At
Warsaw arrived 1 June an express courier with the tiding that the Turkish fleet
which appeared in the Black Sea immediately returned to the Bosporus when her
commanding officer heard that the Russian fleet was coming towards her. The
Russian admiral Greig decided to reinforce the squadron crossing off the
Bosporus and returned while sailing along a part of the coast of Natolie
towards Sizopolis while in the meantime burnt a newly built Turkish frigate in
the harbour of Kilia and capturing 20 merchant freighters. Tidings from
Constantinople dated 11 and 14 May published in the newspapers Beobachter
and Allgemeine Zeitung confirmed partly the abovementioned tiding. It
was just a few ships of the Turkish fleet who tried to sail towards the Black
Sea using favourable winds when a strong Russian squadron prevented this. Since
then the Russian stayed off the Bosporus while damaging defence works and
capturing a number of vessels loaded with victuals. In the meantime was the
Turkish officer ordered to depart with the first favourable wind with his whole
fleet consisting of 6 ships of the line, 8 frigates and corvettes and a
comparable number of brigs and goelettes letting nothing hold him back. In the
last months of April arrived conform some tidings the Russian admiral Van
Heyden with 5 ships of the line, 2 frigates, 1 corvette and 1 brig at Tenedos,
while the rear admiral Ricord was cruising with 1 ship of the line, 2 frigates
and some smaller vessels.
