Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Some Web Resources

Following the recent week of posts to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, there have been a number of enquiries made of me about the campaign and the historical context, so just thought I'd post a few useful links to online resources for this theatre of the Seven Years War.

A useful overview of the campaign may be found here:

(Please note, the text was written by William Wood in 1914, so more recent revisionist histories may differ from the author's view, but it is nonetheless a very accessible account)

http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/BattleofthePlainsofAbraham.htm

Information on uniforms, and a resulting list of all the major regular units involved, may be found here for the French:

http://www.militaryheritage.com/charts/7warchtf.htm

Similarly here for the English:

http://www.militaryheritage.com/charts/7warchtb.htm

Further uniform ideas may be found here amongst some excellent illustrations:

(This Canadian governement site contains a wealth of information about the time, and is well worth a long exploration, chapters 5 and Appendix A are especially useful.)

http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/en/page_215.asp

So good luck with your own projects, just remember to keep them 'Small Scale' :-).

Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Part 5

The thirteenth of September 1759. 08:30 hours. Montcalm rode a black horse onto the field, his hastily deployed army spreading out as it moved across the Plains of Abraham toward the thin line of redcoats visible in the middle distance. Already, to both flanks, scattered gunfire could be heard, and from amidst the trees, white-grey powder smoke bloomed upward as skirmishers on both sides exchanged shots.

It seemed incredible that so many English troops had made the crossing of the St. Lawrence already, and it was imperative to engage as quickly as possible, to drive them back before they began to entrench themselves or bring up heavier artillery. The old cavalryman's maxim of meeting the enemy head on at your best speed rose in the Marquis' breast, and he encouraged his men forward.

As the distance to the enemy began to decrease however, it became clear that both the terrain and the hasty march up onto the heights had caused some disruption.

A copse in the centre of the approach forced the marching battalions to divide, and whilst the centre remained in column, the flanking units were shaking out into line in order to cover the width of the field. Perhaps too, the natural inclination of the Canadian Militia to seek cover was already drawing them toward the flanking treeline; the advance was beginning to look ragged and unco-ordinated, and the artillery was falling behind, unable to deploy with a clear line of sight.

The centre columns were moving too swiftly for the Regiment of Royal-Roussilon to their left, and the whole left wing began to fall behind, a yawning gap opening in the centre of the field. Before much could be done to despatch orders to re-organise, however, a series of volleys rang out from the French.

"Too early!" thought Montcalm, spurring his horse forward to remonstrate with the nearest Lieutenant-Colonel, but by then the various battalions had fallen into further disorder as they began to reload.

One blessing was as yet from the English side there was no reply, apart from the regular pop-boom of a pair of small artillery pieces firing from either end of their line.

Indeed, the English seemed to be waiting with an almost un-natural calm, well disciplined as they were, a single conforming line, like a wall across the Plains. Their flanks were refused however, and this kept the Irregulars and Natives from making much headway in attempting to outflank it.

To their rear, further detachments of troops were visible, forming a strong reserve.

Finally, as the French battalions came within charging distance, the redcoats opened up an ordered round of firing by platoons, and at this close distance, casualties could be seen falling on both sides.

As the space between the two armies came down to less than thirty yards, the English paused, marched a few paces forward to clear the smoke of their own firing, and then a single volley erupted across the face of the line, crashing out, a rolling wave of sound, that seemed momentarily to shock the entire French front.

At this decisive moment, the individual dramas and tragedys of men in battle were played out, as left and right men fell wounded or dead; Montcalm fell from his horse, shot through in both stomach and thigh, Wolfe, already wounded, was struck to the floor by bullets in both his chest and just below his navel. The French commanders, Senezergue, de Fontbrune, and their English counterparts Monckton and Carleton all became casualties.

For a moment, the French line was silenced and stunned, a few cruel yards short of their enemy, and then began to dissolve and disperse, routing back toward the walls of Quebec. Away from the centre of the open plain, small groups and individual units rallied and stood against the oncoming English, inflicting casualties in particular amongst the 78th Highlanders, but the tide of defeat was too strong, the battle lost...

General Wolfe lay, after refusing to see a surgeon, in the wake of the advancing Louisbourg Grenadiers, when one of their number cried out "They run, see how they run!" "Who runs?" demanded Wolfe, earnestly trying to prop himself up for a better view; "The Enemy sir, they give way everywhere...." came the reply. Satisfied, he gave orders to bring up the reserve, then turning on his side, spoke for the last time: "Now God be praised, I will die in peace."

