Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
"C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie" ("It is magnificent, but it is not war: it is madness") ~ Pierre Bosquet, French general
In essence you're correct. However this was deliberate. Russians thought it was madness. They had a point. Later after the battle, it shook them to the core. British went on to beat them. Later. (This naval madness, also appeared against your Napoleon. He lost also). Russians are basically superstitious people. This charge frightened them, as they thought it was the brigade of the 👿 Current day I know lots of them. They're still the same. Superstitious. They're also fearful of the British accent, such as was spoken here. Such as is mine. Salutations, from Kensington and Chelsea in London M'sieur. 🇬🇧 🤝 🇫🇷
What a cracking film and what a brilliant scene where Nolan presents Raglan's orders to Lucan. The acting of Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard and David Hemmings was just breathtaking. I can't decide who was best so I'll just give them all 10/10.
You will NEVER see such acting talent in future. Standards have sunk to such low levels today . David Tennant is apparently one of our " leading " actors today ?!?!? Sums it up really....
And after some learning about the war I have come to the conclusion that it was the French who were the real target of this charge and much of the rest of the senseless terrible things the British did to their troops in this war. The idea that British and French forces would fight Russia for the Turks never made much sense to me. And the lack of military objectives once the British and French landed seemed tragic to me. But I know see that the British and French were moving from a period of intense rivalry to a period of uneasy alliance which led up to the First World War. Both sides wanted to show to the other side the quality of their forces, and given the long brutal history of the two nations that was clearly the primary objective of the allies. The British were determined to show the French that they could fight and win, and if not win outright that they could take heavy losses and still keep fighting. Movies like this come after the Great Wars, and the age of the draft where vast parts of the population faced military service and the nations saw the well being of troops as a strategic necessity. But things were very different back then. Commanders back then saw their forces as rabble, little better than criminals or slaves. Their lives were not of any concern to commanders or governments. In fact given the conditions of war back then death in battle might have been merciful compared to starvation or illness. So the French and British join up with someone who was not their true ally (the Turks) to fight against someone who was not their true enemy (the Russians) just to show to each other first hand that they would think little of taking loses in battle but would also think nothing of taking loses to stand by their allies. Both sides would have come away with the idea that if the other would take losses like that for the Turks certainly they would do so for each other, and that if they would face the Russians with such indifference it was not a good idea to go back to war.
This is a brilliant top-notch historical movie, thanks to this film I looked into Crimean War, read the book by Orlando Figes, then wrote my bachelors thesis regarding the international politics of a specific country during the Crimean War. What a fascinating, vastly under-estimated war, yes the battle of Balaklava and the light brigade is such an insane story, but man does every fucking book since the 1800s have to be just about that charge?? This war was so complex, so wide-reaching, it changed the face of European diplomacy and international relations, it solidified the Western-Russian rivalry and antagonism and paranoia for decades to come, it decided the fate of Italy’s reunification thanks to Austrian decline and French triumph and Piedmontese participation, it would further escalate issues in the Balkans, the decline of the Ottoman Empire as all concessions were squeezed out of it and the Eastern Question continued to haunt the Western powers. Also it was fought across the Danube front in Romania/Moldavia, but also in the Baltics, across the coasts of the gulf of Finland, even to northern russia, it was fought on land in the Caucasus, even skirmishes in the Pacific. Fascinating conflict
I have read that it was settled on terms that were already on the negotiating table before it started and the prime minister never forgave himself for allowing it to happen. Nevertheless it was such a disaster it brought about the total reorganisation of the British Army even though it took about 20 years. serious question Cecil Woodham Smiths, The Reason Why has been considered a standard work what did you think of it?
So ironic - Nolan who brought the orders, realised that they were going the wrong way - then killed by the very first shot as he tried to change the direction.
