Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

The situation in Karlskrona was indeed very bad. As for the communication ships and transport ships that tried to enter, they failed again and again, which made the cabinet unable to sit still.

Therefore, the Royal Navy had to send another fleet to Sweden to try to deliver supplies to Karlskrona and suppress the arrogant Russian army on the shore.

This was indeed not good news for the Russian army, but it had to be considered that the Baltic Fleet could now be dispatched. Starting from Tallinn and Kronstadt, after converging near the waters of Gotland Island, it could come to the strait that separates Denmark and Sweden and come here to block the door and fight.

Kron naturally wanted to do this. He was awarded a medal for his previous military exploits, but as the new commander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet, Ushakov had his own opinion.

The position of commander of the Baltic Fleet has been vacant for nearly 40 years. This time the Russian Navy is going to be dispatched again, and naturally it has to take into account the actual combat situation.

"Sir, I don't think what you said is an active fight and to destroy the enemy."

"But we can't be too hasty. We have to let the enemy into the Baltic Sea, take advantage of the wind direction, cut off their retreat at sea, and then find a way to annihilate the enemy in a naval battle, rather than waiting directly in the strait. If...if our ships are like the steamships advocated by that young man, and can also reach the speed of frigates, it is worth a try."

Ushakov obviously realized the future of steamships, but he was still willing to take a more conservative approach to fighting.

Kron was still very convinced of him, so he gave up the battleship "Grace" as Ushakov's flagship, and commanded the squadron on the "Warrior" himself.

And the warships that the Russian Navy went to sea, after a winter of replenishment, even added those small boats of the Swedish Navy and the Russian battleships that fell into the hands of the Swedes that year.

Now it's good. Although Senyavin's squadron was seized by the British because of the Lisbon Fleet Incident, many of the Baltic Fleet's main battleships were still left in the local ports at this time. In addition to the captured warships of the Swedish Navy, after a winter of replenishment, the strength has become stronger.

In this case, the Russian Navy had to learn from the advanced experience of the British, capture able-bodied men in the port, and then temporarily recruit seamen into the navy.

Considering that the British have been trying to blockade the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, making it impossible for Russia's trade to proceed smoothly, except for a few merchant fleets composed of fast sailing ships, the Russian fleet sailors are also idle at this time, plus some foreign sailors who make a living here.

The personnel are finally complete, and Ushakov and Kron are about to take action.

At this point, because their fleet is large, and some of the Baltic waterways are still very dangerous, they always move slowly, and they must ensure that the situation of the Spanish and French naval fleets does not occur.

In this way, when the Royal Navy fleet passed the strait between Denmark and Sweden and came to the Baltic Sea, they were also surprised.

The Russians didn't block the door here, and it seemed that the operation would go very smoothly. The entire squadron passed through the strait, and it seemed very smooth.

But when they arrived at Karlskrona, the Russian coastal artillery soon discovered them and used the heavy artillery left by the Swedes to shoot at the sea.

It looked good no matter how you looked at it, but the British didn't want to suffer any losses here. Even if the Russian army only controlled the coastal artillery on one side and deployed coastal artillery and infantry artillery there, it would pose a great threat to naval ships.

In this way, Sumares decided to use several third-level ships to siege the Kostroma Regiment of the artillery. After suppressing the firepower there, he prepared to supply the British troops trapped in the naval base.

It seemed that everything was going well. In the Russian headquarters on the shore, Solovyov's expression was very serious.

He didn't know the direction of the Baltic Fleet's action, so he was a little worried.

However, if the British ran away, it would be in line with his wishes. After taking Karlskrona, he could continue to move westward, and the Grand Duke Constantine's army should soon be dispatched to join the battle and advance to Jönköping. Regardless of whether the Swedes had internal support, the war should be over this time.

However, the British did not run away. Even though Moore was injured by a sniper, he had no intention of retreating, and the supporting naval fleet did not bring any instructions from the cabinet or the royal family at this time.

Speaking of which, because George III's youngest daughter Princess Amalia was in poor health recently, the old king had completely lost the ability to perform his duties as king, and the Prince of Wales became the regent.

This is a delicate situation. The contradictions in the British cabinet are also very serious. The Duke of Portland is busy coordinating the interests of all parties, and it also touches on the thorny issue of the royal family having a regent.

For the British, a victory is indeed needed to boost morale. In the case of the peninsula, only Arthur Wellesley was able to repeatedly defeat the French army without Napoleon himself.

But in Sweden, the situation was very bad, because Sweden, their teammate, suffered repeated defeats, causing the British expeditionary army to be trapped in Karlskrona. In short, they should send people to provide support.

Regarding the negotiations, the British side also received a letter from Count Vorontsov, who lived in the UK after his retirement. The meaning was very simple. He asked the British to release the fleet sailors detained in Portsmouth so that the trapped British troops could be released. Get away safely, and be able to carry the flag, cannon, and all weapons.

That is what is said, but neither the House of Lords nor the House of Commons agree with this statement.

Especially the House of Commons. This zoo has exploded due to the opinions raised by the Russian side. It has instantly turned into a vegetable market. This cannot be solved by Mr. Speaker on the podium while ringing the bell and shouting orders.

Therefore, Sumares came to the Baltic Sea only to provide supplies to the army here.

However, when they came this way, they happened to catch up with the Russian navy who was still on the way and did not cruise in this water area. The supplies were sent up, but they knew nothing about the situation of the Russians.

Ushakov and Krone originally expected to arrive in the waters near Karlskrona first and send out frigates for reconnaissance, but found nothing.

According to this plan, since the British "did not come", they were going to blockade Karlskrona.

No one expected that the British would arrive early.

