The performers were French and German veterans and a few professional actors.
The war pitted a reformed Austrian army against a collection of French veterans and conscripts.
Starting in 1808, the deserted abbey building functioned as living quarters for French veterans.
The debate spread to France on account of the eligibility of French veterans from the Revolutionary War.
He would rather face a Battalion of French veterans than face this ordeal.
The battle lent its name to their marching song and later to a French veterans' organization that sprung up.
Two years ago France presented the medal to all French veterans of the First World War.
"When we landed, there were already wounded men and abandoned weapons on the beach," a French veteran, Maurice Chauvet, now 76, recalled.
He was the last surviving French veteran of the Battle of Britain.
Receiving smaller war pensions than French veterans but still proud of what they did, many shared their memories of the war for the first time.