Maybe someone can sort this out for me. Earlier in the movie, they make a big deal about Wellington's positioning of his forces with the forest at his back...but once the battle begins, all of that is forgotten and that's the last you see of the woods. I haven't read anything about it either. That's a head-scratcher for me.
I wonder what would have happened had Napoleon not sent Grouchy to pursue Blücher, but rather kept those men with his main force. Would he have been able to simultaneously attack Wellington and defend against the Prussians when they showed up at Waterloo?
@GeneralAdvance You're probably right! Even with Grouchy's corps and its 30,000 men present at Waterloo, Napoleon would still have been outnumbered with the Allies holding that formidable ridge.
@GeneralAdvance I agree; Wellington's initial disposition at Waterloo was superb. He had a very strong position---made even stronger by concealing the bulk of his force behind the ridge where the French couldn't observe its movements. Fortifying the three farms directly in front and in easy support range of the rest of his army was a good move as well. Even if Grouchy had managed to keep the Prussians away from Waterloo altogether, Napoleon would still have had his work cut out for him.
Waterloo was the military catasfroph for Napoleon and his army but THE BIGEST MORAL VICTORY over his enemies. His soldiers choosed death as a free men because they fought for Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.
Waterloo was the military catasfroph for Napoleon and his army but BIGEST MORAL VICTORY over his enemies. His soldiers choosed death as a free men because they fought for Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.
love Marshall Blucher such a bad ass and a true soldier, see how his men still cheer him after they have been beaten. Love General Gordon too at 3:09 "some could call me more than colonel" lol spoken like a true Scotsman
@9911aleksey No, only 2000 were tied up at Hougoumont on the Allied side, with some supporting artillery, whereas 15,000 were tied up of Reille's Corps all day, from one brigade at first to three divisions. Completely pointless. Even if H was taken, the rest of the allied line was strong and N didn't want to attack the right flank anyway as this would have only pushed W nearer to the Prussians.
Say what you want about Napoleon, the man was flat out genius. There are entire semesters at West Point in the U.S. that are dedicated to his tactics, but it has one main ingredient that you must have in order to make it work.
@mrceebees14 True, but by 1815 Napoleon was a very different man to the victor of Austerlitzt, Jena-Austerdasdt, Marengo and so on. He made some major errors - igore how he is largely inaccurately portrayed in this film - such as wasting the morning after Ligny walking round the battlefield chatting and talking to the wounded, allowing Wellington to withdraw in good order from Quatre Bras, only realising too late. Then at Waterloo itself he displayed little tactical genius of earlier years.
@mrceebees14 Hougoumont was a mistake because it had no strategic importance and yet he allowed almost the whole of Reilles corps to be tied up there against 2,000 men, when the whole point of the attack there was to draw out Wellington's reserves. He failed to support each attack with cavalry (eg. D'Erlon's initial attack) and when Ney needed reserves, at the critical point, he refused.
Also, it wasn't the Old Guard he sent forward but the Middle Guard actually not the Old Guard.
@likojib funny u say that wellington lost his army from the peninsular to the the american war and by the time of waterloo he had a brand new army which he wasnt to pleased off, i cant remember the quote word for word but wellington said of his army from the peninsular war "I could have marched them anywhere in the world and they would of won!"
@TheLn2011 I think it is one of the greatest war films ever made, when they wanted to film at battle scene, no fake looking CGI they just hired 60k extras and trained them to march correctly. Steiger is Napoleon and Plummer is Wellington, they should have won oscars.
wellington was never a cautious general, hes just got that reputation because of waterloo. at waterloo he had an army of rabble, so all he could do was defend his position. if you look at wellington's campaigns in india, portugal, and spain, he attacked and defeated armies who outnumbered him most of the time. not a cautious general by any means.
