Recaps

Napoleon III’s funeral became a spectacle for France’s enemies, while Franz dismissed the provocations and focused on Austria’s schemes in Poland and the Rhineland. He ordered his agents to help secure William I’s election as King of Poland, then use the resulting crisis to push the German Federal Empire into competing with France for the Rhineland.

• French workers received a holiday as crowds mourned Napoleon III, while many European nobles sent only representatives or stayed away.
• Victor Emmanuel II attended the funeral to provoke Eugène and rally support for the Italian independence movement.
• Franz dismissed the funeral’s provocations and continued funding Maximilian I’s restoration effort in Mexico.
• Tyrone reported that Prussia was using Polish newspapers to criticize the Dąbrowski Government and promote William I’s chances in a new royal election.
• Franz told Tyrone to activate Austria’s hidden contacts in the United Kingdom and keep their involvement concealed until William I was elected King of Poland.
• Tyrone planned to expose the alleged Prussian-French deal over the Rhineland and have the British encourage the German Federal Empire to contest France’s purchase.

After the Russian army captured Ava, its troops killed nearly all the civilians who remained, turning the occupation into a massacre. General Ivanov ordered the news suppressed and the deaths reported as an evacuation, while sending an account to Allied Command and Saint Petersburg.

• After five days of fighting, General Ivanov ordered Lieutenant General Vira Sol to request Austrian medical aid and Lieutenant General Kharosov to clear Ava of enemy forces.
• Akyol and his apprentice stayed in Ava with Ottoman defenders, while Russian troops entered the city and the remaining defenders prepared to resist.
• Russian soldiers attacked the armed defenders and killed most of Ava’s remaining civilians by evening.
• Lieutenant General Kharosov accepted responsibility for the massacre as the city’s surviving residents were nearly all dead.
• The next day, General Ivanov ordered the news sealed, directed that the public be told the population had been expelled, and instructed Kharosov to report the events to Allied Command and Saint Petersburg.

After Ava’s massacre became impossible to conceal, Franz left the diplomatic fallout to Russia while Alexander II weighed using the resulting panic to weaken the Ottoman Empire. Survivors Akyol and his master hid in Ava after the Russian army withdrew.

• Wessenberg warned Franz that Britain could exploit news of the massacre, while Felix argued that Austria could wait for attention to shift elsewhere.
• Franz left the choice between disciplining the Russian army and continuing its advance to the Tsarist Government.
• Alexander II learned that Austria would handle European diplomacy and considered turning the massacre’s notoriety into a source of panic among Ottoman civilians.
• Kristanval urged Alexander II to limit the violence, defeat the Ottomans, and pursue further territorial gains through later wars; Alexander ordered the army to proceed and rebuked Ivanov.
• Akyol and his master survived the massacre by hiding in a blacksmith’s cellar, and they remained in Ava after the Russian troops returned to camp.

After the massacre at Ava, the Ottoman Empire struggled under Austrian and Russian attacks while Britain debated whether and how to intervene. The chapter left the London Government weighing Prussia’s possible union with Poland and worrying that France and Austria were becoming too powerful to restrain.

• Abdulaziz I spared Major General Özgür and ordered the Ottoman Government to appeal to Britain and France, publicize Ava’s destruction, and urge resistance.
• Austrian airship bombardments spread panic in Ottoman cities, drove wealthy residents to flee, and deepened the empire’s economic and fiscal crisis.
• London newspapers rushed to report Ava’s massacre, using imagined details to condemn Austria and Russia and attract readers.
• Gladstone said Britain needed to find a way to intervene before Austria and Russia divided the Ottoman Empire and advanced toward Persia.
• McLean argued that Britain lacked strong continental allies because France was in turmoil and Prussia was focused on the Polish royal election.
• Gladstone and La Rook Lloyd debated whether Britain should obstruct William I’s bid for the Polish throne as France and Austria’s growing economic power threatened Britain’s position.

