted the empire garrison rights.
• Garibaldi and the Foreign Minister argued that the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not stop Italy from taking Rome, and Victor Emmanuel II agreed to march on the city while sending elite troops to defend Venice.

Pius IX feared the Kingdom of Italy would overwhelm the Papal States and demanded to know how the Austro-Hungarian Empire would protect Rome. Floyd assured him Italy would never enter Rome, and Pius IX mistakenly concluded Austria planned to stir up separatists across Italy.

• Pius IX panicked over the Papal States’ weak army after France withdrew its troops and summoned Floyd.
• Pius IX asked Floyd whether Austria would provide more than verbal support against Italy.
• Floyd said Austria had contingency plans and promised Italy would never enter Rome.
• Pius IX guessed that Austria had spies ready to incite former Italian states to rebel.
• The narration revealed that Pius IX was mistaken and Austria’s intervention relied on brute force, while its supposed spies were actually Ernst.

Floyd secured Pius IX’s cooperation as the Kingdom of Italy prepared to invade the Papal States while anticipating Austro-Hungarian intervention. The chapter ended with Italy issuing an ultimatum and the Austro-Hungarian ambassador threatening Italy if it attacked.

• Floyd urged Pius IX to prepare the Papal States’ army and keep their understanding secret, and Pius IX agreed to recruit more men.
• After two days of discussion, Victor Emmanuel II and Italian officials planned defenses against Austria-Hungary and assigned 25,000 government troops and volunteers led by Garibaldi to attack the Papal States.
• Italy concentrated troops near Venice and Lombardy while Austria-Hungary kept its border forces still, convincing Italian leaders that they could proceed safely.
• On August 16, Italy demanded that Pius IX surrender and merge the Papal States into Italy, but Pius IX refused with an army of about 15,000 men.
• The Austro-Hungarian ambassador warned the Italian royal palace that the Empire would intervene if Italy attacked the Papal States.

After the Austro-Hungarian Empire threatened Italy over its plans to annex the Papal States, Italy declared war despite failing to win British support. Russia stayed out of the conflict, hoping it would bog down Austria-Hungary, while the war began with other powers remaining neutral.

• Christian warned Victor Emmanuel II that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would oppose Italy's attempt to absorb the Papal States, and the two sides parted on hostile terms.
• Giuseppe asked British Ambassador Johnson for help, but Johnson urged Italy to abandon its claim and said Britain could not intervene during the Franco-Prussian War.
• After the Papal States ignored its demands, Italy declared war on August 23, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Papal States declared war on Italy.
• Alexander II convened his ministers, who concluded that Austria-Hungary had not made new troop movements and that Russia had little chance to intervene.
• Russia rejected supporting Italy and hoped the conflict would weaken Austria-Hungary, while Britain and Russia remained neutral.

After the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, Napoleon III realized France could no longer count on Austrian intervention against Prussia. Archduke Albrecht began a deliberate campaign on the Isonzo front to draw Italian forces toward Venice and Lombardy while preparing a surprise attack from Rome.

• Napoleon III concluded that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not intervene against Prussia, leaving France to face more Prussian troops.
• Prussian leaders welcomed the declaration of war on Italy because it removed the threat of an Austrian attack on their rear.
• Austro-Hungarian artillery bombarded Italy’s first defensive line along the Isonzo River from the eastern bank.
• Archduke Albrecht rejected an immediate assault, intending to make Italy reinforce the eastern front before striking its concentrated forces.
• Italy began sending more troops toward Venice and building a third defensive line, while Albrecht planned to use Austrian troops hidden in Rome for a surprise attack.

As the Italo-Austrian War drove people from the Venice region to flee, East African recruiters registered families and prepared to take them overseas. After hearing about life and work in East Africa, the immigrants chose to board, and later statistics showed that most of the additional Italians who left went there.

• East African immigration workers registered Venice residents and gave Thomas a family boarding tag for his wife and daughters.
• Thomas told his family that they were leaving their home for East Africa because war had made it unsafe.
• Mars warned the prospective immigrants that East Africa enforced strict laws, offered few entertainments, and needed workers, especially farmers.
• Mars answered questions about jobs, food, and money, then offered the immigrants a final chance to disembark.
• The immigrants stayed aboard, and later figures showed that most Italians who left in excess of the usual number during the war went to East Africa.

Archduke Albrecht’s feint drew Italian troops toward the northern front while Lieutenant General Karl prepared the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force hidden near Rome to strike Garibaldi’s advancing army. Karl left his soldiers ready to feast before launching a surprise attack that night.

