Sharpe's Rifles - General Calvet and his meals

General Calvet is a man who can enjoy his meals even on the battlefield.
Scenes from Sharpe's Siege (1996) and Sharpe's Mission (1996).
For fun purposes only.

[@mavimurekkep9921]

As a matter of fact, there are more scenes of Calvet, however they were played by another actor John Benfield (RIP 2020). In Sharpe's Siege (1996) and Sharpe's Mission (1996), Calvet was portrayed by Olivier Pierre (RIP 2003) and he had done a great job. I wish he had been in more scenes. I remember seeing him with Jeremy Brett in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -- The Final Problem" (1985) in a petty role, but a remarkable one. It would have been great seeing him alongside with Sharpe against Ducos in Sharpe's Revenge (1997). As a result, I preferred Mr. Pierre's scenes for this video. Hope you enjoy it... By the way, I really enjoy the "Sharpe community". Watching other Sharpe videos on KZbin, there are always many nice and informative comments. Therefore, I thank the people for sharing their knowledge and best wishes.

[@keoken9078]

Who played Gaston and is he still alive

[@mavimurekkep9921]

@@keoken9078 He was portrayed by a Turkish actor, Ercüment Balakoglu. Unfortunately RIP since 2018.

[@keoken9078]

@@mavimurekkep9921 nooooo why world why are you so cruel to us he I loved that guy :(

[@BobfromSydney]

So basically playing General Calvet is a literal death sentence so far we can see.

[@nigelbarker8726]

@@BobfromSydney Life is a literal death sentence.

[@DinsRune]

"I eat soup with every meal, because I remember when I had no soup." Great line. Reframes his apparent gluttony into a humanizing and deep character trait with only one line.

[@DinsRune]

Also it made me really want some soup.

[@peterclarke7240]

I love soup. Even in these crap times, there's an element of luxuriousness to slurping on a bowl of soup.

[@kettch777]

@@peterclarke7240 Soup is a fantastic way to stretch your food and your budget. My grandfather's family often ate potato soup during the Depression since the ingredients were cheap (he hates it with a passion, now, though, for obvious reasons, although he does like a good clam chowder.)

[@catriona_drummond]

This guy and his Gaston had been to Moscow and back and lived to tell the tale. If you have ever been through something like that, you will keep food nearby all the time. My grandparents have been through some nasty time in the war and if there was ONE things they cared about it was that the larders was stocked. hunger is a trauma.

[@nowhereman6019]

It does a lot to build his character and contextualize the French. After the fall of the monarchy and to the ascension of Napoleon, military rank became determined not by noble birth but by merit. Calvet was clearly someone of low birth who suffered through poverty and starvation, and earned his rank as general through genuine skill and accomplishments, and yet he is still that same person who remembers going hungry and never forgets it. In a way, he is an embodiment of the new society that the French Revolution brought into existence.

[@devastater97]

Calvet is actually the best French commander in the entire series. He cares about the lives of his men, he walks with his troops instead of horse riding, He has a sense of honor and is actually a decent tactician he is just forced to listen to and obey incompetent ones.

[@IsaiahRichards692]

Like how he marches on Sharpe’s 50 men, slowly, out in the open, while the sharpshooters were mowing his men down left and right?! Or when he attacked Ducos’ castle under cover of night, but refused to let his men wear darker clothing, again, pressing an attack on an enemy fortress using a line formation?!

[@IsaiahRichards692]

@Sucshi I’d agree if Sharpe hadn’t yelled in his ear the right way to do it! Sharpe and the boys rarely take part in line battles because they know how retarded it is to have your men in open field with no cover wearing bright colors! He and the boys picked when to engage the enemy, their green uniforms made for camouflage, they often fired at enemies downhill from their positions, used cover, and crouched beneath obstructions when reloading! If Calvet were good at his job, he’d learn from his enemy and adopt his tactics, his bravery doesn’t dismiss him of the accusation of incompetence!

[@justin764]

@@IsaiahRichards692 Well the thing is, back in those days that was the actual tactics, and a good one at the time at that. Back in those days, soldiers had to literally march miles on the battlefield if necessary and to save their energy they were forced to walk slowly until they got in a close range with the enemies. And uniforms back then were the only way that they could tell the difference between friendlies and enemies, not to mention that uniforms at the time were really hard to produce and transport.

[@IsaiahRichards692]

@@justin764 Yes but popular doesn’t equal efficient, healthy, cost-effective, or sanitary! This problem can be seen today with large groups of people using outdated exercises and diets and causing a diabetes epidemic, or there was that time every army in the world realized army camo was a good idea, but now, every army on the planet looks identical. Dumbasses go with the flow and down with everybody else on the sinking ship of society, intellectuals that are ahead of their time think for themselves!

[@justin764]

@@IsaiahRichards692 No, like, literally back then it was the only way. Sure, there were cavalry units riding around with horses. But their horses are really expensive to maintain. Back then there was literally no way to actually make it to the firing line, unlike today's military with vehicles. Back then soldiers carried their rifles and thick coats of a uniform and 30 kgs/60 lbs worth of haversack with stuff including their own raw foods and water. They had to manage to make it to the enemies without getting exhausted first.

[@dastemplar9681]

Pranking your commanding officer with a “poisonous mushroom”. That’s soldiering.

