<P> Braddock led about 1,500 army troops and provincial militia on an expedition in June 1755 to take Fort Duquesne, with George Washington as one of his aides . The expedition was a disaster . It was attacked by French soldiers and Indian warriors ambushing them from up in trees and behind logs, and Braddock called for a retreat . He was killed and approximately 1,000 British soldiers were killed or injured . The remaining 500 British troops retreated to Virginia, led by George Washington . Two future opponents in the American Revolutionary War played key roles in organizing the retreat: Washington and Thomas Gage . </P> <P> The French acquired a copy of the British war plans, including the activities of Shirley and Johnson . Shirley's efforts to fortify Oswego were bogged down in logistical difficulties, exacerbated by his inexperience in managing large expeditions . In conjunction, Shirley was made aware that the French were massing for an attack on Fort Oswego in his absence when he planned to attack Fort Niagara . As a response, he left garrisons at Oswego, Fort Bull, and Fort Williams, the last two located on the Oneida Carry between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek at present - day Rome, New York . Supplies were cached at Fort Bull for use in the projected attack on Niagara . </P> <P> Johnson's expedition was better organized than Shirley's, which was noticed by New France's governor the Marquis de Vaudreuil . He had primarily been concerned about the extended supply line to the forts on the Ohio, and he had sent Baron Dieskau to lead the defenses at Frontenac against Shirley's expected attack . Vaudreuil saw Johnson as the larger threat and sent Dieskau to Fort St. Frédéric to meet that threat . Dieskau planned to attack the British encampment at Fort Edward at the upper end of navigation on the Hudson River, but Johnson had strongly fortified it, and Dieskau's Indian support was reluctant to attack . The two forces finally met in the bloody Battle of Lake George between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry . The battle ended inconclusively, with both sides withdrawing from the field . Johnson's advance stopped at Fort William Henry, and the French withdrew to Ticonderoga Point, where they began the construction of Fort Carillon (later renamed Fort Ticonderoga after British capture in 1759). </P> <P> Colonel Monckton captured Fort Beauséjour in June 1755 in the sole British success that year, cutting off the French fortress at Louisbourg from land - based reinforcements . To cut vital supplies to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia's Governor Charles Lawrence ordered the deportation of the French - speaking Acadian population from the area . Monckton's forces, including companies of Rogers' Rangers, forcibly removed thousands of Acadians, chasing down many who resisted and sometimes committing atrocities . More than any other factor, cutting off supplies to Louisbourg led to its demise . The Acadian resistance was sometimes quite stiff, in concert with Indian allies including the Mi'kmaq, with ongoing frontier raids against Dartmouth and Lunenburg, among others . The only clashes of any size were at Petitcodiac in 1755 and at Bloody Creek near Annapolis Royal in 1757, other than the campaigns to expel the Acadians ranging around the Bay of Fundy, on the Petitcodiac and St. John rivers, and Île Saint - Jean . </P>

Who won the war between the french and the british