Recaps

Albrecht divided the Anti-Ottoman Alliance’s forces into independent theaters, using Austria’s control of logistics to secure agreement from Russia while assigning Greece and Montenegro a difficult supporting role. Franz accepted Albrecht’s plan after reviewing its drawbacks to joint operations.

• Albrecht proposed splitting the allied forces into independent commands and having the General Headquarters distribute supplies according to troop numbers.
• Ivanov supported the plan after Albrecht guaranteed that the headquarters would manage logistics.
• Albrecht assigned Russia the Black Sea and Caucasus theaters, Austria the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Sea of Marmara theaters, and initially placed Greece and Montenegro in reserve.
• Publius and Maxim Trentiyev demanded front-line assignments, so Albrecht entrusted Greece and Montenegro with the Sea of Marmara theater and the task of tying down Ottoman forces there.
• Franz reviewed Albrecht’s battle plan and accepted it after reading the eighteen drawbacks of joint operations.

Abdul Hamid II ordered total mobilization as the Ottoman Empire prepared to face the Anti-Ottoman Alliance. In Asia Minor, Horman persuaded Draco to support an uprising and secured his agreement to entrust the town’s children to Austrian protection.

• Abdul Hamid II ordered every Ottoman citizen to take up arms, but Midhat said the empire had already mobilized everyone capable of fighting or supporting the war effort.
• Horman visited Draco and urged him to help resist the Ottoman Government, while Draco accused him of failing to deliver on an earlier promise of Armenian independence.
• Horman warned Draco that the Ottomans would soon conscript young men and might seize land or raise taxes to feed refugees displaced by the war.
• Draco agreed to work with Horman but asked him to get all the town’s children out of danger.
• Horman agreed to take Draco’s son as his godson and raise him, while arranging to protect the other children through paid transport.

The Anti-Ottoman Alliance began simultaneous offensives across five theaters, with most landings succeeding while Greece and Montenegro struggled at Pendik and Bandirma. As Albrecht reported victories to Vienna, Greek commander Publius pushed for a breakthrough, while Maxim Trentiyev continued Montenegro’s cautious landing attempts.

• On June 17, 1882, the Anti-Ottoman Alliance launched offensives across five theaters under the cover of the Austrian Navy.
• Albrecht heard that Russian and Austrian forces had secured several ports and landing sites, while the Greeks were deadlocked at Pendik and Montenegro had failed three times to land at Bandirma.
• Albrecht ordered headquarters to send a victory report to Vienna and share the battle report with the allies.
• Publius berated the Greek commanders for failing to capture Pendik and demanded a plan to take the port quickly after applying for additional firepower.
• Maxim Trentiyev continued shifting Montenegro’s landing sites and abandoning attacks when defenders proved difficult to overcome.
• At the start of another landing operation, Maxim Trentiyev judged that the timing seemed right.

As Napoleon IV’s forces closed in on Paris, Franz and his ministers weighed the danger of France recovering and aligned their plans to annex the Ottoman Empire before Britain and France could intervene. The Battle for Paris began, and the chapter ended as Germain grabbed Napoleon IV to pull him away from the front.

• Wessenberg warned Franz that France’s civil war was nearing its end and urged Austria to destroy the Ottoman Empire before France could recover.
• Franz rejected a rushed campaign, explaining that Austria intended to annex the Ottomans and wanted the war to eliminate resistance while France remained too weak to intervene.
• Franz considered drawing Russia toward India to prevent an Anglo-French-Russian alliance from forming against Austria.
• Outside Paris, Napoleon IV rallied his troops as his forces prepared to attack the revolutionary government’s remaining stronghold.
• The Battle for Paris began, and Germain grabbed Napoleon IV after the emperor refused to leave his position near the battlefield.

Napoleon IV returned to the ruined Palace of Versailles after government troops retook Paris and ordered Police Minister Ansoqi to capture the fleeing revolutionary leaders. With France’s rebellion suppressed, Britain turned its attention to the Near East War and approved a cautious plan to aid the Ottoman Empire against Austria.

