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By the fall of 1849, Austrian and Russian troops had crushed the
rebellion in Hungary. The rebellion's leaders, including the
Hungarian leader Kossuth and the Polish general in charge of the
Hungarian armies, Dembinski, slipped over the border into European
Turkey. Austria and Russia demanded that the Turks hand over the
refugees. The Turks refused, and appealed to England and France for
help. The English reacted by demanding that the Russians and
Austrians withdraw their requests, and by moving their Mediterranean
squadron to the Dardanelles. In France, Prince-President Louis
Bonaparte quickly promised support to the British, against the advice
of his Foreign Minister, Alexis de Tocqueville. In the end, however,
Tsar Nicholas I backed down, avoiding war.

WI Nicholas I had decided to make a stand? Aside from the forces in
Hungary, the Russians also had an army in the Danubian provinces,
which had entered in 1848 to prevent revolutionary disturbances. The
Russians and Austrians could probably have swept over the border and
captured the refugees. England and France would probably respond by
declaring war, at which point, the Russians will probably drive on
Constantinople. The British fleet could quickly take the Black sea
and menace Russia's southern coast, but the Russians and Austrians
have the advntage on land. At this point, I see a stalemate until
spring, when the British and French try a landing, either on Austria's
coast, or around Constantinople, or possibly even in the Crimea. What
next?

What would be the maximum gains that could be made against the Ottomans? How might such gains be divided between Russia and Austria. Or would the Ottomans be able to repulse the invaders?
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