Sharpe Collection: Series 1-6 (16-disc)

Sean Bean in an adventure during the Napoleonic Wars
The cannons roar overhead, the cavalry charge forward with drawn sabers. A heavy scent of blood and gunpowder settles over the battlefield. British Lieutenant Richard Sharpe leads his soldiers through a chaotic Europe during the Napoleonic Wars – fierce battles, secret missions behind enemy lines, death-defying heroics.

The adventure films about Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) are based on the bestselling novels by Bernard Cornwell and have been called "A Hornblower on Land".

At the beginning of the series, Richard Sharpe is a sergeant in the 95th Rifles serving in Portugal during the Peninsular War in 1809. When he single-handedly saves the life of General Sir Arthur Wellesley from three French cavalrymen, Wellesley gives Sharpe a battlefield commission, appointing him a lieutenant. Sharpe is placed in charge of a detachment of elite "chosen men" of the 95th Rifles. Patrick Harper eventually becomes his best friend and is promoted to sergeant and later sergeant major.

Wellesley and his various spymasters, first Major Michael Hogan, followed by Major Nairn, Major Mungo Monroe and Major General Ross, find Sharpe to be an extremely capable and cunning officer and give him progressively more important tasks. Despite their backing, he has to fight against the strong prejudice of aristocrats (who often owe their army positions to money and social connections rather than to military skill) against an uncouth commoner raised from the ranks. He makes a number of dangerous enemies, such as French Major Pierre Ducos and Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, and encounters one from his prior service in India, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. Sharpe's successes gain him steady promotion, and by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, at the Battle of Waterloo, he is promoted to lieutenant-colonel, joining the Prince William of Orange's staff at Wellington's request.

Still Holding out for an English hero to cheer this summer? Why not root for Sean Bean's Sharpe – he's a lover and a fighter

Episode Name Sharpe's Rifles 1809 Sharpe's Eagle 1809 Sharpe's Company 1812 Sharpe's Enemy 1813 Sharpe's Honour 1813 Sharpe's Gold 1813 Sharpe's Battle 1813 Sharpe's Sword 1813 Sharpe's Regiment 1813 Sharpe's Siege 1813 Sharpe's Mission 1810-1813 Sharpe's Revenge 1814 Sharpe's Justice 1814 Sharpe's Waterloo 1815