Montcalm was brought back into the City of Quebec, and suffered an agonising night, under the ministrations of the surgeon, Arnoux, who told him that he would not live beyond the next morning. "Good," the Marquis replied, "I will not see the English in Quebec..."

For both of these men, and for so many others on this day, 'the Paths of Glory.......led only to the Grave..'

Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Part 4

It could be said that compared with the disparate and weakened forces of Montcalm, General James Wolfe was faced with an embarrassment of riches at the opening to the campaign to take Quebec in 1759.

However, after two months of besieging the city, with reverses such as the battle at Montmorency where an ambitious amphibious landing by a force of converged grenadiers failed on the shoreline, and with the commanders riven by growing frustration over the course of the overall operation, It might appear that all was not well in the English camp.

The failure to bring the French to a decisive battle exposed the differences in character and vision between Wolfe and his three brigadier-generals, and has led some commentators to view the battle of the Plains as a fatalistic 'last roll of the dice'; yet in terms of the cohesion, character and size of the English force, Wolfe had a distinct advantage over his adversary. This may have been mitigated by a weakening in morale, yet actual losses in terms of manpower so far had been relatively light, and despite a high expenditure of shot, powder and shell, they remained well supplied and supported by a large naval force.

Disgruntled subordinates aside, the task force assembled for the pre-dawn amphibious assault on the 13th of September was well drilled, briefed, and superbly organised, from the provision of artillery and naval support, to a diversionary demonstration upriver of the city.

Some best of British luck saw the landing point relatively lightly defended, and once the Samos Battery and guard post had been surprised and taken by coup de main (as we see in the photo above!), Wolfe's force quickly formed into a line stretching across the Plains of Abraham from the cliff edge as far as the road to Sainte Foy, facing the walls of Quebec over the rising ground in the distance, awaiting the French response.

At the extreme right of the line, the Louisbourg Grenadiers, seen in a previous post, held the flank, and to their left was Bragg's 28th Regiment of Foot, consisting of 591 all ranks, eight fusilier companies and one each of Grenadiers and 'Light' troops:

Next in the line were Kennedy's 43rd Regiment of Foot, 715 all ranks, and the home to Captain James Knox, whose eye witness account of the campaign and battle gives an excellent perspective on the way of warfare as practised at the time; read a version online here (scroll down the page):

http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/usa/frind/1759-Quebec2.shtml

Next, in the centre, were the 679 men of Lascelle's 47th Regiment of Foot, whose devastating double-shotted volley did so much damage to the dense columns formed by the French regiments of Bearn and Guyenne, as one eye-witness is said to have put it, "comme un coup de cannon...":

To their left stood the 78th Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders, who mustered some 1,269 all ranks at the battle, and followed up the fleeing French with broadswords drawn and belted plaid a-flying in the wind, in that manner so beloved of wargamers!

On the Left wing stood Anstruther's 58th regiment of Foot, 616 all ranks, to whose rear Brigadier General Townshend was stood, whose account of the battle can be found here:

http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/Abroad/1759-Quebec-Town.htm

Formed 'en potence' to the main line, (drawn back at a right angle to the left) and parallel with the Ste. Foy road and woodlands beyond in order to guard against the depredations of French skirmishers there, was initially a large part of Amherst's 15th Regiment of Foot, which also had a number of widely spaced companies in the rear of the main line as a reserve; formed of 594 all ranks:

This formation was supported by two battalions of the 60th Royal American Regiment of Foot, (2nd and 3rd Battns) which flew the flag for the Colonies during the campaign, as the only other Americans present were the men of the New England Ranger companies, and a volunteer corps of pioneers.

Finally, to the rear of the Louisbourg Grenadiers, and similarly drawn up at right angles to the main line to prevent an outflanking move by Canadian Irregulars along the cliff top to the landing area, were the 899 men of Otway's 35th Regiment of Foot:

Guarding the rear, and keeping communications open with the landing zone, light troops (principally the battalion of 300 or so chosen men of Howe and Dalling), and some provincial rangers kept watch:

Tomorrow, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham re-created with 2mm miniatures......

Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Part 3

A look now at the French Order of battle for the Plains of Abraham. Montcalm had been assigned only eight regular line battalions to defend the whole of New France, and these stood alongside the garrisons of 'colonial' infantry, namely the Compagnie Franches de la Marine, the citizen militias of city, town and district, as well as whatever First Nations allies that might be on hand.

By the time Wolfe's taskforce approached Quebec, however, this command was much reduced through constant campaigning, and indeed, no re-enforcements had been sent from France since 1757!

The loss of the fortress and garrison of Louisbourg at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, as well as the need to defend the southern frontiers of Canada at variously Forts Carillion (Ticonderoga), Frontenac, Duquesne, Oswego and Niagara, meant that the last bulwark of France had precious little left to defend it, compared to the approximately 12,000 troops in total that accompanied Wolfe, including nine regular battalions and various brigades of light infantry and grenadiers.

Having lost the initiative to the English Navy on the St. Lawrence itself, the situation was further complicated by the need to defend large areas either side of the city of Quebec in order to deny landing grounds to the enemy. Montcalm's command was spread from the Beauport Lines in the north, through the city itself, all the way some miles to the south in the direction of Montreal.

After two months of siege, when Wolfe struck with his surprise landing at the Anse-au-Foulon on the morning of the 13th September 1759, the French had to rush reserves from the redoubts on the Beauport shoreline, through Quebec itself, before mustering beyond the walls overlooking the Plains of Abraham.

A no doubt somewhat breathless line of battle was formed of the following units:

2nd Battalion Regiment La Sarre, 12 fusilier companies, 1 grenadier company, in May 1759 their strength was given as 489 all ranks. Commander M. de Senerzergue.

2nd Battalion, Regiment de Languedoc, 12 fusilier companies, 1 grenadier company, 473 all ranks in May 1759, commanded by Lt. Col. de Privat.

2nd Battalion, Regiment de Bearn, 12 fusilier companies, 1 grenadier company, 454 all ranks reported in May 1759, Lt. Col. d'Alquier.

2nd Battalion Regiment de Guyenne, 12 fusilier companies and 1 grenadier company, forming 436 ranks in May of 1759, Lt Col. de Fontbonne.

2nd Battalion Regiment Royal-Roussillon, 12 fusilier companies and 1 grenadier company, 485 all ranks, commanded by Lt. Col. Chevalier de Bernetz.

In addition to these line units, all of which were no doubt under strength due to the rigors of defending the city in the preceding eight weeks, Montcalm could also call upon approximately forty companies of colonial troops, each of 65 men each. These 'Troupes de la Colonie' were nominally regulated by the Ministry of the Navy in France, hence their title Compagnie Franches de la Marine. The Officers of this corps were in the main born in Canada, whereas the enlisted men were recruited in France and sent across. Their exact numbers are unknown on the day of the battle, in that it is likely some had been drafted into the regular battalions as replacements, and others would have been spread throughout the long lines of defence around Quebec. Chartrand puts their number at between 800 and 1,000 on the Plains of Abraham.

All told, the Militias of the districts of Quebec, Montreal, Trois Rivieres and Acadia might have comprised some 11,000 men, although again the exact numbers are open to debate, and must be adjusted for the depredations of the campaign. It is certain that the majority were involved in manning the redoubts and posts along the Beauport shoreline and in the hinterland above the falls at Montmorency, as well as being stationed further upriver, south of Quebec. Some sources put approximately 600 of their number as being drafted into the regular battalions, and often they are blamed for the tentative and disorganised way in which the French line advanced against Wolfe, with their lack of training impacting on the regular volleys and reloading that was attempted as the French closed with the English 'thin red line'. Others were present on the flanks of the advance, ostensibly formed as battalions according to their origin, and Chartrand gives approximately 1,800 as their total number.

Numbers of the Native Allies are open to question, as they were not renowned for closing within a line of battle, and the many reverses France had suffered no doubt tested their commitment to the cause. Chartrand puts their strength at around 1,700 in and around Quebec, and no doubt some were present on the flanks of the advancing French. Certainly, their fierce reputation did much to threaten the rear of Wolfe's bridgehead, irrespective of their actual number.

There were a number of other small units that might be considered for the French order of battle, although it is unknown as to their actual contribution at the Plains. These include the Royal Syntaxe Militia, in effect a company in strength, formed from students of the Quebec Seminary, who wore distinctive blue hooded coats; the Corps du Cavalrie, 200 ranks divided into two companies, that was raised from mounted Canadian volunteers and officered from gentlemen detached from the metropolitan battalions. These were mainly used as scouts or in a skirmish role once dismounted, more 'dragoon'-like than actual cavalry. They wore blue coats lined with red, and distinctive bearskin caps.

