Chapter Summaries

Grand Duke Mikhail commissioned the protected cruiser Rostov and promised to rebuild the Black Sea Fleet despite Tsar Nicholas II’s efforts to suppress it. Backed by his own wealth and knowledge from another life, Mikhail planned to expand the fleet and eventually break through the straits into the Mediterranean.

• Grand Duke Mikhail commissioned the Rostov in Sevastopol and promised the Black Sea Fleet officers and sailors that more powerful warships would soon join them.
• Mikhail recognized that Nicholas II had cut the fleet’s funding and blocked new shipbuilding because he feared Mikhail’s influence.
• The chapter revealed that Mikhail’s body housed the fused soul and memories of Li Jun, a military technology expert from a later age.
• Vice Admiral Makarov praised the Rostov-class cruisers, and Mikhail explained that he had personally funded all six and produced their Krupp armor steel at his own works.
• Mikhail promised Makarov that new warships would steadily strengthen the Black Sea Fleet and that it might eventually pass through the straits into the Mediterranean.

Grand Duke Mikhail entrusted the Black Sea Fleet to Lieutenant General Makarov and traveled back toward Volgograd, resolved to change the Tsarist Russian Empire’s future. He concluded that Nicholas II had to die so Mikhail could lead the empire himself.

• Grand Duke Mikhail recalled the Tsarist Russian Empire’s defeats and collapse in another timeline and resolved to rewrite its history.
• Grand Duke Mikhail appointed Lieutenant General Makarov deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet and promised him support, while Makarov pledged his loyalty.
• Grand Duke Mikhail departed Sevastopol by warship, traveled via Rostov-on-Don River and Kalach-on-Don River, and continued toward Volgograd.
• Grand Duke Mikhail considered building a canal between the Don and Volga river systems to improve transport.
• Grand Duke Mikhail decided Nicholas II had to die so he could take the lead and guide the Tsarist Russian Empire toward a different future.

Grand Duke Mikhail returned to Volgograd and discussed the growing Black Sea Fleet and his army reforms with General Brusilov. He left determined to build military strength, defeat the Ottomans, and prevent the fate he feared for himself and the Tsarist Russian Empire.

• Grand Duke Mikhail returned to Volgograd on April 25 and summoned General Brusilov.
• Mikhail told Brusilov that the cruiser Rostov had entered service, five more cruisers would follow, and the Black Sea Shipyard had begun building six additional ships.
• Mikhail argued that victory over the Ottoman Empire could let the Tsarist Russian Empire seize the Bosporus and Dardanelles, despite the likely opposition of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.
• Brusilov reported that Mikhail's twenty infantry divisions, ten cavalry brigades, heavy artillery brigade, and four mountain infantry brigades had completed reequipment and were training under Mikhail's manual.
• Brusilov said the troops' combat effectiveness, morale, and loyalty to Mikhail had improved after months of training and better conditions.

Grand Duke Mikhail’s forces completed their reequipment, totaling about 485,000 troops organized around powerful infantry, cavalry, mountain, and artillery units. Mikhail asked General Brusilov whether they could begin their plan, but Brusilov warned that rebellion could plunge the empire into chaos and invite invasion.

• Mikhail’s troops used expanded formations with light machine guns, mortars, and advanced artillery, making his infantry divisions far larger and better equipped than ordinary Tsarist Russian Army divisions.
• Mikhail’s cavalry brigades adopted mounted-infantry tactics, while his mountain brigades and heavy artillery brigade added further strength to his forces.
• Mikhail’s twenty infantry divisions, ten cavalry brigades, four mountain infantry brigades, and other troops brought his total force to about 485,000 men.
• Mikhail told General Brusilov that the army was fully combat-ready and asked whether their plan could begin.
• Brusilov cautioned Mikhail that acting could throw the country into chaos and give foreign enemies an opening to invade.

Grand Duke Mikhail decided to overthrow Tsar Nicholas II, whom he believed threatened his power and the Russian Empire, and ordered his assassination plan to begin. He left the army ready to seize the throne by force if necessary.

