He became involved in military operations during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, organising the First Archipelago Expedition, and commanding of a squadron of the Imperial Russian Navy. He fought and won the Battle of Chesma against an Ottoman fleet on 5 July 1770, with the help of British naval expertise, and received the right to add the honorific 'Chesmensky' to his name. He was also awarded the Order of St. George First Class. His expedition sparked off the Orlov Revolt in Greece, which despite initial successes, lacked continued Russian support, and was eventually put down by the Ottomans. Orlov was sent as plenipotentiary to the talks at Focşani in 1772, but his impatience caused the breaking off of negotiations, which led to dissatisfaction from the Empress.