As for the current position of the British, Solovyov could see clearly from the shore that they were definitely not short of supplies. It was also a prudent behavior to be anchored at sea and continue to transport supplies to the shore.

If the Baltic Fleet suddenly comes out at this time, even the rowing fleet will cause considerable losses to the British. After all, it is better to be in the port than at sea.

Moreover, the British still remember what Nelson did during the Battle of the Nile, so they tried not to send sailors ashore.

It was under such circumstances that the frigate "Flora" sent by Ushakov had approached Karlskrona, and observers saw the British battleship from the top of the mast.

As for the reaction of the British, they only saw a large frigate and didn't pay too much attention.

The "Flower" didn't care about this. After turning, it immediately drove in the direction of the main force and reported the situation to Ushakov.

At this time, he also decided to hold a meeting and ask all captains and senior commanders to come to the "Grace".

Crown clearly supported a war, and launched a direct assault, which was in line with what he had learned in England.

But how to fight is also a problem.

"The British must be prepared. Our surprise attack must be accurate, adjust the position according to the wind direction, block their way back, and then launch the attack."

After all, Ushakov is old and will not be as proactive as he was in the Mediterranean in the past. This has a lot to do with the fact that the Baltic Fleet is actually missing a squadron.

Krona's way of fighting was too aggressive. It would have been nice if Senyavin was here, but he was still detained there.

These captains are now beginning to have heated exchanges, that is, in front of Ushakov. If there is a different fleet commander, they will probably fight.

Seeing this situation, Krone came to ask Ushakov for his opinion.

"Commander-in-Chief, what do you think?"

"Of course we have to fight. As I said just now, we have to cut off their retreat. We can't just block them in the middle like Nelson did."

Speaking of which, when the Russians themselves said it, it was always Nelson who copied Ushakov's tactics and later showed his power in the Nile and Trafalgar.

However, the person involved, Ushakov, didn't care much about this kind of thing. He was just thinking about dealing with the British. It was impossible to annihilate them all, especially because the opponent's several large warships had very strong firepower. The last time his side won a big victory, he was still the supervisor. Solovyov directly shut down the fleet commander on the "Grace" and replaced it with Krone's command. This was a great victory.

Now that he wanted to take action, he just wanted to severely damage the enemy and preserve his own strength as much as possible. After all, the advantage was not that great, and the opponent's formation was somewhat defensive, but he did not pursue the "Flower".

However, given the condition of this frigate, it is naturally faster than the communication ship of the British Far East Fleet, and they do not have the ability to catch up.

By the time Ushakov made up his mind, the British's main business was still transporting supplies to the shore.

Sir Moore was also asked to return to England for treatment as he was now wounded.

However, he still declined the fleet's request and said that no matter what, he would stay here with his brothers until the last moment.

In other words, regardless of whether it was a safe retreat, annihilation of the entire army, or surrender with a white flag, he would stay here.

Moreover, Sir Moore's physical condition has improved a bit in recent days, so he does not plan to leave.

In addition, he is very clear that he has been very unlucky for so many years in the army. He has been hit by artillery shells and bullets countless times. When he is at sea or during war, who knows what will happen. .

So, he didn't get on the boat, but he didn't know whether this decision was right or wrong.

Ushakov had already acted quickly to try to block the retreat of the British fleet, and he also sent an envoy ashore to inform Solovyov of the situation.

The meaning is quite simple, that is, if the Baltic Fleet wins the naval battle, the army will need to send troops to support and seize Asp Island, the only way to go to sea from Karlskrona.

As long as they control this place, even if the British send all the warships they can mobilize, it will not help.

After receiving the letter, Soloviev also began to mobilize troops, and joined two infantry regiments with the Guards Marine Infantry to Kalmar in the rear.

There were already Russian transport ships on standby there. In the entire Baltic Sea, only Gotland Island was still under the control of the Swedes. There were no garrisons on the island opposite the land of Kalmar Province, which was naturally a complete advantage for the Russian army.

However, Soloviev saw Ushakov's plan. Because he did not meet to discuss the battle plan, and the communication means at that time were very backward, the lack of communication always made him lack confidence.

But Ushakov's position in the navy was similar to that of his master Suvorov in the army, so he could only choose to trust his plan.

Moreover, the army had to be sent out for cooperation, and some artillery had to be arranged from the nearby woods to approach Asp Island for close support.

Although it was 1 verst from the beach, firing a cannon was basically an atmosphere group.

The Russian fleet has also started to move at this time. In fact, they have blocked the main channel from Karlskrona to the open waters. The British have a problem no matter which direction they come from. That is, if they come out from any waterway, as long as the Russians find them first, it will be a perfect T-shaped formation.

This is not just a matter of getting beaten. Ushakov also noticed the situation. When the British sentry post on Asp Island sounded the alarm, the fleet inside realized the trouble.

However, if we talk about the fleet lineup of this British Royal Navy, it is the lineup that the Mediterranean Fleet has won many battles before, but now it has been set up.

The Russian army is preparing for battle in full swing, and even the infantry on Kalmar's side preparing to land on Asp Island have boarded the ship one after another.

The action must be fast, and the British inside are now getting anxious.

However, it was agreed that they would start fighting when they saw the enemy, but nothing happened this time.

The British wanted the fleet to break out from the widest waterway east of Asp Island, which was the only feasible option, especially when the Russian army attacked Asp Island and the navy sent a fleet to support and cover the transport ships.

On the Russian side, Ushakov originally wanted to block the gate, but now he also saw the opportunity.

However, he still had the original opinion that it was impossible to annihilate the enemy fleet, and the goal was to inflict heavy damage. (End of this chapter)