Recaps

Franz weighed Austria’s role in the Polish uprising and the danger of Russian unrest, then decided Austria should publicly support the Tsarist Government while denying involvement with Polish volunteers. He also recognized that Austria’s growing strength left it well positioned even without his former advantage of foreknowledge.

• Franz learned that hundreds of Austrian Poles had joined the Polish uprising, and he ordered the Foreign Ministry to explain the volunteers’ actions to Russia while declaring Poland an internal Russian affair.
• Wessenberg reported that more than one hundred thousand Polish insurgents had routed Russian troops and that trained volunteers and Russian revolutionaries were aiding them.
• Franz considered preparing to intervene in Russia, but Prime Minister Felix argued that the Russian army remained loyal and the uprising would likely be suppressed without British or French troops.
• Franz agreed that Austria should avoid intervention, tell the Tsarist Government it supported its actions in Poland, and blame Britain and France for the foreign volunteers.
• Franz reconsidered Austria’s position and concluded that its educational, industrial, and strategic advantages gave it a strong position against its rivals despite his vanished foreknowledge.

Alexander II confronted the diplomatic isolation caused by Russia’s victory and ordered the Polish rebellion suppressed while seeking new allies. Russia later backed the Northern Government in the American Civil War, and its fleet’s visit to San Francisco drew it into a British-backed threat involving pirates.

• Alexander II learned that Austria blamed Britain and France for supporting Polish rebels while Prussia disowned its own citizens, and he ordered the rebellion crushed while seeking new allies.
• In autumn 1864, Russia sent a naval fleet to visit the American Federation and later supported the Northern Government as the Civil War approached its decisive moment.
• Russian Major General Popov received a warm welcome in California after his fleet destroyed a pirate ship, then promised to crack down on pirates attacking the west coast.
• British representative Rhodes warned Austrian representative Carter that the Russians risked being defeated by the pirates, while Carter implied that the fleet might be sacrificed for profit.
• Rhodes’s concern centered on the Russian fleet threatening the pirate network that brought him wealth, and Britain hoped a Russian defeat would undermine its support for the Northern Government.

Prussian military leaders revealed that they had prepared an attack on Denmark without the king’s approval, arguing that seizing Schleswig-Holstein offered Prussia its best chance to strengthen itself. William I and Prime Minister Frank ordered the military to bear responsibility and sought to limit the fallout, but the offensive could no longer be stopped.

• Frank and William I confronted Roon and Moltke after learning the Junker-led military had planned an attack on Denmark without consulting them.
• Roon argued that Prussia’s dangerous position between France, Russia, and Austria made recovering Schleswig-Holstein a necessary gamble, with British and French support likely against Russia.
• William I rejected the military’s justification, ordered all operations halted, and demanded a valid pretext for war.
• Roon revealed that the troops had cut telegraph communications and could not be notified in time, so the offensive would proceed and the government had only time to declare war.
• William I left in anger, and Frank ordered Roon and Moltke to deliver the declaration of war themselves while the government convened separately.

Franz and his ministers assessed Prussia’s sudden war against Denmark over Schleswig–Holstein and debated how Austria should respond as a conflict with Russia threatened to follow. Felix proposed making Russian aid conditional on dividing Prussia, while Franz recognized that the proposal was chiefly meant to block Russian demands for Austrian assistance.

• Franz learned that Prussia and Denmark had declared war, and he convened a cabinet meeting to determine Austria’s position.
• Wessenberg argued that Britain and France were likely backing Prussia to weaken Russia, while Felix questioned why Prussia would risk becoming Russia’s enemy for two duchies.
• Franz reasoned that Prussia feared Russian designs on Prussian Poland and hoped British and French support would help it seize Schleswig–Holstein and create a buffer in Russian Poland.
• Felix proposed that Austria offer Russia aid only in exchange for partitioning Prussia, with Russia taking Prussian Poland and Austria taking the German territories; otherwise, Austria would remain neutral.
• Franz recognized that Felix’s proposal was designed to prevent Russia from invoking their alliance to demand Austrian loans and military assistance.