In addition, there were large numbers of sailors from the French fleet, and a smaller number of Infanterie de la Marine, although these were likely only employed in the redoubts and artillery posts, alongside the small group of engineers and Cannoniers-Bombardiers artillerymen that had come over from France.

Talking of artillery, the only scenery to speak of on the actual battlefield was the Samos gun battery near Wolfe's landing point, which was quickly captured alongside the guard post of Captain Vergor atop the heights on the morning of the attack. Although perhaps not strictly a part of the battle, I couldn't resist representing these posts with a base combining Irregular Miniature's BG134 tents and BG130 army command post alongside the excellent ostensibly 1/1200th scale MX7 shore battery available from the Napoleonic ranges of Rod Langton:

Finally a bird's eye view of the other major investment I made for this special project, namely a terrain mat from who else but, well, Terrain Mat here in the UK:

http://www.terrainmat.com/

They were kind enough to provide a special order for a cloth to use with 2mm miniatures, quite a number of which they have apparently made, and did a good job of translating my request for a rough Canadian-looking type of lightly wooded terrain into a reality:

The flocking and shading are applied to a thick base cloth rather like a weed supression mat that you can buy for gardening, and the effect is very good overall, with so far no shedding or damage inspite of some very varied use! Can't recommend them highly enough, just the job for modelling the rolling terrain above the city of Quebec:

Next up, a look at the English order of battle....

Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Part 2

A look now at some of the supporting acts in the drama of re-creating the battle of the Plains of Abraham in 2mm. Whereas constructing large sized battalion bases for the regular contingents was relatively straightforward, the very nature of irregular troops does not lend itself very well to being depicted by tiny men. A nice solid line of redcoats pops out against the background terrain, but how to create a visually appealing base of types who are doing their best not to be seen?

The result was obviously going to involve some compromises, firstly in the size of the bases themselves. I had not settled on a particular set of rules for this project, and was likely to use a modification or 'home brew' version of either 2x2 Napoleonics or Horse, Foot and Guns, so luckily could operate outside of normal basing conventions, but the more awkwardly sized a base, the worse it is in dealing with such tiny miniatures.

It is for that reason that I decided on using a regular, half sized, 40x40mm base for the Rangers etc, that although not present in the centre of the line of battle, were intrinsic to the events that happened during the engagement. To break down the units into any smaller sizes would perhaps be more historically correct in appearance, but would mean that the troops would simply get lost on the tabletop!

First up is perhaps the best example of this, namely bases of the First Nations Peoples that were allied to both the French and English, although at Quebec were principally operating for the former.

Montcalm could call on the services of perhaps 2,000 warriors, but it was not reasonable to expect that they would operate on the field; what was more significant was their impact on the wooded edges of the battlefield, and particularly in forcing Brigadier Townsend, on the left of the English line, to form elements of Amherst's 15th Foot, and the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Royal Americans in echelon to the main line to deal with their skirmishers.

Their bases were formed from 2 x BG23 10 man skirmisher blocks, fronted by 2 x IK1 infantry from the Modern range, and following an excellent suggestion from Tony at Tiny Tin, 2 x ABG12 light infantry archers; gotta have some bows! The latter strips were cut into random lengths and spread out across the front of the base itself. It is not easy depicting the colourful clothing of the Natives in 2mm, but I think he has done quite a good job:

Next we see some Acadian or local Militia, the so-called Coureurs de Bois, who would also appear on the flanks at Quebec; Tiny Tin Troops added in some of the distinctive coloured Capot headgear to make these guys stand out; they appear, of course, without the addition of the ABG12 bowmen, and with the IK1 replaced by BG3 5 man skirmisher strips, cut randomly:

Their arch-enemies appear in the form of two charismatic units on the English side; principally in blue, a detachment of Gorham's, and beyond, the green of Roger's Rangers can be seen. There is some debate as to their presence at the battle of the Plains itself, in that most from the 600 or so strong brigade of various New England companies were detached in punitive operations up and down both banks of the St. Lawrence. It is known that light troops were involved in silencing the Samos Battery close to the landing point at the Anse au Foulon, and some sources put them skirmishing with French militia on the far English left in the vicinity of the road to Sainte Foy and the buildings near the Hospital General later in the day; in any event, I couldn't resist including these emblematic troops!

