Revisit the battle between Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon's and James Wolfe's forces along the St. Lawrence
Revisit the battle between Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon's and James Wolfe's forces along the St. Lawrence
The British took command of the French and Indian War at the Battle of Quebec.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
[Music in]
NARRATOR: The English were on the offensive at last. They took Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario. Jeffery Amherst marched into Fort Ticonderoga, and the French were on the ropes, staggering.
So now, Pitt thought, hit the French where it would hurt the most. And without batting an eye, decided to take Quebec, the very heart of New France. And the man for the job, James Wolfe . . .
Only 32, a frail, sickly, irritable redhead. And yet, as a leader of men, Wolfe had few equals.
This is James Wolfe who came to Quebec in 1759. A fighter, a leader, a master at amphibious warfare.
This is the Marquis de Montcalm, who had never been beaten by a British Army.
From the river, Wolfe's fleet bombarded Quebec all summer long with little let-up.
Wolfe landed over four thousand British troops on the French side of the St. Lawrence. They scaled the heights to the Plains of Abraham, a short distance from the city, and were in battle formation almost before the French knew they had landed.
Montcalm rallied his troops--and led them out to meet the English. For both sides, it would be all or nothing now. Victory or ruin.
The English waited until the French approached within 40 paces of their lines--and then, "With one deafening crash, the most perfect volley ever fired on a battlefield burst forth as from a single monstrous weapon."
As the smoke cleared . . . Wolfe was hit. Shot in the wrist, then through the chest.
In the French camp, Montcalm was also dying of wounds.
[Music out]
NARRATOR: The English were on the offensive at last. They took Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario. Jeffery Amherst marched into Fort Ticonderoga, and the French were on the ropes, staggering.
So now, Pitt thought, hit the French where it would hurt the most. And without batting an eye, decided to take Quebec, the very heart of New France. And the man for the job, James Wolfe . . .
Only 32, a frail, sickly, irritable redhead. And yet, as a leader of men, Wolfe had few equals.
This is James Wolfe who came to Quebec in 1759. A fighter, a leader, a master at amphibious warfare.
This is the Marquis de Montcalm, who had never been beaten by a British Army.
From the river, Wolfe's fleet bombarded Quebec all summer long with little let-up.
Wolfe landed over four thousand British troops on the French side of the St. Lawrence. They scaled the heights to the Plains of Abraham, a short distance from the city, and were in battle formation almost before the French knew they had landed.
Montcalm rallied his troops--and led them out to meet the English. For both sides, it would be all or nothing now. Victory or ruin.
The English waited until the French approached within 40 paces of their lines--and then, "With one deafening crash, the most perfect volley ever fired on a battlefield burst forth as from a single monstrous weapon."
As the smoke cleared . . . Wolfe was hit. Shot in the wrist, then through the chest.
In the French camp, Montcalm was also dying of wounds.
[Music out]