History Buffs: Waterloo Reaction
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- čas přidán 2. 04. 2024
- See the original - • History Buffs: Waterloo
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Napoleon in Egypt (Extra History) - • Cosplaying Caesar - Na...
Napoleonic Wars (Oversimplified) - • Historian Breaks Down ...
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Oooooh! Loved that movie! It set the standard for what a movie about Napoleon SHOULD be, not the trash that Ridley Scott dreamed up while tripping on LSD.
Belisarius, the best Roman general
100% agree. And I understand some of us get too pedantic sometimes but like Chris I fine so often real history is more interesting than fictional nonsense people come up with in a relatively short period of time.
@@RickBrode I would love to see a movie about Belisarius but the pacing would be difficult. Many of his campaigns took years. Theodora hated him, Procopius hated him (if you believe the "Secret History" that is), and many of his gains were reversed by incompetent subordinates. I'm not sure I'd trust many directors to pull off a compelling movie about him especially since this period of history has so little media attention.
@@celston51 I couldn’t agree more, but sadly as you say this area has little media attention, hardly anyone I speak to knows of Belisarius anyway, so it wouldn’t seem profitable to investors to make a film or series about it. Although if it was done correctly it could be an astounding piece of media
@@celston51In case you didn’t know, Epic History made a great documentary series about Belisarius. Would recommend if you haven’t seen it.
Ah yes the movie Waterloo(1970) the wonders one can do in battle scenes when you have entire soviet army divisions worth of soldiers, their support elements and a soviet cavalry brigade at your beck and call as extras and trained for late 18th century warfare at that.
And they still panic and rout from a scripted cavalry charge that was only a tenth the scale of the actual Waterloo cavalry charge.
I'm pretty sure they also had the Scots Greys in the movie as well.
Early 19th Century to be exact but it's splitting hairs.
"No shit! How badass do you have to be for an entire continent declare war on you personally!" Haha! Love that phrase? Great piece by both History Buffs and VTH!
I got my first like from Chris!!!! What a glorious day!!! Thanks my dude 😎
It should be noted that the reason for this is because the 7th Coalition still saw Louis XVlll as the legitimate ruler of France, not Napoleon. So rather than declare war on France itself, they present it as an intervention to reverse an illegal coup.
That line is still dope as hell, I just thought it'd be worthwhile to explain it a but.
Won't lie - love how Chris turned a 90s intro, into a 5 minute complete nerd out. Can't say I'm not the same when watching films like Waterloo or a Bridge Too Far with the airdrops
10:15 “and that’s when it happened. It got cold. STUPID cold”
Speaking as someone who just discovered 'Sharpe', I almost squealed when you mentioned him and the 95th Rifles.
it would be so good to see him do a Review series of the Entire Sharpe TV show. I think he's the first American I've ever seen with any knowledge of the show.
Ever since I watched the series of Sharpe tv movies back in the 1990s, I have been fascinated by the Napoleonic era. Finding out I have a 5th great-granduncle who very likely fought at Waterloo in the 23rd Light Dragoons just drove that fascination into the stratosphere!
Under the trade embargo Sweden had its first and only "war" with Great Britain. Basically we didn't really want to stop trading with one of our biggest customers so was forced into a "war" by Napoleon or else he would declare war on us. But this was a war where no bullets where fired and instead Swedish ships with trading cargo got "apprehended" by Britain, the cargo "confiscated" and the ship and crew returned a few days later. Same happened to British ships in Swedish water. Went on from 1810-1812.
Didn't know that! Pretty cool way to have a 'war'!
@@jimolygriff Wish more "wars" could be like that XD
My favourite war. As Dr Who once said “and everybody lived” 😂
One of my favourite little scenes in _Waterloo_ was when the cornet is sounding the recall after the Scots Greys charge, and an exasperated Wellington bellows "STOP THAT USELESS NOISE!.....you'll hurt yourself"
Waterloo will always be my 1st or 2nd movie ever made. The uniforms, acting, 17,000 extras, and literally just everything about it is amazing
18:25 one of the coolest part of napoleon, is even in the later battles he helps the men sight the cannons
Sign of panic. Revert to basic skills.
He was one of the boys.
