Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The Azores joined the British, French, and Russian fleet in December 1826.

But upon arriving here, Lazarev already sensed the serious atmosphere.

Following British advice, they hoped that all parties would exercise restraint and sign a peace treaty after gaining control of the Ottoman navy, thereby guaranteeing final peace.

However, the British were disappointed by the fact that the Ottomans refused and even demanded that the Pasha of Egypt send reinforcements in preparation for an attack on the Peloponnese.

Thus, without the intervention of other European countries, the only way to finally resolve the Greek problem was to disarm the Ottoman Empire's navy, in accordance with the London Declaration of 1826.

Therefore, Royal Navy Vice Admiral Edward Codrington received orders from the First Lord of the Admiralty and the First Sea Lord to proceed to the southwestern waters of the Peloponnese.

The Bay of Navarre, a natural harbor, has been a good port since the Greek city-state era. However, the nearby Spartans did not achieve much at sea, and Laconia, also known as Messenia, had relatively little experience in maritime navigation.

Although the Greeks of the Classical period did not perform well at sea, this place was an important coastal hub that facilitated the naval fleet's control of the eastern Mediterranean.

The Battle of Actium, which determined the fate of the Roman Empire's giants, was not far from here.

It is located on the Peloponnese peninsula, guarding strategic passes on both the north and south sides.

The Ottoman Empire's naval fleet was present, and its stance was quite clear.

The other side seemed to have no intention of making peace. In a letter to his family, Codrington believed that naval battle was inevitable, but he still ordered his British captains not to fire first.

Solovyov was in St. Petersburg at the time and was unaware of this trick. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have believed his ears that the British had issued such an order.

In addition to the Royal Navy, a French naval squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Henri de Rigny followed, while a Russian naval squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Van Heden protected the British flank.

Codrington and Ottoman fleet commander Ibrahim argued for a long time. The Ottoman side protested the frequent attacks on Ottoman troops by the British, who were hired by the Greeks, and demanded that Codrington restrain the behavior of these soldiers.

Incidentally, it also served as a warning to France and Russia, whose volunteer forces in Greece were also dealing a significant blow to the Ottoman army, especially the daring French light cavalry and Russian light infantry, who repeatedly harassed a series of Ottoman fortresses.

However, Codrington had limited control over these people; he could only inform the British officers at most. But the British were much more enthusiastic about restoring Greece's freedom than about their allies.

Lord Byron and his men brought their own food and fought desperately; their initiative was truly remarkable.

Thus, the argument failed.

Moreover, neither side was entirely honest. While Lazarev was commanding the Azov as a Russian squadron, Rear Admiral Van Heden did not choose the larger Gangut as his flagship, but instead opted for this new ship.

Of course, the Azov performed exceptionally well in training, and being a new ship, it was also a key reason why the fleet commander favored this warship.

Lazarev's naval officers were generally young and eager to prove themselves in naval battles.

But it's not certain that a war will break out yet. Moreover, the British are facing the main force of the Ottoman Empire head-on, the French are facing the Egyptian navy they trained, and the Russian fleet has to wait for orders from the British before it can move into the battlefield.

If British frigates were to approach Ottoman warships and eventually engage in combat, something would inevitably happen.

Meanwhile, Codrington was observing from his flagship, HMS Asia, as the Ottoman Empire protested the British continued support for the Greek military operation, prompting Ibrahim to take action, though he was initially forced to back down by the British.

Neither side intended to open fire at this time, but Codrington noticed the Ottoman warships anchored in the bay, including battleships and heavy frigates, demonstrating that the Sultan had invested heavily in his navy.

If a combined fleet had not arrived in Navarino Bay, Codrington would have taken a more cautious approach.

He had not fully considered the peace factor and had already ordered his men to half-open the gun emplacements, ready to engage in battle at any time.

The Russians will likely join the battle later, as they are on the outer edge and will need to sail into the bay to engage in combat.

Of course, the British also knew that after the 20,000 Egyptian troops arrived on the coast of the Peloponnese, they began to plunder the land of Messenia, especially by requisitioning food from the Greeks and destroying their villages, leaving the survivors to fend for themselves.

Codrington spotted the Azov behind him and signaled to the Russians to join the "show of force" operation, but made no move to fire.

It was simply a demonstration that the combined fleet had more battleships and heavy frigates than the Ottoman Empire, hoping to subdue the Sultan's fleet through blockade and show of force.

However, while his plan was well-thought-out, he had to consider the situation of his opponent.

The Ottoman Empire had an astonishing number of warships, frigates, and gunboats, totaling 80, not counting the oar-powered ships and fireboats.

They've learned something from the Russians, and now they're going to send out their fire ships.

Then the Royal Navy's forward escort ship, HMS Dartmouth, spotted the Ottomans placing a fire ship ahead, seemingly preparing for a fire attack. Captain Thomas Jarros then signaled for the Ottomans to cease their actions and launched a small boat to approach and hailed them.

However, the British were met with a barrage of gunfire from the Ottoman side.

The British now realized that "a war had broken out," and all the captains, under the command of their commander, opened their gun ports. All the warships were now firing from a stationary position, while only the Russian fleet had to move behind using the wind.

Upon hearing the artillery fire, Lazarev instructed Nakhimov to urge the gunners to take up their combat positions.

This was the first real battle they had been waiting for. Large-scale battles were rare in the Mediterranean, and when fighting the Turks, the first thing to do was to take down their small, dilapidated ships.

Unlike this time, there was no chance for a big attack. Then the British and French fleets began to stand and fire at the Ottoman warships. The fierce cannon fire quickly damaged the small Ottoman ships in the front row, and the fire ships that were set on fire did not have time to launch a surprise attack on the British fleet. The Royal Navy's escort ships used their cannons to take them down.

