Before the morning that ruined him, Montcalm had beaten everything the British sent. At Oswego in 1756 he took the fort in days with about 3,500 regulars, Canadian militia and Native allies, and 1,700 prisoners with it. At Fort William Henry in 1757 — his greatest success to that point — he brought 6,200 regulars and militia and 1,800 Native warriors against the place and had it inside three days, though the surrender terms broke down afterwards and around 200 of the 2,000 prisoners were killed by his allies, an episode he could neither prevent nor undo. At Carillon in 1758 he held the position with 3,600 men against 6,000 British regulars and 9,000 provincials. Three campaigns, three results. What he never won was the argument at home. Governor Vaudreuil, born in the colony, wanted the war fought by colonial methods — fortifications, defensive operations, raiding, and the Native alliances that had kept the frontier French for half a century, with the object of keeping New France intact. Montcalm wanted it fought on a European footing: planned campaigns, armies, artillery, sieges, pitched battles, and the honour of French arms. The command was divided between the two of them, which is a bad way to run anything. Then on 13 September 1759, with Bougainville's column somewhere behind the British and reinforcements on the way, Montcalm chose to attack at once rather than wait, on the reasoning that delay would let the enemy entrench. The general who had won three times with the colonial system finally got the European battle he had always argued for, and it lasted long enough to lose an empire. He was carried off wounded and died the next morning.

The figure is Montcalm in the uniform of a French general officer of the period — deep blue coat with red facings and heavy gold lace, red waistcoat and breeches, black gaiters, gold-laced tricorne, sword in hand. His opponent that morning is in this collection too, and died of his own wounds the same day: General James Wolfe. The alliance system Vaudreuil wanted to fight the war through is the world that Joseph Brant would be negotiating inside twenty years later, when Britain was the one making the promises. And when a French army came back to North America in 1780, it came as an ally and it was commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau.

Model: 10135 / W. Britain / 1/30 scale / matte finish / 1 piece set