"No sir, this plunder has acquired me"..."I knew something queer was scratchin mi back!" "Sir, I have to report, this little PIG has lost its way!!" "And I'm trying to find her relations, Sir!"
napoleons one mistake was sending grouchi to follow blucher when he shud have sent a 1/4 of the men and just gerard to follow blucher, if he had done he might have won waterloo
@GentlemanGhost1 exactly if he had sent 1/4 of the force to follow bloucher as he did he cud have sent those other men in reserve and possibly he cud have held off prussia long enough for the force following bloucher to find there way to waterloo which means he cud have won but he was to focused on prussia and britian when he shud have just focused on prussia
Blucher was far more than just the savior of Wellington. Blucher was the first German general to successfully utilize the German General Staff System, utilizing August von Gneisenau as Chief of Staff.
Instituted formally in 1814, this system would save Wellington, capture Paris in the 1870's, almost defeat France in 1914-15, and go on to produce the prodigious brilliancy of WWII successes.
It is a system that changed everything, and is the model of all modern armies.
The dirty living truth of the matter is, Wellington already had the battle of Waterloo under control by the time the Prussians arrived. They had already inflicted a fatal blow to the Old Guard by the time the Prussians arrived. The Prussians just did a "clean-up" job, and helped to prevent more British soldiers from dying, and the battle from prolonging, but Wellington already had things under control. I've read the records of history, and this is an indisputable fact.
Also here is another fact anout Napoleon he didnt care about how many men he killed but how many flags he had of the enemy.
(I KNOW NUMBER OF MEN COUNTED IN THESE DAYS BUT NAPOLEON KNEW HOW MANY MEN HE KILLED JUST BY THE FLAGS SO HE COULD ON HIS OWN SELF ESTIMATE ENEMY DEATHS ON THE BATTLE.)
Quite good...its a Nazi propaganda film that had hardly any funding. Goebbels commissioned it to remind the German people of what they were fighting for. And Gneisenau is famous for a lot more than just that.
It's an old Scotish song and goes thus: 'Sae rantingly,sae vaultingly, sae gallantly, gaed he. He played a tune and danced it roun' beneath the gallows tree.'
Wellington may even have lost had not Blucher arrived in time. I agree, though he was old, he was such a fine leader he had fantastic respect from his men. He was a badass :-)
You know Wellington would of lost if he didnt have the prussians army to help him as you can see in the movie he says it ALL relies on the prussians and later in the movie he almost lost but prussians made napoleons Old Guard fall apart and then word spread to the ranks and all of htem routed.
@CaptainHollister Blucher was the best the prussian army had. His hatred for the french was well known. "Marshall Forward." as he was called. It was his time to get back at his most hated enemy. He and Wellington knew that they can count on each other to beat Napoleon.
@CaptainHollister even if the prussians had come i believe if ney had not lost so many men before the battle by not moving up the road and if grouchy had arrived to face the prussians too i think napoleon would still have won.
@evolusean Marshall Blucher was in the field as a nominal leader. The Prussians were commanded by General Gniesaeu(sp). Blucher had a nervous breakdown a few years before.
@evolusean yeah, and so is Atty...he's one of my favorite historical personalities :) plus he gave us Beef Wellington, which is SOO good, hehe ;) and nobody likes wet feet, so we can thank Atty for the sweet boots he gave us too, heh ;)
Me too! I've always felt that everything about the movie--the actors, the uniforms, the choreography, and the soundtrack--were terrific. There are a few minor flaws--all the French fusiliers are incorrectly dressed with grenadier trim on their shakos, and exploding artillery shells. But certainly nothing to warrant bad ratings..
Maybe someone can sort this out for me. Earlier in the movie, they make a big deal about Wellington's positioning of his forces with the forest at his back...but once the battle begins, all of that is forgotten and that's the last you see of the woods. I haven't read anything about it either. That's a head-scratcher for me.
kwi49nct 1 week ago
what is the song at 8min can somebody please tell me thanks
sorrymumanddad12 2 weeks ago
does anyone know the song that the Scots sing?
Wellington10323 4 weeks ago
@Wellington10323 Sounds like "Macpherson's Lament" in fast march tempo.
SpVark 3 weeks ago
I wonder what would have happened had Napoleon not sent Grouchy to pursue Blücher, but rather kept those men with his main force. Would he have been able to simultaneously attack Wellington and defend against the Prussians when they showed up at Waterloo?
galoon 1 month ago
@galoon well then the prussians would have turned up at an ealier time and the napoleon would have been beaten even worse!