The real trouble came from the Ottoman warships in the rear and the fire ships in front of the French. The French flagship was set ablaze by the fire ships, but the French sailors were brave and kept going to put out the fire. The French frigates behind them kept bombarding the Egyptian warships and finally managed to suppress them.

Meanwhile, the Russian fleet still needs to take action and launch a surprise attack into the Gulf.

Lazarev then saw the British flagship HMS Asia exchanging fire with the Ottoman flagship, but the Egyptian naval flagship next to it remained motionless.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know either, sir."

They watched this strange scene, wondering why the Egyptian flagship had gone offline. Codrington received a signal from Egyptian fleet commander Muharrambey, who indicated that he would not join the battle.

Thus, Codrington ordered the Royal Navy warships to relentlessly attack and charge at the Ottoman warships. Even after the wind improved, some frigates weighed anchor and charged forward.

The attack by the "Albion" was somewhat reckless; they encountered crossfire from the Ottoman warships, which put them in a critical situation.

However, luck continued to favor the Allied forces. They blockaded the bay, and the French battleship "Breslau" did not send out a signal to move because its flagship was on fire. So the battleship followed behind "Albion" and severely damaged two Ottoman frigates that tried to approach, thus saving the British allies ahead.

The battle was fierce, but the Ottomans' artillery fire was extremely inaccurate, especially on their flagship, the Fahti-Bahri, which was firing head-on at the Asia. Many of their shells ended up in the sea.

Codrington knew his son, who was interning on the ship, was wounded. Although he was worried about his son, he was more concerned about the battle between the two sides on the battlefield.

He was initially worried when the "Albion" was hit, but he was relieved when the French penetrated into the Ottoman fleet's lines and bombarded the bows and sterns of the warships with their powerful naval guns.

"These Frenchmen finally managed to grab the top spot!"

The French frigates that had been protecting the flagship had taken care of the fire ships, and they had also cleared out the Egyptian foes on the other side. This allowed the Royal Navy frigates to follow behind the Breslau and join the battle, while also suppressing Turkish firepower on shore.

What Codrington is concerned about now is the actions of the Russian fleet.

If this squadron can break through the enemy's second and third lines, the naval battle will turn into a one-sided massacre.

The Ottoman fleet was already blockaded, and now it was being further beaten, but they still had the ability to fight back.

With the Azores leading the charge, the flagship was vulnerable to crossfire, and the Gangut faced the same situation.

However, Lazarev's training during this period paid off. Thanks to the powerful new shells on the Russian warships and his superb gunnery training, the ships performed exceptionally well on the battlefield.

Even when four escort ships came to attack them, the Azores calmly fought back and sank one of them shortly after the battle began, causing a violent explosion.

They then witnessed an even larger explosion, with the Ottoman Navy's flagship ammunition depot exploding in a fire. Codrington had won, but the combined fleet flagship was subsequently targeted by concentrated fire from Ottoman Navy escort ships.

This caused the two British frigates that had just dealt with the gun emplacements to return to support the flagship, but the crisis was quickly resolved.

The British were surprised to see that the Russians' three battleships were being attacked from both sides by ten enemy ships, but the Russians fought very well. The Azov, which was charging ahead, burned four enemy ships in succession. One of them had obviously exploded, leaving only the stern and the bow missing.

The Russian fleet, which broke in last, was hit even more times than the British and French warships that attacked first. The Azov was hit at least 150 times, but they hit the enemy more often. The Ottoman warships had no protection against the new shells, and the British could only see these enemy ships going through the process of catching fire, exploding, and sinking.

The Russian frigates following behind also forced an Ottoman sixth-class ship to surrender.

It now appears that the enemy has been largely dealt with, but the Codrington's warships sent a signal, which was blocked by thick smoke on the battlefield. Apart from the nearby escort ships that received the signal, the rest of the warships were still bombarding the remaining Ottoman navy warships in the bay.

As a result, the Egyptian naval flagship, which was dawdling along, was targeted by the "Gangut" and "Breslau," which attacked it from both sides. If the Egyptians hadn't been quick to surrender, it probably would have been blown to pieces like the nearby Ottoman naval flagship.

The operation of the Anglo-French-Russian joint fleet did not cease until dusk. Of the 80 enemy ships in the bay, only a few remained afloat and operational; many had been sunk, and the rest were engulfed in flames.

Even Codrington, de Rini, and Van Heden didn't have a clear idea of ​​the Ottoman Empire's warship list in the Gulf; they only knew the names of some large warships, making it difficult to write battle reports.

However, this was a complete annihilation battle. The Ottoman navy suffered more than 5,000 casualties on the battlefield, and less than one-tenth of its 80 warships were still operational. The captains who died in battle essentially wiped out the officers that His Majesty the Sultan had trained in the navy over the years.

The victorious side suffered only a little over 600 casualties, and no warships were sunk. The French flagship and three Russian battleships were severely damaged, while the Asia and Albion suffered moderate damage to one side of their hulls.

This naval battle was undoubtedly a great victory.

Even when their battle was over, they could hear the church bells ringing in the Greek towns on the shore.

The Greeks in the vicinity spread the news with great joy, and this victory was a great encouragement to them.

Over the years, although various countries have sent volunteers and advisors to participate in the war, the forces they have deployed have ultimately been limited.

But things are different now. The fleets of Britain, France, and Russia have annihilated the Ottoman-Egyptian navy, and the Peloponnese peninsula is no longer threatened by the Ottoman Empire. The balance of power on the battlefield is shifting in Greece's favor.

The one who should be furious now is probably the Ottoman Sultan. What will he do? (End of Chapter)