The greatest raid of all
Jeremy Clarkson's The Greatest Raid of all prompted me to track this film down.
The documentary is on a raid on French St Nazaire in March 1942 by 600 commandos and Royal Navy personnel, to destroy the only dock outside British reach capable of servicing the German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship of the Bismarch. A near certain suicide mission with minimal chance of success, so thought the top brass of His Majesty's armed forces.
It was a brilliant success, often dubbed 'The Greatest Raid Of All'. The dock was only finished repair in 1947. For casualties and full story, try the Wikipedia, looking up Operation Chariot.
I had seen this film before but I have largely forgotten about it until the documentary was over.
I had thought this film to be based on the raid, but judging from the contents of the comments on main page, this is a largely fictionalised film.
Ah well. I don't know whether to get this film now.
To die is to live, to live is to die