A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of.The Waterloo position was a strong one.

Field Commander: Napoleon Dan Verssen Rodeo Champion. Will choose to cover the battles (see my earlier review of Commands. Gustavus understood the role of shock in combat and sought to maximize it by hauling genuine field artillery to the field of battle to support his infantry while it maneuvered, and in firefights, rather than having the big guns follow in a cumbersome siege train to be deployed mainly against fortifications or solely in static position in battle.

It consisted of a long ridge running east–west, perpendicular to, and bisected by, the main road to Brussels. Along the crest of the ridge ran the road, a deep. Near the crossroads with the Brussels road was that was roughly in the centre of Wellington's position and served as his command post for much of the day. Wellington deployed his infantry in a line just behind the crest of the ridge following the Ohain road.Using the, as he had many times previously, Wellington concealed his strength from the French, with the exception of his and artillery. The length of front of the battlefield was also relatively short at 2.5 miles (4 km). This allowed Wellington to draw up his forces in depth, which he did in the centre and on the right, all the way towards the village of, in the expectation that the Prussians would reinforce his left during the day. — Wellington.When I reached Lloyd's abandoned guns, I stood near them for about a minute to contemplate the scene: it was grand beyond description.

Hougoumont and its wood sent up a broad flame through the dark masses of smoke that overhung the field; beneath this cloud the French were indistinctly visible. Here a waving mass of long red feathers could be seen; there, gleams as from a sheet of steel showed that the cuirassiers were moving; 400 cannon were belching forth fire and death on every side; the roaring and shouting were indistinguishably commixed—together they gave me an idea of a labouring volcano. Bodies of infantry and cavalry were pouring down on us, and it was time to leave contemplation, so I moved towards our columns, which were standing up in square. — Major Macready, Light Division, 30th British Regiment, Halkett's brigade.The fighting at Hougoumont has often been characterised as a diversionary attack to draw in Wellington's reserves which escalated into an all-day battle and drew in French reserves instead. In fact there is a good case to believe that both Napoleon and Wellington thought that holding Hougoumont was key to winning the battle.

Hougoumont was a part of the battlefield that Napoleon could see clearly, and he continued to direct resources towards it and its surroundings all afternoon (33 battalions in all, 14,000 troops). Similarly, though the house never contained a large number of troops, Wellington devoted 21 battalions (12,000 troops) over the course of the afternoon in keeping the hollow way open to allow fresh troops and ammunition to reach the buildings. He moved several artillery batteries from his hard-pressed centre to support Hougoumont, and later stated that 'the success of the battle turned upon closing the gates at Hougoumont'. The Grand Battery starts its bombardment. Scotland Forever!, the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo painted byAt this crucial juncture, Uxbridge ordered his two brigades of British heavy cavalry—formed unseen behind the ridge—to charge in support of the hard-pressed infantry. The, known as the Household Brigade, commanded by Major-General, consisted of guards regiments: the and, the (the Blues), and the. The, also known as the Union Brigade, commanded by Major-General, was so called as it consisted of an English, the; a Scottish,; and an Irish,; regiment of heavy dragoons.

British Household Cavalry chargingMore than 20 years of warfare had eroded the numbers of suitable cavalry mounts available on the European continent; this resulted in the British heavy cavalry entering the 1815 campaign with the finest horses of any contemporary cavalry arm. British cavalry troopers also received excellent mounted swordsmanship training. They were, however, inferior to the French in manoeuvring in large formations, cavalier in attitude, and unlike the infantry some units had scant experience of warfare. The Scots Greys, for example, had not been in action since 1795. According to Wellington, though they were superior individual horsemen, they were inflexible and lacked tactical ability. 'I considered one squadron a match for two French, I didn't like to see four British opposed to four French: and as the numbers increased and order, of course, became more necessary I was the more unwilling to risk our men without having a superiority in numbers.'

The two brigades had a combined field strength of about 2,000 (2,651 official strength); they charged with the 47-year-old Uxbridge leading them and a very inadequate number of squadrons held in reserve. There is evidence that Uxbridge gave an order, the morning of the battle, to all cavalry brigade commanders to commit their commands on their own initiative, as direct orders from himself might not always be forthcoming, and to 'support movements to their front'. It appears that Uxbridge expected the brigades of, and the Dutch cavalry to provide support to the British heavies.

Uxbridge later regretted leading the charge in person, saying 'I committed a great mistake', when he should have been organising an adequate reserve to move forward in support. — Lord Edward Somerset.Continuing their attack, the squadrons on the left of the Household Brigade then destroyed Aulard's brigade. Despite attempts to recall them, they continued past La Haye Sainte and found themselves at the bottom of the hill on blown horses facing Schmitz's brigade.To their left, the Union Brigade suddenly swept through the infantry lines, giving rise to the legend that some of the clung onto their stirrups and accompanied them into the charge.

From the centre leftwards, the Royal Dragoons destroyed Bourgeois' brigade, capturing the eagle of the 105th Ligne. The Inniskillings routed the other brigade of Quoit's division, and the Scots Greys came upon the lead French regiment, 45th Ligne, as it was still reforming after having crossed the sunken road and broken through the hedge row in pursuit of the British infantry. The Greys captured the eagle of the 45th Ligne and overwhelmed Grenier's brigade. These would be the only two captured by the British during the battle. On Wellington's extreme left, Durutte's division had time to form squares and fend off groups of Greys. Dutch Belgian carabiniers at Waterloo.As Ponsonby tried to rally his men against the French cuirassers, he was attacked by Jaquinot's lancers and captured.

