Chapter Summaries

Franz and the Vienna Government discussed how France’s Colonial Farm Plan could eventually undermine the international grain market, but concluded that its slow development gave Austria several years to maneuver. Franz decided to publicly protest while encouraging Britain to pursue food self-sufficiency, creating a crisis that could weaken Russia and advance Austria’s strategy.

• Colonial Minister Stephen reported that French Africa contained extensive arable and fertile land, alarming Franz and the Austrian officials.
• Franz argued that France’s farms required heavy government investment and infrastructure, so the plan would take years to affect grain markets.
• Foreign Minister Wessenberg proposed rallying the agricultural export alliance to pressure France, but Prime Minister Karl said the alliance should use the crisis to redirect losses and impede Russian development.
• Karl suggested drawing Britain into food self-sufficiency alongside France, which could sharply reduce the grain import market and put Britain at risk under free trade.
• Franz ordered the Foreign Ministry to display Austria’s dissatisfaction and make Britain believe the French plan threatened Austria, encouraging London to join and create an agricultural crisis.

France’s announced large-farm plan rattled grain-exporting nations by threatening to shrink the international market, and Russia feared a new agricultural crisis. Austria responded by inviting agricultural exporters to a summit, leaving the immediate threat years away.

• France publicized its large-farm plan, causing agricultural stocks to plunge and alarming grain-exporting countries.
• Agriculture Minister Bauer Shak warned Alexander III that French grain self-sufficiency could shrink Europe’s export market and devastate Russian farmers.
• Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez rejected the idea that France could be persuaded to abandon its plan, while Bauer Shak explained that Russia could neither cut output nor expand demand easily.
• Bauer Shak explained that Austria’s processed-food exports would help it withstand falling grain prices better than Russia, angering Alexander III.
• Finance Minister Alisher Gulov suggested Austria had also been caught off guard, and Alexander III ordered the Foreign Ministry to monitor its response.
• On June 11, 1885, Austria invited Russia and other agricultural exporters to the Third Agricultural Summit in Vienna, planned for the following March.

London’s grain-buying panic prompted Prime Minister Gladstone’s government to debate whether Britain should pursue food self-sufficiency. Gladstone deferred the costly, politically consequential decision by sending the proposal to Parliament for deliberation.

• Bill dismissed rumors that Russia and Austria’s harvests would fail, but ordered his butler to buy grain from wholesalers after hearing that Austria had announced a drought-relief plan.
• London’s rising food prices drew more people into the grain-buying frenzy, while the government’s efforts to dispel rumors had little effect.
• Agriculture Minister Dies Barerus supported emulating France’s food self-sufficiency plan, while Chancellor Hugh Childers warned that British agriculture could not compete economically with major grain exporters.
• Foreign Secretary George argued that a British plan could weaken Austria by shrinking the international grain market, and said Britain could not realistically split the Russo-Austrian Alliance.
• Gladstone postponed a decision and ordered the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare a preliminary plan for Parliament to consider.

Franz and the Vienna Government responded to Britain and France’s Food Self-Sufficiency Plan with public warnings and cautious negotiations while secretly hoping Britain would abandon the costly proposal. When Russia threatened Britain with trade sanctions over the plan, Franz decided Austria should hold back and let France act, reflecting on how often Austria now cooperated with its enemies.

• The Vienna Government issued warnings about agricultural transformation, and its negotiations with British and French envoys stalled after they demanded major concessions.
• Wessenberg told Franz that Alexander III had threatened Britain with Russian trade sanctions unless it abandoned the Food Self-Sufficiency Plan.
• Franz explained why Austria had avoided criticizing the plan, since its own state-owned farms and agricultural policies made such criticism hypocritical.
• Wessenberg estimated that Britain had an even chance of compromising, noting that the plan lacked strong support from Gladstone’s cabinet.
• Franz decided Austria should take no further action and wait to see what Napoleon IV and France would do.

Governor Adolf agreed to Fidos’s plan for a surprise attack on the rebels around Cairo, partly to give French-connected officers a chance to escape blame. Meanwhile, Huthier and the other rebel leaders prepared to flee the approaching French reinforcements and ordered further destruction of Egypt’s transport routes and the Nile.

• Adolf warned Fidos that serving as a military commander meant he could not avoid punishment for the defeat.
• Fidos proposed sending a regiment of regular troops to surprise the rebels and break Cairo’s siege, and Adolf agreed while advising him to wait for reinforcements.
• Adolf reflected that the attack might help protect the futures of the nobles and officers whose families would otherwise blame him.
• Potiorek urged Huthier and the rebel leaders to leave before the 150,000 French reinforcements arrived, while Falkenhayn regretted missing a chance to fight them.
• Steinhausenburg persuaded Huthier that the rebels could fight while retreating, and Huthier ordered them to continue sabotaging the Nile, railways, roads, and bridges.