The Russian Army struggled to advance toward the Bosphorus Strait as Ottoman resistance and heavy casualties left Ivanov unable to secure Austrian airship support. In Saint Petersburg, Alexander II learned that William I was pursuing the Polish throne and heard Chris Basham explain why the great powers might let Prussia unite with Poland.

• Kharosov reported that Russian troops were suffering heavy casualties and asked Ivanov for airship support, but Ivanov refused to divert the airships from strategic bombing.
• Ivanov explained that relying on Austria would entangle the Russian Empire in political concessions, while strained Russo-Austrian relations left the Russian soldiers to bear the cost.
• News that William I was competing for the Polish throne unsettled the Tsarist Government, which feared that Poland and Prussia might unite.
• Alexander II asked his officials to assess William I's bid, and Chris Basham warned that France and Austria might tolerate Prussian expansion while Russia was tied down by the Near East War.

Austria's occupation of Kuwait prompted British protests, and Franz considered using negotiations to secure influence across the Arabian Peninsula. He proposed a railway scheme as leverage, leaving Austria's actual plans deliberately ambiguous.

• Austria's forces captured Kuwait after overwhelming its small Ottoman garrison.
• Franz reviewed Britain's diplomatic protest, and Wessenberg said the British wanted Austria to stop while Felix and Karl speculated about Britain's motives.
• Franz told the Foreign Ministry to negotiate slowly and demand the entire Arabian Peninsula if Britain sought an exchange of interests.
• Franz proposed a railway connecting Jerusalem, the Gulf of Aden, and Kuwait, then said Austria only needed the British to believe the plan was real.

Mikhail and Roon secretly negotiated over Poland, with Prussia seeking a path to absorb it and Russia trying to limit Prussian gains. Their bargaining ended without an agreement, as both weighed the risks of involving Austria and the shifting balance of power.

• Mikhail offered to accept Prussia's annexation of Poland in exchange for Russia's prior conditions, but Roon objected that Russia would take half the country.
• Mikhail argued that Prussia intended to absorb Poland and threatened to invite Austria into a partition if Roon refused to negotiate.
• Roon warned that an Austrian partition would leave Russia vulnerable to Austria's rise and suggested Prussia could eventually return to the Holy Roman Empire.
• Mikhail considered the danger of Austria dominating the continent and the possibility that a defeated Prussia might join Austria.
• The passage abruptly shifted to an unrelated promotional blurb about Jia Xu, his son Jia Mu, and a Three Kingdoms novel.

As the Polish Republicans met to stop William I’s election and prevent Prussian annexation, they faced a divided military and weak foreign support. The meeting ended with news that Polish and Russian troops had clashed in the Kyiv Region, leaving the government facing another crisis.

• Prime Minister Dąbrowski convened Republican leaders to discuss Poland’s threatened independence ahead of the royal election.
• Foreign Minister Walery Wróblewski and Finance Minister Badlevsky warned that France and Austria might stay neutral, while Poland lacked the military strength to resist Prussia alone.
• Dąbrowski decided to prevent William I from being elected, even if the government had to interfere with the vote.
• A messenger reported that a clash with Russians in the Kyiv Region had killed eight Polish soldiers and wounded twelve.
• Dąbrowski read the telegram and accused the Russians of deliberately provoking a war.

Franz recognized that Prussia and Russia were secretly preparing to divide Poland, while Britain, France, and Austria maintained a continental balance. After Russia demanded Polish territory and the surrender of border-conflict suspects, Dąbrowski ordered mobilization, unaware of the full Russian forces massed nearby.