Moving on know to some of the ancillary stands for the regulars, namely the command bases. I didn't order these from Tiny Tin Troops as part of the painting commission, in that I felt I had to make a contribution to the project, and not be too lazy - it might have been an indulgence or 'pet-project', but I couldn't rest on my laurels too much! In any event, Tony Hughes kindly provided some extra flags to make the bases stand out.

In order to allow the command stands to attach themselves to various units, I had to decide on making, somewhat counter-intuitively, smaller bases, so these ended up being a diminutive 20x20mm. The overall Army Commander's base is distinguished by having a single RBG12 three rank forlorn hope acting as a detail of Grenadiers, as well as an oval base of the excellent RBG24 command; it's really useful being able to mix and match with this size of minis!

The stand was then completed with some individual RBG11 dismounted dragoons cut from the strip; bases for subsidiary commanders or brigadiers lack the Grenadiers, and have BG13 blocks in place of the RBG24:

Here we see General Wolfe and his staff at the head of another of the units unique to the campaign, namely the Louisbourg Grenadiers:

It was in this position that Wolfe was struck first by a musket ball through the wrist, which he bandaged with a handkerchief in order to carry on, before receiving two further wounds that led to his death on the field of battle.

The converging and brigading together of detached Grenadier companies from their parent battalions was common practice during the Seven Years War, and this unit was formed from the Grenadiers of three regiments that were left behind as garrison after the capitulation of Louisbourg, namely the 22nd, 40th and 45th of Foot, hence their enigmatic title.

With only a little over three hundred men in the unit, this base had to be one of the smaller sized 40x40mm ones, and I decided on 3 x BG 16 three rank blocks to represent the individual companies, as well as reflect the densely massed appearance of shock troops, that was their raison d'etre in this campaign.

Finally we see the gunners of the Royal Artillery, again on small bases, in line with the commands, being 20x20mm. Now of course artillery might have a relatively small frontage when deployed, but with all the usual extraneous limbers, caissons and draught horses, would rightly need a greater depth. In this battle, however, it was significant that in the field only light, 'galloper' pieces were used; indeed, Wolfe's artillery crossed the St Lawrence by boat and had to be manhandled up the steep earthen slope of the Heights above Quebec! Therefore I chose to only show a modest single BG22 caisson alongside a BG19 field artillery piece for these bases. There is some debate as to exactly how many guns were involved in the action; on the French side, the governor of Quebec city is alleged to have refused to allow guns of the fortress to accompany Montcalm out onto the Plains, yet English accounts speak of being 'played upon' by light artillery, and the exact number of English pieces that made the climb is unknown, conventional wisdom, in line with first-hand accounts, mentions two as a likely number.

Next up, I'll be looking at the French units in detail, and discussing the terrain......

Quebec 1759 in 2mm: Part 1

This, like most small scale projects, started off as a paper exercise, with a long time spent working out exactly what, and how many of Irregular Miniatures' 2mm blocks would be required. This process took place alongside some research into the battle and campaign itself, for which no better primer can be found than the works of Renee Chartrand, particularly his Osprey 'Order of Battle' Series book, Quebec 1759.

In typical fashion, I started off by thinking about the figure to man ratio, hoping to portray the engagement in as large a scale as possible, which is of course the great strength of using such small miniatures. An average of perhaps between 450 and 750 men per historical battalion meant that at 1 figure to 3 men, we would see a base of around 220 figures fitting the bill.

This starting point, and the sudden realisation that the task ahead would be quite large, luckily coincided with the birth of Tony Hughes' business arm, or more correctly, his painting service at Tiny Tin Troops. Couching my missive describing thousands of blocks requiring painting in as reasonable terms as possible, I fired off an e-mail and was soon co-operating with the man himself. As most of you will no doubt know, it is no exaggeration that as far as the Web is concerned, he has done most to fly the flag on behalf of 2mm miniatures, sometimes in the face of cynicism and ridicule, with his detailed resource site over at Gildas Facit. Quite frankly, I couldn't have found a better person to guide me through the project and paint and base the minis; my crazy and constant demands never seemed to faze him!

