description Operation Daybreak Overview
Operation Daybreak is a 1975 war film directed by Lewis Gilbert and based on Alan Burgess's book Seven Men at Daybreak. It dramatizes Operation Anthropoid, in which Czechoslovak agents trained in Britain assassinated senior Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich in occupied Prague during World War II. The film follows the mission, the German reprisals, and the resistance members' final stand in a Prague church.
help Operation Daybreak FAQ
Is Operation Daybreak based on a true story?
Yes. It dramatizes Operation Anthropoid, the 1942 mission in which Czechoslovak agents trained in Britain assassinated Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich in Prague — the attack occurred on May 27, 1942, and Heydrich died of his wounds days later.
What book is Operation Daybreak based on?
It's based on Alan Burgess's non-fiction book 'Seven Men at Daybreak.' The 1975 film was directed by Lewis Gilbert, who also directed James Bond films like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
Where was Operation Daybreak filmed?
It was shot substantially on location in Prague, reportedly making it one of the first Western productions allowed to film in communist-era Czechoslovakia. That authenticity gives the streets and the final church sequence unusual realism.
How does Operation Daybreak end, historically?
The film follows history: the paratroopers were betrayed and cornered in the St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague on June 18, 1942, where most died fighting or by suicide. The Nazis retaliated with massacres including the destruction of the village of Lidice on June 10, 1942.
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