Prussia declared war on Denmark and invaded after Denmark annexed Schleswig and Holstein, leaving Christian IX scrambling to mobilize and seek Russian support. As Prussian forces prepared to fight, Moltke ordered military documents to remove references to Germany and center the campaign on Prussia.

• Prussia declared war on October 24, mobilized the next day, and sent troops into Denmark on October 27.
• Christian IX demanded an explanation, and Prime Minister Rashir advised nationwide mobilization and diplomatic efforts to secure Russian support.
• In a Copenhagen bakery, Colefgen urged Robertla to enlist, but Robertla argued that Denmark could not defeat Prussia and should rely on the great powers.
• Lux reflected on Denmark’s decline as Danish citizens placed their hopes in outside intervention while Prussian reservists rushed to assemble.
• Moltke ordered Major General Amanda to replace references to Germany in military documents with language centered on Prussia.

Britain and France decided to aid Prussia against Russia only with money, weapons, and volunteers, while refusing to send troops. Austria declared neutrality, leaving Prussia diplomatically isolated as the Second Vienna System collapsed.

• Reslin explained that Prussia had started the war out of fear of being divided by Russia, France, and Austria, and wanted to use the conflict to disrupt Russia’s reforms.
• Agawar urged Britain to support Prussia’s campaign against Russia, but Edward and Reslin favored limited aid rather than direct intervention.
• The French Government also chose to supply Prussia without sending troops, while Napoleon III considered using the conflict to seize opportunities against Prussia.
• Britain and France’s decisions effectively ended the Second Vienna System, and Franz chose not to defend it.
• The Tsarist Government cited the system’s agreements against Prussia, while European public opinion backed Denmark and condemned Prussia’s invasion.
• Austria declared neutrality, and German supporters of Prussia began to withdraw amid fears that Prussia intended to break away from Germany.

Alexander II decided to seek Austria’s support for war against Prussia, offering it Silesia, while Maximilian I’s impartial rule alienated his Mexican supporters and brought him into conflict with France over control of customs revenue. Maximilian rejected a French treaty, but his hold on power remained precarious.

• Alexander II heard Clarence-Ivanov explain that diplomacy could not save Denmark and that Austria might support Russia against Prussia.
• Alexander II ordered the Foreign Ministry to offer Austria Silesia in exchange for its support in the war against Prussia.
• Maximilian I’s pardons, reforms, and refusal to favor his supporters deepened opposition among Mexico’s political factions.
• Maximilian I accepted the Miramar Agreement’s costly debts, leaving Mexico with little of the borrowed money and facing French demands to mortgage customs tariffs.
• Bazaine presented Maximilian I with a treaty transferring control of Mexican customs to France, and Maximilian tore it up and ordered him to leave.

Juárez rejected Maximilian’s offer of pardon and prepared to keep fighting, while Lincoln ordered American-backed revolutionary organizations to distract the European powers from the Civil War. In Delaware, Hungarian Independence Organization leaders were pressured to stage unrest in Austria, and Stephen promised results within half a year.

• Maximilian offered to pardon the rebels if Juárez recognized his throne, but Juárez rejected the proposal and rallied his followers to continue the struggle.
• Juárez predicted that the end of the American Civil War would bring weapons and ammunition to the Free Army, while his aide proposed using the pardon to defeat the government troops surrounding them.
• Safar warned Lincoln that a European war could end Russia’s support for the North, and Lincoln ordered revolutionary organizations to stir up trouble and distract Britain, France, Austria, and Spain.
• Arest demanded that Stephen make the Hungarian Independence Organization demonstrate against the Vienna Government, threatening the group’s American support if it failed to act.
• Stephen promised Arest that the organization would give the operation its full effort and produce results within half a year.

