Manufacturer: JohnJenkinsDesign
Scale: 60mm (1:30)
Hi,
last week I tried to rearrange my showcase of the "Battle on the Monongahela" that took place on th of July in 1755.
A force of about 2.200 British soldiers under command of General Braddock marched towards Fort Duquesne (present day Pittburgh, Pennsylvania) in order to arrest it from the French.
On July 7, Braddock´s columns reached the mouth of Turtle Creek, a stream entering the Monongahela about 13 km from its junction with the Alleghemy River where Fort Duquesne was located. The direct and shortest way lay through a difficult country and a dangerous defile, Accordingly Braddock preferred to ford the Monongahela twice in order to reach his destination.
The French decided to ambush the advancing British column with some 900 men. The French Commander Beaujeu only convinced his native allies to join the war party after he had dressed himself up as an Indian.
The outcome of the engagement was a desaster for the British. General Braddock had been morally wounded. On the British side from the 1.33 NCO´s and men who took part to the engagement, only 43 came off unharmed. Of 86 officers, 73 were killed or disabled. The wounded men left on the field were killed.
There is a very good scene from the series "The war that made America" on YouTube that tells a bit more about the battle.
"The war that made America" - Monongahela
I had been inspired to rearrange my showcase because I had currently seen the trailer of "Young Washington", a movie that will be published on July 3rd in the US. I hope that this movie will also be published in Germany for the trailer looks really good.
I also just watched the TV mini series "George Washington" on YouTube. This series is from 1984 with James Mason and Trevor Howard. Within this movie there is also a part dedicated to the "Battle on the Monongahela".
TV mini series "George Washington"
Rearranging my own showcase I got aware that it is very hard to place terrain and figures on a limited space of about 95cm by 55cm. I was not able to place the British artillery and the ammunition cart that I already was able to include into my collection. So either the collection is already too big or the showcase is just too small.
The first option is fake for sure because there are still some sets from this range by JohnJenkins that my collection is still missing. So I guess it must be the second option - the showcase is too small. In lack of being able to stretch the shelves it may be a good idea to split the battle on two shelves, every one of them showing different stages of the engagement.
Hope you enjoy watching the videos and also the pictures.
Cheers
Mike
| General Braddock mortally wounded and young George Washington´s attempt to rescue him. |
| The Redcoats are suffering heavy casualties. |
| Attackint with a cruel warcry. |
| The death of the French commander Beaujeu. |
| Ambush. |
| Fierce melee fighting. |
| The warband of native warriors ... |
| ... attacks the Redcoats from all sides. |