Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 515 027 Supervisor of the Baltic Fleet?
When Adela came back, Solovyov felt relieved to leave the house to her.

"Adela, Adela, how can I say hello to you? You have to think about it."

"Okay, brother, don't worry about me. I'll come back to help you take care of the household affairs. Once my sister-in-law recovers, everything will be fine."

"If your sister-in-law weans the child, she and I will be careless."

Although Adela was still a virgin, she knew a little about this kind of thing. For example, when Solovyov spent the night with Madame Recamier, she could hear the moans of Madame Recamier clearly when she was in the maid's room at the door.
"Although I want to say that this is God's will, but brother, you are indeed too lustful."

She was the only one who stated the problem so bluntly. Since it was Solovyov who picked her up and raised her, he naturally would not have any objection.

"Do you have a man you like? Otherwise, I'll have to find you an officer with some potential."

"This again. Why do you always want to find a man for each of us? Besides, I'm not in a hurry to get married at my age. I don't want to be like Sister Katya. Brother, if I really want to get married, I will naturally tell you which one I like, and then you can help me find one. Now what you need to do is to rest for a few days and go back to Petersburg."

In fact, it was this stepsister who could control him the most, and he really fell for it.

As for returning to St. Petersburg, he would naturally continue to serve as an army general and inspector of the Baltic Fleet.

Alexander originally wanted to take him to Erfurt, after all, this kid was indeed recognized as Napoleon's nephew, but considering that Caulaincourt sent a message asking about the situation of Catherine and Anna.

Under such circumstances, Napoleon might choose to find a new wife, after all, there are provisions related to divorce in the Civil Code.

At this time, it would be better for Solovyov not to go. Besides, the navy still needs him to supervise.

Admiral Khanikov's performance was indeed unsatisfactory, so there was a call in St. Petersburg to ask Admiral Ushakov to take over the command of the Baltic Fleet and command maritime operations against Sweden and Britain.

You know, the Russian Navy has experienced many failures in small-scale battles. During the time when Solovyov went home to accompany her childbirth, the Russian troops on Gotland Island had surrendered to the Swedes and were repatriated. The "Tragedy" cruised very successfully near Gotland Island and successfully shook off the pursuit of two Swedish frigates.

Bellingshausen's performance is indeed outstanding and worthy of his historical status as a navigator, but he is not well-known yet.

As for Admiral Hanikov, his ideas were cautious and conservative. In the next stage, the Russian Navy would reach the Hanko Peninsula, which was the throat of the Gulf of Finland. After the surrender of the Swedish garrison in Finland, this base would be the only way to advance to the Aland Islands and the Swedish mainland.

For the Russian navy of any era, they still need this place as a hub and important garrison base. Therefore, the subsequent action of the Baltic Fleet was to move from Kronstadt on Kotlin Island to the Hanko Peninsula, and then use it to confront the Swedish-British joint navy.

It's just that Hanikov has been hesitant and he is not ready to act.

Solovyov was not in a hurry. If he was lucky, the "Varyag" would have been almost completed in April and had already arrived at Kotlin Island. The sailors were still getting familiar with the ship. They had to avoid being like the stupid British who capsized the new ship.

Even for the "Grace", it was very troublesome when it encountered storms when sailing in the past. It was fatal for a small boat and it was obviously a serious injury for a first-class warship like this. It took a long time to repair it after returning from a cruise in Pomerania.

This time, the preparations were finally completed before departure. Although the current condition of the Russian Navy is relatively poor and most of the Baltic Fleet has gone to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the fleets that remained at home are actually stronger than the Swedish Navy.

To make an intuitive comparison, the two largest warships in the Swedish Navy are the "Gustav IV Adolf" and the other "Vladislav", the latter of which does not sound like a Swedish warship either.

In fact, this was a 74-gun battleship that was captured by the Russian army in a naval battle during the last Russo-Swedish War.

The Swedish Navy also had ships captured by the Russian Navy, and even their names were not changed. They still served in the Russian Navy and even inherited the names of the ships.
As for the Russian Navy, in addition to the "Grace" and "Varyag" both of which are equipped with 130 guns, there are also 120-gun battleships and 100-gun battleships under construction, as well as 80-gun and 74-gun battleships still in service. Overall, it still has an advantage.

The mainstream battleships of the Swedish Navy were all relatively small 64-gun battleships, and only one of them had been modified to be equipped with 74 guns.

Even if we call the British fleet over, that would be an episode in which I have the advantage.

In St. Petersburg, Khanikov was indeed considered to be somewhat cowardly.

Because of this issue, Solovyov also made a special visit to Ushakov who had just arrived in St. Petersburg.

Unlike his master Suvorov, who always spoke in an abstract way, Ushakov spoke very directly.

"Count, you are an army general and have not experienced any naval battles, but you have some experience from the cruise to Santo Domingo and the North American coast. This is better than someone who knows nothing at all."

"Say, maybe you could be put in command of the canoe crew?"

"You could say that! When we were fighting the Turks in the Mediterranean, and when we were on a joint cruise with the British to blockade the French, we were proactive, instead of keeping the entire battleship squadron here."

"But the Emperor has not yet made it clear what action to take. Admiral Hanikov is still in office, so it is difficult for us to make personnel adjustments. As you know, the army and the navy always have this kind of trouble together."

"This is inevitable. Although the Baltic Fleet has a commander, it has not had a commander-in-chief for nearly fifty years. It is inevitable that there will be some problems in obeying orders."

There was another problem with Khanikov, which none of them really cared about, and that was the only naval battle this man had participated in in his life, which was a naval battle with the Swedes, as deputy to Vice Admiral Musin-Pushkin, and it was a relatively large one, and the rest of the time he was on blockade missions or operating with the British.