GeneralAdvance 1 month ago
@GeneralAdvance You're probably right! Even with Grouchy's corps and its 30,000 men present at Waterloo, Napoleon would still have been outnumbered with the Allies holding that formidable ridge.
galoon 1 month ago
@GeneralAdvance I always get smoked when I play this battle as the French on Napoleon Total War--even on the "easy" difficulty setting...
galoon 1 month ago
@galoon my point exactly, it was a hard battle and the reverse slope defense wellington used was extremely good
GeneralAdvance 1 month ago
@GeneralAdvance I agree; Wellington's initial disposition at Waterloo was superb. He had a very strong position---made even stronger by concealing the bulk of his force behind the ridge where the French couldn't observe its movements. Fortifying the three farms directly in front and in easy support range of the rest of his army was a good move as well. Even if Grouchy had managed to keep the Prussians away from Waterloo altogether, Napoleon would still have had his work cut out for him.
galoon 1 month ago
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Waterloo was the military catasfroph for Napoleon and his army but THE BIGEST MORAL VICTORY over his enemies. His soldiers choosed death as a free men because they fought for Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.
Odysses100 2 months ago
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Waterloo was the military catasfroph for Napoleon and his army but BIGEST MORAL VICTORY over his enemies. His soldiers choosed death as a free men because they fought for Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.
Odysses100 2 months ago
The pig scene was hilarious!
PriestChristopher 2 months ago
For those who've seen Labyrinth, the bit at 7:36 reminds me when the Goblin King starts laughing and tells his minions "well...laugh". lol
Trialbystone17 2 months ago
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"Raise him to Corporal!" haha I laughed.
LordWellington15 2 months ago
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LordWellington15 2 months ago
Its funny how there like camping like right next to each other xD when theres no fighting
POTCMarc101 3 months ago
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mikelheron20 1 month ago
But Napoleon is totally irrelevant! First he was slim second he has many hair to his Head and more beautiful than this fat man!!!!!!!!!
EpaminondastheGreat 3 months ago
This movie must have cost shitload to make...
woo1693 3 months ago
"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake--that's bad manners, eh?"
i've won more chess games than i can remember using that simple little bit of wisdom...it's something i've never, ever forgotten :D
rofflemows2 4 months ago
Wellington was a cunning bugger. He turned warfare upside down. But also regretted alot of the losses.
oldsreo 4 months ago
obviously he is no student of Caesar ---
love you Napoleon
FeynmanQuantum 5 months ago
lol I also love the bit with the pig, only an Irishman could steal a pig and get promoted for it :L
Sammy1234568910 6 months ago
love Marshall Blucher such a bad ass and a true soldier, see how his men still cheer him after they have been beaten. Love General Gordon too at 3:09 "some could call me more than colonel" lol spoken like a true Scotsman
Sammy1234568910 6 months ago
@9911aleksey No, only 2000 were tied up at Hougoumont on the Allied side, with some supporting artillery, whereas 15,000 were tied up of Reille's Corps all day, from one brigade at first to three divisions. Completely pointless. Even if H was taken, the rest of the allied line was strong and N didn't want to attack the right flank anyway as this would have only pushed W nearer to the Prussians.
THthefirst 7 months ago
WELLINGTON HAD THE BATTLE WON BY THE TIME BLUCHER SHOWED UP INDSIPUTABLE FACT
fringecakeboy 7 months ago 6
@fringecakeboy The batle was a DRAW until Blucher took Planceilot.
cfcl98 2 weeks ago
This is a classic case of what happens when military geniuses meet on opposite ends of the battlefield.
MLGxDiGiTaLFear 7 months ago
Say what you want about Napoleon, the man was flat out genius. There are entire semesters at West Point in the U.S. that are dedicated to his tactics, but it has one main ingredient that you must have in order to make it work.