[@toddkes5890]

He was testing his morels

[@jager5796]

The relationship between general Calvet and his steward is remarking his aproach to his men. Good officer indeed.

[@michaelwebster3124]

@@toddkes5890 Go directly to pun jail, do not pass go, do not collect $100

[@ozymandias1758]

@@toddkes5890 a scholar and gentleman, bravo :)

[@georgemorley1029]

@@michaelwebster3124 Your comment made me laugh harder than the pun. Well done.

[@shadowrunner2510]

"In Russia, we ate men like him for breakfast" a little more than a poetic phrase I think...

[@NtoTheM]

I think that's intentional. Cannibalism during that campaign would surprise exactly 11 people and they're all morons.

[@willkillhugh286]

In french, he crudely says "In Russia, men like him: we ate them." It wouldn't translate to "ate them for breakfast", but more something along the line "They ended up being the meal". So yeah, I agree.

[@shadowjack239]

@@willkillhugh286 In one of the books, Calvet jokes to Sharpe he once ate one of his own Corporals. Ducos had a narrow escape - that time!

[@tristanlucy5795]

Because the French invasion of Russia and its retreat from Russia was a nightmare. According to what I read in the history books so that phase is serious and true. I took it that he survived that nightmare while Duco wouldn’t last a day if he were there.

[@Bruno-G]

"I eat soup with every meal because i remember when i had no soup" It hits different once you realize calvet is a veteran of the french campaign against russia.

[@jakenake3401]

"We used to eat men like him in Russia"

[@ferikk92]

he's also likely to come from extreme poverty prior to the Revolution. the man grew up starving

[@JambalayaJimmy]

That's what the subtitles say, but he actually says he remembers when he didn't get to eat any meals.

[@lordbarristertimsh8050]

Believe it or not, that sentiment was shared by a number of veterans who survived that Russian Campaign, for several generations after the end of the Napoleonic wars, it was not uncommon for a large number of French families to eat broth or soup, with sausages and bread for breakfast, in some families, the custom didn't fully die off until the decades following the end of the Second World War.

[@Unregistered.Hypercam.2.]

@@lordbarristertimsh8050 the comment of the time to eat soup was more of a playword between social classes , as in lowly farmers and non aristocrats used and still use to eat their main meal , soup , for breakfast because they skip lunch due to usually working the fields , so when the other general told to calvet '' i dont eat soup for breakfast'' he meant it as ''im no lowly class man''

[@SouthernFriedCyanide]

I love how Calvert and Gaston are always seen eating The hunger they experienced in Russia must have been so horrific that they can't stand the feeling of even being peckish

[@lakitopalovic75]

All those who have attacked Russia throughout history have not had a good time. History repeats itself, perhaps for the last time.

[@franjay5585]

@@lakitopalovic75 germany in ww1 managed it and knocked russia out of the war

[@spandanganguli6903]

@@lakitopalovic75 There is still snow in Russia. There still frigid lands and deserts on this world and others. History will keep repeating itself.

[@aaronluisdelacruz4212]

@@franjay5585 Or that the Mongols conquered Russia during Winter before

[@skywillfindyou]

@@franjay5585 It really didn't. Was just a struggle until Russia got inner events.

[@beansontoast6622]

Calvert used his boorish behaviour and manners as a front, he was very intelligent and could be just as ruthless.

[@ATLAScorporation2023]

Love the name

[@tamlandipper29]

I would not describe him as boorish. He is without affectation. He speaks clearly and insightfully. If he eats well it is because he knows hunger.

[@SantomPh]

Calvet is hardly a boor. He appears so because all of these clips have him eating like a peasant. Off the dinner table he is a capable, cunning general- see Sharpe's Revenge.

[@cheeseypie5555]

@@tamlandipper29 I see him as somebody who has definitely seen horrific struggles, the face is that of PTSD. He has seen what poor stratergy can lead to and will not subjugate his men to such a fate.

[@Wassenhoven420]

​@@tamlandipper29 he is the definition of boorish. He ate sloppily and, burped without covering his mouth while with others around and was generally off-putting.

[@sethraelthebard5459]

The moment where General Calvet tossed the food to the deserters was just brilliant. In a single instant, the General revealed who still maintained dignity as men, and who had degenerated into feral beasts. Thus, he showed who was salvagable versus who was expendable.

[@crackshack2]

So that is what they meant? Why goats and sheep?

[@charles7186]

@@crackshack2 It's a metaphor, it's hard to sort out a goat that blends in with the sheeps Same goes with the cowards and the brave

[@diogeneslantern18]

@@crackshack2because sheep are easily tamed and goats are famously stubborn

[@angelfan16]

No. You missed the meaning of the scene. The sheep were the ones who sat there and starved. The goats where the ones willing to fight for food.

[@kmart111]

@@angelfan16 but the general explained it in the opposite way

[@agdgdgwngo]

"I eat soup with every meal because I remember when I had no soup"

[@LoudaroundLincoln]

My dad said that literally every time we sat down for one of my mams soups. Minestrone, onion, leak and potato, carrot and coriander. We ate soup every Thursday and the man said it without fail everytime. Drove me mam mad. "Shurrup Barney, we had minestrone last week you daft twat". Ah childhood memories.