• Mikhail told General Brusilov that the tsar had cut military funding and was preparing to suppress him, so they needed to act.
• Mikhail argued that Russia faced worsening internal problems and foreign threats, and said change was necessary to save the empire.
• Mikhail ordered Brusilov to ready the troops and summoned Major General Vasily to discuss their plan.
• Vasily confirmed that the assassination plan and its personnel were ready, and Mikhail ordered him to put it into action while ensuring it could not be traced back to them.
• Mikhail instructed Brusilov to prepare for a rapid military takeover if his claim to the throne was challenged.

Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra discussed their plans to neutralize Grand Duke Mikhail, whom they feared could threaten the throne. A disguised coachman detonated explosives that killed the royal couple, leaving the empire facing a succession crisis.

• Empress Alexandra urged Nicholas II to strip Grand Duke Mikhail of his posts and imprison or kill him, and Nicholas II resolved to act after his birthday banquet.
• Nicholas II noted that he had no son and that Mikhail stood first in line to the throne under the succession law.
• A grain carriage with a broken axle blocked the road, and guards pushed it aside to clear the way for Nicholas II's carriage.
• The coachman detonated explosives concealed beneath the carriage, killing himself, Nicholas II, and Empress Alexandra and causing heavy casualties among the guards.
• General Alexei ordered the survivors to report the Tsar's assassination to Petersburg.

Grand Duke Mikhail learned that Nicholas II and his wife had been killed in a bombing he had ordered, and prepared to blame the Bolshevik Party and use the assassination to seize power. He expected the Petersburg ministers to challenge his legal claim to the throne and anticipated that he might have to use force.

• Mikhail summoned General Vasily after learning that the assassination plan had likely succeeded.
• Vasily reported that the bombing had killed Nicholas II and his wife, and that the operation had left no evidence leading back to Mikhail.
• Vasily explained that the assassin had left a Bolshevik Party pamphlet, while agents were spreading the false accusation to newspapers across the empire.
• Mikhail planned to use public anger over the tsar’s death to arrest Bolshevik Party members and strengthen his rule.
• Mikhail noted that he was first in line to inherit the throne, but expected the Petersburg ministers to resist his succession and considered using force.

After Nicholas II was assassinated, Grand Duke Mikhail prepared his forces to secure the throne, while officials in Petersburg debated who should succeed the tsar. Grand Duke Nicholas accused Mikhail of the murder but offered no evidence, and the investigation tentatively pointed to the Bolshevik Party.

• Grand Duke Mikhail ordered Yakov to summon the chief of staff and told Lieutenant General Brusilov to ready the troops, call up reserves, and add twenty infantry divisions.
• News of Nicholas II and his wife’s deaths spread through Petersburg and reached foreign envoys, who reported it to their governments.
• At the Winter Palace, Konstantin Pobedonostsev and other officials discussed the crisis and Sergei Witte said the Law of Succession made Mikhail the heir.
• Grand Duke Nicholas called for Mikhail’s succession to be suspended, alleging that Mikhail had killed Nicholas II, but admitted he had no concrete evidence.
• Vyacheslav Plehve reported that the preliminary investigation suggested the Bolshevik Party was likely responsible.

After the Tsar was killed, imperial officials debated whether the Bolsheviks were responsible and feared that Grand Duke Mikhail might seize the throne or plunge the empire into civil war. Grand Duke Nicholas and Sergei Witte devised a plan to put the young Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna on the throne instead, and Nicholas set out to win military support.

• Vyacheslav Plehve cited evidence linking the killer to the Bolsheviks, while Sergei Witte questioned whether the evidence had been planted; Grand Duke Nicholas blamed Grand Duke Mikhail for arranging the assassination.
• Konstantin Pobedonostsev warned that blocking Mikhail without proof could lead to civil war or the empire's collapse, and Lieutenant General Kuropatkin proposed putting the army on emergency alert.
• After the meeting, Grand Duke Nicholas urged Sergei Witte to stop Mikhail from inheriting the throne, and Witte warned that Mikhail would distrust and punish him.
• Witte proposed forging an order from the Tsar naming Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna as heir, and Nicholas saw a chance to rule through her while she was a child.
• Witte said they needed support from Lieutenant General Kuropatkin and General Nikolai Obruchev because Mikhail would resist by force, and Nicholas resolved to approach them.

After Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra were assassinated, the empire’s leaders and newspapers fought over whether Grand Duke Mikhail or Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna should succeed to the throne. Grand Duke Mikhail rejected the attempt to deny him the throne and ordered his army to prepare to march on Petersburg.

• Newspapers blamed the Bolshevik Party for Nicholas II’s assassination, and Vyacheslav Plehve ordered a nationwide hunt that led to many Bolshevik arrests.
• Grand Duke Nicholas, Sergei Witte, Kuropatkin, Nikolai Chikhachyov, and Nikolai Obruchev backed Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s succession, while others supported Grand Duke Mikhail.
• Supporters of Olga Nikolaevna and the Bolshevik Party spread competing claims about the assassination, and Sergei Witte’s forged order naming Olga crown princess further stirred public debate.
• Grand Duke Mikhail learned of the succession struggle through his intelligence agencies and condemned his opponents for trying to deny him the throne.
• Lieutenant General Brusilov warned that the dispute might require force, and Major General Vasily advised Mikhail to seize the throne by military action.
• Grand Duke Mikhail ordered the army to prepare and announced that he would begin marching on Petersburg the next morning.

After Tsar Alexander III’s assassination, Grand Duke Mikhail accused Petersburg’s bureaucrats of plotting to deny him the throne and declared that the Caucasus Military District would march north to seize it. His forces set out toward Moscow, where he planned to be crowned, as the succession dispute became a civil war.

• On May 20, 1898, Grand Duke Mikhail addressed soldiers and citizens in Volgograd, claiming he was the rightful heir and that his rivals intended to place two-and-a-half-year-old Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna on the throne.
• Mikhail declared that the Caucasus Military District would march on Petersburg to reclaim the throne, and the assembled officers, soldiers, and citizens roared their support.
• Mikhail planned for the 1st Infantry Division to travel by river to Kazan and then by train to Moscow, while the district committed fifteen infantry divisions, ten cavalry brigades, and one heavy artillery brigade to the campaign.
• Mikhail ordered telegrams sent to governors across the empire demanding submission, then assigned General Brusilov to lead a separate force overland to Moscow while Mikhail led the main force north along the Volga.
• Mikhail relied on his inland river fleet and its gunboats to protect troop and supply transport as his march turned the succession crisis into open civil war.

After Grand Duke Mikhail deployed troops to claim the throne, the imperial officials formed a command to suppress him and prepared for civil war. Konstantin Pobedonostsev and other officials doubted the accusations against Mikhail and hoped the conflict would end quickly, but power had passed to the army.

• Konstantin Pobedonostsev warned the officials that Mikhail’s military action meant civil war had begun, while Grand Duke Nicholas accused Mikhail of plotting against Nicholas II.
• Sergei Witte and Lieutenant General Kuropatkin argued that the empire had to defeat Mikhail, and Foreign Minister Lobanov-Rostovsky warned that foreign enemies might exploit a prolonged war.
• Grand Duke Nicholas expressed confidence that the imperial army and the Guards Army could crush Mikhail’s smaller Caucasus force.
• Grand Duke Nicholas, Kuropatkin, and General Nikolai Obruchev formed the Headquarters for the Suppression of the Rebellion and treated Mikhail as a rebel.
• Vyacheslav Plehve said there was no definite evidence that Mikhail had arranged Nicholas II’s assassination, and Pobedonostsev, Plehve, and Lobanov-Rostovsky prayed for a swift end to the war.

Grand Duke Nicholas and the imperial military leaders assessed Grand Duke Mikhail’s rebel forces and planned how to stop their advance toward Moscow. They left with a strategy to defend Kazan, recruit more troops, attack General Brusilov’s force, and try to persuade him to defect.

