Chapter Summaries

Austria's envoy Tugut failed to persuade Pius VI to deny the rumor of a holy war, but Cardinal Muzarelli offered to intervene. Meanwhile, Polish royal secretary Scipione Piattoli reached the Russian front and told General Korezenikov that the King intended to surrender.

• Tugut and Walter traveled to Rome to seek the Pope's public denial of the rumored holy war in exchange for Austrian support and influence for the Holy See.
• Pius VI rejected Austria's proposal, fearing that denying the holy war would damage the Church's standing and his own reputation.
• After Tugut failed to change the Pope's mind, Walter brought him to meet Cardinal Muzarelli, who said he could speak on the Pope's behalf.
• Scipione Piattoli reached Russian headquarters and told General Korezenikov that the King of Poland intended to surrender.

Stanisław II sought Russian support to overthrow Poland’s Parliament and end the war, persuading Korezenikov to wait three days for proof of his sincerity. Bilak then offered the surrender of his Minsk forces, but tied their submission to receiving a pardon from the Tsar.

• Piatoli told Korezenikov that Stanisław II intended to surrender and asked Russia to help him restrict Parliament and restore the nobles’ rights.
• Korezenikov agreed to wait three days after Piatoli warned that Stanisław II could offer his surrender to General Morkov instead.
• Stanisław II met Korezenikov three days later and introduced Bilak, who promised to surrender the Polish troops in Minsk and help the Russians advance toward Warsaw.
• Bilak asked for a decree of pardon from the Tsar and pointed out carts of weapons and supplies as proof of his sincerity.
• Stanisław II said he would travel to Saint Petersburg with the instrument of surrender, after which Bilak’s army would accept Korezenikov’s command.

Stanisław II delayed his surrender convoy to buy Warsaw time, while Cardinal Muzarelli denied that the Polish-Russian War was a Holy War and Mort Schmitz resolved to avenge his brother. Catherine II learned that seventeen thousand Polish soldiers had broken into Bryansk.

• Stanisław II traveled toward Saint Petersburg under Korezenikov’s escort, while Polish newspapers reported that he had gone to surrender.
• Stanisław II made himself ill with dysentery at an estate near Vitebsk, forcing Korezenikov to halt the journey for a week.
• Cardinal Muzarelli declared in Vienna that the Holy See had not called for a Holy War or a Crusade.
• Mort Schmitz rejected Muzarelli’s denial, blamed the Emperor and the Holy See for his brother Herbert’s death, and set out to seek justice.
• Catherine II learned that Morkov had failed to take Mozyr and allowed seventeen thousand Polish soldiers to enter Bryansk.

Catherine II rejected a Russian retreat from Poland and ordered a strategy to isolate and starve the Polish force, but a report soon revealed that the King of Poland was ready to compromise. During ceasefire negotiations, Stanisław II asked Russia to take additional Polish territories.

• Catherine II rejected Rumyantsev’s proposal to recall the Morkov Corps and approved a plan to shadow the Poles while denying them local supplies.
• A secret report from General Morkov informed Catherine II that the King of Poland had decided to compromise.
• Stanisław II met Catherine II, praised the Russian army, and pleaded that the dispute over the maid had been a misunderstanding.
• Zubov presented Stanisław II with a ceasefire treaty, but Stanisław II argued that Courland and Raseiniai should also come under Catherine II’s administration.

Stanisław II stalled Russia’s ceasefire negotiations, but Catherine II imprisoned him and ordered Suvorov to the front after Kościuszko rejected the king’s command. Polish forces then captured Bryansk, revealing their advance into Russia to two serfs.

• Stanisław II delayed signing the ceasefire treaty by adding provisions and pretending to be ill, while counting the days needed for Warsaw to prepare.
• When Zubov learned Kościuszko had refused the king’s order and continued east, Stanisław II pointed out that Parliament had to approve any ceasefire treaty.
• Stanisław II and his entourage were imprisoned, and Catherine II ordered Suvorov to command the battle at Minsk.
• Rumyantsev proposed sending Korezenikov against Kościuszko, and Catherine II approved.
• Yakov and Yeger watched red-bannered Polish cavalry sweep through Bryansk, which fell in less than half an hour.

Kościuszko revealed that the Polish Legion’s real target was Crimea, not Moscow, and began a southward diversion through Russia. After the Legion vanished, Korezenikov assumed it was still heading for Moscow and redirected Russian troops toward the capital and Kaluga.