[@Quackerilla]

BOLD AND BRAVE

[@testy462]

@@LoudaroundLincoln hilarious. In his honor I will start this tradition.

[@gemmeldrakes2758]

My father has been quoting this for decades, since Sharpe first aired...

[@Joekool88]

Never watched the series but this line hits home the first time I read it

[@FerretJohn]

When Napolean picks a General he does not ask "Is he good?", he asks "Is he lucky?" I always loved that line.

[@JnEricsonx]

Napoleon must have been like, "I'd love to have that Sharp on my side!"

[@briancooper4959]

A reference to a famous Napoleon response to the question of whether, in battle, he preferred luck or greatness, and he answered, luck. Thus our modern saying: It is better to be lucky than good.

[@DinsRune]

​@@briancooper4959 if you're lucky, you don't need to be good. Then again, if you're unlucky you had _better_ be good. Or maybe it won't help😅 Hope to be lucky, but always try to be good.

[@starliner2498]

that's pretty much what Cortana found unique about Master Chief too, he wasn't the best at anything, just the luckiest

[@Whatsuppbuddies]

@@starliner2498 Oh really? No kidding! What a fascinating historical example! Do tell us more about this Cortana and Master Chief! What lives must they have lived?

[@buttersstotch7981]

You can see that general has equal kind of relation with his cook. Even tough the cook is standing to show his respect to him, Calvet doesn't get mad when Gaston dips his bread on general's own soup bowl.

[@ClickBeetleTV]

They are clearly two men who have been through some shit together and survived

[@longannguyen4223]

they are friends

[@gregoryborton6598]

@@ClickBeetleTV He looks either to be Sgt Major, or more likely his personal batman (as in the officers personal servant who stays with him at all times, not the superhero lmao).

[@mikesteed9937]

@@longannguyen4223 they have a great connection!

[@bartu913]

@@gregoryborton6598 aide and adjutant are the better words

[@silentmind34]

This actually showed how cold Gaston could be. An actual soldier hiding in the guise of a cook

[@ArkhamKnight-uj6ww]

A wolf in sheep’s clothing

[@JnEricsonx]

So a veritable Casey Ryback for real?

[@OhNotThat]

If they both survived Russia, then no doubt he's a stone cold killer who went through a lot of trauma. Don't let his affable nature fool you.

[@alcohol-freebeer3642]

I love the end of the first scene, where Major Ducos strides off thinking he's been all decisive and bad ass, and General Calvet and Gaston just watch him go, before settling into a pleasant reminiscence together about the days when they'd just have eaten his gizzards with their gravy.

[@SantomPh]

Intelligence officers like Ducos were useless in Russia, since pretty much the whole of Russia hated Napoleon and very few officers could be turned against Tsar Alexander. Calvet and other generals also had faulty intelligence that led to them pointlessly attacking Moscow and starting the great retreat and the deaths of thousands.

[@lochnessmonster5149]

Ducos isn't sweat off their brows.

[@OhNotThat]

The Scary thing about that statement might be he could have meant it quite literally. The March back to France from Russia did have reports of Cannibalism to survive.

[@eraespina9507]

There is a hint of cannibalism in the joking words of Calvet with Gaston.. The Russian Campaign of Napoleon is really horrifying..

[@DomWeasel]

There's no hint at all. Calvet openly admits to eating one of his corporals in both the series and the books. 'Boiled buttock of corporal, well peppered.' As a general, he had the privilege of cooking what he was forced to eat. The ordinary soldiers had no such luxury, hacking chunks off frozen horses and men with their bayonets and gnawing on them raw.

[@crippledkitty863]

Accounts of Napoleon's Russian campaign were horrendous.

[@dastemplar9681]

@@crippledkitty863 They were beyond horrendous. Historians are considering the French Retreat from Moscow as history’s worst periods in military history. The conditions were unthinkable and the men were subjugated to such inhospitable conditions that the term “frozen hell” would still be an understatement. The fact that men resort to devouring horses alive like zombies because the cold was so severe that exposed blood froze in minutes . Dead horses were impossible to eat since their flesh froze rock solid within hours.

[@gaolmiralis2247]

​@@dastemplar9681 I also heard that it was an unordinary harsh winter, kind of a micro ice-age to put it bluntly. Some of those extraordinary weather conditions that happen very rarely. Talk about bad luck Or in the words of a famous singer: "Everyone is bound to fail, it must be right". I guess even the universe itself didn't want Napoleon to win

[@rc59191]

I have a book called an innocent soldier that follows a couple of soldiers from the Kingdom of Wurttemberg that were part of Napoleon's Grand Army. I felt bad for the few who made it back that were forced to stay in the army after that nightmare.

[@NightSkeptic]

As a person who rose from nothing, I empathize greatly with General Calvet. My business break room has poptarts coming out of the rafters, as I remember a time when having poptarts was a luxury. I have a dozen examples of this in my life. Yet Calvet is quite an intelligent and sensible man. I'm glad he was in more than one Sharpe film.

[@n-doghansenmand5655]

Never understood poptarts, is IT Candy, is IT supposed to count as food ?

[@Pulang_Diwa]

@@n-doghansenmand5655 In my country we consider it as a dessert. But if you're American who's used to eating bread you'd probably eat it as regular food. I dunno.

[@GarySmith-ul7xq]

"A pop tart is a fine meal."

