Line #9 Film/OperationDaybreak


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/operation_daybreak.jpg]]
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3	''Operation Daybreak'' is a 1975 war film starring Creator/AnthonyAndrews, Creator/TimothyBottoms, Creator/MartinShaw, Creator/AntonDiffring, and Joss Ackland; it was directed by Creator/LewisGilbert and shot mostly on location in Prague. It is adapted from the book ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' by Alan Burgess.
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5	The film tells the story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of SS-General UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich in Prague. Three Czech commandos are parachuted back into their home country, now under Nazi occupation, with orders to kill Heydrich, the Reich "Protector" of the Czech homelands. Will they be able to reach and kill the heavily guarded Heydrich? Will they be able to get away?
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7	See also and compare ''Film/HangmenAlsoDie'' (1943), ''Film/HitlersMadman'' (1943), ''Film/{{Atentat}}'' (1964), ''Film/{{Anthropoid}}'' (2016) and ''Film/TheManWithTheIronHeart'' (2017), all about the same historical events.
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9	!!This film features examples of:
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11	* AdaptationalHeroism: Čurda gives up the identity to save his wife and son from retaliation, and only after a beating from the Gestapo. There's no mention of the one million Reichsmark reward he got for doing so.
12	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: There's a couple of major departures from the facts.
13	** The assassination happens around Christmastime, in the dead of winter, and Heydrich never makes it to Berlin for his big conference about the FinalSolution. In fact the attack happened on May 27, 1942, four months after Heydrich had organized and hosted the Wannsee Conference.
14	** Curda, who betrayed the others, is shown being sent into Czechoslovakia along with Kubis and Janak. He in fact was dropped into the country as part of a completely different operation (a sabotage group), although he did join up with the Anthropoid group before the attack on Heydrich.
15	** The film depicts the Czechs in the church having grenades and automatic weapons that they use to take a high toll of the attacking Nazis, before the Czechs are finally overwhelmed. In fact the Czechs only had pistols and as a result the Germans suffered only five lightly wounded.
16	** As noted above, the name of the operation was Operation Anthropoid, not Operation Daybreak.
17	** The attempted train sniping never happened, simply because it was impossible to identify their target amongst all the other people travelling on the train.
18	* BasedOnATrueStory: The film starts with the titles "THIS IS A TRUE STORY" and "IT BEGINS IN ENGLAND IN 1941".
19	* AssassinationAttempt: For the first attempt on Heydrich, the commandoes attempt to snipe him as his train is sitting at a siding. Just as they're about to pull the trigger, a train races past on the other track and blocks their view of the target.
20	* AteHisGun: A [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled mutual version]] by Kubis and Gabcík.
21	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: The SOE commandos commit suicide after the German authorities track them down to their hideout in the crypt of a church.
22	* ConvenientMisfire: Gabčík steps out in front of the car carrying Reinhard Heydrich and pulls the trigger on his Sten submachine gun, only for it to jam. This scene was TruthInTelevision; Heydrich would have survived if his driver had sped off, but instead the driver pursued Gabčík who'd [[RunOrDie thrown down the Sten and fled]], leaving Heydrich to be fatally wounded by a bomb thrown by Kubiš. Apparently the jam was caused by the weapon being packed in straw, which got into the weapon (not that the Sten gun was particularly reliable anyway).
23	* CostumePorn: The title sequence involves a slow pan across Nazi regalia laid out on a large swastika flag and Heydrich being fussed over by his servants, all set to David Hentschel's magnificent synth score.
24	* DisturbedDoves: The pigeons in the square fly away as the crowd disperses after the siege of the church ends.
25	* DitchTheBodyguards: On the day of his assassination Heydrich is running late for his flight, so he tells his chauffeur to speed up, leaving his escort behind.
26	* FoodAsBribe: A member of LaResistance smuggles an SOE agent past a German roadblock with some fresh fish he's caught. "I'll make it worth your while..." The German soldiers don't know this, of course; they just assume they're [[InfractionDistraction turning a blind eye to a curfew violation]] for a local Czech with whom they're on friendly terms.
27	* ImpairmentShot: Blurred vision from Ata as he wakes up, after being beaten by the Germans, and sees Curda. Ata, who doesn't realize that Curda is the traitor, reveals to him the location of the church where the others are hiding out.
28	* IntroDump: In the first scene, the three men selected for the mission introduce themselves to a superior officer, and the audience.
29	* KillItWithWater: The German authorities track down the commandos who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich to the crypt of a church. After suffering casualties trying to storm the hideout, the Germans use fire hoses to flood the crypt to force those inside to surrender. The commandos [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled commit suicide instead.]]
30	* LastStand: The commandos in the church conduct a heroic last stand, killing a whole bunch of Germans before Kubis and Janak commit suicide.
31	* MissedHimByThatMuch: Curda gives himself up because he thinks his son has been scooped up in the mass arrests and executions that are taking place after Heydrich's assassination. His son returns home just as Curda is walking into Gestapo headquarters.
32	* NewChildLeftBehind: After the fact. Curda makes it back to visit his old girlfriend, sees some children's toys scattered about,and realizes that she has borne his child while he's been away.
33	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Only the German characters speak with the appropriate accent. The majority of the characters, who are all Czech, speak with a Received Pronunciation English accent.
34	* SecretUndergroundPassage: Subverted; the commandoes trapped in the crypt try to break down the wall to a passage that's rumoured to be there, but it doesn't exist.
35	* TanksButNoTanks: Averted. Czechoslovakia built 3 ''Tigers'' specifically for this movie, by mounting Tiger mockup hulls on T34 chassis.
36	* TemptingFate: One of Heydrich's officers is getting married. The bride is shown the Crown of St. Wenceslas, but balks at trying it on when told that legend says anyone who isn't the rightful king who wears the crown will die within the year. Undeterred, Heydrich puts on the crown himself, to general applause.
37	* TitleDrop: The code name "Operation Daybreak" is given by the general who briefs the three men in the opening scene.
38	* TranslationConvention: Zigzagged; the Germans speak German with subtitles; the Czechs speak English.
39	* VulnerableConvoy: Even though Heydrich's car is escorted by an armoured car and two truckloads of soldiers, he's still more vulnerable there than in his home or office.
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Context Film / OperationDaybreak