The film page mentions several times that the entire Prussian army is dressed in the style of the Leibhusaren, which was in reality a single unit and not even a part of Blucher's army at Waterloo. Then you read the description of the Leibhusaren uniform, (black jackets, silver skulls and crossed bones on the front of the shako) and suddenly it makes sense why all the Prussians are dressed that way. Would you really expect a Soviet filmmaker who lived through World War II as a young man not to draw a line from Blucher's Prussians to another German organization infamous for wearing black and using the death's head as their symbol?
Steiger's American accent works quite well as Accent Adaptation, considering almost every other Frenchman has an English accent. Napoleon, after all, spoke French with a strong Corsican accent his entire life, one that reads as rustic to French speakers.
infamous for wearing black and using the death's head as their symbol?