Editing Waterloo (1970 film) (section)

==Historical inaccuracies==
{{original research|date=August 2018}}

{{More citations needed section|date=October 2023}}

While the film portrays the events of the [[Hundred Days]] quite faithfully, including some allusions to and scenes from the [[Battle of Ligny]] and of [[Battle of Quatre Bras|Quatre Bras]], there were a few departures from historical fact, presumably made for [[artistic license|artistic purposes]], and some characters act as ciphers for others.

In the opening scene, where the marshals are attempting to persuade Napoleon to abdicate, Marshal Soult is present: in reality, in 1814 Soult was commanding the defence of [[Battle of Toulouse (1814)|Toulouse]] against Wellington's Army.

The Duchess of Richmond tells Wellington that she does not want her daughter "to wear black before she wears white". The tradition of the [[White wedding|bride wearing white]] did not become widespread until the 1840s, following [[Queen Victoria]]'s wedding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Do Brides Wear White? |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-brides-wear-white |access-date=7 September 2021 |website=britannica.com}}[https://www.prestije.de/]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/royal-weddings-1840-1947/windsor-castle-drawings-gallery|title=Royal Weddings 1840-1947|website=Royal Collection Trust|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

At the [[Duchess of Richmond's ball]] (which itself was held in a former carriage house rather than the magnificent ballroom depicted<ref>{{cite book |last=Foulkes |first=Nick| title=Dancing into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo |publisher=Weidenfeld &Nicholson |year=2006 |page=138 |isbn=0-297-85078-4 }}</ref>), there is an entirely fictional romantic sub-plot with [[James Hay, Lord Hay|Lord Hay]] and one of the Duchess' daughters. However, her daughter Sarah did recall Lord Hay being present at the ball.

Perhaps the biggest inaccuracy in the film is the battleground itself: having had torrential rain the previous night, which delayed the French attack until midday, the battlefield was extremely muddy. In consequence, the British cavalry, in reality, would not have been able to acquire the speed shown in the film before encountering the French columns. However, here, as elsewhere, the film replicates a famous painting of the battle, in this case [[Elizabeth Thompson]]'s 1881 work ''[[Scotland Forever!]]'', which depicts the [[Royal Scots Greys]] galloping towards the enemy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/jun/18/scottish-heroism-at-waterloo-should-not-be-forgotten|title=Scottish heroism at Waterloo should not be forgotten|date=2015-06-18|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-12-04}}</ref>

Another inaccuracy is that the Household cavalry do not seem to appear in the movie at all. Further, Ponsonby, commander of the Union Brigade, is believed to have initially been taken prisoner by French cavalry, before being killed during a failed rescue attempt. In the film, he tells the Earl of Uxbridge that [[William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby|Ponsonby's father]] had been killed in battle by lancers, not least because he had been riding an inferior horse: in fact his father had been a politician who died of natural causes back in England,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=P. J. |last=Jupp |year=2004 |title=William Brabazon Ponsonby (1744–1806) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/22506}}</ref> and he is simply foretelling his own fate in the battle.

The British cavalry charge was aimed at d'Erlon's corps, but in the film the cavalry do not appear to engage French infantry at all, but instead charge straight into French artillery, scattering French gunners before themselves being driven back by French lancers, in scenes that bear some cinematic resemblance to the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]]. Nor are any 92nd Highlanders seen hanging onto their stirrups as they charge, as was recalled by Corporal Dickson of "F" Troop of the Scots Greys.

Overall, the film almost completely ignores the Dutch-Belgian and German elements of the army under Wellington's command, giving the impression that the allied army was essentially British. In reality, the British contingent was less than half of Wellington's troops.

Unlike the Prussians in the film, arriving at the right flank of the French force, [[Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow|General Bülow]]'s [[Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign#IV Corps 2|4th corps]] attacked at the rear-right of the French lines at the village of [[Plancenoit]]. Napoleon sent first his reserve corps (under [[Georges Mouton|General Lobau]]) and then the Second Foot Grenadiers, the second-most-senior corps of his Imperial Guard, to engage and delay these Prussians while maintaining his front line; these clashes in and around the village of Plancenoit were crucial to the battle but are not depicted in the film. (Around 7:30&nbsp;p.m., another Prussian corps under Marshal Blücher arrived on the battlefield to link with the British army on the grounds of the inn ''La Belle Alliance'', sealing the fate of the French force—as shown in the film.)

Prussian infantry in the film was depicted wearing black coats, which was only prevalent in certain militia bands such as the [[Lützow Free Corps]]. The regimental standards utilized by said advancing army, did not correspond with the presumably depicted Free Corps, which used the Prussian Landwehr standard.

The Duke of Gordon is depicted as leading his [[92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|Gordon Highlanders]] into battle, and is described by the Duchess of Richmond as "uncle": in fact, he is a [[composite character]], representing the contributions of several members of the House of Gordon. The [[Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon|Duke at the time]], the founder and colonel of the regiment, was the Duchess of Richmond's ''father'', and he saw no active service overseas during the Napoleonic Wars. His son and the Duchess's brother, the [[George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon|Marquis of Huntly]] (later the 5th Duke) was a distinguished general, but held no command in the campaign, although anecdotal evidence suggests that he arrived during the aftermath of the battle.

The senior representative of the family at the battle was in fact the Duchess's own twenty-three-year-old [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond|son, the Earl of March]], who would eventually become the 5th Duke's heir in 1836, and who served as a major and an [[aide-de-camp]] (ADC) to the Duke of Wellington. Another branch of the family was represented by another ADC, [[Alexander Gordon (British staff officer)|Colonel Sir Alexander Gordon]], aged twenty-eight or twenty-nine, the brother of the Earl of Aberdeen. In reality, both were young men similar in age and duty to Lord Hay. The field commander of the Gordon regiment during the campaign, Lieutenant Colonel, [[John Cameron of Fassiefern]], had been killed at the battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first1=H. M. |last1=Chichester |first2=John (reviewer)|last2=Sweetman |year=2004 |title=Cameron, John (1771–1815)|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher= Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/4446}}</ref> The acting commander of the regiment during the battle appears to have been Major Donald MacDonald of Dalchosnie.

Lord Hay is seen being killed during the French cavalry attack, whilst inside a British square, with Wellington witnessing his death. Hay was actually killed at the Battle of Quatre Bras, two days earlier.

The story of the refusal of the guard to surrender has been the subject of much controversy over the centuries. Commander of the last Imperial Guard square, General [[Pierre Cambronne]], is portrayed as responding "merde" although he denied it later. Nor did he say "[[La garde meurt et ne se rend pas!]]" ("The Guard dies and does not surrender!") which is believed to have been uttered by General [[Claude-Étienne Michel]], commander of the [[Middle Guard (Napoleonic)|Middle Guard]].

Cambronne did not die in the battle, and having been knocked unconscious, was captured by Colonel [[Hugh Halkett]], commander of the 3rd Hanoverian Brigade. He later married the Scottish nurse who cared for him after the battle, and died in 1842.

The song "Boney Was a Warrior" sung when Wellington's troops are awaiting the attack was not written until after the battle.