History WorthyOpponent / RealLifeCombat

** A similar thing happened during World War I, when the New Zealand freighter SS ''Otaki'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_10_March_1917 encountered]] the German [[WolfInSheepsClothing merchant raider]] SMS ''Möwe'', which had already sunk numerous cargo ships and even a British battleship, with a minefield. As a refrigerated cargo ship, the ''Otaki'' was very valuable to the Allied war effort, and her captain Archibald Bisset Smith decided to respond to the orders to stop and warning shots by shooting back at the ''Möwe''. ''Otaki'' was outgunned and sank, but managed to do enough damage that the ''Möwe'' was forced to limp home for repairs, burning for two whole days. Smith [[GoingDownWithTheShip went down with his ship]], and his opposing captain, Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, described the battle as "a duel as gallant as naval history can relate". As a civilian, Smith was ineligible for awards, so he was [[LoopholeAbuse posthumously commissioned an Lieutenant of the Royal Navy Reserve]] and awarded the VC.

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Butler_McVay_III United States Navy Captain Charles McVay]] was court-martialed after World War II in response to the sinking of his ship, the heavy cruiser USS ''Indianapolis'', during the final days of the War while delivering the nuclear material and other parts for the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Imperial Japanese Naval Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto, the commanding officer of the submarine I-58 and the man responsible for the sinking of the ''Indianapolis'', testified on [=McVay=]'s behalf at his court-martial, and years later, joined the surviving crew members of the ship in a campaign to exonerate him.

** In the late 1500s, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Sun-sin Admiral Yi Sun-sin of Korea]] earned the nickname "[[TheRedBaron The Martial Lord]] of [[MyCountryRightOrWrong Loyalty]]" from his countrymen due to his achievements against the incredibly powerful Japanese navy of the time and naval innovations he himself pioneered. Yi eventually died during the final battle to a stray bullet, but [[ElCidPloy gave instructions to not inform his crew of his death]] until the fighting was over. Yi also ordered his nephew to wear his uncle's armor and continue beating the war drums, which the nephew did to keep morale up. When Admiral Togo Heihachiro was compared to both [[UsefulNotes/HoratioNelson Admiral Nelson]] and Admiral Yi roughly 300 years later, he had this to say.

** Many upper intelligence officers and diplomats of both sides found a strange comfort in the certainties of the Cold War. The enemy was clearly defined, (mostly) equally armed, and, in many ways, no different. After the Cold War, things went upside down and, suddenly, you have [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror a shadow whose existence you are unsure of but can hit you anywhere and hurt]], a [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld rapidly rising "Communist" superpower that practices Capitalism]] who [[FriendlyEnemy you can't live with but can't live without]], a [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets bankrupt former-superpower who is now supposed to be everyone's friend]] but [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain has wildly divergent interests from the rest of the world (economically and politically, given her isolation on both fronts) and fears NATO expansion]], and [[{{Eagleland}} a lone, seemingly-aimless superpower who is behaving in increasingly erratic ways]]. No wonder [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell the USA is also bummed that communism fell]].

** Since a good deal of Saladin's praise comes from Christian monks who chronicled the events, it's hard to argue. On the other side, Muslim chroniclers exclaimed that Balian, who had defended Jerusalem, held a rank in their eyes equal to a king. He had asked Saladin for leave to evacuate his wife and children from the Holy City, and Saladin agreed on the condition that he does not return to take up arms. When Balian got there though, the people implored him to stay, citing the greater need of Christendom. He stayed and defended the city, and when the time came to negotiate terms with Saladin, the sultan reportedly held no ill feelings to Balian for breaking his oath, and sent an escort to guide his family back to Tripoli.

** In December 1943 after spending a year harassing the Arctic Convoys, the battlecruiser/light battleship ''Scharnhorst'' was cornered by the fast battleship HMS ''Duke of York'', a Cruiser, three light cruisers and nine Destroyers. Blinded by a snowstorm, ''Scharnhorst'' returned the attack. It took twelve hours, 52 salvos and four direct torpedo hits to capsize the Scharnhorst. of the 1,968 men on ''Scharnhorst'', only 36 survived. Upon the mission debrief, commander of the taskforce, Admiral Bruce Fraser said: ''"Gentlemen, the battle against ''Scharnhorst'' has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as ''Scharnhorst'' was commanded today."''