• Napoleon IV found the Palace of Versailles in ruins and demanded to know whether the revolutionary leaders had been captured.
• Ansoqi admitted the leaders had fled and left after Napoleon IV ordered him to pursue them or not return.
• Foreign Minister Terence Bulkin urged Napoleon IV to find a new residence because Versailles could not be repaired soon.
• Foreign Minister George told the British cabinet that the Ottomans were resisting the Anti-Ottoman Alliance and proposed increasing aid to them.
• Prime Minister Gladstone approved George’s plan while warning the government to consider the cost of supporting the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman resistance grew stronger with British arms, increasing Allied casualties and worsening the strain on Greek and Austrian commanders. Franz rejected Albrecht’s plan to cut Persia’s trade routes, instead preparing more cannon fodder while keeping Persia’s supply line open to prolong the war.

• British aid reached the Ottoman Empire, whose civilians and soldiers used the weapons to resist the Allied advance more fiercely.
• Publius rebuked McKendos for blaming Allied headquarters and refusing to accept responsibility for Greece’s heavy losses.
• Albrecht ordered a report to Vienna and proposed pressuring Persia and advancing into Mesopotamia to sever Ottoman supply routes.
• Franz suppressed Albrecht’s telegram and rejected the plan to cut Persia’s trade routes.
• Feslav told Franz that the African Legion and conscripted criminals would form a 120,000-man force, which Franz ordered sent to the battlefield once assembled.
• Franz instructed the Foreign Ministry to issue Persia only a harmless protest so it would keep transporting supplies to the Ottoman Empire.

Friedrich III rejected the idea of joining Hanover to establish a North German Empire, while Leo von Caprivi recognized that Austria’s designs on India could draw Russia into its plans. In London, Gladstone’s government debated which great power to ally with and, despite doubts about France, concluded that Austria was too dangerous to trust.

• Leo von Caprivi urged Friedrich III to negotiate with Austria, but Friedrich argued that Austria would not unify Germany until it had dealt with its enemies and pointed to India as the next target.
• Leo von Caprivi realized Austria might be encouraging Russia to annex India, while the Berlin Government chose not to warn Britain after recent tensions with London.
• Gladstone abandoned Splendid Isolation and asked his government to choose France, Russia, or Austria as Britain’s ally.
• George argued that France was Britain’s only viable choice, while warning that Russia depended too heavily on Austria and could not be trusted.
• Hugh Childers proposed letting Austria make mistakes rather than trying to contain it, but Gladstone rejected the plan and called Austria a disguised threat.

Napoleon IV weighed Britain’s alliance proposal and demanded economic concessions before France would cooperate. Franz responded to the prospect of an Anglo-French alliance by planning to counter it, even if that meant exploiting a Franco-German war to consolidate the German states under Austria.

• Terence Bulkin judged Britain’s alliance offer only fifty-fifty genuine and said France should demand compensation for British actions during its civil war.
• Roy Vernon urged France to contact Britain while focusing on economic recovery, and Napoleon IV ordered negotiations to begin with a demand that Britain halve its coal export prices.
• Wessenberg warned Franz that Austria’s treaty with Britain and France was unlikely to be renewed as Britain and France drew closer.
• Franz proposed offering France a better deal than Britain to prevent the alliance, and said Austria could tolerate Britain’s plans for North Germany for now.
• Franz told Felix and the ministers that Austria could use a Franco-German conflict to defeat France or draw other European powers into the crisis, clearing a path to German unification.

The Anti-Ottoman Alliance intensified its advance as armed rebellions and battlefield setbacks weakened the Ottoman Empire. In Constantinople, Allied commanders confronted Publius over Greek artillery captured by the Ottomans and later used against Russian troops.