Referring to the Charge of the Light Brigade, the French general, Pierre Bosquet muttered the memorable line: "C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie." ("It is magnificent, but it is not war: it is madness")
The novel ‘Flashman At The Charge’ by George MacDonald Fraser places its fictitious hero, suffering desperately from wind having drunk some marginal Russian champagne, right at the head of the charge, having earlier been part of both The Thin Red Line and The Charge Of The Heavy Brigade due to some unfortunate timing acting as a messenger rider for the Army general staff. Leaving aside Flashman’s invented role in proceedings, the novel gives a pretty accurate account of events at Balaclava, mixes fictional and historical characters cleverly and is highly recommended. Nolan is described as a “maniac”, Raglan a kindly old man incapable of making a decision, and Cardigan a pompous oaf possessed of incredible bravery
MegaTheChieftain according to eyewitness's he did emit a horrible high pitched scream when a piece of shrapnel pierced his chest. He fell from his horse dead. The bit where he shouts "the wrong way" is total fantasy.
Stunning movie I can't imagine anything similar being made today. Excellent script by Charles Wood and a full range of performances by the cream of British acting talent
I can't imagine anything similar being made today....ukranian offensive a couple of days ago,to fight off the russians was a disaster ukranian soldiers and armour running towards russian artillary in open fields,several thousand dead even more wounded.all young men wasted for nothing
@@lonewolfgc4944without the French cavalry attacking the Russian flank not one of them would have come back alive, but that doesn’t fit the narrative of glorious failure that our military history loves so much.
@@Denis.CollinsFair play, I didn’t know that, thanks for sharing. I’m a little obsessed with the charge itself because I’m related to one of the men who took part.
Typical of us Brits we (rightly) remember this disastrous episode and yet its more famous than the charge of the British Heavy Brigade at Balaclava which routed the Russians!Even though they charged up hill and were outnumbered,contrary to the rules of Cavalry attacks!!We seem to love heroic setbacks!!
+GloryDouble7198 your attitude to your country stinks. we all know politicians lie and trick. and youve never told a pokey in ur life. he led us to victory one way or another. being churchill and the life he lived being a bit of a drunk is not bad. yes with other factors. (u.s.a) that alcoholic led this country through near defeat and then on to victory..kinda says much for our enemys.
+nsdap1985 is it not true had he not done the things he did ( even allowing coventry to be bombed to shit to secure enigma secrets ) so in the long run would secure victory be the right thing to do ( to the discomfort of coventry civilians ) war is not straight forward and although your comments maybe fact or not I see this alot where people are stating really good facts but not taking in to consideration other factors. wars are rolling chain of events. im not trying to challenge you I dont think im smart, I like my country. and again if that alcoholic hadnt led us to victory you would be under nazi rule and unable to have the freedom of speech you are taking advantage of right now....
As shown in the movie, in reality it is very hard to turn your horse around while advancing in a line like that, probably safer to just keep up with the crowd rather then risk being trampled trying to save yourself. A solder once told me that all men are equally afraid, but some are better informed than others and what often is seen as courage is just ignorance or knowledge depending on the condition.
im here because I just found out a great great great uncle rode with the 600 and survived. Sir Arthur Tremayne. The man that saved him when his horse was killed was given the Victoria Cross.
Those actors and dozens of others who we remember from that era had spent years in Rep theatre before appearing on screen . Their technique was polished to perfection. Today it's completely normal.to go from Drama school to screen with Zero stage experience. And it shows...! Acting standards in Britain are abysmal and getting worse....
2:20 Just look at the scenery, breathtaking. See how the weapons glimmer in the sunlight, the same rings true in the movie Waterloo. You can't reproduce this by sgi, not yet at least.
"so we've got to attack the main ru Russian battery?" "Yes" " They've got cannons with round shot and cannister and rifle men on the hills" "That's right" " What have we got?" "You've got your swords and spears" " Ok but do you mind if I change these red trousers for brown ones?"
Captain Morris did not walk back up the valley as depicted in the movie. He rode back severely wounded with sabre slashes to his head. He eventually collapsed close to where his friend captain Nolan lay dead. Two troopers who carried him from the field under fire received the Victoria cross for their actions.