• General Nikolai Obruchev reported that Grand Duke Mikhail was leading over two hundred thousand troops toward Kazan while General Brusilov advanced with more than a hundred thousand from the Don basin.
• Grand Duke Nicholas decided to lead the Imperial Guard and Petersburg troops toward Moscow, while Lieutenant General Kuropatkin proposed drawing reinforcements from the Huasha and Vilna Military Districts.
• General Nikolai Obruchev said the Orenburg and Kiev Military Districts had declared neutrality, while the Black Sea Fleet’s mobilization prevented Odessa from sending troops.
• Grand Duke Nicholas ordered Lieutenant General Afanasy Kryuchonkin to hold Kazan and sought to persuade General Vladimir Kosel to send reinforcements from Orenburg.
• Grand Duke Nicholas chose to concentrate forces against General Brusilov’s rebels first, then attack Grand Duke Mikhail’s forces, aiming to end the war within three months.
• Lieutenant General Kuropatkin proposed bribing General Brusilov to defect, and Grand Duke Nicholas offered him a pardon, command of the Caucasus Military District, money, and anything else he wanted.

Grand Duke Mikhail’s forces advanced through the Tsarist Russian Empire with little resistance as officials and generals mostly avoided committing to either side. Germany and Austria-Hungary secretly prepared to exploit the civil war, while Japan also watched for an opportunity to act.

• Grand Duke Nicholas retained the support of most senior officers, while few dared openly back Grand Duke Mikhail despite believing he had the rightful claim to the throne.
• Grand Duke Mikhail’s troops, including General Brusilov’s forces, advanced with almost no resistance as opponents surrendered or fled.
• Grand Duke Mikhail accepted that many officials were acting cautiously and expected them to pledge loyalty if he won.
• Wilhelm II ordered the German army to mobilize secretly in case the civil war weakened Russia enough to present an opportunity.
• Austria-Hungary prepared to use Russia’s internal conflict to expand into the Balkans and displace Russian influence there.
• Japan, backed by Britain, watched the Tsarist Russian Empire for a chance to act.

As civil war weakened the Tsarist Russian Empire, rival powers watched for opportunities, while Abdul Hamid II decided the Ottoman Empire should go to war and avenge its past defeats. He ordered officials to prepare plans for an attack, despite their fears that the weakened empire could not afford to lose.

• Japanese leaders secretly mobilized to exploit the Tsarist Russian Empire's civil war and drive it from Korea or seize its territory in Liaodong.
• Grand Duke Mikhail accepted the danger of foreign intervention and resolved to win the civil war so he could take the throne and reform the empire.
• The Tsarist Russian Empire's other enemies waited for its civil war to drain its strength rather than intervene immediately.
• Abdul Hamid II summoned senior Ottoman officials and ordered them to prepare plans to attack the Tsarist Russian Empire.
• Ottoman officials warned that their weakened empire faced ruin if it lost, but Abdul Hamid II remained determined to seek revenge.

Abdul Hamid II ordered a secret Ottoman mobilization and a troop buildup on the Caucasus front to prepare to retake the Baku Oil Field. Meanwhile, both sides of the Russian civil war concentrated forces around Kazan, where Grand Duke Mikhail’s first major assault was about to begin.

• Kör Ahmed Pasha reported that the Tsarist Russian Empire had left over a hundred thousand troops in the southern Caucasus and was mobilizing more.
• Abdul Hamid II ordered secret mobilization and reinforcements for the Caucasus, aiming to seize the Baku Oil Field.
• Grand Duke Nicholas gathered a force of more than 350,000 men around Moscow while General Afanasiy Klyuchin and General Vladimir Kosel prepared to defend Kazan.
• On May 31, Major General Viktor Sakharov’s 1st Infantry Division landed south of Kazan under escort from the Volga River Fleet.
• Major General Viktor Sakharov ordered his troops to establish a landing site and directed the Volga River Fleet to scout near Kazan and prepare fire support.

