could entrench and bring
up cannon. A rapid decision was now followed by rapid action. He had a
moment's conversation with Vaudreuil. The French regiments on the right
at Vaudreuil's camp, lying nearest to the city, were to march at once.
To Johnstone he said, "The affair is serious," and then gave orders
that all the French left, except a few men to guard the ravine at
Montmorency, should follow quickly to the position between Quebec and
the enemy, a mile away. Off to this point he himself galloped. Already,
by orders of officers on the spot, regiments were gathering between the
walls of the city and the British. The regiments on the French right at
Beauport were soon on the move towards the battlefield, but two thousand
of the best troops still lay inactive beyond Beauport. Johnstone
declares that Vaudreuil countermanded the order of Montcalm for these
troops to come to his support and ordered that not one of them should
budge. There was haste everywhere. By half-past nine Montcalm had some
four thousand men drawn up between the British and the walls of Quebec.
He hoped that Bougainville, advancing from Cap Rouge, would be able to
assail the British rear: "Surely Bougainville understands that I must
attack."

The crisis was, over in fifteen minutes. Montcalm attacked at once.
His line was disorderly. His center was composed of regular troops, his
wings of Canadians and Indians. These fired irregularly and lay down to
reload, thus causing confusion. The French moved forward rapidly; the
British were coming on more slowly. The French were only some forty
yards away when there was an answering fire from the thin red line; for
Wolfe had ordered his men to put two balls in their muskets and to hold
their fire for one dread volley. Then the roar from Wolfe's center was
like that of a burst of artillery; and, when the smoke cleared, the
French battalions were seen breaking in disorder from the shock, the
front line cut down by the terrible fire. A bayonet charge from the
redcoats followed. Some five thousand trained British regulars bore
down, working great slaughter on four thousand French, many of them
colonials who had never before fought in the open. The rout of the
French was complete. Some fled to safety behind the walls of Quebec,
others down the Cote Ste. Genevieve and across the St. Charles River,
where they stopped pursuit by cutting the bridge. Both Wolfe and
Montcalm were mortally wounded after the issue of the d