[@DPSSOC]

@@n-doghansenmand5655 it's candy and a meal. Like sugary cereal it's not healthy but it's technically food children will happily eat quickly for parents who don't have and/or can't/won't make the time to prepare and make children eat healthier options.

[@n-doghansenmand5655]

@@DPSSOC Sounds like a shitty way to start the Day , eating Candy

[@LoudaroundLincoln]

Calvet was quite impressionable to me as a child. I felt he humanised the series a bit. Made an adversary likeable. I think that was a nice nod to the human cost of war. I would of hated seeing Calvet killed. Him and his chef were a pleasure in every scene.

[@IsaiahRichards692]

I’m pretty sure he started as a cartoon villain in Spain - a fat enemy commander that regularly gorged himself on mountains of food and executing Colonel Cresson for a failure he couldn’t have prevented! But then they suddenly made him a humanized character, pulling this off-screen Russian Campaign arc out of their asses, and saying he only ate well because he knew hunger! Admit it, this humanized version of Calvet came right the hell out of nowhere!

[@TheCormTube]

@Alvi Syahri Cresson is the guy he shoots in this very clip and Calvet is not in the clip you have linked.

[@captaintrizer]

Good old Guston lol

[@SantomPh]

@Alvi Syahri sorry but that is Colonel Chaumier. Wrong person.

[@billrich9722]

@Bub Bub i guess It's so much more impactful when you capitalize random letters in a word and only post in a wall of text.

[@SantomPh]

I would watch a whole series of clueless Colonels and Majors walking into the tent and ultimately not walking out

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

Now that's Calveting

[@SantomPh]

@@andrewpestotnik5495 don't touch his food, you will live!

[@RelwarctheMighty]

They may not have walked out, but they sure did find out

[@MalcrowAlogoran]

2:53 Gaston...GASTOON. Goddamn adorable.

[@DomWeasel]

That grin of Gaston's absolutely slays me every time.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

@@DomWeasel And that "gotcha" point lol

[@DomWeasel]

@@worldcomicsreview354 And then the way they both glare at Cresson for not laughing.

[@bluewolvesstudios2822]

that got me good, XD

[@nowhereman6019]

"I eat soup with every meal, because I remember when I had no soup." This line does a lot to build his character and contextualize the French. After the fall of the monarchy and to the ascension of Napoleon, military rank became determined not by noble birth but by merit. Calvet was clearly someone of low birth who suffered through poverty and starvation, and earned his rank as general through genuine skill and accomplishments, and yet he is still that same person who remembers going hungry and never forgets it. In a way, he is an embodiment of the new society that the French Revolution brought into existence.

[@FormerGovernmentHuman]

He was in Russia when the Army froze and starved to death. That’s why he constantly eats. Idk about his backstory but the context clues and dialogue you’re given point to Russia being the reason for his gluttony.

[@TheIrishvolunteer]

It’s because of his time in Russia

[@BlackCrafte]

@@FormerGovernmentHuman In the dinner scene he says "you have done well, for an aristocrat" pointing indeed in the original commenter idea

[@FormerGovernmentHuman]

@@BlackCrafte He also makes a comment about eating him in Moscow.

[@bastobasto4866]

​@@FormerGovernmentHuman You're both right; Calvet isn't of noble birth (as shown by his contempt of the aristocracy), and what he actually says at 0:38 is "I eat soup alongside all of my meals, in the morning, at noon, at night, as to remember the time in my life during which I did not eat any meals", which, the way it's worded, seem to insinuate that he was indeed brought up in poverty, and could not eat much (only soup - and probably not the nice kind you'd get in a soup restaurant, but simply whatever could be gathered put into a pot with water as to avoid wasting any precious nutrients). The French dialogue seem to imply that he's eating soup with all of his meal (even breakfast - which is unusual, and kind of rough on the palate!) to remind himself of his humble origin. What he went throught in Russia was much worse (straight out starvation, resorting to cannibalism; eating his corporal), but shorter, and may be the cause of his gluttony (at least, to this level!). I didn't read the novels, so maybe someone can correct me if more of his backstory is given there.

[@TT-rq3so]

I love how Gaston and Calvet are so close that Gaston can dip his bread in Calvet's soup

[@paulvontarsus729]

How grand it is to have a friend to share good food with

[@ssrmy1782]

They probably shared a few meals on the retreat from Moscow in 1812. And by "a few meals" I mean to say "a few drummer-boys."

[@paulvontarsus729]

@@ssrmy1782 "Men like Ducot"

[@georgebardsley7129]

That first clip is great for establishing who these two characters and their differences. Major Ducos, dress smart and stands upright. Suggesting he’s educated, and from moderate wealth. Perhaps he’s apart of the lower elite who avoided the great terror. He most certainly thinks himself to be more intelligent than those around him. Especially the general. General Calvert on the other hand is the prime example of a Napoleonic officer. A man who was promoted based on Merit and most likely came from abject poverty. Hence his appreciation for his post and the fact he considers soup a luxury. Something that Ducos clearly disagrees with. Note: The general calls the Compte an aristocrat in the second clip. So I believe he would have been poor.

[@SantomPh]

@Iron and Pine he is referencing his poor background.

