MONTCALM AT QUEBEC This essay discusses whether

Montcalm committed a critical blunder by attacking during the morning of September 13, 1759 the British forces led by Lieutenant General James Wolfe (1727-1759) on the Plains of Abraham before his forces had achieved tactical superiority; however, that colossal error in judgment was by no means the only factor which led to the French loss of Canada nor was it necessarily the most egregious mistake committed by the French during this campaign. Other significant elements leading to the French defeat were British naval superiority, a more effective and more unified British political and military leadership and command structure, and better British combat training and fire discipline, as well as the vagaries of fortune in battle. Montcalm generally provided competent military direction but this combination of factors, including his loss of the battlefield initiative to Wolfe, ultimately proved fatal to the French and Canadian cause.

Background to the 1759 Battle of Quebec

After an initial period of exploration and settlement, New France became a colony of metropolitan France in 1663. Except for a brief armistice between 1713 and 1740, the imperial rivalry of Great Britain and France resulted in military clashes in Europe,

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ittle for New France. According to Fregault, a French supply flotilla which arrived in Quebec on May 18, 1759 brought only one third of the provisions needed. Reilly said that "French supplies of food, arms and ammunition were inadequate and fast dwindling, and the people [of quebec] were nearing starvation."9 However, Montcalm and Governor-General Marquis de Vaudreuil, who jointly were responsible for the defense of the city, rapidly buttressed the defenses of Quebec after learning upon Bougainville's return in May that the British were coming. The British sea-land force under the overall command of Admiral Sir Charles Saunders which anchored off the Ile d'Orleans south of Quebec in late June was quite formidable. It consisted of 8,600 troops, 13,500 sailors, 22 warships and 119 transport and supply vessels. Montcalm had approximately 12,000-16,000 soldiers, including militia, and Indians, and 100 cannon at his disposal. Later that summer he sent 1,000 of these men to help counter Amherst's northward advance toward Montreal. In late June and early July Wolfe secured his base on the island and seized and cleared of the enemy Pointe Levi and Pointe aux Peres on the south shore which were ready to besiege Quebec with artil
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Approximate Word count = 2154
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)