• Armenians, Greeks, and Slavs rebelled in the Ottoman rear, while the Kurds showed signs of unrest and Austrian airships supplied weapons to insurgents.
• Austrian and Russian forces captured Kırşehir and Osmancık and threatened to meet at the Kızılırmak River, forcing the Ottomans to withdraw their main forces and rely on local militias.
• Ottoman guerrillas ambushed the Greek Army, captured dozens of heavy artillery pieces, and later used the guns to kill over a thousand Russian troops.
• Albrecht angrily challenged Publius at Allied Command Headquarters, and Ivanov accused the Greek commander of making excuses for the artillery losses.
• Publius said the Greek unit escorting the guns had been wiped out and had sent no report, while Albrecht tried to keep the Russians from turning on Greece’s representative.

Allied Command reassigned the campaign against the Ottoman Empire, while Austria’s leaders debated how to divide the postwar spoils and secure Armenian independence. Franz proposed using obsolete warships, financial schemes, and naval influence to steer Russia toward Austria’s strategic aims, leaving his vast international plan poised for execution.

• Albrecht announced that Russia would advance west of the Kızılırmak River toward Ankara, Austria would advance east toward Mesopotamia, and Greece and Montenegro would rest before taking on occupation duties.
• Maxim Trentiyev accepted Montenegro’s removal from the combat order, while Publius held back from objecting on Greece’s behalf.
• Prime Minister Felix and Foreign Minister Wessenberg discussed accounting for Greece’s and Montenegro’s political contributions and finding territory for an independent Armenia, with Wessenberg proposing the Russian-held Caucasus.
• Franz proposed giving Russia an Austrian fleet in exchange for Armenian territory, then using naval support and Austrian standards to deepen influence in Russia, Greece, and Montenegro.
• Franz outlined plans to finance Russia through raw-material contracts, port development, and a territorial sale in Russian Ukraine, aiming to turn Russian ambitions toward the sea and the Indian Ocean.

Britain assessed Austria’s strategic goodwill and feared it was meant to turn Russia south while Austria dealt with France. As the Anti-Ottoman Alliance closed in on Ankara, Abdul Hamid II chose to prepare for a desperate defense in hopes of preserving the Ottoman Empire.

• Gladstone and Foreign Secretary George discussed Austria’s motives and predicted that it might encourage Russia to move into the subcontinent while Austria focused on France.
• Gladstone ordered India to prepare for trouble in Central Asia and Persia and warned France against provoking Austria.
• On November 18, 1882, the Anti-Ottoman Alliance united at the Kızılırmak River, cutting off western Asia Minor and leaving the Ottomans near collapse.
• Abdul Hamid II asked Midhat whether the Ottomans could still win, and Midhat said victory was nearly impossible but heavy casualties might force the alliance to negotiate.
• Abdul Hamid II decided to inspect the military camps and fight to preserve the Ottoman Empire and his throne.

The Near East War continued to devastate both sides as Prussia and Hanover merged into the North German Empire, alarming Russia and France. The chapter ended with French officials speculating that Austria had permitted the merger because it feared France.

• Franz reviewed reports of the Near East War’s immense military and civilian losses and noted that Austria’s resettlement costs might be reduced.
• On February 14, 1883, George I was crowned emperor of the Hanover-Prussian United Empire, completing North German unification.
• Alexander III rebuked Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez for failing to prevent the merger, while Oscar blamed Austria’s distraction with the Near East battlefield.
• Napoleon IV considered intervening against the merger, but Terence Bulkin warned that Russia and Austria would not join France and France could not afford to act alone.
• Napoleon IV asked why Austria had delayed, and Army Minister Ruskinia Hafiz suggested that Austria might fear France.

Franz’s article on German unification stirred anti-British sentiment and helped isolate Britain after George I’s coronation. Gladstone and his ministers discussed how to repair Britain’s relations with Europe and prevent France, Russia, and Austria from forming an anti-British alliance.