• Kościuszko judged that Russian harassment had slowed the Polish advance and rejected Dombrowski’s suggestion to seek a decisive battle.
• Kościuszko ordered his troops to seize Bryansk’s supplies and burn its municipal buildings, banks, warehouses, and workshops.
• Kościuszko told Dombrowski that the Legion’s secret objective was Crimea, and Dombrowski agreed to pursue it despite the supply difficulties and Kursk Fortress.
• The Polish soldiers left burning Bryansk and headed south, while Kościuszko explained that their earlier northern detour was meant to draw Russian forces toward Moscow.
• Korezenikov lost track of the Polish Legion and ordered Vasnetsov to send three regiments to defend Moscow while other forces tried to intercept the Poles at Kaluga.

Bagrationi discovered signs of the Polish Army’s southward route and sent cavalry to pursue it, forcing Kościuszko to disguise his march and leave Madalinski behind to delay the Russians. Madalinski’s Polish force prepared to fight to the death, and the Russian cavalry finally attacked.

• Korezenikov dismissed Bagrationi’s suspicion that the Poles had gone south, but Bagrationi secretly sent a thousand cavalrymen toward Siberia to confirm it.
• Kościuszko learned that Russian cavalry was approaching and ordered the army to turn northeast as a decoy while continuing south.
• Madalinski volunteered to hold off the pursuing Russians with thirteen hundred soldiers so the Polish main force could escape into the forests.
• Madalinski urged his troops to fight for Poland, and they roared their willingness to march to death with him.
• The Russian cavalry found the Polish force blocking a narrow passage near Odyov and attacked the next morning.

Madalinski and his Polish soldiers held off overwhelming Russian cavalry until the line was destroyed and Madalinski was killed, buying time for Kościuszko to continue toward his mission. Meanwhile, Suvorov anticipated a Polish attack on Riga and ordered an immediate assault on the Polish defenses near Minsk.

• Madalinski's dwindling force resisted repeated Russian cavalry charges, and he was killed when a Russian cavalryman cut his throat.
• After darkness fell, the Russians found the Polish defenders dead rather than surrendered, while Kościuszko understood that Madalinski had kept his promise south of Bryansk.
• Suvorov noticed Courland had sent no troops to the Polish Army and suspected the Poles would attack Riga.
• Suvorov ordered General Tormasov to reinforce Riga's defenses.
• Suvorov arrived at the Russian command post near Minsk and ordered the generals to attack the Polish line immediately.

Suvorov planned a feint against the Polish defenses while spreading a rumor that Stanisław II would surrender, but Polish soldiers mocked the claim. In Paris, Joseph worried that Camellia’s worsening fever and cough meant her lungs were infected.

• Suvorov inspected the Polish lines and ordered the Russian Army to concentrate its assault on Yushno Village while the Gumilyov Legion bypassed the defenses through Novogrudok.
• Suvorov planned to use the Gumilyov Legion’s advance toward Drohiczyn as a diversion, then shift the main attack north when Polish forces moved toward Yushno Village.
• Polish soldiers in Minsk heard rumors that Stanisław II would surrender and laughed them off, citing the Crown Prince’s command, new mobilization, and supposed plans by General Kościuszko.
• Stanisław II anxiously watched the western sky from the Winter Palace as the surrender rumor spread among his troops.
• Perna told Joseph that Camellia’s fever had persisted despite increased BDP and that she was barely eating.
• Joseph suspected Camellia’s lungs were infected, and Perna asked whether they should pour alcohol into them.

Joseph learned that the Paris Pharmaceutical Factory had 7.5 grams of penicillin and brought the critically ill Camellia there for treatment. When Dr. Lamark prepared to inject the medicine by cutting into her vein, Joseph stopped him and introduced a syringe.

• Perna told Joseph that the laboratory had synthesized 7.5 grams of Type 1 Antibiotic, so he took Camellia to the Paris Pharmaceutical Factory.
• Dr. Lamark explained that his high-yield strain had produced the available penicillin and estimated that Camellia would need about 15 grams to treat her pneumonia.
• Lamark prepared to administer the medicine by cutting Camellia's vein and feeding it through a goose-quill tube from a pig bladder.
• Joseph realized the crude method would waste medicine and cause excessive bleeding, so he showed Lamark and the assistants his syringe design.

Joseph oversaw the creation of a syringe and the first Penicillin injection for Camellia, correcting the procedure after realizing the medicine needed a skin test and saline dilution. Camellia later woke with a lower fever, though her recovery was not yet confirmed.