Stephen and the Hungarian Independence Organization debated how to respond to American pressure to organize demonstrations in Austria, while the Polish Independence Organization argued over whether to expand its uprising against Russia into Austrian territory. The Hungarians chose to seek allies, and the Polish group decided to focus on Russian Poland and leave Galicia for later.

• Stephen and Cesar warned that the Hungarian Independence Organization lacked the members and connections to organize major demonstrations, and that Austria treated political prisoners harshly.
• Stephen rejected Mr. Suzali's suggestion to abandon the Americans and decided to contact the Italian and Polish Independence Organizations rather than dissolve his group.
• At a meeting outside New York, Alexandra argued that the Polish Independence Organization should focus on its uprising against Russia, while Kasia worried about losing American funding.
• Ladsi urged the Poles to rise against Austria as well, prompting Alexandra to punch him and starting a brawl before the group expelled Ladsi as a suspected federal informant.
• Qiusikete heard the members' views, and Alexandra argued that Galicia lacked support for Polish independence and that Austria had stronger local control than Russia.
• Qiusikete ordered the Polish Independence Organization to stick to its original plan and told Pugar to send its opinions to Traugutt.

Italian revolutionary leaders in America debated whether to accept federal support and launch another uprising, with Gaboli urging them to target central and southern Italy instead of the stronger north. They agreed to pursue armed revolts there, while leaving the fate of Sardinia, Lombardy, and Venetia unresolved.

• Gulate asked Italian American leaders what they thought of the Americans’ offer of money and weapons in exchange for uprisings in Italy.
• Gaboli supported accepting the offer and argued that the revolutionaries should avoid northern Italy and begin by uniting central and southern Italy.
• Antonio warned that France and Austria could crush an uprising, while Vargis doubted that the great powers would leave the southern regions alone.
• Gaboli argued that coordinated uprisings by allied revolutionary groups could distract the great powers and give the Italians time to build strength.
• After arguing, the Italian revolutionary leaders agreed to launch armed uprisings across central and southern Italy and leave Sardinia, Lombardy, and Venetia aside.

President Lincoln gambled on covertly sending European revolutionary exiles home to stir unrest and delay foreign intervention. On the voyage, Stephen used the Hungarian Independence Organization’s dire situation to avoid helping Gaboli, while privately revealing that his group had become a comfortable, bluffing exile organization with little desire for revolution.

• President Lincoln arranged for revolutionary exiles to return secretly to Europe in late 1864, hoping unrest would weaken the intervention alliance.
• Stephen told Gaboli that the Hungarian Independence Organization could not help him outside Venetia because it could not mobilize enough people to tie down Austria.
• Stephen explained that Hungary’s weak national identity and Austria’s suppression had left his organization with few members and little influence.
• Gaboli apologized after believing Stephen’s account of the organization’s losses, and Stephen avoided committing his group to the Italian cause.
• Stephen reflected that the organization’s leaders had mostly abandoned revolution and used their reputation for bravado to protect their comfortable lives in the United States.

Stephen and Gaboli separated after returning to Europe, while Stephen’s group cautiously entered Hungary to revive the independence movement. As Prussia prepared for war with Russia, William I chose an offensive gamble in Russian Poland and sought Austria’s neutrality; Franz, meanwhile, advised Maximilian on securing his throne in Mexico.

• Stephen and Gaboli went their separate ways, and Stephen’s group landed in Montenegro before sending unfamiliar young men into Hungary to gather intelligence.
• On December 28, 1864, the Tsarist Government ordered Prussia to leave Denmark within twenty-four hours, forcing William I and his ministers to confront the prospect of war with Russia.
• Roon reported that Prussia had mobilized 427,000 troops, while Moltke proposed evacuating border civilians and raising more troops; William I rejected the scorched-earth plan.
• Frank urged William I to fight in Russian Poland and seek supporters, and William I approved the gamble and ordered negotiations with Austria.
• Franz considered Maximilian’s request for help and advised him to win over Mexican constitutionalists and seek French loans backed by public revenues and resources.

