Sharpe's Siege (TV programme)
Encyclopedia
Sharpe's Siege is a British
television drama, part of a series
that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
. The adaptation is based on the novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell
.
(Hugh Fraser
) is poised to invade southern France after triumphing in Spain. The Comte de Maquerre (Christian Brendel), a French nobleman, offers to raise a rebellion in Bordeaux
against Napoleon. Major General Ross (James Laurenson
), is unconvinced, as his spies have reported no discontent in the region, but agrees that a brigade can be sent as a probe if the Comte can provide a secure base; he offers a family castle, though he admits that it is garrisoned.
Wellington is forced to put a young, inexperienced Colonel Horace Bampfylde (Christopher Villiers
) (the son of a general Wellington needs to placate) in charge of the expedition, instead of Major Sharpe (Sean Bean
). Sharpe is reluctant to go, as he has just married Jane Gibbons (Abigail Cruttenden
) and she has come down with a deadly fever. Without quinine
, her prognosis is bleak, but he is a soldier and he has his orders.
Bampfylde botches the initial assault on the fortress and is driven back with heavy casualties. Disgusted, Sharpe and his men gain entry to the castle at night by a ruse, pretending to be a French patrol, and capture the place. The Comte is reunited with his sister (Amira Casar
) and gravely ill mother. For his trouble, Sharpe is sent by Bampfylde on a useless reconnaissance in order to grab the credit for himself.
While he is away, the Comte convinces Bampfylde to demolish the front gates, blow up the captured ammunition, abandon the wounded, and return to Wellington with the wonderful news that he has accomplished his mission and that the region is ready to rise up. The Comte fetches the "Mayor of Bordeaux", who turns out to be none other than Sharpe's old enemy, Major Ducos (Feodor Atkine
), to help convince the naive Bampfylde.
Sharpe's patrol meanwhile ambushes and annihilates a French column of reinforcements, and captures a resupply cart and a doctor bringing quinine for the Comte's mother. Resisting the temptation to save it for his wife, Sharpe allows it to be given to the ailing woman.
Rifleman Robinson (Danny Cunningham) is found with a local French girl. Sharpe is required to hang him by Wellington's standing orders, but when the girl says she had been willing, Sharpe reduces the sentence to a beating from Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
).
Hearing the explosion from the castle's magazine, Sharpe and his men hurry back. When he gets a description of the mayor, he realises he has been trapped by Major Ducos. Not only will Wellington be tricked into advancing into an ambush, but Ducos will have his own personal revenge on Sharpe.
French General Calvet (Olivier Pierre) arrives with a sizable, but inexperienced, force. Under a flag of truce, the Comte reveals himself to be Napoleon's agent, and offers to let the British go free provided they leave Sharpe behind; Robinson replies for them all, "Fight them to the finish, sir." Sharpe turns them down. In a shooting contest, sharpshooters mortally wound the Comte in the back at long range as he returns from the parley
.
Sharpe and his men only have 18 rounds a man. Earlier, out of gratitude for Sharpe providing her mother with quinine, the Comte's sister had told them to burn a cellar full of oyster shells to produce lime.
The French attack, but are met by accurate volley shooting. With the British ammunition running low, Sharpe's men dump powdered lime from the walls, blinding their foes as they enter the castle. The British form ranks and proceed to massacre the blinded Frenchmen.
The French retreat just as the British run out of ammunition. Then, a messenger arrives from Marshal Soult
, Calvet's superior, wondering why he wasn't guarding the flank when Wellington attacked... fifty miles away. The wily British commander had seen through the scheme and turned it to his advantage. General Calvet hurries away, leaving Sharpe victorious.
When Sharpe gets back, Bampfylde is placed under arrest for cowardice and other charges. Sharpe is astounded to find his wife well; she tells him that Wellington had gone to some lengths to obtain quinine for her.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television drama, part of a series
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (fictional character)
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean....
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The adaptation is based on the novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
.
Plot summary
In 1813, the war turns in favour of the British. Lord WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(Hugh Fraser
Hugh Fraser (actor)
Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
) is poised to invade southern France after triumphing in Spain. The Comte de Maquerre (Christian Brendel), a French nobleman, offers to raise a rebellion in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
against Napoleon. Major General Ross (James Laurenson
James Laurenson
James Laurenson is a New Zealand actor, who has performed many classical roles on stage and television.Laurenson was born in Marton, New Zealand...
), is unconvinced, as his spies have reported no discontent in the region, but agrees that a brigade can be sent as a probe if the Comte can provide a secure base; he offers a family castle, though he admits that it is garrisoned.