A nearby party of Scots Greys saw the capture and attempted to rescue their brigade commander. However, the French lancer who had captured Ponsonby killed him and then used his lance to kill three of the Scots Greys who had attempted the rescue. By the time Ponsonby died, the momentum had entirely returned in favour of the French. Milhaud's and Jaquinot's cavalrymen drove the Union Brigade from the valley.

The result was very heavy losses for the British cavalry. A countercharge, by British light dragoons under Major-General Vandeleur and Dutch–Belgian light dragoons and under Major-General on the left wing, and Dutch–Belgian under Major-General Trip in the centre, repelled the French cavalry.All figures quoted for the losses of the cavalry brigades as a result of this charge are estimates, as casualties were only noted down after the day of the battle and were for the battle as a whole.

Some historians, Barbero for example, believe the official rolls tend to overestimate the number of cavalrymen present in their squadrons on the field of battle and that the proportionate losses were, as a result, considerably higher than the numbers on paper might suggest. The Union Brigade lost heavily in both officers and men killed (including its commander, William Ponsonby, and Colonel Hamilton of the Scots Greys) and wounded. The 2nd Life Guards and the King's Dragoon Guards of the Household Brigade also lost heavily (with Colonel Fuller, commander of the King's DG, killed).

However, the 1st Life Guards, on the extreme right of the charge, and the Blues, who formed a reserve, had kept their cohesion and consequently suffered significantly fewer casualties. On the rolls the official, or paper strength, for both Brigades is given as 2,651 while Barbero and others estimate the actual strength at around 2,000 and the official recorded losses for the two heavy cavalry brigades during the battle was 1,205 troopers and 1,303 horses. 's The Battle of Waterloo (1824). Duke of Wellington, centre, flanked on his left by Lord Uxbridge in hussar uniform. On the image's far left, Cpl. Styles of the Royal Dragoons flourishes the eagle of the 105 eme Ligne. The wounded Prince of Orange is carried from the field in the foreground.Some historians, such as Chandler, Weller, Uffindell, and Corum, assert that the British heavy cavalry were destroyed as a viable force following their first, epic charge.

Barbero states that the Scots Greys were practically wiped out and that the other two regiments of the Union Brigade suffered comparable losses. Other historians, such as Clark-Kennedy and Wood, citing British eyewitness accounts, describe the continuing role of the heavy cavalry after their charge.

The heavy brigades, far from being ineffective, continued to provide valuable services. They countercharged French cavalry numerous times (both brigades), halted a combined cavalry and infantry attack (Household Brigade only), were used to bolster the morale of those units in their vicinity at times of crisis, and filled gaps in the Anglo-allied line caused by high casualties in infantry formations (both brigades). This service was rendered at a very high cost, as close combat with French cavalry, carbine fire, infantry musketry, and—more deadly than all of these—artillery fire steadily eroded the number of effectives in the two brigades. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon the whole Union Brigade could field only three squadrons, though these countercharged French cavalry, losing half their number in the process. At the end of the fighting, the two brigades, by this time combined, could muster one squadron.Fourteen thousand French troops of d'Erlon's I Corps had been committed to this attack.

The I Corps had been driven in rout back across the valley costing Napoleon 3,000 casualties including over 2,000 prisoners taken. Also some valuable time was lost, as the charge had dispersed numerous units and it would take until 16:00 for d'Erlon's shaken corps to reform. And although elements of the Prussians now began to appear on the field to his right, Napoleon had already ordered Lobau's VI corps to move to the right flank to hold them back before d'Erlon's attack began.The French cavalry attack. Leading the French cavalry charge, from 'sA little before 16:00, Ney noted an apparent exodus from Wellington's centre. He mistook the movement of casualties to the rear for the beginnings of a retreat, and sought to exploit it.

Following the defeat of d'Erlon's Corps, Ney had few infantry reserves left, as most of the infantry had been committed either to the futile Hougoumont attack or to the defence of the French right. Ney therefore tried to break Wellington's centre with cavalry alone.Initially, Milhaud's reserve cavalry corps of cuirassiers and ' light cavalry division of the Imperial Guard, some 4,800 sabres, were committed. When these were repulsed, 's heavy cavalry corps and 's heavy cavalry of the Guard were added to the massed assault, a total of around 9,000 cavalry in 67 squadrons. When Napoleon saw the charge he said it was an hour too soon. French, by Louis DumoulinWellington's infantry responded by forming squares (hollow box-formations four ranks deep). Squares were much smaller than usually depicted in paintings of the battle—a 500-man battalion square would have been no more than 60 feet (18 m) in length on a side.

Squares that stood their ground were deadly to cavalry, as cavalry could not engage with soldiers behind a hedge of bayonets, but were themselves vulnerable to fire from the squares. Horses would not charge a square, nor could they be outflanked, but they were vulnerable to artillery or infantry. Wellington ordered his artillery crews to take shelter within the squares as the cavalry approached, and to return to their guns and resume fire as they retreated.Witnesses in the British infantry recorded as many as 12 assaults, though this probably includes successive waves of the same general attack; the number of general assaults was undoubtedly far fewer.

