Apart from calling on both sides to exercise restraint, the Vienna Government took no concrete action whatsoever, putting on an air of having nothing to do with it. The condemnations from European countries likewise remained mere words.
After all, there were only a few countries these days that dared stroke the Russian bear's whiskers.
Getting everyone to shout slogans was one thing, but actually intervening was another—better forget it! This sort of fearless international spirit was not something ordinary countries could afford to indulge in.
London
The British Government had just been celebrating the successful first step of its "divert the disaster eastward" plan when, before it had even enjoyed a few days of happiness, it received the dire news that the Russian Army was ravaging France.
Yes, Prime Minister Robert Cecil was furious. If the Russians kept carrying on like this, France, already left with only half a life, would truly breathe its last.
Had reason not prevailed, Robert Cecil would have ordered the Royal Navy into the Baltic Sea to block the Russians at their doorstep and intercept the ships transporting French laborers.
The main problem was that blocking their doorstep would achieve nothing. Even if the Baltic Sea were sealed off, the Russians could still go through the Mediterranean Sea, or simply make use of the Holy Roman Empire's railway network.
For the sake of the larger picture, Robert Cecil had no choice but to restrain himself. After all, if Anglo-Russian tensions were intensified at this time, their strategy of diverting disaster eastward would be dead in the water.
The current international situation was crystal clear. Once the Holy Roman Empire shifted its gaze from the continent to the seas, Britain's greatest challenge would arrive.
If they did not first cut the Russians down to size before