• Franz congratulated George I and published an article urging North Germany to return to the Holy Roman Empire, while praising Britain’s role in the merger.
• European monarchs largely boycotted George I’s coronation, and Friedrich III excused himself on grounds of ill health.
• British newspapers celebrated the creation of the North German Empire as a diplomatic triumph, worsening Britain’s relations with France and Russia.
• Gladstone warned his ministers that Britain risked diplomatic isolation and retaliation from France, Russia, and Austria.
• George argued that Austria had drawn closer to Russia and that Britain needed time to repair its relations with other powers.
• Gladstone ordered a comprehensive adjustment of British diplomacy to keep France from aligning with Austria and Russia.

As the Allied forces refused Ottoman surrender, Abdul Hamid II ordered the Destruction Plan and vowed to fight to the end. Meanwhile, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru concluded the Guano War, while Austria’s covert-backed Panama independence movement expanded across Colombia.

• Marshal Ivanov refused Ottoman representatives’ request to negotiate and ordered that no further surrender talks be entertained.
• Grand Vizier Midhat told Abdul Hamid II that Ivanov had rejected negotiations, so Abdul Hamid II activated the Destruction Plan.
• Chile, Bolivia, and Peru reached a peace settlement that gave Chile the Atacama Desert and left Bolivia landlocked.
• Austria’s Panama Independence Organization seized a quarter of Colombia, as Austrian-backed colonial groups pressed farther into the country.

Austria debated whether to end the Colombian civil war after securing Panama, and Franz ordered negotiations to begin. In Baghdad, General Morkes rejected a proposal to spread plague and offered the Iraqi defenders safe passage, leaving them three days to depart.

• On April 7, 1883, Colombia requested peace and invited Britain, France, Spain, and Austria to mediate the civil war.
• Stephen urged Austria to continue its advance in Colombia, while Wessenberg warned that occupying the country could provoke Britain and South America.
• Franz ordered Austria to negotiate and end the war if Colombia made concessions, prioritizing the Near East and the Panama region.
• At Baghdad, Sammons suggested poisoning the city with plague, but Morkes refused because the consequences could spiral out of control.
• Morkes ordered the siege lines loosened and leaflets dropped, promising the defenders safe passage with their weapons and belongings if they left within three days.

Baghdad’s Ottoman officials accepted Morkes’s offer to leave the city in exchange for their lives and safety, then fled with their portable wealth. In Vienna, Franz and Wessenberg discussed exploiting their route through Persia to eliminate most of them.

• The Khedive persuaded Baghdad’s officials that defeat was inevitable and that Austrian promises were credible.
• The Khedive explained that the officials could not take the nearly hundred thousand soldiers with them, since Persia would block such a force and the soldiers’ families remained in Ottoman territory.
• The officials finished packing on the first day and left Baghdad in a large procession, while Morkes honored his agreement to let them pass.
• Franz learned of the deal and judged that allowing the officials to leave had sped up Austria’s advance, though they could remain a nuisance abroad.
• Wessenberg proposed sending agents into Persia and using Persian forces—or Austrian troops if necessary—to eliminate the fleeing officials and manage the diplomatic fallout afterward.

General Morkes planned to drive Mesopotamia’s population out to secure Austria’s oil fields, while Franz and his government debated where to resettle millions of Ottoman refugees. The chapter ended with Austria weighing colonial resettlement, transferring refugees to the Kingdom of Armenia, or pushing them into Persia.

• General Morkes ordered Dennis to spread a rumor that Austria would ban farming and livestock raising in Mesopotamia for twenty years, hoping residents would leave voluntarily.
• Morkes explained that Austria wanted to depopulate Mesopotamia to secure its vast oil reserves, and he proposed inciting refugees to force their way into Persia or opening a border gap by staging a misunderstanding.
• Franz learned that millions of Ottoman prisoners and refugees needed to be relocated, while the United States of America would accept only able-bodied workers.
• Prime Minister Felix presented three resettlement plans: move the refugees to Austria’s colonies, send them to the soon-to-be-established Kingdom of Armenia, or provoke a war and drive them into Persia.

