On 2nd August 1855 he discovered Ayan had been deserted by its population. These were none other than the ship's company of Putiatin's Diana , who had broken jail in Japan and escaped in the brig Greta. Their bid for liberty was foiled by running across the Barracouta. Elliot stayed on at Ayan until 13th August before deciding to call off the chase. By 30th September his ships had withdrawn to Nagasaki and the naval campaign in the Far East was over for good .
Whole campaign has a half-hearted air to it.
Elliot may be excused for realising that the tiny Russian squadron was not going to turn the war upside down by remaining at large. He was not to blame for Puniatkin's escape from Petropavlosk in April. May. The campaign was strategically unnecessary and little was achieved . . . Its ISBN is either 0356083241 or 0356082341 . Note that Humble misnames the Russian commander 'Puniatkin' but I have corrected this throughout.