During the Seven Years' War Gotzkowsky supplied the Prussian army and entered into consultation with Russian and Austrian army leaders, especially after the Prussian defeat at Kunersdorf in August 1759. On 9 October 1760 Berlin's City Council decided to surrender the city formally to the Russians rather than the Austrians, as Austria was Prussia's bitterest enemy. The Russians immediately made a demand for 4 million thalers in exchange for the protection of private property. On 11 October Gotzkowsky took over the negotiations on behalf of the city council and was able to persuade Heinrich von Tottleben to reduce the levy to 1.5 million thalers. with only 500,000 thalers, collected among the city's merchants, payable immediately in prewar coins? Tottleben moved into his house but left on the 13th. Later that month, Gotzkowsky traveled to Königsberg in Prussia as a guarantor for the redemption money. He was arrested, and released after promising a deposit of 62.000 (or 150.000 thaler)? Gotzkowsky succeeded to involve a Hamburg bank, owned by Philipp Heinrich II von Stenglin (1718–1793) to pay the amount, but the Russians received only 57.437 thaler in debased Saxonian coins. Again Gotzkowsky traveled to Danzig to bribe the Russian generals with 24 golden snuff boxes. In February 1761 Von Tottleben was accused of treason. (The sources are confusing.)