• Joseph summoned royal craftsmen, who made a crude syringe with a finely stretched silver needle.
• Dr. Lamark began injecting Camellia with Penicillin, but Joseph stopped him to perform a skin test for allergies.
• After Camellia complained of severe arm pain, Joseph realized the Penicillin should be diluted with 0.9% saline, and Dr. Lamark prepared a new dose.
• Joseph asked Dr. Lamark to prepare glucose for Camellia, who had not eaten properly for several days.
• At four in the afternoon, Camellia woke looking better, and Perna measured her temperature at 38.3 degrees.

Joseph treated Camellia with Penicillin and Glucose, whose quick effects astonished Dr. Lamarck and his assistants. On the journey back to Versailles Palace, Perna proposed using Glucose and Saline to treat wounded soldiers, and Joseph decided to establish the Royal French Military Medical University with her as its principal.

• Dr. Lamarck slowly injected Glucose into Camellia, who soon regained enough strength to sit up and speak.
• Joseph explained to Lamarck how Glucose supplied energy and how Saline replenished Electrolytes, prompting Lamarck to ask to write a paper.
• Joseph arranged for Lamarck to bring Camellia’s medicine and Glucose to Versailles Palace the next morning.
• Perna suggested supplying Glucose and Saline to wounded soldiers, and Joseph agreed that Syringes could be made at the Mask Factory.
• Perna said battlefield medical staff needed special training, so Joseph announced the Royal French Military Medical University and named Perna its principal.

Joseph appointed Perna to lead the Military Medical University and arranged senior support for her. When Polish envoy Radziwiłł requested a five-million-franc wartime loan, Joseph instead offered Poland a much cheaper disinfectant made from coal tar, leaving Radziwiłł astonished.

• Joseph urged Perna to become principal of the Military Medical University and promised her Brigadier General Martinola as an assistant.
• Joseph said he would ask the King to grant Dr. Lamarck the title of Count of Guéret, and Perna thanked him for his support.
• Count Segur told Joseph that Polish envoy Radziwiłł wished to meet him, so Joseph received the envoy at the Royal Armory.
• Radziwiłł requested a five-million-franc loan to buy medical alcohol, tents, and uniforms for Poland's army.
• Joseph recalled the Paris Gas Industry Company's coal-tar Phenol and offered it to Poland as a disinfectant costing only six percent as much as medical alcohol.

Joseph proposed a Poland-Sweden-Ottoman alliance against Russia and arranged for Polish military medical staff to train in Paris. Meanwhile, Count Herio was ordered to pay for Miss Delvaux’s treatment, and in Rome Mort Schmitz awaited the start of an event as Austria’s advance into Poland stalled.

• Joseph offered Poland inexpensive disinfectant, tents, and uniforms, then urged Radziwiłł to seek loans from Sweden and the Ottoman Empire and build an alliance against Russia.
• Radziwiłł agreed to pass Joseph’s alliance proposal to Count Potocki, and Joseph invited Polish military doctors and women interested in medical care to train in Paris.
• Joseph ignored Count Herio, and Eman told the count that the Herio Family owed 300,000 francs for Miss Delvaux’s treatment.
• In Rome, Mort Schmitz read that the Austrian army had occupied Sandomierz, though its advance into Poland had stalled at the Tarnowskie Góry defensive line.
• Schmitz heard bells ringing near St. Peter’s Basilica and declared that the moment he had awaited was about to begin.

Schmitz infiltrated the All Saints' Day Mass and tried to assassinate Pope Pius VI, but a Cardinal took the bullet meant for the Pope. After Schmitz killed himself, Pius suspected Austrian involvement and asked Archbishop Chiaramonti how to respond.

• Schmitz used a false identity and disguise to enter St. Peter's Basilica, retrieve a concealed rifle, and reach the nobles gathered before the Pope.
• Schmitz shot at Pius VI, wounding the Cardinal who shoved the Pope out of the way, then proclaimed support for the Crusaders and stabbed himself.
• Five hours later, the spy chief told Pius VI that the assassin was Schmitz, apparently an officer from South Germany, and Pius ordered an investigation.
• Pius asked Archbishop Chiaramonti whether to punish the Austrians or support Poland's war, and Chiaramonti advised against both choices.

Pius VI considered how to respond to the attempt on his life and agreed to use the incident to pressure Austria while seeking to remove Muzarelli. In Paris, Camellia recovered and donated her compensation to the Royal Military Medical University before Fouche told Joseph that the Pope had been targeted by an Austrian officer.