FUCKING BIG ASS BALLS!!
mrceebees14 8 months ago
@mrceebees14 True, but by 1815 Napoleon was a very different man to the victor of Austerlitzt, Jena-Austerdasdt, Marengo and so on. He made some major errors - igore how he is largely inaccurately portrayed in this film - such as wasting the morning after Ligny walking round the battlefield chatting and talking to the wounded, allowing Wellington to withdraw in good order from Quatre Bras, only realising too late. Then at Waterloo itself he displayed little tactical genius of earlier years.
THthefirst 7 months ago
@THthefirst The only major mistake he made was not ordering in the old guard sooner. They were the best soldiers in the world at the time and feared.
mrceebees14 7 months ago
@mrceebees14 Hougoumont was a mistake because it had no strategic importance and yet he allowed almost the whole of Reilles corps to be tied up there against 2,000 men, when the whole point of the attack there was to draw out Wellington's reserves. He failed to support each attack with cavalry (eg. D'Erlon's initial attack) and when Ney needed reserves, at the critical point, he refused.
Also, it wasn't the Old Guard he sent forward but the Middle Guard actually not the Old Guard.
THthefirst 7 months ago
@mrceebees14 He still got beat.
LordWellington15 2 months ago
"Look, keep quiet, and I'll only eat half of you." LOL.
expertstrategy 8 months ago
"this steel is my word...i am to old to break it" nice line :D
deathknot09 8 months ago 4
Can't beat making poor Paddy the loveable rogue. Stereotype much?
wall271 9 months ago
If Wellington had commanded the British Forces in America in the War of Independence, Britain would have won lol.
likojib 10 months ago
@likojib funny u say that wellington lost his army from the peninsular to the the american war and by the time of waterloo he had a brand new army which he wasnt to pleased off, i cant remember the quote word for word but wellington said of his army from the peninsular war "I could have marched them anywhere in the world and they would of won!"
TheNikzaw 10 months ago
@likojib i should say much of his peninsular army anyway!
TheNikzaw 10 months ago
I find it absurd that this movie lost money at the box office because a Russian directed it. I wish they would show it MORE often on cable.
"If Bony kicked the Prussians in the arse, why are we doing all the runnin'?"
TheLn2011 10 months ago 3
@TheLn2011 I think it is one of the greatest war films ever made, when they wanted to film at battle scene, no fake looking CGI they just hired 60k extras and trained them to march correctly. Steiger is Napoleon and Plummer is Wellington, they should have won oscars.
TLSUk 10 months ago 2
@TLSUk i believe if im right the extras were all soviet soldiers!
TheNikzaw 10 months ago
@TheNikzaw yup they were good for something! making great movies!! they did well in the russian war and peace too!
TLSUk 10 months ago
wellington was never a cautious general, hes just got that reputation because of waterloo. at waterloo he had an army of rabble, so all he could do was defend his position. if you look at wellington's campaigns in india, portugal, and spain, he attacked and defeated armies who outnumbered him most of the time. not a cautious general by any means.
dmax631 10 months ago
@dmax631 WELL SAID
fringecakeboy 7 months ago
1:45 try to speak as fast as he :D
TheRomanRuler 11 months ago
By god no matter what the situation is you can't keep those jock's down! God speed lads!
Paladin1441 11 months ago
prussians were badass
romangeneralbob 11 months ago
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I hope that pig doesn't die later at Waterloo D:
But that pig should be proud, it's a corporal!
Butternut731863 11 months ago
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Butternut731863 11 months ago
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Butternut731863 11 months ago
"No sir, this plunder has acquired me"..."I knew something queer was scratchin mi back!" "Sir, I have to report, this little PIG has lost its way!!" "And I'm trying to find her relations, Sir!"
ROFL!!!
Lysimachus78 1 year ago
Love the sound of 'Brighton Camp' in the background at 8:10
ClassicalMonarchism 1 year ago
is it just me, or does blucher look like albert enstein
mattm725 1 year ago
@mattm725 Just you.
