Help with historical reference.
Please, somebody versed in English history:
In the scene where Baron von Richter (Curd Jurgens) visits Sir David Kelly in Switzerland (Ralph Richardson), Sir David says to Richter "...the last little corporal who tried (to cross the channel) came out a cropper!".
Who is he referring to? I thought Napoleon but he was neither a corporal nor a "cropper" (amputee, right?).
Cervantes rings a bell but the Battle of Lepanto was in Greece, not the channel.
This quote nags me no end and I cannot find any date on the net. Any help much appreciated.
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