Compare the seconds leading to 0:57 and the one before 4:07, both focusing on Nolan: first he is shown with the target intended by the British commander in the backgrond, then on 0:57 he fatefully indicates left of it, and the camera sharply moves...then riding on Nolan watch nervously right (where he knows the brigade was ordered) and left where he realizes they are riding to.....
Yet the charge helped swing the campaign in favour of the British. A few days later, 10,000 British troops held fast against 40,000 Russians at the battle of Inkerman.
Actually in Russian the word "огня" (ognya) also exists, but the stress is on the last syllable rather than the first. Also saying "огонь" (ogon) seems to be more natural than ognya which are two forms of the same word "fire"
@@user-kk4sj4ih3e "Ognya" stressed on last syllable is plural from " ogon' " (Fires vs fire). But as mentioned in comments above "огонь" can be heard in almost all russian war movies. It is possible that russian officer giving command to open fire was Polish but it unlikely he would command in Polish.
@@JanKowalski-vj9py Interesting. In Russian the plural is огни (ogni) most often used to describe multiple light sources amidst darkness. And yes, giving commands in Polish seems very unlikely knowing that much later in WWI there was only one language of communication in the military (the same problem that plagued Austria-Hungary). And one more thing: the artilleryman also says "наводи" (navodi) now in clear Russian, which means "take aim".
@@JanKowalski-vj9py Actually in russian we always command "ogon!" Buy I thinck that it may be not a misstake in a film, and it was done whith a reason. At that moment a major part of a poland was a dominion of Russian Empire so a lot of polish was serving in tzars military (many of them - as officers).
People remember this so much and FOR REASON yes but everyone seems to forget about all the others: 1815: Waterloo, Charge of The Union Brigade - 1914: France/Belgian Border, Charge of The Indian 22nd - 1900: Peking/Beijing, The Charge into The Gates of the Royal Marines Light Infantry, get what I mean?
The Light Brigade caused absolute consternation in the Russian ranks, so much so that they actively avoided cavalry confrontations with what was left of them for the remainder of the war.
Indeed it did have effect, something the writers for this film seemed to want to get the viewers to think nothing of. I was rewatching this classic and I did wonder... what kind of English traitor wrote this. Looks like he wanted nobody to be happy, the closing scene kind of tries to put a stamp on that. But he ultimately failed; I enjoy this movie so much because there's still lots of colourful characters throughout. I've edited it to make it more upbeat in a few places. That scene where all the various forces are disembarking and the Scots soldiers are holding their rifles above heads to keep powder dry. Truly glorious stuff.
+sta9hs blnos some of the wars were good, forming the colonies of Canada, America, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and other various islands, this has spread Europeans across the world, making us the most powerful peoples.
The part where Nolan shouts" the wrong way " and rides out waving his sabre is a myth. He was killed by a shell splinter that pierced his chest as he advanced . They were not wiped out as commonly thought.They lost around 120 men that day in the charge.Lord Cardigan[who lead the charge] made it to the guns ,fought with them and then rode back up the valley unscathed. It was the french who finally stormed the malakoff and that lead to victory over the russians and the fall of sevastopol . The british attack on the redan failed that day.
@@johnappleby405 comparing them to some of the casualties taken by units during the American Civil war only 5 years later would suggest it could have been a lot worse. Not sure why they mentioned the French and the Malakoff though as it isn't related to the Battle of Balaklava.
Cardigan did not fight at the guns. His job was to lead the troops to the guns, which he did, then he turned and trotted back. He was harassed by some Russians in doing so. If Lucan had not halted the Heavy Brigade who followed the Lights, many Russian cannons could have been spiked, rendering them useless. But Lucan could see the carnage unfolding ahead, and determined not to sacrifice the Heavy Brigade. The Charge was wrong in all aspects, but could have been a success. As for the French, they simply did what they were supposed to do!
Vi la légère cavalerie ! Moi même fût gendarme auxiliaire et avez pei de moyens nous tenions coûte que coûte ! Gloire et honneur ces preux cavaliers ! ❤❤❤❤😂😮.
It has been posited that a personal dislike of the general for the leader of the cavalry was the reason for the order, to make sure Cardigan, the leader of the brigade, would die or at least be demoted. Others say it was a misreading of the order. Again others thought it was mere lunacy caused by the unmitigated confidence of the upperclass in the superiority of the English race.
