And a crisp return salute to you Lt. Col. Malone! The battle plan you describe was born more out of desperation and despair than good generalship on my part, but thank you much for the compliment! Seeing swarms of Indians and French regulars about to overwhelm both my flanks from the start, I beat a hasty retreat westward just in order to survive and buy time and space. Under steady pressure by the main French line and hoping to neutralize both flanks, we withdrew to a flat open plain where my right was protected by a ridge which I could control, and dense woods on my left which would slow the French flank advance there.
Running out of real estate, I finally had to turn to face a bristling wall of rapidly advancing Frenchmen who had a glint in their eye and two thirds of my wig wagons already in their possession. Mr. Malone then came on, and two long and fully deployed lines opened up on each other with horrendous casualties on both sides. Over the course of about 20(!) turns of exchanging unrelenting fire, I was lucky that a small breach in the French line opened up which allowed me to very slowly regain some lost ground, and the slope on my right and the woods on my left did indeed stall out the marauding French flank attacks. The situation was precarious up to the end with a last minute and fortunate general collapse of the French main line.
You handled your troops very well Sir, as always! It seems that in our encounters a single moment usually occurs where the gods of war briefly smile on me and cast the die in my favor. I have opponents who "have my number" and avenge you regularly Tony so don't feel picked on. [:)] You're a fine officer and a great asset to the club, and you have my deepest respect on both those counts and as a friend.
Till we meet again Sir!
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