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The initial stages of
the Seven Years War were going badly. Fort Oswego had
been captured by Montcalm in America, the British were
losing badly in Europe and it looked as though the best
policy for England would be to sue for peace before
matters deteriorated further.
In 1757 William Pitt
rose to power in Britain and a new vitality surge
through the English War effort. Preparations were made
to implement a new strategy. A Grand strategy which
would insure competent direction of the war effort by
the British armies, utilize the superiority of the Royal
Navy, and direct the attacks at the heart of New France.
Pitt realized that the war was to be won in all of the
colonial battlegrounds throughout the world, not on the
European mainland where the French maintained the
advantage of interior lines and superior numbers. The
key was the colonies.
An attack was prepared for that would
take back the Lake Champlain highway to Quebec City,
take the super fortress guarding the entrance to the St
Lawrence, Louisbourg, and then sail up the St Lawrence
to Quebec City and drive a stake through the heart of
New France.
The plan was set, the
forces gathered and the timetable started. |