Kellermann, recognising the futility of the attacks, tried to reserve the elite carabinier brigade from joining in, but eventually Ney spotted them and insisted on their involvement.A British eyewitness of the first French cavalry attack, an officer in the Foot Guards, recorded his impressions very lucidly and somewhat poetically:About four p.m., the enemy's artillery in front of us ceased firing all of a sudden, and we saw large masses of cavalry advance: not a man present who survived could have forgotten in after life the awful grandeur of that charge. You discovered at a distance what appeared to be an overwhelming, long moving line, which, ever advancing, glittered like a stormy wave of the sea when it catches the sunlight. On they came until they got near enough, whilst the very earth seemed to vibrate beneath the thundering tramp of the mounted host.

One might suppose that nothing could have resisted the shock of this terrible moving mass. They were the famous cuirassiers, almost all old soldiers, who had distinguished themselves on most of the battlefields of Europe. In an almost incredibly short period they were within twenty yards of us, shouting 'Vive l'Empereur!' The word of command, 'Prepare to receive cavalry', had been given, every man in the front ranks knelt, and a wall bristling with steel, held together by steady hands, presented itself to the infuriated cuirassiers.

'The artillery officers had the range so accurately, that every shot and shell fell into the very centre of their masses' (Original inscription and drawing after )In essence this type of massed cavalry attack relied almost entirely on psychological shock for effect. Close artillery support could disrupt infantry squares and allow cavalry to penetrate; at Waterloo, however, co-operation between the French cavalry and artillery was not impressive. The French artillery did not get close enough to the Anglo-allied infantry in sufficient numbers to be decisive. Artillery fire between charges did produce mounting casualties, but most of this fire was at relatively long range and was often indirect, at targets beyond the ridge.

If infantry being attacked held firm in their square defensive formations, and were not panicked, cavalry on their own could do very little damage to them. The French cavalry attacks were repeatedly repelled by the steadfast infantry squares, the harrying fire of British artillery as the French cavalry recoiled down the slopes to regroup, and the decisive countercharges of Wellington's light cavalry regiments, the Dutch heavy cavalry brigade, and the remaining effectives of the Household Cavalry.

At least one artillery officer disobeyed Wellington's order to seek shelter in the adjacent squares during the charges., who commanded, thought the Brunswick troops on either side of him so shaky that he kept his battery of six nine-pounders in action against the cavalry throughout, to great effect.I thus allowed them to advance unmolested until the head of the column might have been about fifty or sixty yards from us, and then gave the word, 'Fire!' The effect was terrible. Nearly the whole leading rank fell at once; and the round shot, penetrating the column carried confusion throughout its extent. The discharge of every gun was followed by a fall of men and horses like that of grass before the mower's scythe. With the in supportEventually it became obvious, even to Ney, that cavalry alone were achieving little.

Belatedly, he organised a combined-arms attack, using Bachelu's division and Tissot's regiment of Foy's division from Reille's II Corps (about 6,500 infantrymen) plus those French cavalry that remained in a fit state to fight. This assault was directed along much the same route as the previous heavy cavalry attacks (between Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte). It was halted by a charge of the Household Brigade cavalry led by Uxbridge. The British cavalry were unable, however, to break the French infantry, and fell back with losses from musketry fire.Uxbridge recorded that he tried to lead the Dutch Carabiniers, under Major-General, to renew the attack and that they refused to follow him. Other members of the British cavalry staff also commented on this occurrence. However, there is no support for this incident in Dutch or Belgian sources.

Meanwhile, Bachelu's and Tissot's men and their cavalry supports were being hard hit by fire from artillery and from Adam's infantry brigade, and they eventually fell back. Although the French cavalry caused few direct casualties to Wellington's centre, artillery fire onto his infantry squares caused many. Wellington's cavalry, except for Sir John Vandeleur's and Sir Hussey Vivian's brigades on the far left, had all been committed to the fight, and had taken significant losses. The situation appeared so desperate that the Cumberland Hussars, the only Hanoverian cavalry regiment present, fled the field spreading alarm all the way to Brussels. French capture of La Haye Sainte. — Captain James Shaw, Chief of Staff 3rd Division.The success Napoleon needed to continue his offensive had occurred.

Ney was on the verge of breaking the Anglo-allied centre.Along with this artillery fire a multitude of French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions behind La Haye Sainte and poured an effective fire into the squares. The situation for the Anglo-allies was now so dire that the 33rd Regiment's colours and all of Halkett's brigade's colours were sent to the rear for safety, described by historian Alessandro Barbero as, '. a measure that was without precedent'. Wellington, noticing the slackening of fire from La Haye Sainte, with his staff rode closer to it.

French skirmishers appeared around the building and fired on the British command as it struggled to get away through the hedgerow along the road. The Prince of Orange then ordered a single battalion of the KGL, the Fifth, to recapture the farm despite the obvious presence of enemy cavalry. Their Colonel, obeyed and led the battalion down the slope, chasing off some French skirmishers until French cuirassiers fell on his open flank, killed him, destroyed his battalion and took its colour. A Dutch–Belgian cavalry regiment ordered to charge retreated from the field instead, fired on by their own infantry. Merlen's Light Cavalry Brigade charged the French artillery taking position near La Haye Sainte but were shot to pieces and the brigade fell apart. The Netherlands Cavalry Division, Wellington's last cavalry reserve behind the centre having lost half their strength was now useless and the French cavalry, despite its losses, were masters of the field, compelling the Anglo-allied infantry to remain in square.