• Archduke Albrecht ordered Austrian forces to feint from the north, prompting Italy to reinforce its Alpine defenses and strain its logistics.
• Antonio and the Fourth Brigade commander changed out of their Italian farmer clothes at the Austro-Hungarian camp near Rome and joked about their farming.
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire concealed over ten thousand soldiers on a rented farm in the Papal States.
• Lieutenant General Karl told his assembled troops that more than thirty thousand Italian soldiers led by Garibaldi were approaching Rome.
• Karl explained that his force would attack by surprise once the Papal States’ troops engaged the Italians, and ordered a feast before the night operation.

The Kingdom of Italy’s army attacked Rome, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire secretly moved its expeditionary force into position. After Garibaldi’s troops broke into the city, Lieutenant General Karl’s forces struck from behind, trapping the Italians and killing Garibaldi and his volunteers as Cadorna surrendered.

• Garibaldi and Cadorna advanced toward Rome, while Pius IX learned that no other Italian states had risen to support him and confronted Floyd about the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s promised plan.
• Floyd reassured Pius IX that the Empire had a trump card, then stayed with him as Italian artillery opened fire on Rome.
• Garibaldi and Cadorna launched an assault, and the Kingdom of Italy’s troops broke through Rome’s defenses and entered the city.
• Lieutenant General Karl led the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force in a surprise attack, trapping the Italian army between its troops and Rome’s defenders.
• Cadorna surrendered with the Kingdom of Italy’s army, while Garibaldi and his volunteers charged the Austro-Hungarians and fell in battle.

Archduke Albrecht launched an all-out offensive against Italy after receiving word of Karl’s victory near Rome, while Prussia began the Battle of Sedan and East African troops completed their advance to the Okavango Delta. The chapter left the war’s European fronts in motion and the Southwestern Army struggling with the delta’s swamps and mosquitoes.

• Archduke Albrecht ordered the Austro-Hungarian Army to attack Italy’s Isonzo River defensive line after learning that Karl had defeated Italian forces near Rome.
• Prussia began the Battle of Sedan with over 200,000 troops against Napoleon III’s 120,000, while French reports described heavy bombardment, casualties, and Marshal MacMahon’s wounds.
• King Wilhelm I, Bismarck, and Moltke discussed the likely Prussian victory and Ernst’s plan to withdraw the Hechingen Brigade after Sedan.
• The Southwestern Army completed its mission at the Okavango Delta, where Karl and his soldiers complained about the swamp and swarms of mosquitoes.

After Italy’s defenses collapsed, Victor Emmanuel II ordered the defense of Florence against Austro-Hungarian forces, while Count Medina used a public supply donation to promote his patriotic image and brand. Ernst recalled the Hechingen Brigade after its losses in the war and arranged a burial near Hohenzollern Castle.

• The Austro-Hungarian Army broke through Italy’s second defensive line, forcing Italian troops to retreat into Venice.
• Victor Emmanuel II learned that Austro-Hungarian troops had defeated Italy’s attack on Rome and ordered border troops and local forces to gather at least 50,000 men to defend Florence.
• Count Medina offered supplies to France in a speech in Marseille, and city officials arranged for them to go directly to frontline soldiers under the citizens’ name.
• Leopold reported that the Hechingen Brigade had suffered more than 700 casualties, including 132 deaths, and Ernst ordered the brigade to return from the war.
• Ernst rejected further participation in the campaign and ordered a burial ground cleared near Hohenzollern Castle for the fallen soldiers.

At the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Southern Army platoon commander Dehmel met German geographer Karl Mohr and learned about his research into the stone city. They debated whether Europeans, Arabs, or local Africans had built the ruins, leaving their origins unresolved.

• Dehmel and his deputy discussed why the natives had abandoned the stone city where the Southern Army had set up a supply station.
• Karl Mohr arrived with his Black servant, introduced himself as a German geographer, and explained that he had spent years surveying African ruins.
• Dehmel told Mohr that the Kingdom of East Africa had been established by the Hechingen Royal Family and that the region had only recently joined its territory.
• Mohr argued that the ruins showed European influence, while Dehmel maintained that local Africans or Arabs could have built them.
• Mohr rejected the idea that local Africans had constructed the ruins, citing their scale and the absence of a regional tradition of stone building.

Ernst considered the Great Zimbabwe Ruins and East Africa’s military expansion, while Italian forces regrouped in Venice after retreating from the Austro-Hungarian advance. The Venice city government agreed to take over civilian services during military control, a decision that also served the commercial interests of its deputy mayor, Leon.