• Franz inferred that Prussia and Russia planned to carve up Poland and judged that Britain, France, and Austria were unlikely to be drawn into their conflict.
• On May 18, 1874, the Tsarist Government gave Poland twenty-four hours to surrender the border-conflict culprits and cede the Kyiv Region.
• Dąbrowski learned that Britain offered mediation, France had not committed, and Prussia promised military support, while Austria was expected to remain neutral.
• Dąbrowski ordered nationwide mobilization and prepared to make temporary concessions to Prussia in hopes of surviving Russia's first attack.
• The Tsarist Government assembled twenty infantry divisions and five cavalry divisions on the Polish border and twenty more infantry divisions along the Prussian border, leaving Poland unaware of the scale of the threat.

Britain assessed the Russo-Polish War and considered using the crisis to strengthen the German Federation by bargaining over Prussia’s Rhineland. Austria declared neutrality in the war, leaving Abdulaziz I disappointed that the conflict would not ease Ottoman military pressure.

• Prime Minister Gladstone learned that Russia had invaded Poland and heard McLean describe Prussia’s suspected deal with Russia and its efforts to secure European support.
• Gladstone and La Rook Lloyd discussed preventing France and Austria from cooperating to reshape Europe, and proposed that the German Federation acquire the Rhineland in exchange for concessions.
• Gladstone ordered Britain to inform the German Federation that it would have to pay for the Rhineland and directed officials to persuade Prussia and France.
• On May 23, 1874, the Austrian Foreign Ministry announced that the Vienna Government would remain neutral in the Prusso-Polish War.
• Abdulaziz I was disappointed by Austria’s neutrality, while the chapter explained that Austria had little reason to fight over Poland without legal grounds or the prospect of recovering its military costs.

As Russian forces seized the Bosphorus Strait and drove hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, Abdulaziz I faced worsening military and food crises. He ordered discriminatory refugee relief and forced resettlement despite warnings that his policies could spark rebellion, leaving the Ottoman Empire at risk of collapse.

• Abdulaziz I tore up a report of further Ottoman defeats and lamented that the Austrians had surrounded Jerusalem and the Russians had captured the Bosphorus Strait.
• Elmed explained that Russian naval raids had evaded Ottoman reinforcements and claimed the Bosphorus victory had badly weakened the Russian landing forces.
• Muhammada warned Abdulaziz I that more than 750,000 refugees depended on relief and that rising numbers could cause chaos and famine.
• Abdulaziz I ordered relief to favor his own religious community and demanded that the government disperse refugees, forcing non-Muslims from their homes if necessary.
• Muhammada urged the Sultan to avoid inflaming religious and ethnic tensions, but Abdulaziz I ignored his warning.

At Allied Supreme Headquarters, Arest rejected Ivanov’s request to conceal Russian losses and obtain extra supplies as the Russian army pressed on toward the Black Sea Straits. In Vienna, Franz and Felix concluded that Russia was using the war to train officers for a possible conflict with Prussia, leaving Austria to decide what price to demand.

• Arest warned Ivanov that the Russian army’s exposed plan faced prepared Ottoman defenses, but Ivanov insisted on continuing because the Bosphorus had been captured and reinforcements were coming.
• Ivanov asked for supplies to support the planned reinforcements and proposed reporting extra losses to obtain them, but Arest angrily refused and left.
• Franz read the battle report and recognized that Russia wanted to use Austrian resources to train its troops for a future war with Prussia.
• Felix assessed that Russia chiefly sought to cultivate qualified officers, while Franz considered how much the Tsarist Government would be willing to pay.

Austrian forces besieged Jerusalem cautiously, with Feslav ordering covert efforts to draw local Muslims beneath the city walls rather than risk a public assault. In Poland, Kyiv fell and Pretar died, leaving Dąbrowski to face Russia’s advance and a likely settlement shaped by Prussia and Russia.

• Feslav rejected Major Rick’s proposals to use civilians or conscripts to weaken Jerusalem, but approved secretly allowing local Muslims to approach the city.
• Russian and Polish forces fought through another day as Pretar’s exhausted defenders held Kyiv without reinforcements.
• Pretar wrote a final letter arguing that Poland should concentrate its forces near Warsaw, then Kyiv fell and he committed suicide.
• Dąbrowski received Pretar’s letter and news of Kyiv’s fall as Russian forces advanced toward the Sluch River.
• Dąbrowski concluded that Prussia and Russia had made a secret deal and that Poland’s government could no longer control the war’s outcome.