Franz reviewed Austria’s rising oil demand and the progress of Iraq’s oil fields, which were expected to begin production after the pipeline was completed. He ordered the government to press ahead, intending to use limited oil revenues to cover interest on the Near East Development Plan while avoiding excessive dependence on oil.

• Franz reviewed the economic report and asked Prime Minister Karl how development of the Iraqi oil fields was progressing.
• Prime Minister Karl said extraction equipment had been installed and the pipeline was expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing Iraq’s oil to meet domestic demand within a year.
• Franz considered how diesel generators, tractors, and engineering equipment were driving rapid growth in Austrian oil consumption.
• Franz concluded that developing Iraq’s oil would ease the international supply shortage, so he had no plans to develop other regions for now.
• Franz instructed the government to advance the work, anticipating that domestic crude oil consumption would double within four years and that oil profits could cover the Near East Development Plan’s interest payments.

The British cabinet debated whether to continue supporting the Egyptian rebels after French reinforcements ended hopes of intervening in the Suez Canal, while also weighing the costly Food Self-Sufficiency Plan and Russia’s threat to leave the free trade system. Gladstone left the discussion willing to preserve trade with Russia if possible, but prepared to accept its loss, assuming Austria would remain in the system.

• Gladstone conceded that Britain’s Egyptian plan had failed, but George argued that Britain should keep supporting the rebels to secure a foothold in Egypt and counter Austria.
• Gladstone warned that further weakening France could upset the European balance, while George argued that Austria’s strategic position prevented it from dominating the continent.
• Hugh Childers warned that Parliament might pass the Food Self-Sufficiency Plan and that the Treasury opposed its ongoing costs, while Primrose defended its potential benefits to colonial infrastructure and revenues.
• Childers cautioned that Russia might leave the free trade system if Britain adopted the plan, but George argued that Britain should not yield to the threat at the expense of its dignity.
• Gladstone said Britain should try to preserve its limited trade with Russia but would accept losing the market if necessary, believing Austria would not withdraw from the free trade system.

After the rebel army’s disastrous defeat by the French, Huthier and his officers considered how to exploit the scattered troops behind enemy lines. In Paris, Napoleon IV and Terence Bulkin planned to use the British grain policy dispute to draw Russia away from Austria and break France’s isolation.

• Huthier admitted that his greed and the officers’ failed ambush had helped destroy the rebel army, while Falkenhayn reminded them that their mission had been to survive and trouble the French.
• Huthier argued that the routed rebel soldiers could harass the French from behind, and that their dispersal had made guerrilla warfare easier to arrange.
• Napoleon IV, relieved by news of France’s victory in Egypt, heard Terence Bulkin explain that the British Food Self-Sufficiency Plan had sharply worsened relations between Britain and Russia.
• Terence Bulkin proposed offering Russia a grain-and-goods agreement to weaken the free-trade system and drive a wedge between Russia and Austria.
• Napoleon IV asked how France could secure British cooperation, and Terence Bulkin argued that Britain also feared the Russo-Austrian Alliance’s proximity to India.

Franz test-drove Royal One, an exceptionally fast and heavily protected luxury automobile that embodied Austria's industrial capabilities but cost too much to sell. After circling the palace, he got out when the speed made him feel carsick.

• Franz judged that France would try to draw Russia closer as Austria grew stronger, though he was in no hurry to respond.
• Franz test-drove Royal One, a handcrafted sedan with a ninety-horsepower engine, a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour, and extensive armor and bulletproof glass.
• Franz learned that Royal One had cost nearly one million Divine Shields, making it too expensive to sell and too technologically sensitive to share.
• Franz drove Royal One around the royal palace at eighty kilometers per hour, then got out after feeling carsick.

Franz inspected the Austrian Automobile Group’s Prague factory and challenged Oprea to slow the company’s shrinking market share by developing affordable cars. He also approved gas stations but ordered the group to use regional membership discounts rather than openly excluding rival drivers.

• Franz inspected the Prague Automobile Factory and learned that its annual capacity of 20,000 cars exceeded the combined capacity of Britain and France.
• Franz noticed that the Austrian Automobile Group’s market share had fallen by nearly one-quarter in three years and asked Oprea why the group did not make a low-cost model.
• Oprea argued that cheaper cars would hurt profits and the brands’ status, but Franz said a separate brand could target middle-class buyers and undercut small competitors.
• Oprea proposed adding gas stations to the group’s logistics network, and Franz warned that openly denying fuel to rival cars could provoke public resentment and future antitrust action.
• Franz told Oprea to offer fuel discounts through membership cards, with different cards for different regions, to make the group’s advantage less conspicuous.

