World War II · Film · 1967
The Dirty Dozen
A rebellious major is handed twelve military convicts, most facing death or long sentences, and has weeks to turn them into commandos for a suicide raid on a château full of German officers on the eve of D-Day.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: Château near Rennes, Brittany
Key location
Parachuted into Brittany the night before the invasion, the convicts infiltrate a château used as a rest center for German officers.
What really happened
The story is fictional, adapted from E. M. Nathanson's 1965 novel, which grew out of a rumor about convicts trained for a secret mission. The closest real unit was the Filthy Thirteen, a demolition section of the 101st Airborne's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment known for its discipline problems, whose men were not convicts and who jumped on D-Day to seize bridges over the Douve River.
The raid's target reflects a real weakness in the German defense: on 6 June 1944 many senior commanders in Normandy were away from their units, several of them heading to a map exercise in Rennes, and their absence slowed the German response to the landings.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- The Dirty Dozen
- Directed by
- Robert Aldrich
- Countries
- United States, United Kingdom
- Languages
- English, German
- Released
- 1967
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Western Europe
- Themes
- Combat