Franz dismissed the threat posed by returning revolutionary groups, while leaders of the Hungarian Independence Organization argued over how to escape their failing cause and American obligations. Mariut proposed a ruthless way out, leaving the group to face the prospect of sacrificing its rank-and-file members.

• Franz ordered the Police Ministry to deal with the revolutionary groups returning to Europe, dismissing them as insignificant.
• Stephen and the Hungarian Independence Organization’s leaders discussed how Hungary’s shrinking Magyar population and Austrian integration policies had made an uprising there nearly impossible.
• Mariut proposed shifting operations to Sardinia, staging minor attacks and injuries, and using fabricated evidence to convince American funders that the organization had suffered devastating losses.
• Stephen refused Mariut’s attempt to retire and demanded to know how the organization could withdraw without provoking the Americans.
• Mariut said they would need to be ruthless, and the leaders realized that the rank-and-file members might be sacrificed.

Franz weighed Austria’s response to the war between Prussia and Russia, aiming to hinder Russian reforms without letting Prussia grow too powerful. With both countries’ finances in danger, Austria limited support for Russia to secured loans and material aid, while Britain struggled to raise funds for Prussia.

• Wessenberg reported that Russia and Prussia had both offered Austria Silesia in exchange for its support or neutrality.
• Felix argued that Austria should let Prussia and Russia weaken each other, but Franz rejected the risky plan and chose to use Prussia to disrupt Russian reforms while preventing Prussian expansion.
• Karl warned Franz that Russia faced possible bankruptcy, so Franz ordered tighter lending and required collateral for large loans to Russia.
• Agawar told John Russell that only 1.869 million pounds of Prussian war bonds had sold, far below the 15 million pound target, as investors doubted Prussia could win.
• John Russell learned that Britain had advanced Prussia 5 million pounds but had failed to raise even one-fifth of its promised support after two months.

France debated whether to keep financing Prussia’s war against Russia, and Napoleon III chose a loan secured by Prussian sovereignty over the Rhineland. In Berlin, William I faced delayed foreign aid and Switzerland’s withdrawal from its mutual defense treaty, while his government remained confident that Britain and France would eventually provide funds.

• French Finance Minister Allen argued that Prussia could not withstand Russia and urged France to stop funding it, while Foreign Minister Abraham urged continued support to weaken Russia through a prolonged war.
• Napoleon III decided to lend Prussia money in exchange for the Rhineland as collateral, hoping France would benefit whether Prussia won or lost.
• Foreign Minister McKet told William I that Switzerland was dissolving its mutual defense treaty with Prussia and would announce the decision publicly.
• William I set aside the Swiss withdrawal and ordered his Foreign Ministry to press Britain and France to deliver their promised financial aid.
• McKet assured William I that Britain and France would provide funds as long as Prussia held its ground, citing Russia’s struggle to suppress the Polish uprising.

Gaboli persuaded Drekes to join a Sicilian uprising, and the Redshirts launched the revolution in January 1865 before a Spanish revolt followed. Meanwhile, Stephen and the Hungarian Independence Organization prepared a staged uprising in Venetia and Lombardy to implicate Italian nationalists and secure their own escape.

• Gaboli convinced Drekes that Sicily's revolutionaries should join the coordinated uprisings, though Drekes could offer only a little over a hundred people.
• On January 5, 1865, Gaboli's Italian National Salvation Army began the uprising in Corleone as the Redshirts, and the Spanish Revolutionary Party revolted in Elda three days later.
• Stephen and the Hungarian Independence Organization used colonial companies as cover to recruit and train thousands of Italians while contacting nationalists in Lombardy and Venetia.
• Stephen told his associates that they would use the Austrian intelligence-provided list to draw Italian nationalists into a rebellion and help the organization escape Austria.
• Stephen scheduled the staged armed uprising for 4:30 a.m. on February 15, 1865, intending for leaked plans and fabricated letters to serve as evidence against the rebels.