Franz weighed where to settle millions of Ottoman refugees and chose subsidized emigration to the Americas, leaving their long-term settlement unresolved. In Saint Petersburg, Alexander III and his ministers debated Austria’s demand for an Armenian buffer state and whether Russia might trade territory for compensation.

• Franz rejected Africa, New Guinea, the Arctic islands, Patagonia, and other proposed destinations as unsuitable for settling millions of refugees.
• Franz ordered the government to subsidize immigrants sent to the United States of America at 40 Divine Shield each and those sent to other American countries at 35 Divine Shield each.
• Alexander III told his ministers that Austria wanted the Armenians to establish an independent state in Russia’s Caucasus region as a buffer between the empires.
• Zirnomer opposed Austria’s proposal, while Alisher Gulov suggested discussing compensation and possibly ceding barren land to the Armenians.
• Alexander III considered the possibility that Austria was testing Russia’s willingness to sell territory, but he recognized that Russia had previously surrendered Alaska because it could not defend it.

Alexander III considered Austria’s offer to pay Russia to evacuate people from its newly occupied Ottoman territories, suspecting the costly operation concealed a deeper motive. With Russia burdened by war damage and debt, his ministers argued over selling the Asia Minor Peninsula, and he left the decision open while ordering an investigation into Austria’s plans.

• Alexander III told his ministers to investigate resources in the occupied regions before negotiating with Austria and said Russia should focus on its own affairs.
• Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez reported that Austria was offering resettlement fees to evacuate people from Asia Minor because of a supposed Black Death outbreak, and described rumors about oil and a railway to Baghdad.
• Alexander III ordered Oscar Jimenez to uncover Austria’s true purpose before Russia considered joining the evacuation effort.
• Finance Minister Alisher Gulov proposed selling most of Russia’s newly occupied Asia Minor territory to Austria to raise money and reduce Russia’s financial burdens.
• Army Minister Paladru Wald objected that Russian territory should not be sold, and he and Alisher Gulov argued over the proposal and postwar pensions.
• Alexander III stopped the quarrel and said the possible sale required comprehensive consideration, while appearing inclined to accept Austria’s offer.

As British and Austrian dumping deepened France’s economic crisis, Napoleon IV’s ministers debated withdrawing from free trade and gathering allies to form a protectionist bloc. Napoleon IV approved the withdrawal and ordered the Foreign Ministry to seek allies and limit international backlash.

• Elsa urged France to leave the free-trade system and lead countries in resisting British and Austrian dumping.
• Terence Bulkin argued that Belgium and North Germany would not trust French promises or abandon the benefits of trade with Britain and Austria.
• Elsa and Roy Vernon cited the United States and France’s dangerous debt as reasons to change course.
• Napoleon IV approved leaving free trade and ordered the Foreign Ministry to recruit allies and explain France’s decision to other countries.

After the United States of America and France abandoned free trade, Franz chose to halt Austria’s dumping strategy and pursue France’s political isolation. Britain responded by restarting negotiations with Austria over guarantees for Persia’s security while seeking to preserve the free trade system.

• Reinhard Hardegen reported that the French and American tariff barriers had shaken markets and threatened Austrian businesses, and recommended immediate countermeasures.
• Wessenberg urged Austria to limit its response to matching tariff increases and wait for Britain to act.
• Franz ordered an end to Austria’s dumping strategy and directed the Foreign Ministry to isolate France politically.
• In London, Cornell Botchers warned that France and the United States of America had weakened Britain’s recovering economy and endangered free trade.
• George proposed trade sanctions, but Hugh Childers argued that an embargo would be ineffective and costly.
• Gladstone ordered Anglo-Austrian negotiations to resume over Persia’s security and instructed Britain to stabilize the free trade system.

After the Ottoman Empire fell, Franz considered the postwar settlement and approved negotiations to buy the Asia Minor Peninsula from Russia. He was left facing a mountain of reconstruction and immigration plans, including concerns that the proposed Dardanelles Bridge would soon become outdated.

