Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 512 024 Abstract Baltic Fleet

Going to the Baltic Fleet for inspection is actually to see the combat readiness of this fleet.

Under normal circumstances, the Russian Navy should cover the expedition to Gotland Island, but the actual situation is not like this.

Rear Admiral Nikolai Bostiko, who occupied there, only led a few transport ships and carried 1,800 soldiers to capture there. This did cause great panic on the Swedish side and eventually led to the surrender of the Swedish army in several fortresses in Finland.

However, the real situation is not so optimistic.

After hearing about this "feat" some time ago, Alexander awarded the Rear Admiral a first-class Order of St. Anna to commend his outstanding performance in this operation.

Although Gotland Island is very close to the Swedish coastline, it is also closer to the Swedish naval base. At the same time, except for a few ships operating on the Hanko Peninsula, most of the Baltic Fleet is still in Kotlin Island and various naval bases.

It is no wonder that Solovyov, an army officer, recommended Ushakov to him, and he actually agreed on the spot without going through the Navy Minister Chichakov.

Speaking of which, Ushakov's ability is indeed very strong. The son of a Guards sergeant, he fought 43 naval battles in his life, and he didn't even lose a warship. It can be said that it is also a miracle.

Even Suvorov experienced a battle failure when he was young, and in his later years he almost overturned in Switzerland because of the poor performance of friendly forces. He was able to successfully retreat only by being able to adapt to circumstances and the heroic fighting of Russian officers and soldiers.

Of course, he and Suvorov have the same problem. If the army has not fought with the French, it may not be able to test the gold content. As for the navy, after all, the main opponents of the Russian Navy are Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, so it is normal that they have not fought with the British.

There is actually another reason why Solovyov was appointed as the inspector. Alexander knew that Chichakov had too many enemies in the navy, so he had to find someone from outside who knew some naval knowledge to serve as the inspector to avoid causing a big mess.

This admiral is only 41 years old now. The fact that he has so many enemies is also related to his seniority.

Admiral Peter Khanikov, who is in charge of the Baltic Fleet, was the commander of the squadron on the "St. Helena" during the Battle of Reval more than a decade ago. Chichakov was just the captain of the 100-gun battleship "Rostislav" in the squadron.

Now Chichakov is in charge of the Navy Department. If it is just about seniority, it would be fine. He soon offended others in many ways. Those who quit like Ushakov are good.

It was not the first time that Solovyov had come into contact with the navy in his current experience. He had learned a lot on the way to the Caribbean with Senyavin before, and he had some understanding of navigation and fleet service.

Now he was asked to take a transport ship to Kotlin Island to investigate the navy's combat readiness.

According to information provided by many parties, Gotland Island has now been surrounded by the Swedish Navy, but Admiral Khanikov has been keeping his troops in place. Except for a frigate squadron going to the Hanko Peninsula and several warships moving back and forth in large ports, there were few actions.

This lack of active action was obviously problematic.

Solovyov's idea was that it had always been said that the quality of the Russian Navy was slightly better than that of the Army, even after the Navy went ashore, and now he really had to see the combat readiness.

Khanikov should not take him seriously. Although Solovyov was only a major general on the Army side, he also had a certain status because of his military exploits and as a general of the Guards who was more trusted by Grand Duke Constantine.

But the situation on the navy side was obviously different. Solovyov was also very curious about how his father got to know Admiral Ushakov.

This old admiral was a bachelor and had some religious tendencies. His uncle was a famous monk in Tambov.

But the atmosphere within the navy gave Solovyov a headache. He was already familiar with the situation of the "Grace", although he had never boarded the battleship.

Now, his approach was simple. He asked the sailors and gunners in several positions to go through the process, and he would probably understand the situation.

Then, what surprised him was that the gunners of the battleship "Floshevod" were very efficient, but the sailors' performance on the rigging was relatively average.

As for other warships, the sailors' performance was generally okay, but the gunners' performance was high and low.

It was just that if he told Admiral Khanikov about this matter, he would probably have to rely on his seniority to get away with it.

If this was the case, who knows what would happen if there was a war at sea in the next few months.

After he got off the "Grace", he was ready to check out the frigate.

Speaking of which, in the French and Russian navies, frigates are more commonly used. After all, when large ships are blocked, these more flexible warships are obviously more useful.

However, on a 22-gun frigate, Solovyov also met two acquaintances.

One was Mikhail Lazarev, who would be an admiral in the future, but now was just a trainee officer who had just graduated from the Naval Academy. He was more familiar with his sister and Yulia, who were classmates.

As for Bellingshausen, this man was the first to discover Antarctica and participated in Russia's first circumnavigation of the world. Antarctica and surrounding waters will have areas named after him in the future - naturally he will also discover it. .

Only now, both of them are serving on a small frigate "Melpomene".

The name comes from Greek mythology, which is the "goddess of tragedy". However, the performance of this ship should be pretty good. It has returned safely from several previous cruises. Even if you look at the history of this ship, it was launched in the Admiralty Shipyard in 1805. Until it was dismantled in 1823, the overall performance was good. It can even be said that it was lucky. Even if it encountered a superior enemy, it could always retreat safely.

This should be inseparable from training, and there are two future admirals and navigation experts on a ship. At least technically, Bellingshausen should be able to teach Lazarev a lot.

"I know you. Your sister is my sister's classmate at Smolny Palace. How about serving in the navy?"

"Fortunately, Your Majesty General, it's just that it's a bit strange that you are here as a supervisor. Usually the Navy Department sends personnel here."