• Chiaramonti advised Pius VI to blame Austria publicly and later disavow Muzarelli’s statement about the Crusaders, and Pius VI agreed to send him to Vienna once the assassin’s origins were confirmed.
• After ten days of treatment, Camellia recovered from her lung infection and learned that Joseph had used scarce, expensive medicine to treat her.
• Joseph told Camellia that the Herio Family had compensated her 300,000 Francs, and she donated the money to the Royal Military Medical University in gratitude to Perna.
• Fouche reported to Joseph that Pius VI had survived an assassination attempt and that the alleged culprit was an Austrian officer named Schmitz.

Joseph and his ministers considered how France could exploit the Pope’s conflict with Austria, and Joseph decided that Archbishop Muzarelli could be encouraged to sabotage negotiations. In Vienna, Chiaramonti pressured Franz II to secretly arrest Muzarelli in exchange for the Pope’s forgiveness and an end to support for the rumored holy war in Poland.

• Joseph received the report of the attempt on the Pope and asked Brienne and Talleyrand to assess the Pope’s likely response to Austria.
• Brienne and Talleyrand reasoned that the Pope wanted Austrian support and influence over church affairs, while Joseph considered how to prevent Austria and the Holy See from becoming allies.
• Joseph learned that Archbishop Muzarelli might disrupt negotiations if he discovered them and calculated that France could warn him before the Pope’s envoy reached Vienna.
• Chiaramonti told Franz II that the Pope might excommunicate him unless he stopped cooperating with Muzarelli.
• Franz II agreed to cease cooperating with Muzarelli, and Chiaramonti demanded that he secretly arrest the cardinal.

Giacinto Reale forced Franz II to support Archbishop Muzarelli’s bid for influence over the Holy See by threatening to expose their alleged plots. Franz II agreed to bring Archbishop Chiaramonti back, while a separate negotiation in Philadelphia ended with Hamilton refusing to fund Britain’s Expeditionary Force.

• Franz II knelt before Archbishop Chiaramonti and prayed as a Catholic, signaling his position to the Church.
• Giacinto Reale met Franz II and urged him to support Muzarelli, threatening to reveal their correspondence and accuse them of plotting to assassinate the Pope.
• Reale warned Franz II that Muzarelli could pressure the Pope and suggested using military exercises by Tuscany and Venice to strengthen their position.
• Reale tempted Franz II with the prospect of becoming a new Charlemagne if Muzarelli became Pope, and Franz II ordered the Guard Captain to bring Archbishop Chiaramonti back.
• In Philadelphia, Hamilton told Lord Grenville that Parliament would not pass the bill and that the United States could not afford to supply Britain’s Expeditionary Force.

Hamilton and Grenville negotiated the sale of England’s Caribbean colonies to the United States, while Kościuszko’s starving Polish army pressed through Russia toward Crimea. The chapter ended as Kościuszko spotted what appeared to be an Ottoman convoy near the Seym River.

• Grenville offered England’s Caribbean colonies to the United States in exchange for American neutrality in a European war, recognition of surviving English assets, and thirty years of favorable sugar prices.
• Hamilton agreed to submit the proposal, and the Federal Parliament bought England’s Caribbean colonies for 30,000 US Dollars and signed the Caribbean Agreement.
• The British Expeditionary Force withdrew from Saint-Domingue, whose parliament returned to Port-au-Prince and declared the day its national day.
• Kościuszko mourned the casualties from the capture of Kursk Fortress and learned from Dombrowski that the army had only three days of bread and was nearly out of horse feed.
• Three days later, Kościuszko’s starving army prepared to slaughter more than a hundred horses, but scouts sounded an alarm, and he spotted a convoy near the Seym River that seemed to be Ottoman.

Kościuszko received a secret supply network and intelligence from Kovanzi Ozer, then led the Polish army into Crimea and used a feigned struggle at Bakhchysarai to draw in Russian reinforcements. After Kościuszko destroyed two Russian relief forces, the news shook Russia.

• Kovanzi Ozer met Kościuszko and gave him a map of hidden supply depots and villages, explaining how the Crimean Resistance Army had secretly prepared provisions along the Polish route.
• Kościuszko led thirteen thousand Polish soldiers to northern Crimea after a difficult thirty-five-day march, then rejected Ozer’s suggestion to seize Bakhchysarai quickly so Russian forces would keep sending reinforcements.
• The Polish Royal Third Division attacked Bakhchysarai, and Lieutenant Colonel Trunikov believed the Poles were short of ammunition as the battle continued for more than ten days.
• Kościuszko ambushed and crushed four thousand Russian soldiers from Moldavia south of Hels, capturing more than a thousand.
• Kościuszko annihilated two thousand Russian soldiers from Tsaritsyn as they prepared to enter Bakhchysarai, and news of the defeats shook Russia.