More and more French artillery was brought forward.A French battery advanced to within 300 yards of the 1/1st Nassau square causing heavy casualties. When the Nassauers attempted to attack the battery they were ridden down by a squadron of cuirassiers. Yet another battery deployed on the flank of Mercer's battery and shot up its horses and limbers and pushed Mercer back. Mercer later recalled, 'The rapidity and precision of this fire was quite appalling.

Every shot almost took effect, and I certainly expected we should all be annihilated. The saddle-bags, in many instances were torn from horses' backs. One shell I saw explode under the two finest wheel-horses in the troop down they dropped'.French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions, especially one on a knoll overlooking the square of the 27th. Unable to break square to drive off the French infantry because of the presence of French cavalry and artillery, the 27th had to remain in that formation and endure the fire of the tirailleurs.

— Edward Cotton, 7th Hussars,During this time many of Wellington's generals and aides were killed or wounded including Somerset, Canning, de Lancey, Alten and Cooke. The situation was now critical and Wellington, trapped in an infantry square and ignorant of events beyond it, was desperate for the arrival of help from the Prussians. He later wrote,The time they occupied in approaching seemed interminable.

Both they and my watch seemed to have stuck fast. Arrival of the Prussian IV Corps: Plancenoit. Napoleon addresses the as it prepares to attack the Anglo-allied centre at WaterlooMeanwhile, with Wellington's centre exposed by the fall of La Haye Sainte and the Plancenoit front temporarily stabilised, Napoleon committed his last reserve, the hitherto-undefeated Imperial Guard infantry.

This attack, mounted at around 19:30, was intended to break through Wellington's centre and roll up his line away from the Prussians. Although it is one of the most celebrated passages of arms in military history, it had been unclear which units actually participated. It appears that it was mounted by five battalions of the Middle Guard, and not by the grenadiers or chasseurs of the Old Guard. Three Old Guard battalions did move forward and formed the attack's second line, though they remained in reserve and did not directly assault the Anglo-allied line. I saw four regiments of the middle guard, conducted by the Emperor, arriving. With these troops, he wished to renew the attack, and penetrate the centre of the enemy. He ordered me to lead them on; generals, officers and soldiers all displayed the greatest intrepidity; but this body of troops was too weak to resist, for a long time, the forces opposed to it by the enemy, and it was soon necessary to renounce the hope which this attack had, for a few moments, inspired.

The storming of Plancenoit byAt about the same time, the Prussian 5th, 14th, and 16th Brigades were starting to push through Plancenoit, in the third assault of the day. The church was by now on fire, while its graveyard—the French centre of resistance—had corpses strewn about 'as if by a whirlwind'. Five Guard battalions were deployed in support of the Young Guard, virtually all of which was now committed to the defence, along with remnants of Lobau's corps. The key to the Plancenoit position proved to be the Chantelet woods to the south. Pirch's II Corps had arrived with two brigades and reinforced the attack of IV Corps, advancing through the woods.The 25th Regiment's musketeer battalions threw the 1/2e Grenadiers (Old Guard) out of the Chantelet woods, outflanking Plancenoit and forcing a retreat. The Old Guard retreated in good order until they met the mass of troops retreating in panic, and became part of that rout. The Prussian IV Corps advanced beyond Plancenoit to find masses of French retreating in disorder from British pursuit.

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The Prussians were unable to fire for fear of hitting Wellington's units. This was the fifth and final time that Plancenoit changed hands.French forces not retreating with the Guard were surrounded in their positions and eliminated, neither side asking for nor offering quarter. The French Young Guard Division reported 96 per cent casualties, and two-thirds of Lobau's Corps ceased to exist.

Cuirass holed by a cannonball at Waterloo, belonging to Antoine Fauveau Despite their great courage and stamina, the French Guards fighting in the village began to show signs of wavering. The church was already on fire with columns of red flame coming out of the windows, aisles and doors. In the village itself—still the scene of bitter house-to-house fighting—everything was burning, adding to the confusion. However, once Major von Witzleben's manoeuvre was accomplished and the French Guards saw their flank and rear threatened, they began to withdraw. The Guard Chasseurs under General formed the rearguard. The remnants of the Guard left in a great rush, leaving large masses of artillery, equipment and ammunition wagons in the wake of their retreat.

The evacuation of Plancenoit led to the loss of the position that was to be used to cover the withdrawal of the French Army to Charleroi. The Guard fell back from Plancenoit in the direction of Maison du Roi and Caillou. Unlike other parts of the battlefield, there were no cries of 'Sauve qui peut!'

Instead, the cry 'Sauvons nos aigles!' ('Let's save our eagles!' ) could be heard.

Invites the last remnants of the French Imperial Guard to surrender, painted by.The French right, left, and centre had all now failed. The last cohesive French force consisted of two battalions of the Old Guard stationed around La Belle Alliance; they had been so placed to act as a final reserve and to protect Napoleon in the event of a French retreat. He hoped to rally the French army behind them, but as retreat turned into rout, they too were forced to withdraw, one on either side of La Belle Alliance, in square as protection against Coalition cavalry.