Mikhail ordered General Viktor Sakharov to attack Kazan, where forces from the Kazan and Orenburg Military Districts had gathered. After a heavy bombardment, the Caucasus Military District’s troops began their assault, and the 7th Cavalry Brigade moved to cut the railway bringing Orenburg reinforcements.

• Yakov reported that four divisions and the 7th Cavalry Brigade had reached Kazan, and Mikhail ordered Viktor Sakharov to attack and the following troops to hurry.
• On May 7, the Volga River Fleet and the Caucasus Military District’s artillery bombarded the Kazan defenders’ weak positions, inflicting heavy casualties.
• General Afanasiy Klyuchin and General Vladimir Kosel realized the attacking force had far more artillery than they had expected, while Kosel regretted joining Grand Duke Nicholas’s side.
• After half a day of bombardment, Viktor Sakharov ordered the infantry to attack and the 7th Cavalry Brigade to cut the railway east of Kazan.
• The infantry of the 1st, 3rd, and 7th Infantry Divisions advanced on the defenders’ positions as the cavalry brigade began moving to sever Orenburg’s reinforcements.

The Caucasus Military District routed the defenders outside Kazan, forcing them to retreat into the city or surrender. Grand Duke Mikhail arrived and ordered preparations for a heavily bombarded assault, aiming to capture Kazan within a week and open the road to Moscow.

• The Caucasus Military District used mortars, machine guns, and infantry assaults to break through the defenders' positions, while blocking detachments shot deserters.
• Many defenders surrendered as the defensive lines outside Kazan fell, and the remaining forces retreated into the city after suffering heavy losses.
• Major General Viktor Sakharov reported the day's victory to Mikhail, who worried that fighting in Kazan would cause heavy losses and delay the campaign.
• Mikhail ordered the 9th Cavalry Brigade to intercept Orenburg reinforcements and the 11th and 12th Infantry Divisions to join the assault on Kazan.
• Mikhail ordered the artillery and Volga River Fleet to bombard Kazan without sparing shells, and set a goal of taking the city within a week.

Grand Duke Nicholas learned that Grand Duke Mikhail’s forces were devastating Kazan and that its defenders might soon collapse. With his generals trapped by their choice to support him, Nicholas sought to know whether General Brusilov would betray Mikhail.

• Grand Duke Mikhail’s artillery and the Volga River Fleet continued bombarding Kazan, while Generals Afanasiy Klyuchin and Vladimir Kosel worried they could not hold the city or receive reinforcements.
• General Nikolai Obruchev reported Kazan’s worsening situation to Grand Duke Nicholas and the officers gathered in Moscow.
• Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich pointed out that Mikhail’s troops had better rifles and heavier firepower than most of Nicholas’s forces.
• Grand Duke Nicholas warned that the rebels had to be dealt with quickly, and the assembled generals faced the risk of defeat with no way to reverse their allegiance.
• Grand Duke Nicholas asked whether General Brusilov had responded to his offer of high office and rewards in exchange for betraying Grand Duke Mikhail.

General Brusilov rejected Grand Duke Nicholas’s offer and led his forces toward Ryazan, where Nicholas concentrated an army to destroy them. When Russian troops attacked from multiple fronts, Brusilov halted his advance and prepared to hold out until Grand Duke Mikhail’s forces could take Kazan and reach Moscow.

• The Caucasus Military District’s cavalry brigades found Ryazan strongly fortified, so General Brusilov waited for reinforcements before attacking.
• Grand Duke Nicholas’s envoy offered Brusilov command of the Caucasus Military District if he joined the government, but Brusilov refused.
• Grand Duke Nicholas ordered more than 300,000 troops to surround and attack Brusilov’s forces before focusing on Grand Duke Mikhail.
• On May 9, General Brusilov attacked Ryazan with more than 50,000 men against its two defending divisions.
• On May 10, Russian troops converged on Ryazan and attacked Brusilov from multiple fronts, prompting him to halt the assault and order his forces to defend their positions.