''Sharpe's Waterloo'' is a British

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

, the 14th part of a series that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The adaptation is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

Plot

In 1815, war breaks out once more as

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

returns to France from exile on

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

. Richard Sharpe (

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

) cannot resist the chance to finally see his enemy and breaks his promise to his French lover Lucille (

Cécile Paoli Cécile Paoli is a French actress who is also well known on British television from the series '' Sharpe'', '' Bergerac'', and ''Holby City''. She starred as Françoise in a four-part television BBC mini-series in 1980 of the H.E. Bates novel, ...

) to fight no more. However, unlike his adulterous wife Jane (

Abigail Cruttenden Abigail Lucy Cruttenden (born 23 March 1968) is an English actress. Cruttenden played opposite Sean Bean as his character Richard Sharpe's wife Jane in several episodes of the TV series '' Sharpe.'' In 2007, Cruttenden joined the cast from the ...

), she forgives him and accompanies him to the battlefield, where he finds employment as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on the staff of

Prince William of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from ...

(

Paul Bettany Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries ''WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominated fo ...

) and makes the acquaintance of his aide de camp Colonel Rebecque (

Oliver Tobias Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born UK-based film, stage, and television actor and director. Biography Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Rober ...

). Sharpe then scouts far south of

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

. He spots French troops and sends a Dutch cavalryman on patrol to alert the Allied command. However, the cavalryman and his patrol are attacked and killed by French

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adoptin ...

s (who were pursuing Sharpe). Meanwhile, Lord Rossendale (

Alexis Denisof Alexis Denisof (born February 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is primarily known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spin-off ''Angel''. He also had a recurring role on ''How I Met You ...

) has joined the staff of Lord Uxbridge (

Neil Dickson Neil Dickson (born November 26, 1950) is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television. Biography At the age of five, Dickson contracted poliomyelitis, but he was fortunate enough to make a comp ...

), Wellington's second-in-command, and has brought his lover, Sharpe's estranged wife Jane, with him to Brussels, but they find that not only will polite society refuse to accept or even acknowledge Jane but also that Sharpe is also in Brussels and close by. Sharpe then returns to the Prince of Orange's camp. There, he is reunited with his former sergeant major and best friend, Patrick Harper (

Daragh O'Malley Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director and producer. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. Among many TV appearances O'Malley is known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–2009), ...

), and two of his long-time "chosen men": Hagman (

John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a publican. He first worked as a reporter for the '' Ripley & Heanor News'' later working for BBC Radio De ...

) and Harris (

Jason Salkey Jason Salkey (born 24 April 1962) is an English actor, best known for playing Harris, the "educated rifleman", in the television series '' Sharpe''. Salkey has also published a book and video diaries about working in ''Sharpe'' alongside Sean Be ...

). Sharpe scouts the French forces, while a contingent of Dutch musketeers holds a French column off. He then alerts

the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

( Hugh Fraser) at a

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

that Napoleon is on the move. As Sharpe is leaving, he runs into Jane and Rossendale; he chases Rossendale and challenges him in front of the guests. When Rossendale shows his cowardice by refusing to fight (and wetting himself in the face of Sharpe's rage), Sharpe extracts a promise that he will get back the money Jane stole from him. Previously, Jane had persuaded Rossendale that he must kill her husband during the coming battle. Sharpe is sent to command the defence of a crucial farmhouse at

La Haye Sainte La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby) is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it ...

, which is defended by the

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved th ...

and the

95th Rifles The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He saves a King's German Legion officer, Macduff. Believing that

has fallen, Prince William orders an English regiment to reform from

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

and re-capture the farm. However, French cavalry are nearby and, with the British in exactly the wrong formation, destroy the unit and capture its colours, while Sharpe watches in disgust. As the battle rages, both Lucille and Jane wait for news; Lucille praying for Sharpe's safe return and Jane writing in her diary that she is pregnant with Rossendale's bastard child. Sharpe re-encounters Rossendale on the field; Rossendale draws a pistol on Sharpe, but does not have the courage to fire as Sharpe calmly rides up to him. Sharpe takes both Rossendale's sword and pistol and breaks them. He makes Rossendale write the required

promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...

for Sharpe's money (which is actually worthless, since Jane has the money and Rossendale has no money of his own) and then tells Rossendale that he can have Jane since he has just bought her. That night, Rossendale invents a story for his fellow officers to explain the destruction of his sword and pistol, but later confesses the truth to Witherspoon. Witherspoon tells him the only way for Rossendale to regain his lost honor is to fight like a demon in the coming battle. Sharpe witnesses more instances of the absolute military incompetence of Prince William. The last time, it costs the lives of Harris and Hagman while the Prince gallops away to save his own skin, leaving his men to be slaughtered by the French. Furious, Sharpe shoots the prince at long range from a secluded spot, but only succeeds in wounding him (the real William of Orange was also wounded at the Battle of Waterloo). Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Rossendale fights French cuirassiers, but is ultimately killed. Sharpe then rejoins his old unit, the Prince of Wales' Own Volunteers, taking over when its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ford, becomes a casualty. At the crucial point of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, Napoleon sends in his elite

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

. Sharpe repels the last-ditch assault, much to Wellington's delight. As the Prussians finally arrived, Wellington gives Sharpe command of the regiment and tells him to pursue the retreating enemy. Whilst advancing, Sharpe glimpses Napoleon as he rides off in defeat.

Cast

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Richard Sharpe *

as Mr.

Patrick Harper Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...

Jane Sharpe Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...

Lord John Rossendale Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...

Lucille Castineau Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...

* Hugh Fraser as

Lord Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

as Colonel Rebecque *

as Lord Uxbridge * Nicholas Irons as Harry Price * Martin Cochrane as Macduff *

as Rifleman Harris *

as Rifleman Daniel Hagman *

Martin Glyn Murray Martin Glyn Murray (born 1 February 1966 in Helsingør, Denmark) is a Danish-born British actor who has played Mark Thompson in '' Families'' and he has also been in ''The Bill'', '' Sharpe'', ''Aristocrats'', ''Enigma'', ''Enemy at the Gates'', ...

as Doggett *

Owen Brenman Owen Brenman (born 17 December 1956, in London) is an English actor best known for his role as next-door neighbour Nick Swainey in the multi-award-winning BBC sitcom '' One Foot in the Grave'', which ran for ten years (1990–2000) and was wri ...

as Witherspoon * Shaughan Seymour as Lieutenant-Colonel Ford *

Jane Merrow Jane Josephine Meirowsky (born 26 August 1941), known professionally as Jane Merrow is a British actress who has been active from the 1960s in both Britain and the United States. Early years Merrow was born in Hertfordshire to an English mothe ...

as Duchess of Richmond *

Chloe Newsome Chloe Newsome (born 1 December 1976) is an English actress who is best known for starring in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', appearing on and off between 1991 and 1998. She was the second actress to portray the role of Vi ...

as Paulette * Janek Lesniak as Dutch Captain

Production

The programme was shot in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

External links

*
Sharpe's Waterloo at SharpeFilm.com
{{Sharpe Films 1997 British television episodes 1990s historical films 1990s war films Works about the Battle of Waterloo Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Films set in 1815 Napoleonic Wars films Waterloo War television films Cultural depictions of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Cultural depictions of Napoleon Films directed by Tom Clegg (director)