Until persuaded that the battle was lost and he should leave, Napoleon commanded the square to the left of the inn. Adam's Brigade charged and forced back this square, while the Prussians engaged the other.As dusk fell, both squares withdrew in relatively good order, but the French artillery and everything else fell into the hands of the Prussian and Anglo-allied armies. The retreating Guards were surrounded by thousands of fleeing, broken French troops. Coalition cavalry harried the fugitives until about 23:00, with Gneisenau pursuing them as far as Genappe before ordering a halt. There, Napoleon's abandoned carriage was captured, still containing of 's, and diamonds left behind in the rush to escape.

These diamonds became part of King Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia's crown jewels; one Major Keller of the F/15th received the with oak leaves for the feat. By this time 78 guns and 2,000 prisoners had also been taken, including more generals.There remained to us still four squares of the Old Guard to protect the retreat. These brave grenadiers, the choice of the army, forced successively to retire, yielded ground foot by foot, till, overwhelmed by numbers, they were almost entirely annihilated. From that moment, a retrograde movement was declared, and the army formed nothing but a confused mass. There was not, however, a total rout, nor the cry of sauve qui peut, as has been calumniously stated in the bulletin. — Antoine-Henri Jomini.The Prussian soldier, historian, and theorist, who as a young colonel had served as chief-of-staff to Thielmann's Prussian III Corps during the Waterloo campaign, expressed the following opinion:Bonaparte and the authors who support him have always attempted to portray the great catastrophes that befell him as the result of chance.

They seek to make their readers believe that through his great wisdom and extraordinary energy the whole project had already moved forward with the greatest confidence, that complete success was but a hair's breadth away, when treachery, accident, or even fate, as they sometimes call it, ruined everything. He and his supporters do not want to admit that huge mistakes, sheer recklessness, and, above all, overreaching ambition that exceeded all realistic possibilities, were the true causes. The at WaterlooSome portions of the terrain on the battlefield have been altered from their 1815 appearance. Tourism began the day after the battle, with Captain Mercer noting that on 19 June 'a carriage drove on the ground from Brussels, the inmates of which, alighting, proceeded to examine the field'. In 1820, the Netherlands' King ordered the construction of a monument. The, a giant artificial hill, was constructed here using 300,000 cubic metres (390,000 cu yd) of earth taken from the ridge at the centre of the British line, effectively removing the southern bank of Wellington's sunken road.Every one is aware that the variously inclined undulations of the plains, where the engagement between Napoleon and Wellington took place, are no longer what they were on 18 June 1815.

By taking from this mournful field the wherewithal to make a monument to it, its real relief has been taken away, and history, disconcerted, no longer finds her bearings there. It has been disfigured for the sake of glorifying it. Wellington, when he beheld Waterloo once more, two years later, exclaimed, 'They have altered my field of battle!' Where the great pyramid of earth, surmounted by the lion, rises to-day, there was a hillock which descended in an easy slope towards the Nivelles road, but which was almost an escarpment on the side of the highway to Genappe. The elevation of this escarpment can still be measured by the height of the two knolls of the two great sepulchres which enclose the road from Genappe to Brussels: one, the English tomb, is on the left; the other, the German tomb, is on the right. There is no French tomb. The whole of that plain is a sepulchre for France.

was shattered by a at the Battle of Waterloo and removed by a surgeon. The artificial leg used by Uxbridge for the rest of his life was donated to a Waterloo Museum after his death.

There is also a second leg on display at his house, Plas Newydd, on Anglesey. (1803–1815): involved Napoleon Bonaparte's French Empire against the United Kingdom and various combinations of other European powers in the to coalitions.: describes the cultural impact of the battle. awarded to those soldiers of the who fought at the battle.Notes.

On the plus side: the costumes and interiors are magnificent, Isabella Rossellini is good as Josephine, the historical events depicted are presented accurately, and the series gets better as it goes along (don't give up after the muddled first episode!). On the minus side: we never really get a feel for what Napoleon actually stood for or why and how he was such a military genius, the film dwells on his private life when it could be dealing with the huge social and political issues of the time, the actors playing some of the secondary characters are laughably bad (Murat, Ney, Marie-Louise), and one has to strain to hear the dialogue (due to the foreign accents, background noise and music). As for Christian Clavier, it's amazing how the comments on his performance stretch from 'brilliant' to 'trash.' My own view is that he was off the mark as the younger Napoleon, but as the mature Napoleon had basically the right look and plenty of gravitas. A good contribution to the body of film about the Emperor but also full of flaws. It is probably pointless recommending or not recommending this series as there are two types of people that are going to buy this: The Napoleon nuts like me and the period drama people.

The latter will be in their element as the domestic sets are both lavish and authentic. There are also some remarkable likenesses such as Josephine, Murat and Caulencourt.

On first viewing I was left a little cold. I thought that at last a substantial amount of time had been allocated to this, perhaps the greatest of all individual subjects. However, if there is one thing that any expert on the subject will tell you, it is that there is no way that you can even begin to condense this subject into 60 hours, let alone 6. The worst mistake that this film makes is attempting to replicate the battles themselves. The camera angles pan across large expanses revealing (at best) eight or nine hundred extras.

All this whilst regular references are made to 20,000 losses on each side (Austerlitz, Eylau, Essling and especially Waterloo). Sometimes, it is almost laughable and cheapens the rest of the film. The makers would have been much better off by excluding any military action and just leaving it to innuendo – after all, Borodino is just referred to by Caulencourt when in Moscow conversing with Murat.