*** When Indianapolis survivors met Hashimoto in 1990 during a memorial service at Pearl Harbor, they were very disturbed at meeting the man who had killed so many of their shipmates and put them through such an ordeal. But after he explained that he was praying for the spirits of the men whose deaths they had caused, they forgave him on the spot. Due to this and Hashimoto's work to exonerate Captain [=McVay=], his passing in October 2000 was met with genuine grief.[[http://www.ussindianapolis.org/hashimoto.htm The full story.]]

* During the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the [[LaResistance Polish Home Army]] won the respect of many of their German opponents for their fierce struggle against overwhelming odds. Goebbels himself praised them privately, calling them a wonderful example of refusal to admit defeat, and when they marched out to surrender, many Germans ''saluted'' as they passed by.

* The military ethic has analogies to the legal ethic in that it presumes that a professional soldier will do his best for the State he serves (barring Very Exceptional Circumstances like ThoseWackyNazis) just as a lawyer does the same for his client. Thus many soldiers do not think it contradictory to try to kill someone and yet admire them, as killing is their job but hating isn't, as, after all, enemy soldiers [[NotSoDifferent aren't much different from themselves]].

** Many upper intelligence officers and diplomats of both sides found a strange comfort in the certainties of the Cold War. The enemy was clearly defined, (mostly) equally armed, and, in many ways, NotSoDifferent. After the Cold War, things went upside down and, suddenly, you have [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror a shadow whose existence you are unsure of but can hit you anywhere and hurt]], a [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld rapidly rising "Communist" superpower that practices Capitalism]] who [[FriendlyEnemy you can't live with but can't live without]], a [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets bankrupt former-superpower who is now supposed to be everyone's friend]] but [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain has wildly divergent interests from the rest of the world (economically and politically, given her isolation on both fronts) and fears NATO expansion]], and [[{{Eagleland}} a lone, seemingly-aimless superpower who is behaving in increasingly erratic ways]]. No wonder [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell the USA is also bummed that communism fell]].

* The famed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Battalion_(World_War_I) Lost Battalion]], who after getting surrounded by the German army, spent a week fighting off their attacks, even after being shelled by their own artillery, before reenforciments arrived. By the fifth day of the siege, the German commanders sent a letter to the Americans literally begging them to surrender because they didn't want to kill any more of them.

** During the Battle off Samar in WWII, a powerful force of Japanese battleships and cruisers (including the ''Yamato'', the biggest battleship ever built, the most powerful battleship the Axis had, and the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy) stumbled upon the American task force "Taffy 3", consisting of escort carriers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts (jokingly called "The Tin Can Navy") as the Japanese closed to attack the American landing beaches on Luzon Island. With Taffy 3 outgunned almost immediately, was a real life DavidVersusGoliath battle, in which the American escorts closing to almost-point blank range with the Japanese heavies, launching torpedoes, dodging return fire, and firing so many 5-inch shells some ran out of ammunition [[DelayingAction in a desperate attempt to fend off the Japanese fleet and allow the slower, unarmored escort carriers to escape]].
*** The destroyer USS ''Johnston'' was finally sunk after nearly sinking a Japanese cruiser and setting several other ships aflame (''Johnston's'' commander was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his daring). As she was going down, a Japanese destroyer passed close by, her captain standing out on the open bridge, saluting. The crew manned the rails in salute. ''Johnston'' was the first American ship to choose to attack, which inspired the Force's commander to order everyone else to follow suit.

** Richard and Saladin's mutual respect was such that one of the proposed resolutions to the Third Crusade was a marriage between Richard's sister and Saladin's brother as king and queen of Jerusalem. While the proposal ultimately fell through, the fact that they even considered it speaks volumes about the nature of their relationship.

* Medieval {{knight|InShiningArmor}}s could well be the TropeCodifier, at least in their own minds and their [[ChivalricRomance interminable epics and ballads]]. It helped that ransoms for captured high-class foes were often a valuable source of income, so treating a downed wealthy foe with respect and letting him live was a sensible move.

