THE BALTIC SEA provided formidable obstacles to both naval commanders and administrators. Although closer to Britain's home ports than further flung stations, the Baltic Sea provided challenges that exacerbated the existing problem of moving large amounts of provisions to ships on station. In 1801 and 1807, fleets had briefly been sent to the Copenhagen, in the former case involving a brief voyage across to the Gulf of Finland. These short expeditions aside, there had not been a sustained British fleet in the Baltic since 1727 and Saumarez was faced with a considerable challenge to ensure the provisioning of his fleet – with inadequate charts, in unknown waters, all the while surrounded by hostile states and with a supply line open to attack from Danish gunboats.

Agriculture, economics and administration

There were serious concerns for the Baltic fleet's ability to provision itself. One anonymous officer, calling himself ‘Observator’, wrote to Mulgrave, the First Lord of the Admiralty, at the outset of the Baltic operation to express his fears for the fleet. Having served the Victualling Board earlier in his life he was a man with some knowledge of provisioning and trenchant opinions, who expected his views to be taken seriously.