Waterloo (1970) - Quotes

The Legacy of the Battle of Waterloo

Taglines: The Men, the Battle, The Glory, The World Will Remember Forever

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The Impact of the Battle of Waterloo

Taglines: Waterloo. The battle that changed the face of the world.

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Napoleon and Wellington's Meeting at Waterloo

Taglines: ONE INCREDIBLE AFTERNOON NAPOLEON MET WELLINGTON...AT WATERLOO

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A Regretful Reflection on War Decisions

Officer: Sire! The Prussians are in the woods! Blücher is in the woods!

Napoleon Bonaparte: If I made one mistake in my life, I should have burned Berlin.

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A Casual Acknowledgment of Loss

Lord Uxbridge: By God sir, I've lost my leg.

Duke of Wellington: By God sir, so you have.

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Strategic Decisions in Warfare

British artillery commander: Sir, Napoleon has ventured within range. May I have your permission to try a shot?

Duke of Wellington: [stares at him a moment] Certainly not! Leaders of armies have better things to do than fire at each other.

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Questioning the Pursuit of Wellington

Michel Ney: Wellington's on the run! I caught him at Quatre Bras! He's retreating!

Napoleon Bonaparte: If Wellington's retreating, what are you doing here?

Michel Ney: But, Sire...

Napoleon Bonaparte: If Wellington's retreating, what are you doing here? Why didn't you follow him? Why didn't you pursue?

Michel Ney: [Raises voice] where are the reinforcements you promised me?

Napoleon Bonaparte: [shouting] Don't you dare criticize me! Don't you dare! Don't you see if Wellington's free to choose his ground then everything I've won in this campaign you've lost!

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Advancing Forward in Battle Strategy

Duke of Wellington: The whole line will advance.

Lord Uxbridge: In which direction your grace?

Duke of Wellington: Why, straight ahead to be sure.

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Indulging Distractions in Times of Conflict

William De Lancey: Shall I shut them up, Sir?

Duke of Wellington: No, no, indulge it . Anything that wastes time is good. Indulge it. Normally I don't like cheering, but there's always a time to cut cards with the Devil.

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A Father's Desire in Challenging Times

Napoleon Bonaparte: Le Bedoyere, do you have any children?

Le Bedoyere: Yes, sire; one son, very young, no taller than your boot.

Napoleon Bonaparte: And if he were with you, would you want him with you here today?

Le Bedoyere: Yes, sire.

Napoleon Bonaparte: Yes, why?

Le Bedoyere: So he could see you, sire.

Napoleon Bonaparte: See me? You know, I have a son. I'd give anything in the world to see him. I'd give my heart, I'd give my life, but not here. I wouldn't want him to witness this battle here today.

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Legacy Beyond Glory

Napoleon Bonaparte: When I am dead and gone what will the world say of me?

Le Bedoyere: They'll say that you extended the limits of glory, sire.

Napoleon Bonaparte: The limits of glory'; is that all I have to leave to my son, the limits of glory'?

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Class Divides and Expectations of Sacrifice

Duchess of Richmond: [referring to the English troops] They're the salt of England, Arthur.

Duke of Wellington: Scum. Nothing but beggars and scoundrels, all of them. Gin is the spirit of their patriotism.

Duchess of Richmond: Yet you expect them to die for you?

Duke of Wellington: Um-hum.

Duchess of Richmond: Out of duty?

Duke of Wellington: Um-hum.

Duchess of Richmond: I doubt if even Bonaparte could draw men to him by duty.

Duke of Wellington: Oh, Boney's not a gentleman.

Duchess of Richmond: Arthur! What an Englishman you are.

Duke of Wellington: On the field of battle his hat is worth fifty thousand men; but he is not a gentleman.

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A Strategic Decision at Waterloo

Napoleon Bonaparte: Cross the river. Tomorrow we will dry our boots in Brussels.

Michel Ney: God willing, sire.

Napoleon Bonaparte: God? God has nothing to do with it.

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Strategic Plans Against the French Forces

Lord Uxbridge: [clears throat] Sir.

Duke of Wellington: [removing his copy of The Times from over his face] Ah, Uxbridge.

Lord Uxbridge: As I am second-in-command and in case anything should happen to you, what are your plans?

Duke of Wellington: [brightly; goes back to sleep, replacing the newspaper over his head] To beat the French.

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Exaggeration in Military Loyalty and Promises

King Louis XVIII: I know you loved this man.

Michel Ney: [exits] I did, once. But I promise you, that I will bring him back to Paris in an iron cage.

King Louis XVIII: How they exaggerate, these soldiers, "In an iron cage"? Nobody asked for that.

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Napoleon Faces War and Betrayal

Napoleon Bonaparte: Well they've done it! The whole of Europe has declared war against me! Not against France, but against me.

Le Bedoyere: They dignify you sire by making you a Nation!

Napoleon Bonaparte: [laughing] Dignify? Dignify? They deny me the decency of law! They make it legal that any clown can kill me.

Michel Ney: Well we've fought with mud in our boots before!

Napoleon Bonaparte: Yes well, I'll discuss peace over Wellington's dead body, that's my peace table!

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Embrace Ruthlessness in Battle

Field Marshall Gebhard von Blücher: [launching his attack on the French right] Raise high the black flags, children. No pity. No prisoners. I'll shoot any man I see with pity in him. Forward!

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A Call to Arms from Marshal Ney

Marshal Michel Ney: [attempting to rally the Imperial Guard] Up to them. Up to them! Do I fight alone? Are you French? Fight with me! Are you the Guard? Stand with me! Do you know me? I am Ney! Ney, Marshal of France!

Resilience in the Face of Defeat

Emperor Napoleon I of France: [[w:Battle of Marengo|Battle of Marengo] I've been in this position before at the ]. I lost the battle at five o'clock, but I won it back again at seven!

Napoleon's Identity with France

Emperor Napoleon I of France: I am France, and France is me!

Claiming the Crown: A Leader's Justification

Emperor Napoleon I of France: [dictating a letter] To my dear Prince Alexis... I did not "usurp" the crown. I found it, in the gutter, and I, I picked it up with my sword, and it was the people, Alexis, the people who put it on my head. He who saves a nation violates no law.

Napoleon Challenges His Soldiers in Battle

Emperor Napoleon I of France: [pause] Soldiers of the 5th, do you recognise me? If... you want to kill your Emperor... here I am. FIRE!

Napoleon's Defiance Against Abdication

Emperor Napoleon I of France: I can't believe my ears. You all stand before me, waving a piece of paper, crying abdicate, abdicate! I WILL NOT!!! I WILL NOT, NOT, NOT!!!

Napoleon's Admiration for English Qualities

Emperor Napoleon I of France: [thinks to himself, about Wellington] This Englishman has two qualities I admire: caution, and above all, courage.

Strategic Advice on Handling Adversaries

Emperor Napoleon I of France: Never interrupt your enemy while he's making a mistake. That's bad manners.

The Melancholy of Victory in Battle

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: Next to a battle lost, there's nothing so melancholy as a battle won.

A demand for night or Blücher's presence

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: Give me night, or give me Blücher.

A Call for Silence and Caution

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: [to a trumpeter, trying fruitlessly to recall the British cavalry] Stop that useless noise...! You'll hurt yourself.

War and Honor in Leadership

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: [on Napolean's maneuver that split the English and Prussian armies] By God, that man does war honor.

Fear of the Unknown in Battle

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: [referring to his army] I don't know what they'll do to the enemy; but, by God, they frighten me.

Acknowledging a General's Excellence

Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: [to the Duchess of Richmond about arranging the ball] You really are the best of my generals.