"Misha!"

Bellingshausen thought that Lazarev was too young and was always afraid that he would say the wrong thing, especially the previous words he said without looking at the occasion.

"It doesn't matter. We are all acquaintances. His sister even visited my house. She is a very cute girl."

Solovyov also knew that Lazarev was more or less straightforward in his speech, that is to say, he was the big shot here. He knew that a naval cadet with this surname would always be a big shot, and their sister was Classmates and best friends, there is no big problem after all.

Of course, Solovyov didn't know that Lazarev was the second son, and all three of their brothers eventually became admirals, but he became the admiral in the end, with the highest abilities and achievements.

Bellingshausen's situation is another. If you have a world map at home and hang it relatively high, you can see his name appearing in the Antarctic waters.

In short, two admirals who will be very promising in the future have low status now.

"But I also want to know about you guys and whether the combat readiness of this ship is up to standard. I have been to several battleships before, and I will come to you after I come down."

"I think there is no problem. Our captain is not here today, but we can also go into battle after raising the sails."

"I think the morale is pretty good. The situation here is very good, and the warships are also very neat and clean. Obviously they are carefully maintained."

"Yes, I have participated in a round-the-world voyage. A clean environment is still very important."

"So, you've been to China?"

When Solovyov said this, Bellingshausen remembered something. The person who knows the most about China in Petersburg is probably this general, and he is the person close to the emperor.

If you answer this question well, you don't have to curry favor with your superiors, or your future will be very good.

"Our voyage has been to Japan and China. In comparison, the Chinese are quite friendly to us. If their emperor's edict hadn't required us not to dock at will, and the Russians could only trade on the northern border, we might still be there. I will stay in Guangzhou for a while. At least I have been ashore, and the Chinese city is pretty good.”

"Have you eaten on the street?"

"Chinese officials didn't let us go too far. We just drank a bowl of soup at the pier. The Chinese also put piroshki in the soup. We were still very impressed."

"I also want to go to China, but even if you are a general in the army, you are not like the navy. You can control your clippers to many places in the world. I have only been to Santo Domingo and New Spain before. This time The experience was still wonderful. ”

"Count, why don't you come to our navy? Our fleet commander is far inferior to Fyodor Fedorovich. If he were still here, we would have gone to sea to give the Swedes a look. ”

"How can you say that about Admiral Khanikov? Misha, I think"

"It doesn't matter, young people, don't worry so much. When I was his age, I was fighting outside with the generalissimo. Alexander Vasilyevich always let me speak at will."

Bellingshausen also heard it, and the count was obviously not satisfied with Admiral Khanikov.

So, he also let go.

"Since you said that, I also want to say that Misha is right. We should go out and teach the Swedes a lesson. During the last war, we did not let the Swedish sailors hear the name of our Baltic Fleet. I’m afraid, but they always treat us as a joke, fools who were defeated by a storm.”

"Yes, if we had insisted on the siege strategy, the king of Sweden would have been captured. But that king was the father of the current king of Sweden. Both of them looked stupid, and the son was even stupider, so we had to give them Check out the color.”

"It's a pity that our admiral used to be a good man, but he has become timid as he gets older. We all know that he is an expert in navigation. He defeated the Swedes when he was a captain, but now he is like this."

"It doesn't matter, we will always find a way to win. Do you have anything to say about naval construction?"

Beingshausen saw that the general stood on the side of the middle and lower-level officers, so he said: "To improve the treatment of the soldiers, at least we must ensure the food supply when we go out to sea. When we sailed around the world, there were many troubles because of this."

"I can understand this. The military supply factory built in Novgorod is responsible for this. It supplies the St. Petersburg and Vyborg Governorates, as well as the Baltic Fleet, just like the Ryazan factory supplies the Moscow Governorate."

"Count, our artillery should prepare more solid bullets and grapeshot to sink the enemy's warships and kill the enemy's personnel, so that we can win the battle."

Lazarev said this, and Solovyov looked at him and smiled: "You "You are a trainee officer. Do you think the shells on the ship are not good enough?"

"Yes, the shells are not prepared enough, and the artillery should be more powerful. We have to teach the enemy a lesson."

"I have heard about some problems. As for the supply of shells, we can mobilize the reserves for you. There should be more shells for a gun, and the charge should be larger. This is conducive to penetrating the enemy's wooden boards!"

"You know a little bit, much better than the previous inspectors."

Bellingshausen said so, and Solovyov also knew that at least these two would still have the ability to shine in the future. As long as there is no problem of shells not having eyes in the naval battle, the future is still very promising.

In terms of navigation, the professional navy is naturally more powerful, but to get more powerful naval guns, improve the living environment of sailors, and ensure the welfare of the navy, this matter was already a daily routine when Tsar Paul was still the crown prince.

However, with the administrative efficiency of the Naval Committee and the Navy Department, many places must have not been promoted in place.

As for what to do next, Solovyov is also very clear.

He is now willing to talk to Bellingshausen and Lazarev to learn about the situation of the Baltic Fleet.

In addition to the ship's equipment, there is also the "Flora", a ship of the same class as the "Goddess of Tragedy", which was lost in the Mediterranean due to high sea conditions. In fact, the design of the ship may also have some problems.

However, Bellingshausen and Lazarev are not worried about this, and the sailors on the ship are also not worried.

After all, the sea conditions encountered by the "Flora" were indeed very bad, and in the end most of the crew were able to escape, and it was not even called a problem.