During World War II, a commando leader named Major Jamie Wilson leads a group of soldiers on a suicide mission to destroy a Nazi naval stronghold on the French coast. During WW2, Canadian Major Jamie Wilson suggests a commando raid against a German-occupied French port where a large dry-dock is used by the enemy to re-fit battleships. The well-defended French coast has been dubbed the Iron Coast by the Germans. The British command is reluctant to give the green-light to this operation, code-named Operation Mad Dog, mainly because of the high chance of failure. The Canadian officer is known to have botched a few previous operations under his command. The main opponent of the Mad Dog operation is a Royal Navy captain whose son died during a failed commando raid led by Major Jamie Wilson. However, after much debate and haggling, the operation is approved by the R.N. Admiral in charge. The training of the commandos is harsh, under real battle conditions featuring live explosions and machine-gun fire. During the training, several accidents occur, resulting in a few deaths and wounds. The operation's future hangs into balance but it finally receives the go-ahead. Major Jamie Wilson is dismayed when he discovers that due to war-time shortages he will receive sub-standard equipment and an old mine-layer rather than a destroyer for transport to France. The plan itself calls for a ship laden with explosives to be rammed into the Nazi dry-dock. The explosives would be triggered by a timer, allowing the commandos on board to land and attack the shore installations, batteries and command posts. At the same time, a few small launches would land additional commandos along the neighboring piers to create a diversionary attack. The operation is in danger of failure when the task force is spotted off the French coast by a German observation plane that promptly contacts the German shore command. Moreover, the commando group receives an order from the Admiralty to abort the mission due to RAF's inability to offer bombing support for the operation. To make matters worse, the alerted Germans sense something is afoot and watch the sea with added vigilance. Regardless, Major Jamie Wilson is a stubborn man who wants to prove to himself and to his superiors that he is a capable soldier. Disregarding several requests from the Admiralty to abort the mission, he presses on into the night, toward the deadly Iron Coast. Just wanted to add further to the comment about this movie being based on Operation Chariot. <br/><br/>The purpose of the raid was to disable the only dry dock on the French coast that was large enough for the German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismark. During this stage of the war, this was a very important consideration as the Tirpitz could of created a great deal of havoc if it where to get into the North Atlantic and attack the vital convoys that where keeping England in the war. The actual raid was a success. The dry dock and associated equipment was damaged so thoroughly that it no longer was a viable option for the Germans to risk their last battleship in the North Atlantic. <br/><br/>It was also a very costly mission. A bombing raid that was supposed to provide a diversion actually had the opposite effect and alerted the Germans. The losses incurred where described as appalling, with most of the commandos killed, wounded or captured. To reflect the importance of this raid, 5 Victoria crosses and 68 additional awards where handed out to the some of the 600 particpants. Only the battle of Rorkes drift saw more Victoria crosses awarded for a single action. I just wanted to point out, that this movie is indeed based on an actual event, the raid on St. Nazaire. The former flush decked WWI Destroyer "Campbeltown" was converted to look like a german "E-Boat" and was loaded with explosives, and rammed into the "Normandie" dry dock. The operation was code named "Operation Chariot", and commenced on March 28th, 1942.
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