** In the late 1500s, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Sun-sin Admiral Yi Sun-sin of Korea]] earned the nickname "[[TheRedBaron The Martial Lord]] of [[MyCountryRightOrWrong Loyalty]]" from his countrymen due to his achievements against the incredibly powerful Japanese navy of the time and naval innovations he himself pioneered. Yi eventually died during the final battle to a stray bullet, but gave instructions to not inform his crew of his death until the fighting was over. Yi also ordered his nephew to wear his uncle's armor and continue beating the war drums, which the nephew did to keep morale up. When Admiral Togo Heihachiro was compared to both [[UsefulNotes/HoratioNelson Admiral Nelson]] and Admiral Yi roughly 300 years later, he had this to say.

** Many upper intelligence officers and diplomats of both sides found a strange comfort in the certainties of the Cold War. The enemy was clearly defined, (mostly) equally armed, and, in many ways, NotSoDifferent. After the Cold War, things went upside down and, suddenly, you have [[TheWarOnTerror a shadow whose existence you are unsure of but can hit you anywhere and hurt]], a [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld rapidly rising "Communist" superpower that practices Capitalism]] who [[FriendlyEnemy you can't live with but can't live without]], a [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets bankrupt former-superpower who is now supposed to be everyone's friend]] but [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain has wildly divergent interests from the rest of the world (economically and politically, given her isolation on both fronts) and fears NATO expansion]], and [[{{Eagleland}} a lone, seemingly-aimless superpower who is behaving in increasingly erratic ways]]. No wonder [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell the USA is also bummed that communism fell]].

* During the Battle of Verdun, the longest and largest battle of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vaux Fort Vaux]] was one of the French forts standing in the way of the German offensive aiming to strike at Paris. The garrison of 600 soldiers led by Major Sylvain Eugène Raynal (who himself had already been badly injured and [[ReassignedToAntarctica assigned to fort duty]] because he [[HandicappedBadass couldn't walk properly]]) were surrounded and unable to be supplied, relieved or reinforced; his last message via avian carrier famously quipped "This is my last pigeon". Yet in an epic LastStand they managed to hold out against thousands of attackers for six days, even calling in friendly artillery on their own position when the Germans took the top of the fort, surrendering only when they were literally dying of thirst. Raynal was presented with a French officer's sword on his surrender to replace his own by Crown Prince Wilhelm himself, who praised him for his heroic defence.

* "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casabianca_(poem) Casabianca]]", also known as "The boy stood on the burning deck", is a poem by British poet Felicia Hemans, first published in August 1826. The poem commemorates an actual incident that occurred during the Napoleonic Wars. In the 1798 Battle of the Nile, the French ship "Orient" caught fire while fighting the ships of the British Royal Navy. Giocante, the young son (his age is variously given as ten, twelve and thirteen) of commander Louis de Casabianca, remained at his post and perished when the flames caused the magazine to explode. Many generations of romantic young Englishmen were taught to admire the heroic young Casabianca and seek to emulate him, despite his having been an enemy who died fighting against their country.

* Medieval {{knight|InShiningArmor}}s could well be the TropeCodifier, at least in their own minds and their interminable epics and ballads. It helped that ransoms for captured high-class foes were often a valuable source of income, so treating a downed wealthy foe with respect and letting him live was a sensible move.

** UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel, the Wehrmacht Field Marshal in World War II known as the Desert Fox by his enemies, was praised by his opponents, especially his legendary archrivals, Bernard L. Montgomery and George S. Patton. Rommel, while not a member of the Nazi party, was still under the command of Adolf Hitler and was deeply loyal to him, as well as being a prominent admirer of Hitler. However, he had Jewish friends and consistently defied orders to execute both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners of war. In fact, his Africa Korps was well known for being fairly humane and were not charged with any war crimes under his command. Though not directly involved, he knew enough about the July 20th plot to kill Hitler to become entangled in the aftermath and was given the choice of suicide over execution, the former which he chose to spare his family. The fact that he managed to become the only German general from the Second World War with his own museum just shows how well he exemplified both MagnificentBastard and Worthy Opponent. Which said, a lot of Rommel’s reputation with the Allies was a product of Allied propaganda; by building him up as a cunning and skilled commander, the British especially could explain away the series of embarrassing defeats which he inflicted on them in North Africa, which were really largely down to their own misjudgments.