Plot twist: the guy that fainted just had heat stroke from standing there.
6:30 SHOCKER! An actor playing a young Napoleon who is about the RIGHT AGE! Hey Ridley it ain't that frickin' hard to get little details like that correct..
As if Scott lost a bet and was forced to let Phoenix star.
@@anathardayaldar LMAO! Probably some truth to that.
This was what I expected 2023's Napoleon to be like! A Waterloo like Epic with a Patton like story structure. Boy, was I disappointed!!!
Same.
Would love a really well done film on Julius Caesar.
Father dies when he is a teenager, and is now head of the household.
His family is in the Marius faction, and marries into that faction further.
Becomes a priest of Jupiter.
Sulla wins the civil war and Caesar is on the purge list. He eventually is forced to resign his priesthood, freeing him to pursue politics and military service.
Joins the military and gains experience fighting.
Captured by pirates and held hostage. Gets freed, returns with a small force and captures and executes the pirates.
Studies law and becomes an orator.
Enter politics.
Elected the pontifex maximus.
Rises politically.
Forms an alliance between Pompey and Crassus, two men that hated each other, yet Caesar could get them to join him in an alliance.
Becomes a consul.
Passes Populist reform (mainly by fighting dirty, while the other side fought dirty too)
Proconsul of Gaul and wages war across Gaul, showing how great of a general he has become.
Civil War against Pompey, and wins, with again, great leadership and strategy.
Ends a Civil War in Egypt, and brings them further into Rome's influence.
Gearing up to face Parthia, and revenge Crassus, is assassinated by former friends and son of a former lover who he viewed as almost his own son.
Posthumously adopts an intelligent nephew as his son and heir, who starts the Roman Empire.
A priest, a soldier, captive to pirates, pontifex maximus, becomes a lawyer/orator, a "president", a great military general, a butcher of Gaul, a civil war winner, a dictator, and father to an empire. It is rather astonishing how much went on with him.
New rule to the VTH Drinking Game: Take a shot whenever a random guitar noise is heard in the background.
Good video! I would just like to add something about the “Guard”.
The Guard was basically split into three sections. The young guard, middle guard and the old guard. There were also the Chasseur or light infantry.
The young guard was sent to fight the Prussians on the right flank and held the Prussians up at Plancenoit until they were forced to retreat.
It was the middle guard and old guard that was sent into the final assault on Wellington’s center. The middle guard was the battering ram as the old was in reserve behind them. Other infantry units rallied with them to join in the final assault.
The middle guard and Chasseur broke and fell back onto the old guard where they made a last stand just south of La Haye Sainte.
Actually not only it is available on youtube, a channel has made editions including stuff that didn't make the cutting room floor.
Never been this early to a VTH video
I should really watch Waterloo
It's available to watch on CZcams!
Fantastic movie. Totally agree with yours and the original presenter’s take on this film. Also from the same year (1970) another classic was made - ‘Tora Tora Tora’ - but criticised at the time. But is the best film ever made about the attack on Pearl Harbor (in my humble opinion any away!).
I agree on Tora Tora Tora. Fantastic film
Great film. I was a Gordon Highlander and one of our officers was involved in the filming of the film as he was a Military Attaché in Moscow during the filming and got to see some of the filming.
Imagine the stories from the set he would have told you
I can't help but feel that not enough attention is given to General Blücher and his army for the role they played in the Battle of Waterloo. Maybe I'm wrong. The Duke of Wellington and his army, rightly so I might add, get a lot of credit, but I feel as though Blücher unfairly falls by the wayside when his involvement was absolutely essential.
No, you are right. Downplaying Blücher is something Wellington a few years after hte battle started to do. And for a production in the soviet union, downplaying (and even drawing certain parallels by putting the Prussians in Black Uniforms with Skulls, when the Leibhusaren who actually wore that weren't at the battle and Blücher telling his troops "No mercy!" blabla... When, irl, he told his troops to chase the french until they couldn'T draw breath anymore, i. E. were too tired to move on) the german participation at the Battle of Belle-Alliance suits the political climate.
@@undertakernumberone1
The Greeks who fought alongside the Spartans at Thermopylae: “First time?”