Napoleon III ordered a crackdown on the organizers behind France’s frequent demonstrations as revolutionary unrest spread across Europe. In Austria, Atisa received Stephen’s invitation to join a rebellion, burned the letter, and concealed it, unknowingly implicating himself in a government trap.

• Napoleon III told Police Minister Adair to uncover who was organizing the demonstrations, while Foreign Minister Abraham warned that revolutions were spreading across Europe.
• Napoleon III ordered regional police to heighten their vigilance and arranged for the Paris City Guard to rotate with the Seventh Division in the Nantes region.
• Atisa received a letter from Stephen inviting him to join a revolutionary meeting and worried that the message might have been seen by others.
• Atisa judged the rebellion doomed, burned Stephen’s letter, and told Butler Nair to keep their connection secret.
• Atisa did not report the letter to the authorities, leaving himself vulnerable to prosecution for concealing knowledge of the plot.

Tereos abandoned his plans to cooperate with Stephen after realizing that the mercenaries could make war threaten his factories, and he rushed to City Hall. In Hungary, Brooks learned that the uprising was planned for February 15, recognized his friends’ warning to flee, and decided to use Domici to deliver letters that could expose the conspirators and protect himself.

• Tereos saw that Stephen’s Italian mercenaries were cheap enough for colonial work, but a letter made him fear that their revolutionary activity could spark a war that would ruin his businesses.
• Tereos ordered Martin to prepare a carriage so he could go to City Hall and avoid another upheaval.
• Domici delivered the Hungarian Independence Organization’s letter to Brooks, who questioned why the uprising was scheduled for February 15.
• Domici revealed that the organization planned to join a broader wave of revolutions and believed its uprising would succeed with mercenaries and local support.
• Brooks understood that messages from Paul and Solam used old signals to warn him to flee, and he urged Domici to finish his task and leave for Russia.
• Brooks decided to protect himself by having Domici deliver letters that would draw his own enemies into the affair.

Franz and his ministers weighed Europe’s revolutions and the civil war in America, deciding to prioritize dividing America before events made the Intervention Coalition unstable. In Saint Petersburg, Alexander II demanded that Russian forces take the war into Prussia quickly, despite their setbacks and severe financial and supply shortages.

• Wessenberg told the Austrian ministers that American-backed revolutions were disrupting Europe and limiting the powers’ ability to intervene in the American Civil War.
• Felix warned that unrest at home was also tying down Austria, while Franz ordered the Foreign Ministry to coordinate the Intervention Coalition and make dividing America its priority.
• Alexander II confronted his ministers over the Russian army’s failure to advance and heard Nicholas-Ketch explain that Polish insurgents and supply problems had forced Fitzroy to withdraw from Warsaw.
• Alexander II ordered Fitzroy to bring the fighting into Prussia as soon as possible, using small units to damage enemy war potential if the main force could not break through.
• The chapter revealed that Russia’s war effort was constrained by low funds and disrupted logistics, while Alexander II had suspended further reforms to raise money for the conflict.

The Hungarian Independence Organization’s leaders planned to flee after using uprisings in Venice and Milan as a diversion, while Otko’s rebel force prepared to launch the poorly armed Venice revolt. Otko explained that the uprising was meant to create chaos and draw Austrian attention, not to win, leaving Taft to recognize that the Italians were being treated as expendable.

• Stephen described the leaders’ escape route from Venice through the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, Asia, Japan, and onward to the United States.
• Paul warned that the Americans might surrender revolutionary exiles to European powers if the Union lost the Civil War, and Stephen reassured the leaders that their wanted status would protect their property.
• Otko prepared to command several thousand rebels despite having only ten guns and explained that capturing police stations was necessary to obtain ammunition.
• Taft objected that Venice was a poor place for an uprising because the rebels lacked weapons, faced the Austrian Navy, and could not rely on the Italian mercenaries.
• Otko said the revolt would create enough unrest to support the Hungarian uprising, and that the organization did not care whether the Italians were defeated or killed.