Franz rejected Prussia and Russia’s apparent support for Austrian unification and instead approved Russian troop expansion to keep Prussia in check. Around Jerusalem, Feslav maintained the siege while Austria delayed its assault, leaving the war correspondents stranded in the heat and without news.

• Wessenberg told Franz that Prussia and Russia had promised to support Austrian unification in exchange for Austrian neutrality on Poland, but Franz judged the offer a trap and asked when Britain would act against Prussia.
• Franz ordered Austria to approve the Tsarist Government’s troop increase plan and supply the Russian Empire with strategic materials to prevent Prussia from becoming too powerful.
• Lieutenant General Feslav learned that camel caravans had carried supplies into Jerusalem, then ordered a public notice threatening anyone who aided the Ottoman Empire while keeping the siege slow for political reasons.
• Feslav’s thoughts turned to the region’s environmental damage and the planned twenty-year fallowing of Austrian Middle Eastern territories, which would displace locals and leave powerful clans impoverished.
• At the reporters’ camp, Brad refused Henry’s suggestion to leave, and the two discussed the heat, the lack of news, and Austria’s reluctance to attack Jerusalem for fear of damaging the Holy Land.

At the London Conference, Britain sought Austria’s cooperation in mediating the Russo-Polish and Near East wars, while Franz weighed how British maneuvering could pit Austria against France and the German states. The chapter ended with Austrian Ambassador Hummel asking Britain what plan it proposed to stop France from expanding into the Rhineland.

• Wessenberg reported that Prussian and Russian forces had clashed briefly, Russia occupied much of Polish Ukraine, and Britain had invited European nations to form an intervention alliance.
• Franz warned his government to guide public opinion and prevent Britain from controlling the narrative or provoking conflict between France, Austria, and the German states.
• Franz judged that France’s weak hold over the Italian region made the Greater French Empire vulnerable, while Austrian influence was growing in Lombardy and Venetia.
• On July 16, 1874, European nations met in London to discuss the Russo-Polish War and Near East War.
• At the Austrian Embassy, Marquis McLean urged Austria to take a more active role in preserving European stability and containing France’s expansion.
• Hummel agreed that France must be stopped from seizing the Rhineland and asked McLean to explain Britain’s proposed plan.

Hummel learned that Britain was coordinating with France and remained wary of the apparent diplomatic progress. At Downing Street, British leaders discussed a plan to detach the German Federal Empire from Austria, while acknowledging that German nationalism and the Empire’s political structure could frustrate them.

• An Austrian intelligence officer reported that McLean and Crow had met secretly at the French Embassy, and Hummel ordered continued surveillance of Britain.
• Gladstone asked McLean whether France and Austria had taken the bait, and McLean said the plan was advancing smoothly but worried the German Federal Empire might not cooperate.
• Gladstone argued that the Empire could break with Austria after annexing the Rhineland and said its government could overcome resistance from the state-based Imperial Parliament.
• La Rook Lloyd warned that changing the Empire’s name would not erase German nationalist support for unification with Austria.
• McLean said dividing the German and Austrian peoples would be difficult and urged Britain to push the German Federal Empire to act before the German lands unified.

Hummel investigated the German Federal Empire’s unexplained inaction as the London Conference condemned Russia over Poland, while Franz suspected Britain’s maneuver targeted Austria. Franz decided to draw Belgium, Prussia, and France into the Rhineland dispute and openly declare Austria’s support for the German Federal Empire.

