" ... both a sequel and companion volume to Northern Armageddon : the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Northern Armageddon tells the story of the 1759 campaign, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and the capitulation of Quebec. It then places these events in the context of the European occupation of the Amerindian homelands of North America, French-British imperial rivalry, the independence of the United States, and the post-conquest history of Canada. Repeating this material, even in an abbreviated form, in Backs to the Wall seemed superfluous and unwieldy. Backs to the Wall is thus wholly concerned with the Battle of Sainte-Foy the following year, a much more complex engagement than the Plains of Abraham, and with the last months of the Seven Years' War in North America"--Page 9.

"The Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 and the subsequent capitulation of Quebec set the stage for an equally significant French-British engagement in the struggle for northeastern North America, the Battle of Sainte-Foy. In the spring of 1760, after having suffered a brutal winter, Quebec garrison commander James Murray's troops were vulnerable and reduced to an army of skeletal invalids due to malnutrition and scurvy. Trapped in hostile territory and lacking confidence in the fortifications of Quebec, Murray planned to confront French attackers outside the walls. Instead of waiting at Montreal for the British to attack, Montcalm's successor, François-Gaston de Lévis, returned to the plains for a rematch accompanied by every combatant available--French regulars, Canadian militia and First Peoples warriors. The ensuing Battle of Sainte-Foy was less a battle for territory than a struggle for survival between two equally desperate adversaries. If the British lost the battle, they would lose Quebec. If the French lost the battle, they would very likely lose Canada--both the French and the British had their backs to the wall. MacLeod presents this historical event in riveting detail, from the preparation and day-by-day actions during the engagement to the compelling siege of Quebec by land and ship. Backs to the Wall is an accessible and engaging account of an important episode in Canadian history."-- Provided by publisher.