I’m brought here having today discovered the grave of Troop Sergeant Major, John Howes, 4th Light Dragoons. A lucky survivor of this action. I don’t know much, hardly anything, about the charge of the Light Brigade. But being shown the grave of this old warrior has spiked my interest. Anyone in the Birmingham area who is interested can visit the grave at Lodge Hill Cemetery, Selly Oak. B29. The grave is located directly behind the old chapel and the headstone is made from red marble. The warrior died on Christmas Day 1902, but despite this the grave is in very tidy condition.
It is remarkable how much the British love their military disasters, Dunkerque in WWll being a major catastrophe - a total rout turned into a 'glorious' withdrawal, and how these episodes colour the public's view of history to the exclusion of more pertinent facts. In fact - to borrow a quote from TE Lawrence half a century later - this piece of equine insanity took place in a 'sideshow of a sideshow'. The Crimean War was chiefly a naval conflict as Andrew Lambert's scholarly book explains. Notwithstanding, I think this filmic depiction of the charge is as accurate as can possibly be imagined after all this time and is a brilliant piece of movie making.
A. Dunkerque should not be described as a 'total rout', it was an orderly retreat from no particular battlefield leading to an evacuation. It was a tactical disaster though. B. At the time it was necessary to see the good or 'glorious' elements of the evacuation at the time because it helped bolster the morale of a tired and damaged population trying not to lose a major war. C. The main good or 'glorious' element being that 100's of ships that ended up saving 100000s of lives were those of Britain's allies, Britain's fishermen etc, that put themselves in grave danger to save the lives of as many soldiers as possible. Showing the British armed forces that the people of their country and their allies valued them, appreciated them, would not leave them behind etc. (raising morale), also showing that the allies would do what they can to save British lives too, focusing on the 'bright side' helped unite a battered country when they needed it most.
Pellicola molto bella ispirata alla vera storia della carica dei 600 nella battaglia di Balaklava durante la guerra di Crimea, certo nulla di eccezionale e la prima ora è fiacca, dalla seconda comincia a carburare un pò con le battaglie ben realizzate, ci sono degli anacronismi come il fatto che dopo la fustigazione del sergente maggiore, quando Nolano, Cardigano e gli altri ufficiali stanno camminando sotto la brezza, una moderna lampada elettrica sopraelevata e le sue coperture per cavi esterne sono chiaramente visibili in alto, quindi molto bella e molto bella per me come valutazione è 7,5.
“Well, here goes the last of the Brudenells”. The Russians couldn’t believe their luck. Shame that the only Englishman on the battlefield who knew what the hell was going on, Nolan, was killed by almost the first shell burst.
The Russians avoided British cavalry after this, it did have an effect. As to Nolan, even this film producer admits Nolan was the one who mistook one Russian force for the other. He may not have led the brigade to near-doom, but he started it. The ultimate lesson of the movie was not to be hot-headed like Nolan, even when dealing with folk you don't like - or else epic blunders are made.
A handful of wounded British were captured and were being beaten by Cossacks. A Russian officer saw this and was furious at the Cossacks. He had the British taken down to a cellar where he asked them in excellent English. "Were you drunk?" "No," came the reply. "You are excellent follows, I will have some vodka brought down to you." They were later exchanged for some Russian prisoners captured in another battle.
The Victoria Cross is a Maltese Cross, cast in bronze from cannons captured during the Crimean War (1854-1856). There is sufficient metal for a number of new medals to be cast from these cannons. They are each handmade by Hancocks and Company of London. Just so you all know the significance of that medal.
All i can think off when i see "Captain Nolan"... Is "....The barbarian horde!!" (Gladiator - 2000).... Or is it just me? (By the way, David Hemmings is one of the greats !...... and by apperance perhaps a bit "R. Mayall" ? ... None the less ... much gratitude and admiration for both .
No matter what anybody says, this was a complete massacre but they stuck to their orders even if death was certain their bravery will not be forgotten. Rode the noble six hundred.
