Siege of Ticonderoga, 6-8 July 1758 (America)
British defeat in Canada during the French and Indian War. The British, under General James Abercromby, were set on attacking Montreal. In order to do so, they knew they had to take Fort Ticonderoga, which blocked their advance. The French were also aware of this, and in June 1758 Louis de Montcalm arrived to take personal command, increasing the garrison of the Fort from 1,000 to 5,000 men. In contrast, Abercromby had 15,000 men, and sufficent supplies and artillery to allow him to either starve out the French or bombard the fort into submission. Instead, on the day after arriving at the fort, and acting on a single report by a junior officer, who claimed that the fort's defences were weak, and could be easily stormed, ordered a frontal attack on the French lines. Montcalm had built a line of outer defences, some 300 meters from the Fort, in which he placed 3,000 regular troops, the elite of his force. The British attack was launched at noon, but bogged down in the outer defences, and after an afternoon of fighting, Abercromby withdrew his troops. He had suffered 2,000 casualties, compared to only 372 on the French side, but still outnumbered the French garrison, and yet after suffering a single repulse, Abercromby withdrew from Ticonderoga, abandoning the advance on Montreal, and much enhancing Montcalm's reputation.
How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (8 November 2000), Siege of Ticonderoga, 6-8 July 1758, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ticonderoga.html