[@SantomPh]

@Iron and Pine he is responding to Ducos' remark about only having soup with dinner; as someone who grew up poor Calvet now wants to have soup all the time, since unlike Ducos , soup was a luxury for him growing up, which he remembers quite vividly Ducos is being a snob. Soup with dinner and the expectation of such marks him as upper middle class.

[@spwicks1980]

Its most likely the Russian campaign. The french were ill prepared for war in such temperatures and died by the thousand. Those that didnt sucomb to the cold died of starvation. Cannibalism was rife as aluded to when Calvet jokes with Gaston about eating men like Duco for breakfast in Russia. Later in the series when Sharpe defends a small French fortified house, Calvet asks gaston whether the assault was as bad as Moscow, to which gaston replies Yes my General. Then it was truly bad was Calvet's reply and helps his friend off the battlefield.

[@drinks1019]

I think he is always eating and talking about how much he respects food is because him and Gaston were survivors of the Russian campaign and had to resort to eating literally anything they could find to survive. So they ate frozen rotting horses, maggot filled flour (if they were lucky) and sadly their fellow soldiers to survive. But you do have a very good point there.

[@SantomPh]

@@cecrops9289 it could be seen that way , I guess. However Ducos' previous comment "I have soup for dinner, not breakfast" implies Calvet will retort with something about his own upbringing.

[@thijshagenbeek8853]

Gaston is a real hard arse piece of work... and you can so tell Calvet is very in the air whenever he is joking around with people.. the moment Gaston looks serious. Calvet gets serious.. I think Gaston is Calvets moral compass. Calvet wont put his men under someone unless Gaston thinks he can do the job.

[@thegadflygang5381]

Gaston and General Calvert are the guys you want to both serve with during the war and party with after the war. Appreciative for what they have, great sense of humor and respectful of the regular working man

[@loone3100]

As a writer, I adore the first scene with Calvet. It gives so much context and characterization to the audience in such a short amount of time. His constant eating lets the audience empathize with him as a poor man who rose to the top, while at the same subtlety telling us that Calvet must be a fierce opponent having survived the horrors of the Russia campaign.

[@zoneoperator]

Historical Fact: The two medals displayed on General Calvets uniform are the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) (Red Ribbon) one of the highest commendations anyone civilian or military could achieve, and is still awarded today. The second is the Ordre de la Couronne de Fer (Order of the Iron Crown) (Yellow & Green Ribbon) created by Napoleon after his Italian campaign.

[@terranceaddison4599]

They some cool names..

[@SMAXZO]

I like the bait and switch end for Cresson. You think he's gonna eat a poisoned mushroom...and then Gaston just executes him.

[@Avenger85438]

Calvert was probably hoping he wouldn't have to waste another bullet because of him.

[@JonatasAdoM]

Perhaps an allusion that he was dead either way.

[@ezekielellis7471]

So why was he killed...? Never heard of Napoleon doing that but....

[@raulgutierrez9157]

@@ezekielellis7471 because I think these were explicit orders from Napoleon himself meaning either succeed or die for your failures of following orders

[@noahhawkins1534]

@@raulgutierrez9157 rather foolish to kill a decent military leader because of failure on a mission. It's counterproductive.

[@incenius5008]

The actual words that he's saying in french have a much stronger meaning, in english hes calling duco a wimp and saying he's thrashed men like him in russia. What hes actually saying is "remember in Russia? we saw a man like that, we ate them". Not because they were wimps, but because the French were out of food and starving. Perfectly synchs with the prior line of "I eat this food for supper because I remember what its like to not have supper"

[@lars573]

The line is "I eat soup at every meal, morning, noon, and evening, because I remember when we had none."

[@OhNotThat]

In this case, the translation is actually quite literal... they cannibalised men like him in Russia....

[@o-zone1217]

Just love the part where he dipped the bread into the general's soup like no hesitation at all.

[@ΜιχάληςΝικολάκης-τ4λ]

I really enjoyed the Scene in which Calvet shows Ducos that he is underestimating Sharpe without knowing him by proving that he isn't " soft "

[@flankspeed]

"There's your sheep... There's your goats." As expected from a gastronome, he knows his onions 👍

[@ferikk92]

J'aime l'oignon frit à l'huîle J'aime l'oignon quand il est bon

[@reymicroc]

Gourmet

[@jessecarozza6745]

@@ferikk92 *tankery intensifies*

[@ramononate6407]

As an active member of the military and an NCO, I must say that I love the bounds that the general and he's sergeant have made, and it's more than accurate once you've fought along with someone for as much as they have.

[@SantomPh]

Gaston is not a sergeant, he is Calvet's batman- his manservant so to speak. He is in fact a corporal

[@BLACKFLAME4941]

@@SantomPh wasnt gaston introduced as a major?

[@exposingproxystalkingorgan4164]

General Calvet and Sargent Gaston are the French versions of Sharpe and his men. Cresson fucked up when the gun powder storage fort blew up. You can see Colonel Cresson's facial expression. Calvet tried to execute Cresson by poisonous mushroom but he was lucky and ate a good one, so Gaston shot him in the back. Calvert was pissed off but he remained composed.

[@debrickashaw9387]

No the mushrooms were never poisonous. He ate one himself. Remember that Cresson walked into that tent still thinking the mushrooms were deadly until Calvet ate one and offered him one as a false gesture of forgiveness

[@toomanyaccounts]

@@debrickashaw9387 they all looked the same. having one be poisonous runs the risk of Calvet eating one by accident.

