Monongahela 1754-55: Washington's defeat, Braddock's disaster

Osprey Campaign #140

by René Chartrand

On 9 July 1755 amid the wilderness of North America, Britain suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in her history. General Braddock’s army, a mixture of British regulars and American militia, was shattered, losing over 900 men from a force of 1,300. Braddock was killed and the remnants of his army rescued by his aide, Colonel George Washington. The origins of this defeat can be traced back to the death of a junior French officer little more than a year before in a relatively minor skirmish with a party of Virginian militia commanded by the same George Washington. René Chartrand examines the subsequent chain of events that ultimately sparked a world war.

Genres: Military History, History, Nonfiction, American History

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2004

Reviews

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monongahela 1754-55: "Washington's defeat, Braddock's disaster" book, using the Osprey format, describes the Braddock Campaign of 1755. The format limits the size and material in the book to an overview with a lot of graphics. One interesting take was that the author is a Francophone. Which provides much more depth on the winning side of the campaign.

Braddock's Campaign was the first attempt by the English to drive the French out of the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny River valleys. The English column was ambushed and destroyed.

The book takes the standard approach regarding the campaign. That the English fought well, but were over matched by superior French and Indian tactics. Fred Anderson in his book on the 7 Years War, "The Crucible of War". has a much more interesting take. Including a quote from George Washington that the majority of English casualties were caused by their own troops. Basically what is called today a "Death Blossom". And he points out the major tactical mistake made by the English was to stand and fight. Which is also true. Current military doctrine states that when one is in the kill-zone of an ambush, one gets out of it as fast as possible. Including, by running away. Anderson also notes that the English troops were not trained to aim when they fired. Thomas Crocker in his book points out how poorly the two English regiments were trained and disciplined. All authors note that the feat of getting the column within 15 miles of Ft Duquesne was a demonstration of excellent engineering and logistics.

Chatrand does provide more information on the French side than I have seen from the other Anglo phone authors. In that respect, I found it highly worthwhile and applaud Osprey for selecting an Chatrand.

All in all, it was a good standard overview of Braddock's Defeat. With the added benefit of additional insight on the French side of the battle. For more detail and depth, the Anderson or Crocker books would benefit the reader.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb Osprey book with lots of detail, a good narrative flow, and fair analysis. Chartrand notes the irony that although the Monongahela was a great French victory, they ignored the Canadian experience in developing their light infantry tactics (they drew more from Austria), while the British did not.

[Steven]

Great read.