• Hummel ordered Secretary Hols to ask Vienna’s intelligence organization to uncover a secret deal between Britain and the German Federal Empire.
• At the July 20, 1874 London Conference, Walery Wróblewski denounced Russia and proposed condemnation, withdrawal from Poland, and compensation; thirteen participants supported the proposals, but Russia’s opposing vote voided the resolution.
• Franz concluded that Britain’s conference maneuver was likely aimed at Austria, and Prime Minister Felix and Foreign Minister Wessenberg discussed possible British objectives and a suspected arrangement with the German Federal Empire.
• Wessenberg proposed encouraging Belgium to bid for the Rhineland to disrupt Britain’s plans and force it to choose between its junior partners.
• Franz ordered Austria to encourage Belgium and publicly reveal its support for the German Federal Empire’s acquisition of the Rhineland, intending to draw Prussia and France into the dispute.

Franz used Austria’s influence to warn the German Federal Government and German nationalists against relying on Britain or pursuing de-Germanization. In Berlin, William I’s ministers debated the threat of losing the Rhineland, and Gorman explained that Britain and Austria could cripple Prussia with an embargo and recalled debts.

• Franz viewed Austria’s move as a warning to the German Federal Government and opportunists that the German lands could not stand independently without Austria.
• William I grew furious after learning Britain and Austria planned to transfer the Rhineland to the German Federal Empire, and he asked his ministers how Prussia should respond.
• Moltke argued that Prussia must refuse to surrender the Rhineland and claimed Britain and Austria would not dare enforce the transfer militarily.
• Gorman warned that refusing the deal would cost Prussia recognition of its Polish royal election and could bring an embargo and an early call on British debts.
• Moltke threatened bankruptcy and debt repudiation, but Gorman explained that Britain and Austria controlled enough trade, industry, and ports to isolate Prussia.

William I and his ministers debated how Prussia should respond to the leaked plan to take the Rhineland, weighing a sale to Belgium against the risks of antagonizing France, Austria, or Britain. The Paris Government remained paralyzed by factional conflict, leaving Napoleon IV unable to make a decision.

• Jeffrey Friedman explained that Britain and Austria both wanted the Rhineland, but likely disagreed over whether it should strengthen Hanover or join the German Federal Empire as a member state.
• William I asked how Prussia could protect its interests, and Moltke advised ruling out France and selling the Rhineland to Belgium to raise money for annexing Poland and preparing for war with Russia.
• Roon warned that France might occupy the Rhineland and argued Austria would not fight France over it, while William I suspected Austria's ambitions in the Balkans were more important than German unification.
• Napoleon IV struggled to manage Republican, Orleanist, and Legitimist factions, whose rivalries had stalled government decisions.

Franz and his ministers assessed the competing bids for the Rhineland and decided Austria should maintain its cover and avoid rushing its plans. At the London Conference, the dispute over whether William I could lawfully rule Poland became tied to Prussia’s willingness to surrender the Rhineland.

• Wessenberg reported that Prussia planned to sell the Rhineland, while Belgium and the German Federal Empire had both shown interest, and the latter faced debate over the region’s political status.
• Felix proposed waiting to see whether Belgium could resist French influence, while Franz insisted Austria should proceed cautiously and preserve its strategy for at least ten years.
• Franz considered how Austria’s industrial growth, population, and future air power could eventually help it challenge Britain without directly competing with the Royal Navy.
• At the London Conference, European condemnation failed to make Russia withdraw from Poland, and the delegates turned to whether William I’s position as King of Poland was legal.
• The conference treated William I’s legitimacy as dependent on Prussia relinquishing the Rhineland, while warning that otherwise imperial power would decide the matter.

Prussia announced that it would auction the Rhineland, and Austria and Britain used the region’s German identity and public opinion to exclude France from the bidding. Switzerland withdrew, leaving Belgium and the German Federal Empire as the remaining prospective buyers as negotiations continued.

