According to Franz's original plan, he should have been heading for Vienna by now, riding on the heels of a great victory to be crowned emperor, then focusing on dealing with Hungary.
As mentioned earlier, the uprising in Bohemia was weak—so weak that the local troops were already enough to suppress it.
Moreover, to prevent anything from going wrong, Franz had deliberately assembled a massive force to crush the rebellion with overwhelming strength.
His policy of granting leave had also played an important role. Since travel at the time was extremely expensive and inconvenient compared to later eras, not many university students were willing to go to Prague at great expense and risk their lives.
If not for Palacky's personal charm and powers of leadership, they wouldn't have been able to gather even a few hundred students.
Without the students, the whole movement was very loosely organized. After all, adults only cared about weighing costs and benefits.
Without the students charging into battle at the front and acting as a lubricant, the rebel forces would have been a heap of loose sand.
In fact, the procession in Vienna had been so feeble for the same reason: without that backbone, it had become extremely disorganized and all but powerless.
But that didn't mean the students' participation could have changed the outcome. Franz had used overwhelming force; their involvement would only have added to the casualties, with no other benefit.
University students were far too precious in this era, and Franz didn't want to waste their lives. However, the students from the University of Prague who had joined the rebellion were among his chief targets.
In fact, there was no contradiction between the two. Mercy to the enemy was the greatest cruelty to oneself.
The uprising in Prague owed much of its