He is probably better at sailing and has the qualifications to be the commander of the Baltic Fleet. "But I am from the army. Even if I am now the inspector of the Baltic Fleet appointed by His Majesty, it is only a temporary position. It can even be said that my interference in the fleet is not justified. We have a voice, and we hope that you will take up this position."

"It probably won't work now, but if you want to find some young naval commanders, those young men who have performed well recently can be considered. If you come to think of it, the Minister of the Navy is a junior to me, so I can give him advice."

"Although it sounds unreliable, we have let some young naval officers with long-distance sailing experience serve as commanders of frigates. The duties of battleships are normally different from those of frigates, so it is not easy to interfere."

"Why does it sound like Nelson's stuff?"

As Ushakov spoke, he obviously mentioned Nelson with some admiration, the kind of admiration that an old man has for a young man.

"I have limited information at hand, but some young officers with experience in war can always replace some of the old sailors, and in the White Flag Squadron going out to war, frigates can also be used..."

"That's the only way to do it. You're quite clear in what you said."

As for Hanikov, he could do nothing about the inspector sent by the army, who was patrolling and investigating with the Tsar's orders all day long. He could only accept it. After all, the inspector's official rank was not as high as his, but his investigative authority was very large.

As for promoting a group of young officers to serve as commanders on the frigate, many of them had experience in previous voyages and patrols, so he had nothing to say.

The bigger problem may be that Khanikov is unwilling to lead the fleet away from Kotlin Island to fight. The 65-year-old veteran is still afraid of fighting the British.

But Alexander will not replace him for the time being. After all, Napoleon is preparing to invite the Tsar to Erfurt for a meeting. His attention is on diplomacy. What's more, the battle situation at sea will not affect the final outcome of the entire war.

For the Russian army, even if the battle is from spring to summer, the blockade at sea or the heavy losses in coastal areas will not affect the results of land operations. The Russian army currently controls most of Finland, and even the vanguard troops have reached the Swedish mainland in the north.

Even though the land operation has been thwarted now, the Russian army still has a final plan of action, which is to march from the sea to attack the Swedish mainland after the Gulf of Bothnia freezes in winter, and finally defeat the Swedish army in a battle.

So, Alexander actually didn't care very much about what happened.

Unless the navy capsizes in the bay again like in the last war, this low-probability event is unlikely to happen again.

In Alexander's opinion, at least Khanikov was very good at running away, so handing the entire fleet over to him would at least avoid the result of total annihilation.

In such a weird atmosphere, there are a series of strange operations at present. Even if Ushakov came back, he could not take charge of the fleet. He was just a consultant in St. Petersburg. It is even possible that Alexander consulted more about the Black Sea Fleet.

As for Solovyov, he also went to Kotlin Island these days and continued to inspect the situation of the Baltic Fleet in the hot summer.

The "Varyag", the latest ship to join the fleet, will definitely not participate in the battle, as the commissioning of the ship is still in progress.

These days, Solovyov was patrolling the artillery ships in the harbor.

Battery ships refer to some relatively old or understaffed warships that are docked in a certain water area of ​​the port and used as warships to cover the waterway.

The Russian army is so arrogant that they use battleships that are about ten years old to dock here as artillery positions. If it were another country's navy, they might even accuse them of being a spendthrift.

For example, many of the warships used by the Swedish Navy have been in service for more than 20 or even 30 years, while the Russian Navy has
The quality of shipbuilding is not a big problem. The Russian Navy is also very large, and the quality of its warships is not bad compared to others. It even has advantages in some aspects. For example, the battleships of the Baltic Fleet always have strong combat effectiveness of a single ship; if it is the Black Sea Fleet, it has been able to maintain a strong battleship squadron, and its combat effectiveness can be guaranteed for a long time - it's just that damn flagship, no matter whether it is a sailing ship, an ironclad ship or a dreadnought, even if it is replaced by a modern battleship, there is always some problem with it. It doesn't need others to fight it, it will have an accident and sink first.

What Solovyov heard the sailors say most was that they hoped to be able to join the battle. If they continued to stay in the harbor, it would really be of no use.

It seems that Hanikov will definitely have to participate in the operation in the next period of time, and he will have to accompany them as an inspector.

When Ushakov came to Kotlin Island, he also reminded Hanikov of the problem. This old man had good business ability, but he always wanted to run away and lacked patience in fighting and performing his duties.

Therefore, when Alexander was about to leave for Erfurt to meet Napoleon, he specifically asked Alexander for permission when he returned to the palace to report.

"Your Majesty, I think the commander of the Baltic Fleet is indeed responsible for commanding this fleet, but if he retreats in the face of the enemy and tarnishes the honor of the navy, what should be done?"

"If you are afraid of the consequences, you can take a deputy commander with you to command on the Grace and take over Hanikov's command."

Alexander actually agreed. Obviously, he also wanted to show his own strength on the Baltic Sea issue by taking advantage of the Russian army's victory in the battle. Especially if he wanted to win at sea, the effect would be more obvious.

"But this is only a temporary permission. When you accompany the fleet on the sea, you can take this deputy commander on board. Who do you want to choose to go on board with you?"

Alexander even looked at the Chichakov father and son standing beside him - the elder Chichakov was also an admiral, he had been retired for 11 years, and this time he came to the Winter Palace for an audience because while Alexander let Ushakov be his advisor, he always needed someone to balance the opinions.

Old Chichakov was the calmer one among the admirals, while Ushakov was more radical. Some even said that if old Chichakov had been willing to expand his victory, he would have even captured Gustav III, and the unfortunate foreigner would not have had to capsize in the bay.

Alexander was willing to give this power, but the attitude of the Admiralty and the two advisers was also crucial.

(End of this chapter)