Detail, when the charge ended and the rest of the brigade started retreating, Cardigan adressed the men, saying that he was following orders and that it wasn't his fault, abd a lot of the men started asking cardigan "go again sir?"
Still wonder where Captain Nolan was buried and if in his full active campaign dress - was it in the actual valley where he dies or close by?@@chasm671
this was one of the biggest military mishaps - bad communications, bad ego problems within rank & file and the aftermath from that battle was horriendous.
Si la brigade légère ne fut pas complètement détruite, ce fut grâce à la charge de deux régiments de cavalerie français ( chasseurs d'Afrique ) qui permit de dégager les survivants. Le fait est ici passé sous silence ...
C’est magnifique mais, c’est ne pas la guerre, c’est de la folie. -- it’s magnificent but it’s not war, it’s madness! Quote by a French General who watched it.
Как все всегда просто у генералов: выполнение приказа - верная смерть? Ну так это ж война! Потом в Первую Мировую уже целые корпуса так же гнали на пулеметы.
In my old history book written back in the 50s it says 607 men made the charge but only 198 returned! According to modern text that was grossly exaggerated!
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Canons to the left of them Canons to the right of them Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd THE TROOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!
Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” he said. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Never has an order been so misinterpreted .Lions led by donkeys.
In the 19th century and ww1 the officers were drawn mostly from the aristocracy and had little in common with the soldiers. During ww1 the British army was mostly run by the NCOs as the men had no respect for the officer class, infact officers were often shot.
Never forget that this is a move and the producer had an agenda, to de-motivate people and encourage embrace of some other 'system'. In reality the officers of this period took the same risks as the men they led.
'Lions led by donkeys' is a famous quote about the appalling casualties in World War 1. Many caused by tactics from a bygone era used in modern warfare. Yet the generals got the kudos and the knighthoods.
Lucász DeVrij Kelemen in WW1 ii think that few generals should not be definied criminals or assholes.And Dougals Haig (British) was the worst. The same Nivelle or Falkeneyn or HIndemburg. Cadorna was like them, not worst not better. But Armando Diaz was a wonderful general, not tactically but strategically and most of all a great manager. In second world war we had some of the worst high officers ever seen: Graziani, Gariboldi, Visconti Prasca....but not worst than guys like Gamelin, Frendhal or Paulus. We simply didnt have and army. At least we had a better army in WW1!!!!
Maybe Cadorna was just less lucky but looking at what I've read about the Italian front in WW1, I think Cadorna was the worst. How many times can you try the exact same thing and expect a different result? There were TWELVE battles of the Isonzo River and every time Cadorna used basically the same strategy and every time the Italians either made no gains or made minimal gains and eventually the Italian Army went into full rout. If Cadorna had been replaced as soon as possible the war would have gone much better for the Italians.
I do hope this is a 'No horses were harmed in the making of this.' But can you imagine being one of those soldiers or horses. Charging where you told and then all of a sudden the air and ground is exploding around you.
idiotic anecdote - the trews worn by Cardigan during the charge (complete with Cossack shashka cut darned up) were worn by his widow decades after - she dropped dead in them on the squadron lawn at Cowes - 😊😊😊
Fly Beep Actually, this was the film that caused the outlaw of using wires to trip horses. Around 125 horses were killed during the filming of this scene. It wasn't until after the movie that stunt horses became used.
Actually, it was the 1936 version of the film that caused a lot of horses to die and raised the issue of banning trip wires... but they did continue to use the "W" trip device for some films. The 1970 _Waterloo_ film used it, despite having circus stunt men to perform the falls. 22 seconds of horse falls were cut from the UK release of the film, but remain on the U.S. version... well, because killing things and Americans are like salt and pepper.
No, you're a stupid person... do you know how much a trained horse is compared to a regular horse? You think they can field a ton of stunt horses that easily in every war film? Trip wires were used in a lot of films, even illegally, and trip scenes were often cut when it was obvious that they had been tripped with a wire instead of encouraged to fall. Get off your high horse.