• On July 12, 1883, the Russian Army captured Ankara, took Grand Vizier Midhat alive, and the Ottoman Empire declared its demise.
• Wessenberg told Franz that the Tsarist Government was willing to sell part of its territorial spoils for cash, and Karl explained that Russia could not afford to rebuild and administer the devastated regions.
• Franz ordered negotiations with Russia to proceed quickly and offered five outdated battleships as an added incentive to complete the deal within a week.
• Franz reviewed postwar plans for immigration, the Baghdad Railway, and the Dardanelles Bridge, and worried that the bridge design would need rebuilding once automobiles became widespread.

British leaders assessed Austria’s growing power after its victory over the Ottoman Empire and discussed how to prevent it from becoming dominant. They concluded that Austria’s military was its main weakness and proposed dragging it into a war to weaken it.

• Foreign Secretary George told Gladstone that Britain had agreed with Austria on Middle Eastern spheres of influence in exchange for Austria’s promise not to expand into Persia.
• George reported evidence that Austria was relocating Ottoman populations while Russia delayed setting up an administration, suggesting Russia might trade its Ottoman inheritance for Austrian financial compensation.
• Gladstone and Astley Cooper Key warned that Austria’s expanded territory could make it rival the Roman Empire, while Hugh Childers argued that much of the land was difficult to develop.
• George said Austria had restored forests and grasslands in some regions, including around Jerusalem, through population relocation and the Land Fallowing Act.
• Gladstone called for Britain to curb Austria’s growth or sabotage a possible Russo-Austrian deal, and George proposed drawing Austria into war to wear down its strength.

Russia, Austria, Greece, and Montenegro negotiated the division of Ottoman spoils, but Russia and Austria had already settled their interests in a treaty that left Greece’s territorial claims in doubt. The four powers ended by signing a joint warning against anyone sheltering Ottoman remnants.

• Wessenberg invited the four allies to state their demands, and Vtoriak sought Ottoman territory along the Sea of Marmara while Nislav demanded the Izmir region.
• Nicholas Cage asked for economic compensation instead of territory, and Wessenberg offered Montenegro a share of Austrian spoils and an active first-rate battleship, which Nicholas accepted.
• Vtoriak received a telegram confirming Russia and Austria had signed a treaty in which Russia renounced its Ottoman claims in exchange for compensation and other terms.
• Wessenberg urged Nislav to abandon Izmir and accept compensation on Montenegro’s terms, while Vtoriak proposed setting the dispute aside.
• Wessenberg, Vtoriak, Nislav, and Nicholas signed the Convention of the Four Anti-Ottoman Powers, declaring the Ottoman Empire had perished and threatening military action against anyone protecting its remnants.

Ludwig I abandoned Greece’s industrialization reforms and territorial claims under nationalist and political pressure, while Greece negotiated its share of the postwar settlement. The chapter left the Greek Government facing the difficult resettlement of hundreds of thousands of Greeks from the former Ottoman Empire.

• Franz welcomed the Austria-Russia agreement and expected Greece to accept the loss of its claims soon.
• Ludwig I faced demonstrations against abandoning Asia Minor and industrial reforms, then agreed to cancel industrial plans and lift the cotton export ban.
• On October 13, 1883, Greece renounced its claims on the Asia Minor Peninsula and received compensation consisting of two battleships, with an offer to buy additional warships at half price.
• Ludwig I asked what would happen to Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, and Nislav said Austria had assigned their relocation to Russia, which demanded that Greece take them or accept a mass relocation.
• Kalioxiu urged the government to protect its compatriots from Russian relocation, while Nislav described Austria’s proposal to divide migrants among Greece, Armenia, the Americas, and Austria.
• Ludwig I accepted abandoning some Ottoman-loyal Greek hardliners to Russia, though he regretted the limits on Greece’s resettlement plans.