Austria’s booming vehicle industry boosted related sectors, but rapid growth exposed serious congestion in older cities and roads too narrow for trucks. Franz and his ministers postponed major transport upgrades because the Near East Development Plan and the government’s strained finances left little room for another vast infrastructure program.

• Austria’s cheap tractors attracted farmers, trucks won favor with nobles, and automobile demand helped special-steel output rise sharply in 1885.
• Minister of Transportation Shitailunsi warned Franz that older industrial cities and narrow roads were suffering from growing traffic congestion.
• Prime Minister Karl argued that the government should manage urban transport and plan road improvements while delaying major construction until the first phase of the Near East Development Plan was complete.
• Franz recognized that rebuilding cities and creating a highway network would be too expensive, while the lack of cars and uncertain toll revenue made private investment difficult to attract.

Alexander III confronted the threat that Britain and France would end Russia’s grain exports, while Austria’s agricultural retrenchment suggested it would not defend the old trade system. The chapter ended with Alexander realizing Austria could sacrifice grain exports and processing while Russia remained deeply dependent on them.

• Alexander III reviewed Russia’s chronic grain surplus, its reliance on exports, and the failures of livestock production to turn excess grain into reliable revenue.
• The Tsarist Government’s cheap liquor industry absorbed some surplus grain, but Britain and France’s self-sufficiency plans threatened Russia’s largest source of foreign exchange.
• Alexander III demanded to know why Austria had failed to stop Britain’s Food Self-Sufficiency Plan, and Oscar Jimenez explained that Vienna planned to reduce wheat and potato acreage over five years.
• Alexander III suspected Austria would withdraw from grain production and agricultural processing if Britain and France became self-sufficient, then angrily smashed his coffee cup.

Franz and his ministers discussed France’s growing rapprochement with Russia, which was driven by Russia’s need to earn foreign currency through grain exports. Franz concluded that France’s farm plan and offer of market access served its own interests, while Austria had to find a way to counter the alliance without getting drawn into costly concessions.

• Franz asked why France and Russia were drawing closer before the agricultural crisis had begun, and Wessenberg explained that Russia could not refuse France’s offer to buy its grain.
• Wessenberg described Russia’s heavy debt and lack of foreign exchange, which made grain exports essential to repaying loans and preserving the ruble.
• Franz reasoned that France’s Great Farm Plan could support domestic agricultural processors while keeping grain prices high, and that attracting Russia may have been part of France’s strategy.
• Wessenberg said Austria could not sabotage the farm plan but was seeking an opening to interrupt the Franco-Russian rapprochement.
• Franz warned that Austria would have to offer Russia substantial benefits to compete with France, and that prolonged bargaining could make Russia believe Austria depended on it.

Franz and his ministers assessed the risks to the Russo-Austrian Alliance and decided to use potassium fertilizer to undermine the French agricultural expansion and threaten Russian grain exports. Hols began searching Austria’s mineral records for potash deposits, but the Mining Bureau had few reliable estimates and needed to conduct detailed surveys.

• Karl argued that Austria might have to suppress Russia if the Russians could no longer be restrained.
• Wessenberg explained that British and French offers, pro-Austrian sentiment, and economic ties still kept Russia from switching sides.
• Franz ordered the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare potassium fertilizer for release once France’s Great Farm Plan succeeded.
• Hols learned that Austria had not yet developed potash fertilizer and demanded the Mining Bureau locate substantial deposits.
• Rogers told Hols that the recorded potash reserves were preliminary and offered to conduct detailed surveys.
• Hols ordered the Mining Bureau to find enough potash mines within three years.

After Mahdi died and the rebel army fell into a leadership crisis, Huthier and the Austrian officers withdrew as the French advanced. Acting commander Jarrett, desperate to preserve his reputation and stolen valuables, decided to flee with the army into British Africa.

• Falkenhayn reported that Mahdi had died from an infected wound, leaving the battered rebels without a clear leader.
• Huthier and Potiorek decided to leave before the rebel leadership struggle could draw Austria further into the conflict.
• After the French forced another rebel retreat, Lieutenant General Jarrett became acting commander, but he could not control the army.
• Jarrett learned that the Eighth Division's senior officers had disappeared and ordered Jack to prepare a secret evacuation with the valuables in their warehouse.
• Jarrett scolded Jack for revealing their family relationship and planned to escape with the army across the border into British Africa.

