Austro-Italian ironclad arms race
In the years after Ferdinand Max's departure from Austria, the Imperial Austrian Navy suffered under further political and budgetary constraints. In April 1864, it was proposed that the naval ministry, which the former Archduke had helped to establish, be disbanded. In January 1865, Emperor Franz Joseph I dissolved the ministry and the Imperial Austrian Navy was again placed under the jurisdiction of the Austrian Ministry of War. Under the 1865 budget, just 7,100,000 Florins were allocated towards naval expenses, but once more, none of the funds were designated for warship construction. In 1866, the naval budget grew slightly to 7,800,000 Florins, but for the third consecutive year there would be no funds for additional ironclads, or other warships. Thus, when the Seven Weeks War began in June 1866, the Imperial Austrian Navy would possess only ships which had been constructed during Ferdinand Max's tenure as "Oberkommandant der Marine".
Christian Andreas Käsebier
In 1757, King Frederick the Great was engaged in the Seven Years' War and was conducting the Siege of Prague. He was in need of intelligence operatives who could penetrate behind enemy lines. The King personally recruited Käsebier with the promise of a pardon in return for his intelligence services. Käsebier successfully smuggled himself into the besieged city three times, but on the fourth mission became hesitant over the fear of being known now. The King threatened to send him back to prison, so Käsebier agreed to the fourth mission. He vanished soon thereafter, never to be heard from again, although it is claimed he was executed by the Austrians.