The 1920 Napoleon movie was also very revolutionary for the time. I believe it required a special projection format of 4 screens or something for the battle sequences.
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to.
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you.
Hey Chris, I watched your channel since late 2021 and became interested in history in high school. I have been so busy in life latley and just recently stumbled upon your channel again and seen you explode in popularity. Keep up the good work in helping others find their love for history, much love 🤘🏼
Great movie. One that has a special place for me. I lived in Waterloo as a kid in the 70's and used to regularly go to the battlefield. Have a great time at in Waterloo.
A lot of people don't like Napoleon.I think he was a great man.And I think he gave us a lot of new innovations in government and banking and lot of different stuff that he doesn't get credit for because he was a I have to think about the was a master general
He's a very complicated figure. At the very least he deserves respect, even if some don't like him.
I wouldn't say great is the right word. He's far more complicated than that
You can google who was both a hero and a tyrant without specifying names and basically every website, essay etc is about Napoleon.
The movie is available on CZcams in 4K. Somehow it never gets taken down. I love it.
I was literally watching this video last night and was bummed out you never did a reaction. Thanks Chris!
Rod Steiger (Napoleon) had won the Academy Award for Best Actor only three years earlier for his role as the police chief in "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), so he was a Big Get for the Italian/Soviet production. He would last be seen as the nuke-happy general in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" (1996). As mentioned in this video, Christopher Plummer is always exceptional and of equal caliber to play opposite Seitger (akin to Napoleon & Wellington themselves). So the two leads are just fantastic. Dan O'Herlihy, who played Marshal Ney (and was noted upon in this video as bearing a likeness to Ney), is better known today as the head of OCP in "RoboCop" (1987). Orson Welles as King Louis was also very well cast.
It's mad he won the Oscar for In the Heat of the Night considering Sidney Poitier had much more screen time and , arguably, a much better performance in that film.
Waterloo though, i'd easily give Steiger an Oscar for his portrayal of Napoleon.
I know you’re mostly discussing the actors here, but Wellington was not an equal to Napoleon as a general.
@@archivesoffantasy5560 No, but post Waterloo, Wellington matched or exceeded Napoleon's fame in Britain. Interestingly, Plummer matched or exceeded Steiger's fame in the US in the years following this film.
@@jason_lee_jones Yeah that’s true he is a very famous figure in British history and quite a famous historical figure in world history. New Zealand’s capital is named after him. Despite Waterloo not being Wellington’s best victory, as it relied on support that resulted in significant numerical advantage, had Napoleon stayed on Elba, Wellington would be far less famous. Though, even without Waterloo, he would still be considered as one of the best British generals, but he would be far less known. Both the actors did a superb job, I know Plummer played Dracula and I ought to watch that someday. What other movie would you recommend for Steiger?
@@archivesoffantasy5560 Man that's tough - he was in more than 100. Obviously this one, of course, and his role in the previously mentioned "Mars Attacks!" (1996) is funny (and lines of his from that film have been sampled in songs). There's "Doctor Zhivago" (1965) and "On the Waterfront" (1954). He has one of the many, many cameos in "The Longest Day" (1962). If you like the Spaghetti Western, Sergio Leone cast Steiger has his lead in "Duck You Sucker!" (1971). Another where he works his acting chops is "The Pawnbroker" (1964), one of Sidney Lumet;s great character study films. The last one I'll recommend here is inspired by a Bette Midler joke: "I never miss a Rod Steiger musical." This was funny because he was known as a hard, gruff guy, but people forgot he was one of the leads in the widely successful film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Oklahoma!" (1955).
Waterloo, couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Yes, Waterloo is available here at CZcams. There are even a few decent-resolution "Fan Cuts" that splice in stills from scenes that didn't make the final theatrical cut. For me, their insertion breaks the flow a bit, but since I've seen Wateroo many times it's not a big deal.
My new favorite History channel, reviewing another one of my favorite history channels thats reviewing my all time favorite historical film.