• Ernst regarded the Great Zimbabwe Ruins as wonders built through strength and viewed their unknown origins as unimportant.
• Southern Army officers Habur and Linde discussed advancing to the Limpopo River, containing the Boers, and delaying any move against Mozambique to avoid benefiting the British.
• The Italian army concentrated 180,000 troops in and around Venice, where disorganized soldiers caused widespread public security problems.
• Venice deputy mayor Leon protested to General Raffaele Cadorna and agreed that the city government would manage food, water, and public order during military control.
• Leon concealed that he was one of Venice’s largest suppliers of salt and other goods, giving him a commercial stake in the arrangements.

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff led the strengthened Austro-Hungarian Navy toward the Italian fleet as war opened a new front at sea. In East Africa, Ferdinand selected Mkany on Pemba Island as the site of the kingdom’s second naval base.

• Wilhelm von Tegetthoff rallied the Austro-Hungarian fleet and ordered the ironclad Lissa toward Italian warships spotted to the northwest.
• The Italian Navy, weakened by budget cuts and caught before its planned expansion, received a report that the Austro-Hungarian fleet was approaching.
• Ferdinand inspected Jishui City with mayor Leander and learned that Pemba Island’s population had been repatriated, leaving ports and clove fields largely unattended.
• Leander recommended the vacant port of Mkany, and Ferdinand chose it as East Africa’s second naval base.

The Austro-Hungarian and Italian navies fought in the Adriatic Sea as Wilhelm von Tegetthoff used flexible column maneuvers to encircle the Italian fleet. The Italian commander faced defeat and began choosing surrender over fighting to the death.

• Constantin assigned more than two thousand immigrants to restore Mkany as a military harbor.
• The Austro-Hungarian and Italian fleets exchanged fire, with Austro-Hungarian gunnery proving more accurate.
• Wilhelm von Tegetthoff split the Austro-Hungarian fleet into three columns and outmaneuvered the Italians’ V-shaped formation.
• The Austro-Hungarian columns encircled the Italian fleet and attacked it from multiple sides.
• The Lissa and the Third Column charged into the Italian fleet while the Second Column rammed the Caesar.
• The Italian commander considered surrender after the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s Ferdinand rammed in from the left.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy won control of the Adriatic after the Caesar surrendered, while Venice’s leaders exploited wartime shortages and restrictions to profit from trapped residents. In Florence, Victor Emmanuel II reinforced the capital as Lieutenant General Karl’s expeditionary force ravaged the former Kingdom of Sardinia.

• The Caesar raised a white flag, and the remaining Italian ships surrendered; the Austro-Hungarian Navy rescued survivors after sinking three Italian capital ships.
• Fifty thousand troops prepared at Trieste to sail to Italy’s east coast and join Papal States forces in opening a third front.
• Ross raised flour prices in Venice and pressured citizens to buy supplies, while city elites divided the city into controlled districts and blamed martial law on General Raffaele Cadorna.
• Victor Emmanuel II’s government held Florence against Lieutenant General Karl’s attack until reinforcements arrived, then strengthened the city’s defenses.
• Lieutenant General Karl led the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force into the former Kingdom of Sardinia, where it destroyed factories and disrupted cities while Italy hesitated to pull troops from Florence.

The Kingdom of East Africa’s army reached the Limpopo River and claimed the land west of it as East African territory. After Backhausen crossed to speak with the soldiers, he returned to Vincent with news of the new German-led power and its claim to a heavily guarded border.

• Jacob and Staff Officer Boer discussed the Limpopo River, the Boer republics, and East Africa’s intelligence ties among German immigrants.
• Vincent sent Backhausen across the river to identify the riders he believed were Prussian soldiers.
• Jacob told Backhausen that the soldiers belonged to the Kingdom of East Africa and that the land west of the Limpopo River was now its territory.
• Backhausen returned to Vincent and reported East Africa’s claim and its assertion that tens of thousands of troops guarded the river.

Vincent and Backhausen assessed the East African Army’s strength after encountering it near the Limpopo River, and Vincent reported the force to the Transvaal government. East Africa completed its border deployments, leaving the Boers wary and the possibility of future conflict with Portugal unresolved.

• Vincent calmed down after Backhausen explained that East African troops would not trouble the Boers unless they crossed the river.
• Backhausen urged Vincent to report the encounter, warning that East Africa’s standing army and troop numbers far exceeded the Transvaal’s forces.
• Vincent concluded that the East African claims of tens of thousands of troops were likely true and reported the army’s appearance near the Crocodile and Limpopo Rivers to the government.
• Other Boers near the Limpopo River also reported seeing East African troops, prompting the Transvaal leadership to assess the unfamiliar kingdom as a powerful threat.
• East Africa completed its deployment of more than fifteen thousand troops along the Limpopo and over ten thousand on the Mozambique border, blocking further Portuguese and Boer expansion into the interior.