 Both sides were surprised, but the French and Indians quickly organized themselves and made a vicious onslaught against the British.Gage's men, and the work crews they were guarding, turned and fled in a panic, right into the arriving column of regulars, which included Braddock and his entourage.The discipline of the British regulars broke down, and a panicked retreat began, with the French and Indians firing at them from the cover of the surrounding woods.