I must be dreaming
The sideshow to the battle of Waterloo is called the Battle of Wavre. It was commanded by Saxon General, Johann von Thielman. At some point, Grouchy realised, that he was chasing the rear guard, but he sort of had to fight them at Wavre, otherwise he had to march in a manner, that would allow the Prussians to arrive sooner than himself. Thielmanns job was to defend the town as long as he could, which he technically failed. The battle ended up in a tactical French Victory, controlling Prussias eastern supplylines and more importantly, lines of communication. But in the end it didn't matter. Thielmann had done his job, fixed Grouchy in place, and didn't allow him to rejoin the Napoleon at Waterloo.
So thats actually the reason why Grouchy ended up not being able to help Napoleon. Ohh also Thielmann fixed them in place for 2 days, while the French had 33.000 men, where as he at most had 24,000. Also he had 48 guns, to 80 french guns.
Also the 70.000 he refers to isn't even casualties. I have to assume he just misspoke, cause most sources indicate around 20.000 dead, 50.000 Casualties, and around 70.000 either dead, captured or missing. It would be more a description of the total amount of personnel, currently unable to fight post-battle.
You summed it up perfectly in the Congress of Vienna series- the Allied Coalition had a million men mobilized and the system still in place to train more efficiently after nearly 20 years of war. The video is available on CZcams, even with script and salvaged footage from deleted scenes
thank you very much for reacting to history buffs
A great movie to be sure. Good luck on your trip! Be sure to check out the church opposite Wellington's HQ in Waterloo itself, don't be afraid to move a chair or two to see the monuments that commemorate the dead, paid for by their comrades and regiments. Also if you book early enough you can stay above the gatehouse in Hougemont. Oh, and you'll be forgiven for thinking that Boney triumphed, everything there is Napoleon centric almost as if he won the battle.
A friend of mine visited Waterloo, he said there are loads of French tourists there, and a lot of them seem to believe that Napoleon actually won there. He even had an argument with one of them, lol.
Hey Chris! I've always been a fan of Waterloo and History Buffs, and so I always wanted you to react to this video. I just wanted to say, a really great three-video series to do a reaction on would be BritMonkey's British Constitution, since you are into British history and it's filled with humour and facts that you will really enjoy!
Finally, you have gotten around to reviewing this absolute perfect of a film!
His review of "The death of Stalin." is also fantastic.
Didn't the little corporal come from him directing artillery fire and aiming the guns himself as a general. Since that was the task of a corporal.
Have enjoyed History Buffs for a few years....Great stuff.
I recently watched Waterloo after I watched the 2023 Napoleon Movie.
This is absolutely my favourite war movie, i only saw it about 5 years ago, and was blown away. I've seen lots of movies, but Waterloo was unique in uts scale, realism, dedication.
I always wondered how difficult was this movie to produce. Like what was the process for the Soviet Union to film a movie, with a cast of actors primarily from NATO nations. Was their any issues with this being filmed during the middle of Cold War?
Would highly recommend History Buff's video about HBO's Rome. It's good at filling in the missing holes from the show
Interesting to see your perspective
I first saw this movie at 9 years of age in the cinema.... and I am always amazed when ever it's on TV, and have watched the dvd like 100's of time...
The best thing about this movie is to see napoleon's reaction to ney's disastrous cavarly charge
There is a beautiful detail in the dialogue during the first french infantry attack in the center, which was carried out by the I. Korps . Wellington: They are coming on, in the same old style , Pikton: Someone has to meet them in the same , old style .
The back ground of this conversation is as follows: For unknown reasons, the 1, 2. and 3. Division of the I. Korps marched in an old style, the "colonnes de bataillon par division" , means the lines marched in Battalion formations of up to 50 meter in depth, making great targets for artillery bombardment ( meet them in the same old style ). Only the 4. Division of the I. Korps marched in a flexible " new " style and was therefore more successful against artillery during the march.
The great thing is , that this difference can be seen even in the movie.
I can’t believe you did a reaction to this film !! It’s always been my favourite war movie but criminality under-watched.