Thank God they didn't try to replicate that terrible battle! So, the plus points: Napoleon: At first I thought that Clavier was miles off the mark. If, like me you have seen and were bowled over by Rod Steiger's rendition in Waterloo then this will get some getting used to. After all, Napoleon is a red-blooded Corsican genius, capable of flying off the handle at any time, exhausting his counterparts and friends alike.

Not in this version. Yet, Clavier has one saving grace.

He introduces a measured, human approach that we know Napoleon had to have had from time to time. Almost schizophrenic some might say (Megalomania is the preferred terminology). I don't prefer his interpretation of Napoleon's to Steiger, but it is warmer if not necessarily more Corsican. If we could introduce this to Steiger's approach you may have the perfect Napoleon. The relationship between Napoleon and Josephine is also one of the better points of this series.

Clavier's in-love out-of-love relationship is perfectly handled without the usual mushiness. Here is a relationship based on love, intensity, necessity and ultimately friendship and loss. Finally, Caulencourt is dealt with in some depth, as is Fauche, Murat and Talleyrand. But where is Berthier, Bessieres, Augereau, Davout and Ney (who suddenly appears towards the end despite his Russian campaign heroics)? But unless we get someone with $500,000,000 willing to approach this subject with the endeavour it deserves then we are left with this kind of product.

So overall, not too bad. Vive l'Emperor! I was never interested in Napoleon. Although I visited the Louvre I didn't go to see Napoleon's chambers, which are on display there. I would have never watched this series if it wasn't for the actors in it.

And now, after six hours of Napoleon and nothing but Napoleon, I actually got interested in the chap and think about reading a biography. And I'm sure this is down to the excellent performance of Christian Clavier. Simple as that. Okay, his English could be a tiny bit better, agreed, but I rather get used to an accented English than to a bad performance by English native speakers. Christian Clavier is truly an excellent actor, although he might be best known (in France) for his parts in very silly comedies. If he only decided to take more 'serious' parts, maybe more people would notice what a fantastic talent he has. What he can express just with his eyes is quite stunning.

But that may be a female point of view. The other well known actors had, of course, smaller parts, in comparison. But none of them was miscast. And I especially liked how actors from different countries once again worked together. This as well is what the European idea is about.

One of the few things I didn't like were the flashbacks at the end. They were completely out of place and should be cut out. They don't make sense at all at the end of the film. And a last remark about Monsieur Clavier's language skills: The first way he said 'Ich liebe dich' got me guffawing, the second way he made my heart melt.

Maybe he should think about doing a film in German.? Detailing the life and times of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon the four part mini-series is a stunning portrayal of one of Europe's greatest men. One minute we are in a tent somewhere in the olive fields of Italy the next we are in a ball watching Napoleon meet the beautiful Comtesse Walweska.

Christian Clavier plays a fantastic Napoleon Bonaparte with that cunning and yet short tempered mind that the Emperor is so famous for. Isabella Rossellini does a good job at playing Josephine De Beauharnais and Marie Horbiger plays an equally good Marie-Louise matching the real Empress's personality well. Out of the three women however Alexandra Maria Lara played the strongest character as Comtesse Walweska, the enigma who in the latter stage of the series takes a prominent role. I found John Malkovich's portrayal of Charles-Maurice Talleyrand yet another fantastic performance. Napoleon's family was also represented with great representations of Caroline and of Murat Bonaparte. The role of Fouche was well represented by Gerard Depardieu. In total however I found the series too short, I thought it should have been double the size.

The Peninsular Campaign is way to brief in the series and many of the battles are not accurately represented nor really showing Napoleon's real genius which was on the battlefield as well as at the drawing table. The 16 Marshals are badly represented with only a couple being mentioned and Marshal Ney 'The Fearless' is briefly added in at the end to fit the story line. Many of the key points of the era are missing from this otherwise stunning portrayal of one of Europe's Greatest Men. In my opinion, the major flaw of this production is that it doesn't aim properly. There is no way to capture the entire napoleonic era, not in 6 hours and not in 60 hours. The best angle is to pick one topic and focus on it.

Picking napoleon is of course the most natural thing to do. Focusing on his character alone is slightly more problematic.

It could've been done better if the character wasn't written so flatly - there is a lot of conflict inside him considering his origin, his position and the many pressures from all sides that he constantly struggles against, quite successfully at times. None of that is shown. We get a cardboard figure, with many good points missing (like the jena battle, where his victory was sidelined by one of his marshals' success at the same time in auerstadt, and napoleon's dilemma regarding the man), many interesting characters missing or lacking depth (massena, bernadot, ney) and other faults. The small scale of the massive battles is a shame, also, although judging from other comments here, the DVD version could have them more on the wide-scale. All in all, it could've been better. TV movies are judged less harshly then 'real' movies.

Maybe if the creators where put more to the test, this work could've achieved a higher standard. Not all movies have the BEST graphics, and maybe this one didn't have graphics that would blow you away, but that wasn't really the point, and it looked fine, to me. I caught part of this on A&E, recently. I watched a few minutes, then turned the channel to watch a regular show. I came back to it, and watched the end of the first half. The next day, I ran into the second part. I missed quite a bit, but watched the last hour, or so.

I started craving the rest of it. I got online and did a search, found it was out on DVD, and made a trip to my local video retailer. I got the 3-DVD set and have since made a website devoted to Christian Clavier because I thought he did a wonderful job, and this movie made me a fan almost instantly. I've always liked Isabella Rossellini, and her role as Josephine was very convincing.