The Hungarian Independence Organization’s uprising in Venice and Milan collapsed after the authorities, alerted by informants, were ready for the rebels. Paul and Stephen remained at Venice Port, unwilling to flee before the failure became known.

• On February 15, 1865, Otko and Taft led the rebels’ attack on the Venetian police station, where armed police repelled them.
• Otko ordered the insurgents to scatter, but water police, armed residents, and rooftop sharpshooters blocked their escape.
• Taft was shot in the knee and urged his men to flee, while Babatev surrendered and handed over a Hungarian Independence Organization leader.
• In Milan, city guards surrounded the rebels and prepared to suppress them.
• At Venice Port, Paul urged Stephen to leave, but Stephen refused to go before the outcome was clear.

After the failed uprising, Chief Pativat questioned Atisa over his contacts with Stephen and suspected him of helping rebels and supporting Lombardy-Venetia independence. Atisa denied the accusations, but Pativat detained him and barred him from contacting the outside world for a week.

• The Vienna Government launched an investigation into the uprising, and police summoned people who had been in contact with the Hungarian Independence Organization.
• Chief Pativat questioned Atisa about meeting Stephen at a banquet and receiving a secret letter from him.
• Atisa claimed he had discussed colonial ventures with Stephen and hired Italian mercenaries because they were cheap, but Pativat remained suspicious.
• Pativat confronted Atisa with reports that his youth arts and culture training class promoted Lombardy-Venetia independence, which Atisa denied.
• Chief Pativat detained Atisa on suspicion of conspiring to rebel and splitting the country, and prohibited him from contacting anyone for a week.

After Austria suppressed rebellions in Milan and Venice, Franz and Prime Minister Felix reviewed the arrests and the government’s handling of suspected rebels. The chapter ended with Franz ordering the remaining cases investigated and prosecuted according to law.

• Austria arrested more than 150,000 people in a crackdown, and Franz halted its expansion to protect economic development.
• Prime Minister Felix reported that hundreds of rebels had been killed and thousands captured in Milan and Venice, while the ringleaders remained at large.
• Franz ordered captured rebels convicted and sent to the railway road-building army to address labor shortages.
• Felix explained that most other detainees were still under investigation and that relatively few people outside the Italian regions were suspected of rebellion.
• Franz ordered officials to continue investigating the remaining suspects and handle their cases according to law.

Exhausted by the costly war and worried that the European powers would soon turn their attention back to America, Lincoln decided to begin negotiations with the Southern Government. Secret talks began as both sides struggled to continue fighting.

• Lincoln said the Northern Government could no longer sustain the war and ordered negotiations with the Southern Government to begin.
• Safar questioned the timing, but Lincoln showed him intelligence that Europe’s revolutionary movements had failed to cause enough disruption.
• Lincoln concluded that Britain, France, and Austria would soon resolve their internal troubles and could then retaliate against the Northern Government.
• The Northern and Southern Governments, both burdened by heavy casualties and military costs, began secret negotiations.

Major General Popov led a Russo-American fleet to attack pirates on San Clemente Island, unaware that British Royal Navy officers were disguised among them. A British ambush shattered the joint fleet, and the Moscow sank as the survivors surrendered or fled.

• Major General Popov agreed to attack the pirates on San Clemente Island alongside Colonel Magill’s American ships.
• Major Gurney ordered his disguised Royal Navy crew and the other captains to prepare an ambush under the cover of the Pirate Alliance.
• Popov ordered the joint fleet to pursue the fleeing pirates around the island, where British ships opened fire from hiding.
• The American warships fled as the fleet fell into disarray, and Popov ordered a retreat.
• The Moscow took five hits and sank while its crew abandoned ship in lifeboats, raising white flags.