Plans were drawn up, and the British and French prepared 16,000 ground troops and about forty small warships for the "Azov Campaign". Meanwhile, Taganrog's governor-general, Nikolay Adlerberg, had been replaced by Yegor Tolstoy, an ageing but versatile general, who had served in the Russian Army in fighting against the Turks. In April 1854, Tolstoy assumed command at Taganrog, along with Ivan Krasnov (who commanded the Don Cossacks in the region) and prepared his forces. He had three sotnias of Don Cossacks (No.s 180 Моршанская дружина, 184 Спасская and 188 Борисоглебская) and a local garrison of some 630 soldiers at his command at the time of the siege. A unit of "home guards", totalling 250 men, were recruited from the local population. Taganrog lacked any modern fortifications and Tolstoy had no artillery to speak of.