[@debrickashaw9387]

@@toomanyaccounts yes, which is why nothing was poisoned

[@SantomPh]

Gaston is a corporal, not a Sgt

[@jos1515]

Calvet intentionally gives Cresson a non-poison mushroom to give him the impression he didn't want to kill him. This calming and false validation effect distracts Cresson from seeing Gaston pulling the gun behind him. General Calvet is an OG.

[@TheSerpent753]

"He's not so soft" -- one of the best lines in a series full of great lines.

[@alexkrycek21]

Love Calvet. Brilliant character. Was really good in Revenge when he and Sharpe team up to bring down Ducos.

[@PipeSergeant54]

Yes, I liked them teaming up as well. Thinking back on it, General Calvet did not appear in Sharpe's Waterloo.

[@awordabout...3061]

@@PipeSergeant54 I imagine he retired to a farm somewhere where he and Gaston spent the rest of their lives eating well and not marching anymore!

[@darthnowlan]

@PipeSergeant54. He went to New Orleans in the books after Napoleon's abdication.

[@CrusadiaIX]

@@darthnowlan Eating fine Cajun cuisine for the rest of his life… an excellent end to an excellent character.

[@davidmorris1735]

When the general is talking about 'I remember when I had no soup', what he says (in French) is: 'Moi, je prends de la soupe avec tous mes repas, matin midi et soir, pour ne pas oublier l'epoque ou je ne mangeais pas de repas' What is really says is (my French isn't perfect): 'I eat soup with every meal, morning, midday and evening, so as to not forget the time when I used to eat no meal.' Equally touching as the shortened translation imo.

[@Drod6969]

The mushrooms scene where the chef and Calvet were joking around while the other guy just rolled his eyes was hilarious

[@ClickBeetleTV]

It's my favorite Sharpe scene all around!

[@samcook4207]

The budget didn't even stretch to real soup, you can see it's just water when Duco moves it aside.

[@joec9693]

At the same time that may have not been a budget thing but practical. Lots of actors have said they dislike any scene with food in it because they have to eat it over and over and over take after take. The food gets cold and nasty, they get full but have to keep eating as they do take after take. So having him sip some water while wearing that heavy military uniform in the outdoor heat was probably a smart move.

[@japeking1]

@@joec9693 Or..... French soup is very thin.

[@georgevanhoose6333]

@@japeking1 If the French make soup too thin, then it's supposed to be too thin.

[@japeking1]

@@georgevanhoose6333 Tell that to les rosbifs. Cuisine depends on the practitioner not the nationality..... damn...have to go boil up tea.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@georgevanhoose6333 when in jail in Umatilla county , Oregon we had bologna soup that was very similar to this soup. A huge vat of water boiled with a few chunks of bologna and a couple scraps of cabbage in it. Bologna soup.

[@michaelmixon2479]

General Calvet and his aide were hilarious! Some of the best scenes in the series!

[@JnEricsonx]

Calvert was probably thinking, "Lord, can I have more people like Sharpe and his men in my command?"

[@Stitches2390]

Adding Calvet really highlighted the main tension in the series - the bravery and decency of common men vs the aristocrats that sent them to die

[@alejeron]

i love how Calvet's guards dont even flinch when he executes Col Cresson. thats soldiering

[@steveg2251]

The only other Cresson I know of claimed all British were poofs and the Japanese were little yellow ants (Edith).

[@fawziekefli2273]

Love the way Gaston casually dips his bread into the general's soup.

[@erodoeht4666]

This guy has a pretty decent outlook on life and shows a hidden wisdom that very likely EARNED him the rank of General. Probably a man Sharpe would love to serve under if they were on the same side.

[@JnEricsonx]

I think someone said that in one of the books Napoleon himself tells Sharpe if he'd been in his army, he'd be a field marshal by now.

[@erodoeht4666]

@@JnEricsonx they did say Napoleon promoted based on talent.

[@JnEricsonx]

@@erodoeht4666 True.

[@SantomPh]

He is wearing the Legion d'Hounneur, earned in Italy during Napoleon's campaign there. Coupled with the Russian campaign, I'd say he earned those stripes. With a couple of exceptions, Napoleon generally promoted capable men to the higher ranks, since the Revolution pruned the elite ranks of aristocrats. He was dreadfully unfortunate that his Marshals often squabbled with each other, with him and even their own staff-and that his enemies also had very capable leaders of their own

[@lionguardant5468]

@@SantomPh Not only the Legion of Honour but the Order of the Iron Crown, a duo which Napoleon gave to only few people. He’s clearly earned his stripes.

[@nicolasviard2252]

Calvet and Gaston were actually the kind of soldiers the Emperor liked. Brave, true and faithful

[@hagamapama]

And devious and smart.

[@alexanderforsman2166]

Only 1 out of every 12 men of the Grande Armee that crossed the river Neman into Russia ever came back. Surviving the pestilence and exposure, starvation, exhaustion and Cossack skirmishes was bad enough. But then you had Smolensk and Borodino and countless other pitched battles all the way back. No wonder Calvet DGAF.