I've always been a fan of Napoleon movies, and I've seen several, but this one has to be the best. The interaction between Napoleon and Josephine and the action during the war scenes had me on the edge of my seat. Most people know how the end turned out, but that didn't stop me from thinking that things would be different.

I highly recommend this movie, in DVD format for the 'making of' section. I wish I had watched this in high school because I would have learned quite a bit. Go watch this movie!

With an exceptional performance by Clavier, and the rest of the Napoleon cast, this multi-million dollar miniseries is highly underrated. It depicts Napoleon's life well for such a short lifespan, but there are a few mistakes that accompany the film. First, Malkovich wasn't the best choice to play the renowned diplomat Talleyrand. Malkovich portrays him in a rather bland and placid manner, and the director shows him as a bit of a weakling, whereas Talleyrand was one of the most powerful men in all Europe - even after Napoleon's defeat.

Second, Alain Doutey as Marshal Ney. Not as enthusiastic as the real Marshal Ney would have been. His famous line, repeated in the film, was said unenthusiastic and without spirit. Simoneau would have done better had he shown elements of the Duke of Wellington to contrast the two military leaders. We definitely didn't really want to see the blubbering Louis XVIII, or the King/Prince of Spain, for that matter. Other than that however, the rest of the performances were fantastic.

Josephine, Caulaincourt, Caroline Bonaparte, Murat - and of course, the Emperor Napoleon, were all shown true to form. Being interested in the subject and seeing the amazing cast it had, I thought i would enjoy this mini-series and put both DVDs (eps 1-2 and eps 3-4) on my Netflix. What a disappointment! I had to force myself to get through episode 1.

I thought it might get better with the second episode, but no such luck. The story keeps dragging, the acting is uninspiring, the dialog plain boring and almost laughable. Yes, this is one of the most expensive European productions ever made, but no matter how much money they spent on this, it still looks cheaply done.

The colors are so over the top vibrant and colorful that it lacks any authenticity. And honestly, with its $46 million budget, would it have been so hard to find a real, beautiful sunset near the French sea cost instead of putting Clavier in front of a super fake looking green screen??? What was the most disappointing about this production is the acting.

And honestly, you can't blame the actors for it. The script and dialog they had to work with is just terrible, over dramatic and way too wordy. Not everything needs to be explained. Not every character's name need to be mentioned in every single line of dialog. Less is more.

But here, more is the norm. Well, I now realize I need to log onto Netflix, and delete my next film in my queue: Napoleon Disc II. I have to admit my knowledge of Bonaparte and French history is sketchy at best. When I saw this DVD set for sale, I grabbed it, being fairly certain that it would be quality and worth watching. Well, four episodes later, having become totally addicted, I hope I have better knowledge because I found it fascinating and enthralling.

I don't like battle scenes, they evoke too many emotions for me of the wastage of humankind, but I found the graphics clearly illustrated for me where the campaigns were heading, what happened and I think I learned from it. I found the acting was convincing, I loved Josephine and ached for her when they divorced; I found our hero more sympathetic that I had expected, and that was pleasing because a nation such as France would not blindly follow someone who was not passionate about the country. I thought that this was (given obvious time/money limitations) quite splendid and can't wait to share it! As a historian, I thought this movie was lacking in certain parts. Yet it had a lot of history in it, which I seemed to me to be correct and well done.

There are a lot of beautiful shots, wonderful colors and the art department did a great job in this movie. The costumes of Napoleon and the foreign minister was almost magic. I was taken away by the details of the costumes and the scenery. I was most likely not filmed at Versailles or Paris, yet you had the impression that they were filming there. It was generally well edited and filmed. That said, there are several things that bothered me.

For example, when Napeolon moves across Europe with his army and confronts the Allied forces or even the Prussians; they animated this by computers. I didn't think this was at all necessary, I think it would have been a better movie if the director simple left this out (that is what most directors do anyway). The maps rather bothered me, too many details; names and dates of battles covered were enough. The other thing that really bothered me was the whole accents.

We are supposed to be watching a movie set in Napoleonic France where people spoke French. Most of the actors don't come from France and so speak with a heavy American or German accent.

I first noticed this when Murat was attacking the Directoire and so says 'attack' in a clear American accent; this bothered me. Pocket city guide. I would have preferred to have the movie in French and subtitled.

Although quite lengthy, this documentary never became boring. Much to the credit of the script writers, there is an excellent balance between action scenes, political intrigue and romance. This all leads to a much better understanding of the character of Napoleon Bonaparte, although more credit could have been given to his constitutional and governance reforms which are still tangible for many European nations today. The original score and photography is of a very high standard, but what is even more important, I have rarely come across a movie in which the casting was this well tailored to the characters. Rather than putting famous names in all the lead roles, a true effort has been made to match the skills of the actor to the character in a fine, pan-European cast.

Christian Clavier's accent is quite charming: I guess this is how we think Napoleon would have sounded, if he would have spoken English. This is the first Napoleon epic where the chief speaks with a French accent; that is good. HIs words are his, many of the events are accurate. Because his life was crowded with events, all detail is left out except the love interest of Josephine. This is a modern interpretation, so any glory of war is ruthlessly stamped out, to the point that great battles are always seen as useless slaughter with piles of corpses. Well, in part they are. If you're looking for any of La Gloire, a big part of the period, you'll look in vain.

The people rarely cheer Napoleon. We know his soldiers often shouted 'Vive L'Empereur' as he passed.

