Crimean Wars

Charge of the Light Brigade - 1854 Crimean War

A 1994 informal treaty between the United States, Great Britain, and Ukraine has those two western countries guaranteeing Ukraine's territorial integrity. The new Ukraine government is invoking that treaty now that Russian forces have left their Black Sea bases to occupy key points in the Crimea Peninsula. Neocons have wanted a war with Russia for over half a century and are attacking President Obama for not threatening war (Although, were he to threaten war they would attack him for that too).

While I seriously doubt that the western powers want to go to war over Crimea, it has happened before.

The Original Crimean War

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
...
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
  Rode the six hundred. ~ Charge of the Light Brigade ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson

In the 1850's, the Russian Empire had disputes with the Ottoman Empire about Orthodox Christian access to holy sites so the Russians invaded Moldavia responding to French actions to pressure the Ottomans in Palestine. This frightened the Austrians and angered the British. The Russians eventually withdrew from Moldavia but by then the war fever in Britain and France was so hot the governments were forced to go to war against their better judgement.

They choose the Crimea because of its Russian naval ports. The war dragged on for two years with a half million military deaths, mostly from disease, before it just kind of petered out. Besides all the death, nothing much was accomplished.

The Russians were bankrupted by the war and had to sell Alaska to the United States so the war did indirectly lead to Sarah Palin.

The only good to come of the war was Florence Nightingale.