General Edward Braddock
In the first phase of the French and Indian War, the British provided modest assistance that had very little impact on the struggle. The newly appointed commander in chief of the British army in America, General Edward Braddock, failed miserably in a major effort in the summer of 1755 to retake the crucial site at the forks of the Ohio River where Washington lost the battle at Fort Necessity. A french and Indian ambush a few miles from the fort left Braddock dead and what remained of his forces in disarray.