[@justinokraski3796]

I think Borodino was before they captured Moscow

[@Warszawski_Modernizm]

yes. a giant terrific battle without a clear victory, and with heavy casualties. Russians traded area for time, pulling back and allowing the French to overstretch while racing towards Moscow.@@justinokraski3796

[@beatonthedonis]

The irony of the Sharpe series is that it was Napoleon's army that was meritocratic - he would have been a lot more likely to rise through the ranks in the French army than the British.

[@JnEricsonx]

Napoleon would have loved Sharpe then I guess.

[@Awesomeness-ub8bn]

Despite this being old even with the new napoleon movie. This still never gets old. The quote with soup practically symbolizes the situation in France. During the last king their was an unprecedented gap and poverty between rich and poor and when the revolution occurred despite its hopeful prospect it got worse under the reign of terror. This is the environment that Napoleon who was an outsider and many of his generals grew up in

[@TimStamper89]

Gaston is to Calvet what Harper is to Sharpe It's a great parallel and I am glad that as characters they have an understood respect when they meet

[@ELITESrBAMOFOS945]

You can tell Gaston died a little inside when Calvert yeeted that chicken at the soldiers

[@looker999997]

No one feigns death like Gaston.

[@jgulner]

Holds his breath like Gaston Makes you tot'lly feel out of your depth like Gaston

[@hadadezer8047]

That clink at 0:23 as Gaston ladels the soup into the plate is such a beautiful sound

[@Fiannie]

My interpretation of the last scene is that the mushrooms offered were never poisonous (although Calvert would initially imply that it is) and Gaston would shoot Cresson anyway. What Calvert offered Cresson was the chance to take responsibility of the failure by committing hara-kiri with a seemingly poisonous mushroom (with Gaston performing the coup de grace) or die like a dog. Cresson refused to take responsibility, and so died like a dog.

[@awesomebearaudiobooks]

What do you mean he refused responsibility? Didn't he accept the mushrooms in the last scene?

[@kungfuotta]

@@awesomebearaudiobooks He did, but only after Calvert ate one first to show that they weren't poisonous. If you rewatch the final scene, there's a pause where the mushrooms are placed in front of Cresson and Calvert waits for him to grab one. Seeing that Cresson clearly avoided them with his gaze, Calvert grabbed one himself.

[@98based30]

I like that the video is cut like it is from an old videogame, and the scenes you see are the cutscenes between missions.

[@imtherain]

Major duco: he's soft, he will kill me lol.

[@PipeSergeant54]

I was glad to see Ducos being dragged by his horse, he really deserved it.

[@danieltownley7133]

Little nod to history. When Calvert says, “In Russia, we are men like him for breakfast”. Cannibalism was what the French army resorted to in Napoleon’s campaign. A double insult to Ducot.

[@sfk1066]

Gaston's role throughout the scenes are grossly overlooked. Well played by the actor and his subtle movements throughout the scenes. You'd think he was just the happy go lucky faithful servant enjoying himself, but push comes to shove he is still a soldier doing the general's bidding at the end of this.

[@daverage4729]

Love how Gaston just dips his bread into Calvet's soup whilst their slagging off Duco. 😄😄

[@houseviceroy]

My grandpa is just like this dude , even if we go out to a restaurant he requests soup before his meal

[@ghenkhoash2440]

Maybe he was in Napoleon's army invading Russia.

[@burntthetoast]

I always loved how everyone, especially Ducos told Calvet how to think about Sharpe, but he always gave him his due credit. Even when he outsmarted him. Id rather be "lucky" than "good" any day.

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

The quote goes harder in french it's not I eat soup every meal because i remember when I had no soup but rather I eat soup with every meal because I remember when i had no meals.

[@nathanbennett9999]

I love when General Calvet and Gaston are laughing together. There's something about guys who laugh together like that.

[@Kevlar67476]

Chef is priceless

[@DoritoBagWilkins]

Agreed. Gaston and Calvet were best bros.

[@1987MartinT]

Calvet may come across as a gluttonous brute, but in war he clearly knows what he's about.

[@elxaime]

Who was General Calvet's orderly? He strikes me as an actor who is a French comedian in real life.

[@mavimurekkep9921]

He was actually a Turkish actor, Ercüment Balakoglu, played generally petty roles in his career. Not primary, but good character roles. RIP since 2018.

[@paulmccann8494]

The Virgin Duco vs the Chad Calvet

[@UTubeMinority]

I’d honestly watch an entire series about Calvet and Gaston.

[@dchegu]

A compilation of scenes from Sharpe? Now, that's soldiering

[@CrimsonCrux]

One of the things I liked about Sharpe was how it vilified and humanized both sides of the war. The English weren't just bright eyed heroes and the French weren't evil Machiavellian bad guys and sometimes the people caught in between weren't always nice or just. Calvet's genuine love and concern for his men is apparent as much as Sharpe's for his.

[@narohato1749]

I love how the General is strolling around eating a chicken leg

[@Wenchework]

They act like fools but they are far from it as they hide themselfs behind the farce of being fools

[@NealX_Gaming]

Say rather that truly smart men know that we are all fools, only the more foolish hide themselves behind a farce of intelligence.

[@jimlascola]

Gastone was to the general like Harper was to sharpe

[@randomguy-xp7se]

Ngl he killed that Col so ruthlessly. Even showed him Napoleons orders to kill him for failing as he bled out. Wrong guy to underestimate.