Brilliant movie! I have gone back and watched it maybe 3 times. As you pointed out the extras were in the Soviet army, probably Ukrainians , which was firmly under the Soviet sphere back then . So well done in this one…compared to the version in Scotts recent travesty. Of course they only had to do WATERLOO here not other battles.. but NO TRENCHES, RAIN ON THE DAY of, SNIPERS WITH SCOPES OR Napoleon leading cavalry charges ,here it is probably done as well as it could be. I love Christopher Plummer as Wellington, Steiger is good as the 46 year old NAPPY although he chews the scenery several times!! Bondarchuck’s direction is brilliant. Yeah I got into an argument with someone who kept insisting there were 50,000 dead at Gettysburg! NO thats casualties , which includes captured as you point out. Thanks.
That rock paper scissors breakdown was amazingly simple yet somehow thorough!! Great video
Ohh boyyy this is a treat
I loved both your and Nick’s commentaries on this amazing film. I wish you would cover Bondarchuk’s massive six-hour 1966 production of “War and Peace.”
What thing that might surprise you is that the French calvary charge against the British was not the devastating blunder often remembered in pop history, as that phase of the battle end in a draw. Wellington was nearly killed in this action by skirmishers and was unable to reconnoiter or communicate with the rest of the army during this period and several squares were very badly maimed by French artillery.
Intriguing. I had no idea.
Still, Wellington's strategy (tactic) of holding out as long as he could until Blücher arrived was not invalidated by this cavalry charge.
great job, I went to Waterloo in 2015, sadly I knew more than the guide but knowing that my favourite Emperor ended his reign there was pretty cool
The irony of the Russians playing the French is palpable. Oh and Waterloo is usually free on CZcams. It varies from year to year but it's usually there.
history buffs is an incredible channel.
The worst inaccuracy for me is how the British line fires at the Old Guard. They fired on mass, they didn’t fire in single ranks bobbing up and down. I think someone saw the film Zulu and the final attack and thought that it looked cool.
I loved his previous intro when it focused in to the charge of the Scots greys picture and it burned away into the actual charge from the movie waterloo. It was awesome.
I Love this channel. Thank you sir
33:17 There are two great Napoleonic War games on Roblox I’ve played called Blood & Iron and Guts & Blackpowder. The former is about Napoleonic battles and the latter is a zombie game set in the time period of Napoleon. I think you would like playing both. Great video! I’ve been wanting to see you react to this one for while.
I lived in Belgium for 3 years, about a half hour from Waterloo. The Battlefield is not preserved "the way it was" like perhaps Gettysburg. The topography is totally different. But, there is a good museum next to the mound. Europeans have great museums. I'm almost sure you will go to Wellington's Headquarters in the town of Waterloo. And there is a small museum at Ferme du Caillou, in Genappe which was Napoleon's last headquarters. I got the impression that the Belgians were more sympathetic to the French, than to the English/Prussians. Most of the battlefields are gone, but it's fun looking at a map from 1815 in the middle of a farm and stopping there to envision a major battle took place there.... maybe a worn rusty plaque in French on the side of the road.
I liked how the British artillerists fired one last volley and abandoned their guns to hide in the squares.
One of the best movies about Napoleonic warfare ever. Along with Master and Commander, it's a master class in this period. M&C is, IMHO, a more modern movie that is on par with Waterloo. YMMV of course.
Awesome reaction, a suggestion to react to History Buffs' Midway Parts 1 & 2 next as the anniversary of Midway is coming up in June! Both are very watchable and filled with info.
One of my favorite movies of all time. So jealous you’re gonna be there to actually see the ground in person.
I recently did a 10-12 page paper for one of my classes last quarter talking about the Ridley Scott Napoleon and at the end comparing it to Waterloo. My 2 biggest arguments were that while, yes the acting, inaccuracies, and all that was garbage for Napoleon, for me the biggest issue that I point out (and still hold onto) was Scott's decision to tell a story that covered over 20 years in a little over 2 and a half hours. While what makes Waterloo work so much better and flow a lot easily is the decision to cover roughly a little over year (if that) in the same amount of time. If Scott focused on a specific moment, I think Napoleon would've better. Not great, but better than what we got. I also had to point out Scott's lack of care which he criticized historians saying things like "Get a life" or "How the f**k do you know? You weren't there" and the dangers of Hollywood creating these historical films. While Bondarchuk actually cared for Waterloo
I think you will enjoy Waterloo battlefield. Great museum and the Lion Mound offers a great but distorted view.