Wellington is forced to put a young, inexperienced Colonel Horace Bampfylde (Christopher Villiers
Christopher Villiers
Christopher Francis Villiers is an English actor.He is known for his part in the top rated ITV1 soap opera, Emmerdale in which he plays the role of the solicitor Grayson Sinclair. He also played the part of Captain Nigel Croker in Mile High from 2004 to 2005...
) (the son of a general Wellington needs to placate) in charge of the expedition, instead of Major Sharpe (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
). Sharpe is reluctant to go, as he has just married Jane Gibbons (Abigail Cruttenden
Abigail Cruttenden
Abigail Cruttenden is an English actress.Cruttenden played opposite Sean Bean as his character's onscreen wife Jane in several episodes of Sharpe. The couple wed in real life in 1997 and had a daughter, Evie. Three months later they started divorce proceedings, and divorced in 2000. In 2003,...
) and she has come down with a deadly fever. Without quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
, her prognosis is bleak, but he is a soldier and he has his orders.
Bampfylde botches the initial assault on the fortress and is driven back with heavy casualties. Disgusted, Sharpe and his men gain entry to the castle at night by a ruse, pretending to be a French patrol, and capture the place. The Comte is reunited with his sister (Amira Casar
Amira Casar
Amira Casar is a French actress who grew up in Ireland and who has appeared in 40 films between 1989 and 2009....
) and gravely ill mother. For his trouble, Sharpe is sent by Bampfylde on a useless reconnaissance in order to grab the credit for himself.
While he is away, the Comte convinces Bampfylde to demolish the front gates, blow up the captured ammunition, abandon the wounded, and return to Wellington with the wonderful news that he has accomplished his mission and that the region is ready to rise up. The Comte fetches the "Mayor of Bordeaux", who turns out to be none other than Sharpe's old enemy, Major Ducos (Feodor Atkine
Féodor Atkine
Féodor Atkine is a French actor.Born in Paris of Russian-Polish descent, he has had a career in European cinema and television since the early 1970s, and made occasional appearances in English-language films, notably as the Russian gangster "Mikhi" in Ronin, as Woody Allen's brother in Love and...
), to help convince the naive Bampfylde.
Sharpe's patrol meanwhile ambushes and annihilates a French column of reinforcements, and captures a resupply cart and a doctor bringing quinine for the Comte's mother. Resisting the temptation to save it for his wife, Sharpe allows it to be given to the ailing woman.
Rifleman Robinson (Danny Cunningham) is found with a local French girl. Sharpe is required to hang him by Wellington's standing orders, but when the girl says she had been willing, Sharpe reduces the sentence to a beating from Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley is an Irish film, theatre and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the much loved and ever faithful but rather fearsome Patrick Harper in the legendary Sharpe TV series along side Sean Bean...
).
Hearing the explosion from the castle's magazine, Sharpe and his men hurry back. When he gets a description of the mayor, he realises he has been trapped by Major Ducos. Not only will Wellington be tricked into advancing into an ambush, but Ducos will have his own personal revenge on Sharpe.
French General Calvet (Olivier Pierre) arrives with a sizable, but inexperienced, force. Under a flag of truce, the Comte reveals himself to be Napoleon's agent, and offers to let the British go free provided they leave Sharpe behind; Robinson replies for them all, "Fight them to the finish, sir." Sharpe turns them down. In a shooting contest, sharpshooters mortally wound the Comte in the back at long range as he returns from the parley
Parley
Parley is a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters. The root of the word parley is parler, which is the French verb "to speak"; specifically the conjugation parlez "you speak", whether as imperative or indicative.Beginning in the High Middle...
.
Sharpe and his men only have 18 rounds a man. Earlier, out of gratitude for Sharpe providing her mother with quinine, the Comte's sister had told them to burn a cellar full of oyster shells to produce lime.
The French attack, but are met by accurate volley shooting. With the British ammunition running low, Sharpe's men dump powdered lime from the walls, blinding their foes as they enter the castle. The British form ranks and proceed to massacre the blinded Frenchmen.
The French retreat just as the British run out of ammunition. Then, a messenger arrives from Marshal Soult
Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
, Calvet's superior, wondering why he wasn't guarding the flank when Wellington attacked... fifty miles away. The wily British commander had seen through the scheme and turned it to his advantage. General Calvet hurries away, leaving Sharpe victorious.
When Sharpe gets back, Bampfylde is placed under arrest for cowardice and other charges. Sharpe is astounded to find his wife well; she tells him that Wellington had gone to some lengths to obtain quinine for her.