Napoleon IV and his ministers debated the cost of rebuilding Egypt after the rebellion, as damaged Nile channels, famine, and refugees threatened the colony’s stability and France’s cotton supply. Napoleon ordered emergency relief and proposed five billion francs in bonds, but the chapter ended with his foreign minister unable to promise that France could raise money abroad without political interference.

• Prime Minister Terence Bulkin explained that blocked Nile channels, ruined farmland, displaced people, and damaged towns made Egypt’s reconstruction extremely costly.
• Finance Minister Roy Vernon rejected the proposed spending, warning that France lacked the funds and could not afford to prioritize a colony.
• Terence Bulkin argued that failing to dredge the Nile and relieve famine would devastate Egypt’s population and leave too few laborers for cotton plantations.
• Napoleon IV ordered the Nile dredged, low-interest loans issued to plantation owners, Egyptian farms launched, and relief grain distributed.
• Napoleon IV proposed issuing five billion francs in government bonds, but Roy Vernon said France could not raise that sum domestically or safely borrow abroad.
• Foreign Minister Karel Kadletz lowered his head when Napoleon IV looked to him for a solution to the political obstacles facing international bonds.

Napoleon IV launched an anti-Semitic campaign to pressure Jewish financiers for loans and avert France’s economic crisis, and the movement spread across Europe. Franz allowed Austria to prosecute Jewish capitalists for proven crimes but ordered the government to prevent violence and protect employment.

• Napoleon IV canceled refugee relief and resumed negotiations with financial groups, while ordering officials to approach Jewish financiers and spare them if they lent money.
• French economists and scholars blamed Jewish financial groups for the economic crisis, and the Paris Government investigated several banks on January 4, 1886.
• Edward York accused Jewish capital of manipulating stock prices, helping spread the anti-Semitic movement into Austria.
• Prime Minister Karl reported that Austrian agencies were investigating Jewish capitalists for illegal activity while authorities curbed violence.
• Franz ordered the government to enforce the law without letting the movement escalate and to preserve jobs by temporarily having state-owned enterprises take over affected factories.

Franz reviewed the Vienna Government’s vast seizure of Jewish-owned assets and learned that thousands of capitalists faced severe sentences under Austrian law. After hearing that thousands of officials had surrendered over bribes, he ordered the investigation to continue until the networks behind the corruption were exposed.

• European governments joined the anti-Semitic movement, and the Tsarist Government confiscated Jewish banking assets and other property while Austria focused on capitalists accused of crimes and legal violations.
• Franz examined the Vienna Government’s estimates of seized assets, which exceeded 3.5 billion Divine Shield, and learned that more than 5,000 Jewish capitalists had been implicated.
• Prime Minister Karl told Franz that the listed capitalists faced long prison terms and that more than half could be sentenced to death under Austrian law.
• Karl reported that 4,864 public servants had surrendered to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and turned over 13.47 million Divine Shield in illicit funds, while the full number of officials involved remained unknown.
• Franz ordered the government to investigate every implicated official without mercy and to uncover the powerful figures behind the corruption.

Imprisoned at Alps Tarot Prison, Leo Cohen realized that the visit from Sir Ledes offered no real hope of release and carried a threat against his family. Ledes left determined to have Leo killed before he could expose their dealings.

• Leo Cohen watched the other prisoners panic and inferred from the prison guard's warning that they were all likely to be executed.
• Manuel escorted Leo Cohen to meet Sir Ledes and withdrew the guards from the visiting room.
• Sir Ledes told Leo that thousands had been imprisoned, promised to protect his family, and warned that the situation could become dangerous.
• Leo Cohen understood that Ledes was threatening his family and asked him to make his imprisonment more comfortable.
• After the visit, Ledes decided that Leo Cohen could not be allowed to live.

Ledes attended a secret meeting of senior Austrian officials implicated in dealings with Jewish capitalists, as the government’s crackdown threatened to expose them. The officials concluded the capitalists were doomed and discussed how to protect themselves, turning to Alberti for an extraordinary solution.

• Ledes entered a secret chamber at a manor where Count Wites and senior government officials had gathered.
• Paul Bodis warned that a government investigation into Jewish capitalists could uncover officials who had provided them favors.
• Count Wites and Paul Bodis discussed the government’s motives for arresting Jewish capitalists and seizing assets worth billions of Divine Shield.
• Count Wites asked Ledes whether the arrested capitalists could be made to deny everything, but Ledes said they were unlikely to hold out.
• Count Wites called on Alberti to suggest an extraordinary way to keep the officials safe.