* Medieval {{knight|InShiningArmor}}s could well be the TropeCodifier.%%{{Averted|Trope}} with Xerxes I, king of the Persian Empire, and Leonidas I, king of Sparta after the [[UsefulNotes/GrecoPersianWars Battle of Thermopylae]]. Persians normally had a custom of treating brave warriors with great honor. But Xerxes was so enraged by the PyrrhicVictory, that he ordered [[DesecratingTheDead Leonidas' head cut from his corpse and put on a pike]] at the front of his army. This was seen as a very serious insult at the time.

* UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel, the Wehrmacht Field Marshal in World War II and known as the Desert Fox by his enemies, was similarly praised by his opponents, especially his legendary archrivals, Bernard L. Montgomery and George S. Patton. Rommel, while not a member of the Nazi party, was still under the command of Adolf Hitler and was deeply loyal to him, as well as being a prominent admirer of Hitler. However, he had Jewish friends and consistently defied orders to execute both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners of war. In fact, his Africa Korps was well known for being fairly humane and were not charged with any war crimes under his command. Though not directly involved, he knew enough about the July 20th plot to kill Hitler to become entangled in the aftermath and was given the choice of suicide over execution, the former which he chose to spare his family. The fact that he managed to become the only German general from the Second World War with his own museum just shows how well he exemplified both Magnificent Bastard and Worthy Opponent.
** "If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it." -- Erwin Rommel
** Though nowadays overshadowed by Rommel, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (commander of the German forces in Tanzania during UsefulNotes/WW1) qualifies as well. So badass was he that he surrendered ''after'' the war was over in Europe, despite being completely cut from any source of supplies and reinforcements. The British were so impressed that they paid his retirement pension. It also helped that he gained the reputation for giving Hitler the shaft. An anecdote had Charles Miller ask the nephew of a Schutztruppe officer, "I understand that von Lettow told Hitler to go fuck himself." The nephew responded, "That's right, except that I don't think he put it that politely."
*** Karen von Blixen - who would later write the novel ''Out of Africa'' -- actually travelled on the same ship with von Lettow-Vorbeck on her way to Africa. She would describe him as the strongest example of what the German Empire truly stood for.
*** Von Lettow-Vorbeck never stopped being awesome. He [[AFatherToHisMen lobbied the West German government to pay the pensions]] of his surviving ''askari'' troopers (which they did). Upon his return to Tanzania in 1953, the ''askaris'' assembled and serenaded him with their marching song.
*** Since the ''askaris'' generally didn't still have their military [=IDs=] to prove they were entitled to the pensions, they were instead asked to perform their rifle drill. Which they did, perfectly. After 40 years.
** In the same vein as Erwin Rommel, the German WWII officer Hans von Luck (seen by Rommel as a sort of adoptive son) could count. He was all over the map in WWII, being first of the German Panzer forces to the sea, furthest into Moscow, in the Africa campaign (he even captured the founder of the SAS, who escaped during a lavatory break), on the defense during the battle of Pegasus Bridge, and eventually spent years in a Stalag before arriving back in West Germany. When he visited the site of Pegasus Bridge, the British commandos, to a man, pretended he was Swedish to get him past the embittered old woman who had been liberated decades before. He also gave lectures to former Allies' military trainee officers, and generally was completely accepted. His opinion of the Allies in WWII was more of the same - he mentions that he and the Allied desert scouts had a ceasefire every night at 6pm, arranged prisoner exchange, and on one occasion, his car was attacked by a fighter - which refused to shoot until the Germans were out of the vehicle.
** Hasso von Manteuffel, a German panzer commander who later became a German politician and named the Bundeswehr, Germany's post-war armed forces. Eisenhower invited him into the White House and the Pentagon, and he worked as an advisor on many American war films. He was pretty badass, too -- when he served under Rommel, he commanded for several days without food or rest, beating back Allied attacks, before he collapsed. When he was defending Berlin, Soviet troops broke into his command post. He shot one and killed another in a knife fight.
** Another UsefulNotes/WorldWarI example was German fighter ace [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Voss Werner Voss]]. After his skillful flying managed to let him go toe-to-toe against seven British aircraft for over ten minutes, one of the British Aces he fought against had these to say:

* At the Battle of Hastings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans shouted to each other when they were resting at night, and there's also the famous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Truce Christmas truce]] of 1914.

