Trivia

Obadiah Hakeswill has been in five of the Sharpe books, making him, along with Pierre Ducos, the most frequently recurring Sharpe villain.

Harper's Nock volley gun may have its uses but it would make a very impractical substitute for a battle rifle. Besides being very heavy, difficult to aim, and shooting with a remarkably heavy recoil, it also took at least seven times as long to reload. While the loading process could be sped up by not reloading all of the seven barrels, this would incur a loss of power since it only shot small pistol caliber balls, and with low accuracy since it was a smooth-bore weapon, not a rifle. These guns were purchased by the navy for shipboard use, but even the navy soon replaced them.

Differences with the original novel:

• Prior to the main story, Sharpe had been in England.
• At the Battle of Ciudad Rodrigo, Sharpe and Harper take out a French gun within the city walls. Here Colonel Lawford is wounded.
• Matthews is killed by Hakeswill while Sharpe is assisting Major Hogan's engineers with destroying a dam in the river in front of the walls of Badajoz.
• During the Storming of Badajoz, Sharpe's riflemen are still wearing South Essex uniforms, not 95th Rifles jackets.
• Captain Robert Knowles is killed defending Teresa and Antonia.
• Harper threatens to scratch the eyes of the picture Hakeswill hides in his shako and pretends is his mother.
• Sharpe and Teresa get married on the morning after the Seige of Badajoz.
• Sally Clayton is not killed by Hakeswill in the end.

This episode takes place in 1812.

According to Jason Salkey, while riding to set during filming of Sharpe's Eagle (1993) he noticed producer Malcolm Craddock leafing through the novel for Sharpe's Enemy (1994). Salkey had previously worked with actor Pete Postlethwaite on stage, and mentioned to Craddock how he would be perfect for the role of Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. Not long after, Salkey received a call from Postlethwaite saying he'd been offered the role, though Craddock denied taking any advice on the casting.