LordWellington15 10 months ago
napoleons one mistake was sending grouchi to follow blucher when he shud have sent a 1/4 of the men and just gerard to follow blucher, if he had done he might have won waterloo
Chuggers456 1 year ago
@Chuggers456 you are right,but he was winning until Blucher came along
GentlemanGhost1 1 year ago
@GentlemanGhost1 exactly if he had sent 1/4 of the force to follow bloucher as he did he cud have sent those other men in reserve and possibly he cud have held off prussia long enough for the force following bloucher to find there way to waterloo which means he cud have won but he was to focused on prussia and britian when he shud have just focused on prussia
Chuggers456 1 year ago
prussians had the best uniforms
radicalgoodspeed16 1 year ago
BLUCHER: I WILL SHOOT ANY MAN I SEE WITH PITY IN HIS EYES!
pix042 1 year ago
This is actually a very, very good movie...
sstuddert 1 year ago
The Gordons Have a strong spirit I must say as a Scot.
ultramarine1234 1 year ago 2
4:50 = very badass movie poster.
alexp9999 1 year ago
"Stoppage of Gin"
"Death"
lol.
RavingDissension 1 year ago
Figures the Scottish would sing while marching in the rain while the regular infantry just complains. LOL
NCWC2 1 year ago 3
"Rasie him to Corp!" lol
MrCopperhead1861 1 year ago 3
The grand old Prussian Army
ss3cleric 1 year ago
wad battle are they facing at 0:55 ...?
yichen100 1 year ago
@yichen100 it was the Battle of Ligny
StrictlySegaAmerica 1 year ago
@yichen100 The battle of ligny. Napoleon beats the prussians two days befor Waterloo
Hnamroe 1 year ago
ive seen most of the marchels ,ney,soult,grouchey,gehard,but ...no devout :( devout was napoleons second in command in the russian campaign
ColScots726 1 year ago
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ColScots726 1 year ago
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ColScots726 1 year ago
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. It's bad manners !
irfand4 1 year ago 3
@irfand4 LOL...
yichen100 1 year ago
Blucher was far more than just the savior of Wellington. Blucher was the first German general to successfully utilize the German General Staff System, utilizing August von Gneisenau as Chief of Staff.
Instituted formally in 1814, this system would save Wellington, capture Paris in the 1870's, almost defeat France in 1914-15, and go on to produce the prodigious brilliancy of WWII successes.
It is a system that changed everything, and is the model of all modern armies.
OneWorldHistory 1 year ago 2
@OneWorldHistory
The dirty living truth of the matter is, Wellington already had the battle of Waterloo under control by the time the Prussians arrived. They had already inflicted a fatal blow to the Old Guard by the time the Prussians arrived. The Prussians just did a "clean-up" job, and helped to prevent more British soldiers from dying, and the battle from prolonging, but Wellington already had things under control. I've read the records of history, and this is an indisputable fact.
Lysimachus78 1 year ago
Also here is another fact anout Napoleon he didnt care about how many men he killed but how many flags he had of the enemy.
(I KNOW NUMBER OF MEN COUNTED IN THESE DAYS BUT NAPOLEON KNEW HOW MANY MEN HE KILLED JUST BY THE FLAGS SO HE COULD ON HIS OWN SELF ESTIMATE ENEMY DEATHS ON THE BATTLE.)
TheQuadStuff 1 year ago
Do you know what the punishment is for plundering sir?
Uh,,stoppage of gin sir..
Damn YOU Sir its death!
Make him a corpreal! LOL!
Paladin1441 1 year ago
One of the best command teams in history.
Blücher and Gneisenau.
Huganis 1 year ago
@Huganis Gneisenau is the defender of Kolberg!!
Gruenkreuz100 1 year ago
@Gruenkreuz100 ???????
Huganis 1 year ago
@Huganis in germany gneisenau is famous for defending the city of kolberg in 1806. do you know the movie ,kolberg"? its quite good!
Gruenkreuz100 1 year ago
@Gruenkreuz100
Quite good...its a Nazi propaganda film that had hardly any funding. Goebbels commissioned it to remind the German people of what they were fighting for. And Gneisenau is famous for a lot more than just that.
CEShannVfB 1 year ago
@Gruenkreuz100 And Blucher's second in comand, and quatermanster General
Huganis 1 year ago
The name of the song the Gordons are singing is called "Macpherson's Lament."
