''The Frogs and the Lobsters'' (a.k.a. ''The Wrong War'') is an episode of the television program '' Hornblower''. It is set during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and very loosely based on the chapter of the same name in C.S. Forester's 1950 novel ''

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'' is a 1950 Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, ''The Happy Retur ...

'' and on the actual ill-fated Quiberon expedition of 1795. The main title is based on the often derogatory term for the French used by the British (as well as other English speakers) and on the red coats of the British soldiers. The secondary title deals with Horatio's own duty to the Crown and the alliance with the French and his struggle with his own sympathy towards the French revolutionaries.

Plot

François de Charette François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (2 May 1763 – 29 March 1796) was a Franco-Breton Royalist soldier and politician. He served in the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders of the Revolt in the V ...

is a royalist general who raises a force of French exiles to restore the French king to power. He is supported by the British government, who provide Royal Navy vessels to ferry a combined expeditionary force of French royalist troops (the "frogs") and a contingent of British redcoats (the "lobsters") across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Quiberon Quiberon (; , ) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France. It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It ...

. The British soon discover that a lieutenant carrying a copy of the orders for the mission has been murdered and the orders stolen. Captain Pellew, who is in charge of the transports, believes the theft of the orders to be the work of French revolutionary spies and begs his superiors to call off the invasion, but they ignore him and the army sets off. While part of the force heads to Paris intending to restore the king,

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, an ...

is assigned to a small force that is ordered to cover a retreat by holding and, if necessary, blowing up the bridge near the town of

Muzillac Muzillac (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Muzillac are called in French ''Muzillacais''. Population See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The following is a list of th ...

. Because he speaks French, Hornblower acts as a liaison between British sailors and soldiers and the French royalist leaders. The French officer in charge of the royalist forces in the area, Colonel Marquis de Moncoutant, is a nobleman who held feudal authority over the region prior to the revolution. He is obsessed with revenge and erects a guillotine, which he uses to summarily execute republican officials and supporters of the revolution. Hornblower incites de Moncoutant's wrath by standing up for the townspeople on multiple occasions. After saving a young boy from de Moncoutant, Hornblower meets his sister Mariette, a schoolteacher who is fluent in English. She and Hornblower fall in love, and Hornblower promises to protect her from de Moncoutant's rampage. The French revolutionary forces counterattack, rout the royalists from Muzillac, and execute de Moncoutant with the same guillotine he used on them. The revolutionaries begin looting and destroying the town, and Hornblower takes Mariette with him when he flees. Kennedy delays destroying the bridge in the hopes that Hornblower will return. Hornblower and Mariette nearly escape, but she is killed by revolutionary troops just before they cross the bridge. Kennedy compels Hornblower to leave Mariette behind and cross with him. The bridge is then destroyed and Hornblower, his detachment, and the British troops conduct a disciplined retreat and reach their ships.

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the '' Hornblower'' series of television films ...

as Lieutenant

* Robert Lindsay as Captain

Sir Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother I ...

Jamie Bamber Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith (born 3 April 1973), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series '' Law & Order: ...

as Acting Lieutenant Archie Kennedy *

Jonathan Coy Jonathan Coy (born 24 April 1953, in Hammersmith, London) is a British actor. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long-running legal series ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' and as Bracegirdle in the television seri ...

as Lieutenant Bracegirdle *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV soa ...

as Matthews *

Sean Gilder Sean Brian Gilder (born 1 March 1964) is an English stage, film and screen actor, he is also a playwright Gilder was born in Brampton, Cumberland, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Paddy Maguire on '' Shameless'' from 2005 to 2010 ...

as Styles *

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best known ...

as Admiral Lord Hood *

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

as Major Lord Edrington *

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. O ...

Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and ...

as Marquis de Moncoutant *

Estelle Skornik Estelle Skornik (born 4 July 1971 in Paris) is a French actress, known in the United Kingdom for playing "Nicole" alongside Max Douchin ("Papa") in a range of Renault Clio advertisements. Family Her ancestors were Polish Jews, and her grandfat ...

as Mariette

References

External links

* 1999 television films 1999 films 1990s historical films 1990s war films Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Films set in France Films set in the 1790s French Revolutionary Wars films Hornblower (TV series) War television films {{UK-tv-prog-stub