Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

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

Therefore, the Royal Navy decided to send another fleet to Sweden in an attempt to deliver supplies to Karlskrona and at the same time suppress the arrogant Russian troops on the shore.

This is indeed not good news for the Russian army, but we have to consider that the Baltic Fleet can now be dispatched, starting from Tallinn and Kronstadt, and after converging near the waters of Gotland Island, it can come to the strait separating Denmark and Sweden to block the gate and fight.

Kron naturally wanted to do this, as he had been awarded a medal for his previous military exploits. However, as the new commander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet, Ushakov had his own opinions.

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

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

"But we can't be too hasty. We need 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 instead of waiting directly in the strait. If...if our ships are like the steamships that young man advocates, and can also reach the speed of frigates, it would be worth a try."

Ushakov was clearly aware of the future of steamships, but he still preferred to take a more conservative approach to warfare.

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.

Moreover, after a winter of replenishment, the Russian Navy's warships that went out to sea were even supplemented with small boats of the Swedish Navy and the Russian battleships that had fallen into the hands of the Swedes.

Now that's good. Although Seniavin's squadron was seized by the British because of the Lisbon Fleet Incident, many battleships of the Baltic Fleet were still left in the domestic ports. In addition, the Swedish Navy had these captured warships. After a winter of replenishment, its strength became even stronger.

Under such circumstances, the Russian Navy had to learn from the advanced experience of the British, capturing able-bodied men at the ports and temporarily recruiting seafarers into the navy.

Considering that the British had been trying to blockade the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, preventing Russia's trade from proceeding smoothly, the Russian fleet sailors had nothing to do at this time, except for a merchant fleet composed of a few fast sailing ships, plus some foreign sailors who made a living here.

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

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

So they were also surprised when the Royal Navy fleet passed through the strait between Denmark and Sweden and arrived in the Baltic Sea.

The Russians did not block the door here, so it looked like the operation would go very smoothly. The entire squadron passed through the channel, and it also looked very smooth.

However, when they arrived in Karlskrona, the Russian coastal artillery quickly discovered them and used the heavy artillery left by the Swedes to fire at the sea.

It looks good no matter how you look at it, but the British don't want to suffer any losses here. Even if the Russian army only controls the coastal artillery on one side and deploys coastal artillery and infantry guns there, it will pose a considerable threat to naval ships.

As a result, Sumares decided to use several third-level ships to encircle and attack the Kostroma Regiment at the artillery fort. After suppressing the firepower there, he prepared to supply the British troops trapped in the naval base.

Everything seemed to be going well. In the Russian military headquarters on the shore, Solovyov's expression became very serious.

He didn't know the direction of the Baltic Fleet's movement, 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. Moreover, Archduke Constantine would soon dispatch legions to join the battle and advance towards Jönköping. Regardless of whether the Swedes had internal support or not, this war should be over.

However, the British refused to run away. Even though Moore was wounded by a sniper, he had no intention of retreating. Moreover, 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, has been in poor health recently, the old king has completely lost the ability to perform his royal duties, and the Prince of Wales has become the regent.

This is a delicate situation. The conflicts within the British cabinet are also serious. The Duke of Portland is busy coordinating the interests of all parties, and he also has to deal with the thorny issue of the royal family having a regent.

The British did need a victory 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 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 leave safely and carry the military flag, cannons and all weapons.

That being said, neither the House of Lords nor the House of Commons agrees with this statement.

Especially in the House of Commons, this zoo has exploded because of the opinions raised by the Russian side and has instantly turned into a vegetable market. This is something that the Speaker cannot solve even by ringing the bell and shouting orders on the podium.

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

However, when they did this, they happened to encounter the Russian Navy which was still on the way and not patrolling in this area. The supplies were delivered, but they knew nothing about the Russians' situation.

Ushakov and Kron originally planned to arrive in the waters near Karlskrona first and send out a frigate for reconnaissance, but they found nothing.

According to this plan, since the British "didn't come", they would blockade Karlskrona.

No one could have imagined that the British would arrive early.

As for the current situation of the British, Solovyov saw it clearly from the shore. They certainly had no shortage of supplies. Staying anchored in the sea and continuously transporting supplies to the shore was also a relatively cautious behavior.