ScubaFly92 1 year ago
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ScubaFly92 1 year ago
Anyone know the song the Scots are singing at 2:55?
MotheredANiMaL 2 years ago
It's an old Scotish song and goes thus: 'Sae rantingly,sae vaultingly, sae gallantly, gaed he. He played a tune and danced it roun' beneath the gallows tree.'
bazonics 2 years ago
napoleon is a fat and short
thetaiyo1 2 years ago
your point exactly??
GreyLittleKitten 2 years ago
but a great leader
chopperpilot5 2 years ago
"Some there could call me more than colonel, eh!"
j0andc0 2 years ago
good old brit humor
TheWELSHGUARD 2 years ago
Damn good film. Does anyone know the song the scots soldiers are singing, I think its the gallows tree but I'm not sure.
dennis13spartan 2 years ago 2
"This steel is my word...I am too old to break it!"
Marshall Blucher is badass!
evolusean 2 years ago 45
Wellington may even have lost had not Blucher arrived in time. I agree, though he was old, he was such a fine leader he had fantastic respect from his men. He was a badass :-)
CaptainHollister 2 years ago 16
He would have lost . he gambled, and it was close. if Grouchy had gotten between the two armies then it would all have been different.
maynardgravy 2 years ago
@CaptainHollister
You know Wellington would of lost if he didnt have the prussians army to help him as you can see in the movie he says it ALL relies on the prussians and later in the movie he almost lost but prussians made napoleons Old Guard fall apart and then word spread to the ranks and all of htem routed.
TheQuadStuff 1 year ago
@CaptainHollister Blucher was the best the prussian army had. His hatred for the french was well known. "Marshall Forward." as he was called. It was his time to get back at his most hated enemy. He and Wellington knew that they can count on each other to beat Napoleon.
haynes1776 1 year ago
@CaptainHollister even if the prussians had come i believe if ney had not lost so many men before the battle by not moving up the road and if grouchy had arrived to face the prussians too i think napoleon would still have won.
ultradumbass 1 year ago
@evolusean I want to know who played this guy, he looks exactly like the historical paintings of Blucher!
NCWC2 1 year ago 14
@NCWC2 And the guy playing Marshall Ney looked a lot like the paintings of Marshal Ney himself. :-)
CaptainHollister 1 year ago 14
@CaptainHollister The casting in this whole movie is brilliant.
NCWC2 1 year ago
@NCWC2 It was one of the best soviet-georgian actors Sergo Zakariadze.
This is very good film by Sergei Bondarchuk. I can also see big battle scenes in his "Voyna i mir"("War and Peace").
Rusem87 11 months ago
@Rusem87 Just looked up Sergo. Apparently this was his final role before his death.
NCWC2 11 months ago
@evolusean Marshall Blucher was in the field as a nominal leader. The Prussians were commanded by General Gniesaeu(sp). Blucher had a nervous breakdown a few years before.
hollywoodwerewolf 1 year ago
@evolusean yeah, and so is Atty...he's one of my favorite historical personalities :) plus he gave us Beef Wellington, which is SOO good, hehe ;) and nobody likes wet feet, so we can thank Atty for the sweet boots he gave us too, heh ;)
rofflemows2 4 months ago
Why are people rateing this movie bad ratings? I want to know?
chopperpilot5 2 years ago 22
Me too! I've always felt that everything about the movie--the actors, the uniforms, the choreography, and the soundtrack--were terrific. There are a few minor flaws--all the French fusiliers are incorrectly dressed with grenadier trim on their shakos, and exploding artillery shells. But certainly nothing to warrant bad ratings..
galoon 2 years ago
Yeah, it makes no sense.
jochannon 2 years ago 2
@chopperpilot5
Because it was directed by a Russian Sergei Bondurchuk. Anti Russian B.S. by Nazis and Racist Aryans.
VisionarysDomain 10 months ago
@VisionarysDomain cause the russains are wighter than wight are they idiot
bufsoftley 9 months ago
"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake--it's bad manners" LOL!
galoon 2 years ago 3