Our opening was to choose how to depict the Line battalions of the two armies, especially with reference to the well-known deployment in 2 ranks ordered by Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham. Debate still rages about this; but in an Era where three or even six ranks might be the norm, this formation was certainly significant, and allowed maximum employment of firepower along the widest front. I do not believe that Montcalm's French would also not be capable of similar organisation, should the tactical situation warrant it, so it was decided that it would be a pair of Irregular's 52 man block in two ranks (BG33), that would be the place to begin.

Two of these, mounted side by side, would give one continuous 2 deep line of 104 'figures', but would only represent half of the troops needed at a 1:3 scale. Some compromise was needed therefore, in that these measured up at nearly 80mm wide, and even my grand plans could not countenance two bases, for a total of 160mm wide, per battalion! I took the decision to empower the figure scale somewhat in advance of the visual correctness, and decided on four such blocks, along with ancillaries, to form the whole, on a 80x40mm base.

Concerns about the thickness of these (I am not a fan of tiny troops on thick bases), were quickly allayed by Tony at Tiny Tin, who could provide 1.6mm thick artist's card, backed with magnetic sheeting, which would be suitably painted and flocked.

With nine English regular battalions, and a further five French, in addition to Militia, Native American Allies, Rangers and Artillery bases, this was shaping up to be quite a monster!

Small Scale needn't be small in scale.....

I needn't have worried, however, as Tony provided detailed PDF plans of just what each base would contain, the painting scheme for each, as well as suggestions for the various formations.

The next major issue for me was the pre-cast flags that are intrinsic to the majority of Irregular's blocks, in that not only were they rather small, but also would not best represent the pair of colours carried by units of the time. Here again, Tiny Tin came to the rescue, in that Tony agreed to replace all the necessary flags with paper, printed, historically accurate ones, although I did muddy the waters somewhat here by insisting that they be out-sized for better visual impact, as well as asking for a Canadian blue and gold Fleur-de-Lys flag to appear amongst the French ranks.

This was again for visual reasons, in that the white cross on white field that formed the Colonel's colour was rather bland at this scale, and furthermore, as most of the French regiments had sent their second battalions to New France, it meant that they would carry two identical coloured Drapeau d'Ordonnance, which somehow looked a bit odd to my eyes.

The general basing idea set, then, a framework of four BG33 blocks, backed up by a single 16 man BG17, forming the colour party, with a BG7 group of three mounted officers ably assisted by the masterstroke of adding single file-closer type NCO figures cut from RBG11 dismounted Dragoon blocks, formed the whole:

Next, we turned to the issue of representing the Light and Militia battalions that were present during the campaign, and we see below Gage's 80th, closely followed by the combined regulars brigaded to form Howe's Light Infantry at Quebec.

These bases would give some weight to the idea that light troops at this time were not strictly 'irregular' in their employment in the way that Rangers might be, rather they could be formed in the line of battle as well as providing platoons for skirmishing type actions. Four BG23, 10 skirmish infantry, therefore, front the more ordered three BG14 26 infantry in 2 ranks, topped off either by the BG7 mounted officers, or a trio cut from a RBG11 strip again:

The ranks of the Canadian Militia, which supported the French regulars on the Plains, were similarly construed, with some more varied colour schemes, reminiscent of civilian clothing, led by appropriately 'Gris-Blanc' coated mounted officers:

Things were going along swimmingly, then, when further research, particularly touching on the first hand written accounts of Brigadier Townsend and Lieutenant Knox of the 43rd Foot, revealed the likelihood that the French centre, at least, were seen to come on 'six deep', and were probably deployed in the columnar 'l'Ordre Profond', so beloved of continental generals of the time. No doubt Montcalm wished to use shock tactics to break the English line before more troops crossed over the St. Lawrence and scaled the Heights above Quebec; he may also have wanted to encourage the men of the Militia and Compagnie Franche de la Marine that had been drafted into the ranks of the Regular battalions to bolster their numbers. In any event, this saw a further order for Tiny Tin to provide a suitably menacing looking column.

Some more fudging of numbers had to go on here, in that for me, the only blocks to use would be the BG16 39 men in three ranks, as these looked 'densest', so six of these crowded onto the 80x40mm base, again with the ancillaries as above.

The basic building blocks then for the majority of units where set, and with Tony Hughes filing, painting, printing and flocking away like a madman, I could turn my attention to the other formations, and also order up some suitable terrain.

Next post: Rangers, Natives, Artillery and Command figures.....