Folding map of the Danube theatre of the Crimean War

The first hosilities of the Crimean War were when the Russians occupied the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and massed their forces at the Danube, facing the Ottomans on the opposite shore. An Ottoman ultimatum to withdraw was ignored by the Russians, so the Turks crossed the river forcing the Russians back slightly before winter ended the campaign season. This map of The Danube Region was published in February 1854, during the winter lull; in the Spring the Russians counter-attacked, crossing the Danube, but, in the face of British, French & Austrian support for the Turks, withdrew in September. Focus of the war then moved to the Crimea itself.