• Jeffrey Friedman announced that Prussia would sell the Rhineland through a public auction to the highest bidder.
• Hummel proposed restricting the auction to German-speaking states and argued that the Rhineland’s German population should guide its future.
• Montero protested France’s exclusion, but McLean and the other European representatives backed Austria’s position and pressured him into silence.
• Podolsky withdrew Switzerland from the auction, citing financial constraints.
• Belgium and the German Federal Empire remained as buyers, while Prussia expected further bargaining before the auction could proceed.

As the Berlin Government confirmed its intention to abandon the Rhineland, William I accepted the political and economic costs while the Ruhr prepared for evacuation. Andrea confirmed the decision to an angry crowd and urged them to accept temporary retreat, leaving the people to consider his promise that Prussia would return.

• William I dismissed the public uproar over the planned sale of the Rhineland and weighed its economic costs against the time it would give Prussia to integrate Poland.
• The Berlin Government ordered the evacuation of the Rhineland, prioritizing wealthy and skilled residents, and Andrea tore up the order in anger before resolving to carry it out.
• Andrea went before the protesters in the Ruhr Area and confirmed that the government intended to abandon the Rhineland.
• After soldiers fired warning shots to restore order, Andrea argued that Prussia was too weak to fight the great powers and urged residents to leave hope for a future return.

Andrea failed to persuade the Rhineland crowd and local officials to accept the sale and evacuation, so he used military force, threats, and rewards to secure compliance. The officials agreed to begin by urging their own families to leave, though the wider relocation remained uncertain.

• Andrea ordered the soldiers to disperse the protesters after his speech failed to sway them.
• The Berlin Government stabilized the army by promising soldiers relocation allowances and jobs for their families.
• Andrea told local officials that the Rhineland sale was final and ordered them to organize an evacuation under martial law.
• Andrea threatened officials with treason charges and offered promotions and cash rewards to those who completed relocation first.
• A middle-aged official proposed that government employees urge their relatives to leave first, and the others agreed to take action.

At the London Conference, Britain and Austria backed the German Federation in the contest for the Rhineland, which was sold to the German Federal Empire for 152 million Pound Sterling. The proceeds mostly went to Prussia’s creditors, leaving the Berlin Government with little money and a new burden in Poland.

• Britain and Austria agreed to back the German Federation, and the Rhineland was assigned to the Imperial Parliament’s direct jurisdiction.
• On November 11, 1874, Jeffrey Friedman opened the Rhineland auction with Belgium and the German Federal Empire as bidders.
• Klaus Jensen bid for Belgium, but the German Federal Empire outbid Belgium at 152 million Pound Sterling and won the auction.
• The German Federal Empire signed loan agreements with Britain and Austria, using the Rhineland’s factories and mineral resources as collateral.
• The Berlin Government used 110 million Pound Sterling of the proceeds to repay debt and kept 42 million Pound Sterling before immigrant resettlement costs.
• William I faced the Kingdom of Poland’s debts after Prussia’s finances had only just begun to recover.

Prussia faced resistance to resettling migrants from the Rhineland while the Russo-Polish ceasefire left Poland’s future unresolved. Franz struggled to limit Austria’s involvement in the Near East War, so he decided to threaten the Ottoman Empire’s destruction to pressure Britain and France into stronger mediation.

• Britain, France, and Austria coordinated a ceasefire between Russia and Poland without resolving their territorial dispute, bringing Prussia and Poland closer together.
• The Berlin Government confronted resistance from Rhineland capitalists and the middle class to migration, while workers and farmers appeared easier to resettle.
• Franz reviewed reports showing that the Russian army had captured the lands along the Black Sea Straits and worried that Austria’s Imperial Parliament would demand reinforcements against the Ottoman Empire.
• Albrecht estimated that Russia could launch another offensive within twenty days, as its new recruits arrived and its promised supply deadline approached.
• Franz ordered the Vienna Government to publicize plans to send 500,000 troops to destroy the Ottoman Empire, hoping to spur Britain and France to intensify their mediation.