If the Baltic Fleet suddenly attacked at this time, even if it was a rowing team, it would cause considerable losses to the British. After all, being in the harbor is not as good as being on the sea.

Moreover, the British also remembered what Nelson did during the Battle of the Nile, so they tried not to withdraw sailors ashore.

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

As for the British reaction, they just saw a large frigate and didn't care too much.

The Flora didn't care about this. After turning, it immediately headed in the direction of the main force and reported the situation to Ushakov. At this time, he also decided to hold a meeting and asked all captains and senior commanders to come to the Grace.

Kron was a clear-cut supporter of fighting a war, and launching a direct assault, which was consistent with what he had learned in Britain.

But how to fight is also a problem.

"The British must be prepared. Our raid must be accurate. We must adjust our position according to the wind direction, block their retreat, and then launch the attack."

After all, Ushakov is old and will not be as proactive as he was in the Mediterranean. This is also largely related to the fact that the Baltic Fleet is actually missing a squadron.

Kron's way of fighting is too radical. It would be better if Senyavan was here, but he is still being held there.

These captains now began to have a heated exchange in front of Ushakov. If it were another fleet commander, I am afraid they would all fight.

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

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

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

Actually, when the Russians themselves say it, it is always Nelson who copied Ushakov's tactics and later demonstrated his prowess at the Nile and Trafalgar.

However, the person involved, Ushakov, did not care much about such things. He was only thinking about dealing with the British. It was impossible to annihilate them completely, especially since the enemy's several large warships had strong firepower. The last time their side won a big victory, Solovyov, who was in charge of supervision, directly locked up the fleet commander on the "Grace" and replaced him with Kron to command.

Now that he was about to take action, he only wanted to inflict heavy damage on 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 more or less prepared. They just did not pursue the "Flora Goddess".

However, given the situation of this frigate, it was naturally running faster than the communication ship of the British Far East Fleet, and they did 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 injured.

However, he politely 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, no matter whether it is a safe retreat, a complete defeat or surrender, he will stay here.

Moreover, Sir Moore's physical condition has improved a little in recent days, so he has no intention of leaving.

Besides this, he was very clear that he had always had terrible luck in all his years in the army. He had been hit by shells and bullets countless times. Now that he was at sea, especially during wartime, who knew what would happen.

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

Ushakov had moved quickly to try to block the British fleet's retreat, and he had sent messengers ashore to inform Solovyov of the situation.

The meaning is simple. If the Baltic Fleet wins the naval battle, the army will need to send troops to support it and seize Asp Island, which is the only way for Karlskrona to go to the sea.

As long as we control this place, it will be of no avail even if the British send all the warships they can mobilize.

After receiving the letter, Solovyov also began to mobilize troops, merging two infantry regiments with the Guards Naval Infantry and heading to Kalmar in the rear.

There are already Russian transport ships on standby there. In the entire Baltic Sea, only Gotland Island is still under the control of the Swedes. There are no troops stationed on the island opposite the land of Kalmar Province, so the Russian army naturally has a complete advantage.

However, Solovyov saw Ushakov's plan. Because they did not meet to discuss the battle plan, and the means of communication 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 mentor Suvorov in the army, so he had no choice but to trust his plan.

In addition, the army should be dispatched for cooperation, and some artillery should be deployed from the nearby woods to approach Asp Island to provide close-range support.

Although, it is about one verst from the beach, and firing a cannon is basically just for atmosphere.

The Russian fleet had also begun to take action at this time. They had actually blocked the main waterway from Karlskrona to the open water. The British would have a problem no matter which direction they came from. That is, no matter which waterway they came out from, as long as the Russians discovered them first, it would be a perfect T-formation.

This was 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 that there was trouble.

However, speaking of the fleet lineup of the British Royal Navy, it was the lineup that had won many battles in the Mediterranean Fleet before, but now it has been tricked.

The Russian army was making intensive preparations for battle, and even the infantrymen from Kalma who were preparing to land on Asp Island had already boarded the ships one after another.

We need to act fast, the British inside are now getting anxious.

However, although we had agreed to fight the enemy as soon as we saw them, nothing happened this time.

The British thought that the fleet would break out from the widest waterway east of Asp Island. This was also 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 door, but now he also saw the fighter planes.

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