I found seeing the ground gave a great perspective and allowed me to get distances and timings sorted out in my mind.
Hoping to go back one day.
This is one movie that I will completely agree with Nick about how using practical effects has an amazing quality boost on films, especially historical battle films. That being said, I do find it annoying when he just disses CGI. He says he has no fundamental problem with CGI, but he seems to go out of his way to hate it. I 100% believe that practical effects should try to outweigh CGI in modern films. That being said, movies like Lord of the Rings with their tremendous scale, can only be done so much effectively with just practical effects alone. Those movies reached a good balance between using practical for character makeup and costumes like humans, elves, and orcs, real-life landscapes, and miniature sets and then using CGI for massive fantasy locations and creatures. CGI is not inherently bad, but like many things, it is being mishandled due to its cheaper price now. Thus giving it a negative connotation.
Next history buffs video has to be his look at Master & Commander :)
I wouldn’t complain about reviewing “Death of Stalin” either
Rod Steiger as Napoleon was fantastic in this!!!
You've seen Nick at his angriest in The Patriot. Now get ready to see him at his happiest in Waterloo.
I am now just dreaming your reaction on the "Death of Stalin". You are in for a ride. Plus the film, despite being a comedy, is a good introduction on why Poland, Baltics (myself included), Ukraine, Belarusians that are not with Lukashenko have some unsettled dues with Putin.
If look forward to that.
Of course Death of Stalin always has advertised itself as a parody not a historically accurate film
But they got a lot right
He's seen "Death of Stalin" he talks about enjoying it in a past video.
Things that he didn't mention:
At the same time as Napoleon was fighting at Ligny, Ney was fighting Wellington's men at Quatre Bras. He had been badly beaten by Wellington in Spain, having fallen into a trap, so he attacked cautiously when he was only facing a force that was tiny compared to his own, but which was constantly being reinforced.
If he'd attacked hard, he could have broken through and attacked the Prussian flank at Ligny, destroying it
Because he didn't, Napoleon screamed at him in front of the other officers. This might explain why Ney attacked so hard and so repeatedly with the cavalry at Waterloo.
Napoleon had detached a third of his army to make sure the Prussians didn't reach Waterloo.
So he KNEW he had time to wait for the ground to dry.
It is good to know there were good reasons for my admiration of this war classic.
Thanks for reacting to HistoryBuffs, I hope you soon react to his videos about Rome! And I think you guys would have great talks about history if you ever got in a call together, maybe even get Nick to see a bit differently in terms of the Patriot.
4:23 just one side note: not everyone is real, in the full army scenes specially, there were about 5,000 dummies used in total for the back lines
And often soldiers in the back would wear just red and blue over their Soviet uniforms cause there was a shortage of proper napoleonic uniforms
Still mind boggling that it was all real and no generated graphics and the shortcomings can't even be identified on screen, thats how well its made
The actor who played Marshal Ney is a descendent of the man himself
Really how is that true
I saw the film on it’s release (almost empty cinema) and at the Waterloo celebration in 1975.Despite the narrative,there is a lot more footage that has been ‘lost’ and Mosfilm deny it ever existed.
Yessss that you god another history buffs vid reaction
oh wow, that's Orson Welles as Louis XVIII. Seen the movie before (long time ago), but didn't know (or perhaps didn't remember) that.
Dang, I didn't even recognize him.
With FX’s Shogun being out now, and more people becoming interested in Samurai history, I think you should react to a series that is about the Sengoku Period in Japanese history. Trust me when I say, this era of Japanese history is like something out of a novel 😂. With all sorts of twists, turns, back stabbing and epic battles. I would recommend either extra history’s series on it, if you want a quick, beginner friendly look at the period (you’ve also already reacted to their stuff in the past before). If you want a In depth look at the period, with great explanations and a wider look at the period that could also provide a very long series for your channel, I would recommend The Shogunate’s series on it. Its a 60 Part series on the period and is THE BEST on CZcams. But it is pretty long.
Now gonna watch Waterloo again!😊
What's the time I was just about ready to leave and you said Waterloo and here we go baby I'm ready to go remember me I'm trying to get a hold of you
I recognise you've probably already seen the original video but considering how much you've professed your love of the movie it would be so nice to see your reaction to History Buff's The Death of Stalin
Loved that movie. I doubt we will see anything similar covering Napoleon's life in the nearby future.