* The prison warden of the Vietnamese POW facility John [=McCain=] was held in respected his former inmate.

** Happened during this battle. Unlike the modern practice of "taking cover," Napoleonic tactics stressed the importance of maintaining formation. This meant, unless ordered to move, soldiers were expected to just ''take'' incoming enemy fire. [[note]]This led to one situation in which a squadron of French cavalry was placed out in the open and then seemingly forgotten about. The Russians started blasting them with artillery. One French soldier even recalled being able to literally ''see'' the Russians in the distance meticulously sighting their guns on his position, and, because his battalion hadn't been ordered to move, being able to do nothing but sit there and wait for it.[[/note]] The French soldiers storming Russian positions maintained their discipline, as they were continually blasted with Russian artillery. Blasted, reformed, blasted, reformed. Russian General Bagration was so impressed he started to rise and shout, "Bravo! Bravo!" (and almost immediately he was mortally wounded by shell splinters to his leg).

* Medieval {{knight|InShiningArmor}}s could well be the TropeCodifier.
* {{Averted|Trope}} with Xerxes I, king of the Persian Empire, and Leonidas I, king of Sparta after the [[UsefulNotes/GrecoPersianWars Battle of Thermopylae]]. Persians normally had a custom of treating brave warriors with great honor. But Xerxes was so enraged by the PyrrhicVictory, that he ordered [[DesecratingTheDead Leonidas' head cut from his corpse and put on a pike]] at the front of his army. This was seen as a very serious insult at the time.

* UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel, the Wehrmacht Field Marshal in World War II and known as the Desert Fox by his enemies, was similarly praised by his opponents, especially his legendary archrival, George S. Patton. Rommel, while not a member of the Nazi party, was still under the command of Adolf Hitler and was deeply loyal to him, as well as being a prominent admirer of Hitler. However, he had Jewish friends and consistently defied orders to execute both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners of war. In fact, his Africa Korps was well known for being fairly humane and were not charged with any war crimes under his command. Though not directly involved, he knew enough about the July 20th plot to kill Hitler to become entangled in the aftermath and was given the choice of suicide over execution, the former which he chose to spare his family. The fact that he managed to become the only German general from the Second World War with his own museum just shows how well he exemplified both Magnificent Bastard and Worthy Opponent.

* The famed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Battalion_(World_War_I) Lost Battalion]], who after getting surrounded by the German army, spent a week fighting off their attacks, even after being shelled by their own artillary, before reenforciments arrived. By the fifth day of the siege, the German commanders sent a letter to the Americans literally begging them to surrender because they didn't want to kill any more of them.

** Hitler, who had fought Canadians in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, paid his respects to the Vimy Ridge Memorial. During the Germany occupation of France in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, he posted guards to make sure that the site was not desecrated in any way.

* [[FriendlySniper Carlos Hathcock]] and the Viet Cong sniper [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname known only as]] [[ColdSniper the Cobra]]. Hathcock, considered by the United States Marines to be the greatest sniper they ever produced (and they produce some damn fine snipers) had a bounty of $35,000 put on his head by the North Vietnamese, and the Cobra was sent to collect. The day started with Cobra spotting Hathcock in camp, unawares, lining up a shot...and killing another marine a few feet from Hathcock, just to get his attention. Hathcock geared up and the two (along with Hathcock's spotter) proceeded to stalk each other around the valley they were in for the rest of the day, cat and mouse. Finally, as the sun was going down behind Hathcock's back, he caught a glimpse of sunlight glinting off a scope, and took the shot. When they found the Cobra, the bullet had passed [[ScopeSnipe straight through his scope]], without even touching the side. Hathcock admitted that it was mostly luck, but had he not been the quicker on the trigger, the outcome would have been reversed; the shot was only possible because the Cobra had been trained directly on him. He would later admit in an interview to having a sneaky respect for the Cobra, saying "I figured he's almost as good as me...but nobody's that good."