Instead, in the film, they barely notice him on the battlefield. Isabel Rossellini as Josephine is seen too often, as (one of the) the women of his life. Murat stands in for all his Marshals, as a film can only pay so many actors.

John Malkovich as Talleyrand is very good. An interesting and intelligent film. Clavier plays the part of Napoleon well, although in the interests of covering all his life, he is a bit one dimensional.

If you thirst for battlefield tactics, and scenes of battle, you'll be disappointed. Only one battle is covered in any detail is Austerlitz, his finest victory. Napoleon was an extremely intelligent and relatively peaceful man. Most of the wars he fought were forced upon him by European nations in the pay of the English, who could not abide him. He was a better man than they were. Yes, the 'Eagles' or monarchs of Europe and England did ultimately defeat Bonaparte. They did destroy his armies.

They did crush the people's revolution. Napoleon made mistakes, mistakes that were already in history and would be repeated again.

Even now in our century. His war against the Kings of Europe was the good fight. His men, his people wanted an end to eat. They didn't want to just eat cake. They wanted bread.

The despotic rulers of Europe sowed the seeds of their own end. Had Bonaparte made a few less mistakes, or maybe just one, he would have been successful. As it was, it would be another 75 to 100 years for Kings/Queens to be eliminated and freedom to reign.

Today, I am often disgusted at how these figure head Kings and Queens, Prince and Princess's carry on, most prominently in England, these kids need to come out and admit they are nothing. God didn't place them in power, the are just people that happen to have been born into their palaces and estates. It's a waste of money.

Had Napoleon not weakened them, and showed the world that they were beatable, the people may not have eventually overthrown them. If Napoleon had been successful it is possible there would have been no WORLD WARS. Both world wars were cause by and set off by various ruling house having treaties and loyalties to each others by cousins, families and in-laws and it was so confusing it lead to WW1.

Then the miserable outcome of WW1 led to WW2, then the Cold War and beyond. The World is still un-dividing and disarming and we still have incredibly huge militaries and expenditures when we can't take care of people around the world.

Napoleon tried to end 100 years war before it started. This is the story of his attempt to end it. Truly his story. Teaser bits of battles, the agony and cost of defeat, his love for people and his women. Not fat drunk. Not a murderer or executioner.

An honorable Battlefield Commander in the name of his people, and the people of the world. A liberator that showed the way to freedom, the way to democracy, that path out of tyranny. Most interesting figure in history. Can't be touched or denied. This is a gorgeous production, with great make-up, costumes, locations, battle scenes etc. (which were nominated for Emmys and other awards). But there are so many weak links in the cast that it makes the film difficult to enjoy.

I guessed (correctly) early on in watching that this must have been a dual-language film, with one cast shot in both English and French, which explains why so many of the actors seem uncomfortable with their lines. Clavier's delivery is often so uncertain that the emotion of the scene is lost. Besides, he lacks the handsome bravura that all the paintings of Napoleon convey so strongly. How can we believe that a whole country blindly followed this soft-spoken, dumpy little person?

Gerard Depardieu seems to have forgotten whatever he learned about speaking English back when he was an English film 'flavor of the month' in the 1980s, although he hasn't lost his strong, menacing presence. Some of the supporting actors are wooden enough to have been Al Gore's stunt doubles, delivering their lines like a child reciting at a class play. John Malkovich practically phones in his part; haven't we seen enough of his mumbling, poker-faced, pursed-lipped villains for one lifetime? The ladies in the cast fare much better, with Isabella Rossellini taking the top prize for believability and realistic emotions. But the Oscar goes to Napoleon's war horse, who puts on a great show of fancy stepping in one unforgettable scene! The production was shot in many of the actual buildings and rooms in which the action really took place, which lends some excitement and credibility. It is lovely to look at.if it weren't for all those darned PEOPLE cluttering up the scenery.

It sounds good in theory, but once you start watching it, it clearly stinks.Silly might be the most accurate word to describe this stinker. Silly acting, silly directing, silly casting. It is particularly difficult to make good historic epics and the pitfalls are numerous. In Napoleon's case, not only did it fall in each and every one of them, it managed to invent some new ones. You will NEVER believe that hundreds of thousands men fought against each other in napoleonic battles. Not with the clumsy 40 fools you'll see on screen.

Simoneau couldnt direct actors if his life depended on it. Most of the amateur work in battle re-enactment (a la SCA or the civil war buffs in America) is a lot better than this. You will NEVER believe that Napoleon was such a fascinating man and that he conquered most of Europe and created an empire. Not with the very funny looking Clavier trying to do his best to get some respect. He's a comedian and not a very skilled one at that. He managed to get some laughs in french comedies, but as an epic figure, he falls flat on his face. Mind you, he wasnt really helped by the script.

The 'script' is in fact like a big gaping hole trying to suck up the dialogues in an attempt to patch itself. All the lines uttered by the actors are used to pump details in the story because the script wasnt able to keep up with its own pace.

Most of the important events are shown in fast-forward so you just cant think about them. It's like tv fast food. And finally, nobody in his right mind will be able to retain from laughing while viewing the very cheap CGI and the lame special effects. God, even Star Trek TOS looked better. Nothing looks even remotely real. From Spain to Moscow, everything looks like it was shot in your backyard.If you want some good Napoleon stories, I'd say watch a documentary or read a book, because this big empty tv dungpile will leave you disappointed.