First of all l love your channel ..Waterloo is the greatest film ever and has had such a hold over me all my life. Keep up the good work and your AWI video was historically brilliant of which l totally agree with. From little me across the pond 🇬🇧
32:00 ish Take a shot!!! Chris says it before the video! Hahaha!
Best movie EVER, which can never be recreated as CGI can’t duplicate it.
Always worth watching again and again. And as a small aside, it makes you aware how much of what we get taught about that period is based on British anti-French propaganda, (or pro-British/Tory propaganda): Have a look at the British Ior Anglo-Allied) order of battle and see how many Germans and Dutch troops took part (to say nothing of the Prussians what won it).
Oh, and small peeve with the History Buffs video: There was no French/Belgian border for Napoleon to cross; Belgium wouldn't exist for another 15 years (or 23 years if you're Dutch)
A small nitpick and I might be misremembering this but I am quite sure that the final attack of the French at the center of the British line were done mostly by the Middle Guard and I believe a single regiment of the Old Guard, whether it was the 3e Regiment de Chasseurs or the 4e 3e Regiment de Chasseurs is lost to me at the moment.
However I am quite sure that the 2e Regiment Grenadiers were sent to take back and then defend Plancenoit as the Prussians arrived at round 15:45 and by 16:00 were putting so much pressure on the right flank of the French Army that the Old Guards, specifically the 1e Regiment Grenadiers were holding the very positions around Napoleon himself.
Another thing is that the actual effectiveness of the Old Guards, specifically the 1e and 2e Grenadiers seems to be questionable at best at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. They did a FANTASTIC job beating everybody that they came across from the war of the 3rd coalition through the 6th - some of their best actions were the push that dislodged the Russians from Eylau in 1807 and the crushing of a Saxon force at Hanau in 1814. But in Waterloo, I believe they are past their prime (OLD Guard lol), and by that point they are more considered as a final line of desperation to fall back to if the situation goes really bad. It reminds me of an old Roman saying that goes "To fall back on the Triarii", meaning that if the Hastati or Principes of the Roman army cannot break the enemy, things are getting desperate because even the old veterans of the Triarii need to get involved.
The Grenadiers a Cheval de La Garde Imperiale though were a completely different beast as far as I know (hope someone corrects me here if I am wrong), the Grenadiers a Cheval were undefeated in every engagement that they had throughout the entirety of the Napoleonic wars since they were formed in 1806. These monsters fought in Marengo, Austerlitz, Eylau, Hanau and Waterloo and managed to beat everyone that they came across, though they suffered heavy losses at Waterloo. They were so good that they earned the nickname "The Gods."
the first and second grenadiers of the old guard would have been quite effective they still had men with combat experience of about 10 years unlike the rest of the guard.And yes the horse grenadiers and the first polish guard lancers of the old guard were undefeated in battle.The rest of the guard was never the same after the retreat from moscow .In fact i think that by 1814 the russian imperial guard was probably better than the french guard as the french had lost nearly 80 percent of their troops
Finally……..the crossover I’ve been waiting for!
If you haven’t seen it the Russian War and Peace movie from 1966 is also really good. They also used thousands of extras to recreate the battles.
The all-time great. It is absolutely amazing what is going on in the background in many scenes. When Ponsonby is fleeing, look at what is going on in the distance. It's not entirely within the shot and certainly isn't the main focus of what they want you to see, and yet....they bothered to it. Master class. And Rod Steiger will always be Napoleon to me, just as Christopher Plummer will always be Wellington.
You inspired me to learn more about my ancestry. I never knew I had a great grandfather who served in WW2 in Kansas, his brother died in the Philippines at age 19, and a third brother fought at the Battle of the Bulge.
His General Bonaparte became king of Sweden. He was the cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte.
From what I read towards the end of the battle, it was the middle guard that was sent in and were broken. Since the old guard were one of the few units of the army to maintain order and tried to establish a rear guard.
I remember watching Waterloo as a kid. I didn't understand the dialogue and history but loved how epic it looked