[@Echo_Recon_01]

General Calvet and Gaston the best Bromance of the series.

[@brndnwilks]

Imagine, your last meal is a bite of a mushroom, a fungus. Poor bastard.

[@theodoreroosevelt2154]

I know others have already mentioned it, but Calvet’s passing statement of always eating soup because he remembers having nothing could imply multiple things. Before the French Revolution and later Napoleon’s rise, positions were given based on family bloodlines, not skill. Its very likely that Calvet experienced starvation and poverty in his childhood, both during the rule of the French Monarchy, and the famines caused by the turmoil and tyranny of the French Revolution. Another thing he could be referencing was the Russian campaign, which I personally consider more likely. Even on the first day of the campaign, it was going poorly, as Napoleon’s usual tactic of living off the land just wouldn’t work in Russia, cause scorched earth tactics. Things got infinitely worse after the retreat from Moscow, when Napoleon abandoned his army and left for Paris. Throughout the retreat, men froze to death on the march, with Russian cavalry constantly harassing the retreating French soldiers. Napoleon brought over 600,000 men into Russia, a rough estimate of 100,000 escaped. Going through that ordeal, constantly battling frostbite and starvation, with Russian cavalry always watching from the tree line, yet fortunately escaping with his life would’ve definitely affected Calvet mentally, especially the hunger, which constantly gnaws at a person, and would be a cold reminder of what he experienced in the dreaded Russian Winter. With this sort of trauma, it’s no wonder he never wishes to eat light, as he has a new appreciation for food.

[@voidw4lker]

0:29 Quite a thin soup, it seems to me. But the pretty plate makes up for it.

[@EskimoJoe492]

"GASTON!" "AH, YOU GOT ME!"

[@sethraelthebard5459]

For some reason, General Calvert reminds me of a 19th century Tony Soprano

[@starguy2718]

Gabagool? Ova heah!

[@qingyunwang3802]

2:42 Major General Ross would go on to capture Washington D.C. in 1814, the only foreign general ever to capture the capital of United States.

[@christopherwelford8401]

I loved this dude and it always makes me feel hungry watching his scenes.

[@sober_monk]

In the final scene, Gaston is standing there with his hand behind his back, eyeing the colonel. Motherfucker was primed and ready to go lol

[@123234345jack]

At :30 you can clearly see that the soup is just straight up water lol

[@NaNa-kj2gw]

watching this while eating a lobster bisque and dipping it with an organic rosemary sourdough boule bread.

[@DeltaV3]

Whoever made this is a fine individual.

[@orange8420]

2:52 Gaston got me in the first half not gonna lie

[@thefrecklepuny]

The hearty belch at the end rounds this off nicely!

[@PuppetierMaster]

in the end it was General Calvet's written testimony that got Sharpe out of some hot water.

[@aliali-ce3yf]

My favorite part is when Gaston takes some bread to dip into Calvet's soup bowl : )

[@incredibleXMan]

The first scene is classic.

[@Waltonet93]

Calvet and Gaston are a wholesome duo of ever there was one.

[@briancooper4959]

Calvet did not become a general by letting himself be blamed for the failures of others.

[@slynthehedgehog8061]

To be exact, Calvet say in French "I eat soup with every meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, to not forget when I had no meals."

[@ACM1PT95]

How rude, at least he could had said "no thank you, I already had breakfast"

[@ghenkhoash2440]

He said thank you

[@ACM1PT95]

@@ghenkhoash2440 still it's quite rude pushing the food aside like that

[@anthonywalker9683]

Well sir, when I saw the Sharpe clip I naturally clicked on it, that’s my style sir.

[@themutualfriend5286]

I don't understand why no one accepts calvets offers of food. Hell if I was fighting in a war and he offered me summat I wouldn't think twice.

[@xuelee7520]

I believe the food he offers is symbolic. Soup is warm and homely. By refusing the soup Ducos made it clear he wasn't there to be friends. But for the Major, he offered him *poisonous mushrooms*, to which when he refused Calvet commented that he learned fast. That he should not eat the poisonous mushroom. At the end, both the Major and the General ate the poisonous mushroom.

[@diogeneslantern18]

@@xuelee7520 let it be known that Ducos was a major and Cresson was a colonel.

[@teamnoob52]

@@diogeneslantern18 Exactly, and Ducos' de facto "authority" was by implied proxy and his role as an operative on orders from high command. His "safety" from retaliation was entirely situational, something he apparently forgot after all that he pulled in the series...not to mention he didn't have protection from those outside the French command structure, ie. Sharpe. In the novels he apparently was executed by firing squad for treason after stealing the French treasury; a disloyal spy is an enemy spy. In the series, Sharp himself shot Ducos dead as the latter attempted to escape a botched scheme to frame Sharpe for the theft. He wasn't missed in either case.

[@historiamilitaris5161]

Gaston and Calvet best duo ever.

[@SuperPyst]

Gaston and Calvert would make an awesome series in their own right

[@Foolnation]

0:28 what kind of soup is that? Water soup? xd

[@tanks4nuthin964]

I love how his aid is just standing there stuffing his face the whole time 😂

[@elpresso1983]

Well, sir, upon hearing that General Calvet was going indulge in a few meals, I naturally sat down and joined him for soup, that's my style, sir!