* After the Zulu War, the British built a monument... to "the Zulu warriors who fell here for the old Zulu order."
** After the war, King Cetswayo was tracked down and captured by a cavalry detachment, having been literally running all over Zululand for weeks, yet retained his regality -- when a trooper tried to seize him, he said, "Hey, British soldier, I do not surrender to you, I surrender to your commander." The detachment were also moved to spontaneously salute him. Hell, even Queen Victoria was impressed by him when she met him, and his admirers prevailed upon the colonial authorities to give him one of the thirteen kingdoms that Zululand had been strategically divided up into - though sadly he died only a few years afterwards in 1884, likely of poisoning. For his part, he was a great admirer of Britain and had maintained a policy of non-confrontation. Even when the British invaded, his army was given strict instructions to drive them back over the Natal River and then to go no further. Those who did, the troops who attacked Rorke's Drift, were fined five cows (a significant amount) and even those who had 'washed their spears' (a warrior could not marry until he had slain an enemy, which was the primary motivation of the attackers) were denied the right to marry.
** The Zulus themselves have noted that they felt much the same way about the fighting discipline the British troops; they were impressed at how the Western enemy soldiers stood their ground regardless of the overwhelming odds like stones while their older enemies of native nations were routed in the same situation - the exact words recorded by one David Rattray were 'Ah! Those British, they fought like lions!'

* The English for the French and vice-versa, throughout history, to the point that they joined forces and ultimately stood united through two World Wars, after eight hundred years of intermittent but plentiful warfare.
** [[http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/609/815/941.png Summed up quite touchingly in this Polandball strip.]] And more recently, in real life, during an England-France friendly match scheduled at Wembley Stadium (home of English football) a couple of days after the Paris Gun Attacks of November 2015. Usually, they're hard fought, heated affairs, and fans (even players) sometimes come to blows. This time, the French motto of 'Liberté, égalité, fraternité' was emblazoned on the side of Wembley, the arch was lit up in the colours of the French tricolore, the usual vast St George's Cross made up of cards held up by fans was replaced with a French tricolore, a minute of silence was impeccably observed by all of the 70,000 plus fans present, and the words of ''La Marseillaise'' were shown on the big screens, allowing the English fans to join in - which they did. Loudly. And when Lassana Diarra, a French midfielder whose cousin had been killed in the attack, was brought on in the second half, he received a standing ovation from the entire stadium. When England won 2-0, there was absolutely no gloating whatsoever, a drastic departure from the usual practice. Moreover, barely two weeks later, a motion to bomb IS in Syria was proposed in Parliament. A couple of years before, this motion had been resoundingly defeated. This time, it passed by a landslide and RAF bombers were in the air within the hour.
* Napoleon I of France and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, were this at least early in their life. Justified in that Napoleon's style completely transformed contemporary military science, teaching, and application. Curious in that it never was mutual; Wellington found out in 1814 that the Emperor had left money (which he didn't even have) in his will to a man who had tried to assassinate Wellington, which left him absolutely disgusted at this ungentlemanly behaviour. Napoleon meanwhile had never faced Wellington in battle and suspected his marshals were to blame for their losses in Spain. This changed after Waterloo, with the Emperor having nothing but praise for the man who defeated him.
** On a larger scale, this was basically what the British and French armies in the Peninsular War were like. Both armies consisted of professional, relatively disciplined and regular soldiers fighting in a strange and hostile environment with little supplies. The only other people were Spaniards and Portuguese, who hated the British almost as much as they hated the French due to the former being arrogant Protestant hooligans and the latter due to brutally occupying their country for five years, which sparked many brutal backlashes against French soldiers. Hence, it was only natural that there should be some kind of bonding between both armies. At one battle early in the war, thirsty soldiers from both sides rested at the same well in the centre of the battlefield and attempted to talk. This was much more widespread amongst the officers, many of whom would have spoken the other's language (mainly British officers speaking French). One anecdote relates that a British major had met with a French colleague for dinner at the latter's camp, and gotten so drunk he had to be carried home by four French soldiers.