Attack on the Iron Coast

Canadian Major Jamie Wilson unveils a daring plan, Operation Mad Dog, to strike the Axis-held port of Le Clare. The objective is to ram a heavily explosives-laden destroyer into the dock's outer gate while commandos sow chaos ashore. If successful, the attack would deny Germany a dry dock capable of servicing their battleships.

Under political pressure, the operation is approved despite severe limitations. The naval force is reduced to a minesweeper with four motor launches and no escort, forcing the crew to rely on stealth and timing. The plan’s risk looms large as the clock starts ticking.

During training, Lieutenant Commander Don Kimberly is blinded in an accident while trying to rescue an injured commando. The rescue attempt saves the man but costs Kimberly his sight and raises questions about command decisions. The incident reshapes the leadership dynamics for the mission.

Royal Navy Captain Owen Franklin is assigned to replace the blinded commander. He and Wilson clash over approach and strategy, revealing a history that includes Franklin's son being killed in a Dieppe-type raid on Le Plagé. The partnership is tense, but a common goal persists.

As they cross the English Channel, Franklin reveals he had suggested mine-sweeping weeks earlier to mislead the Germans into thinking the raid is routine. Wilson senses a shift in trust and begins to rethink the mission's tactical assumptions. The deception adds a fragile layer of psychological warfare to the operation.

An expected air cover seems to be cancelled, heightening the tension aboard. Nevertheless, Franklin ignores orders to return and presses toward Le Clare, signaling a surprising bond forming between him and Wilson as the mission evolves.

The convoy nears the harbor; German coastal batteries open fire in a bid to thwart the approach. The minesweeper and motor launches press on, maintaining the ruse while the men prepare to strike the gate. The crew fights through the bombardment in a race against time.

Germans detect the approaching minesweeper and mount a secondary defense to stall the potential invasion. The coastal batteries pound the ships, but the veiled assault continues toward the dock gate. The plan to ram the gate remains intact despite heavy fire.

The minesweeper finally rams the outer dock gate, creating an entry for the commandos to storm the shore. On the bridge, Wilson is mortally wounded as another volley rakes the vessel. The team pushes forward through the smoke and debris toward the port facilities.

Franklin is captured by German forces and brought to the port's HQ, where Colonel von Horst mocks the mission as a futile exercise. The captured commander becomes a symbol of the German resilience and the commandos' challenges continue.

Captain Erich Strasser leads a German party onto the minesweeper and heads for the smashed bridge. He confronts the improvised detonator plan and closes in on Wilson, escalating the peril.

On the smashed bridge, Strasser fires as Wilson ties the detonator wires together, completing the circuit. The explosives detonate, destroying the dock gate and delivering the objective.

Back at the German HQ, the blast rocks the building as commandos storm the facility and kill von Horst and his men. Franklin is freed from captivity and witnesses the collapse of German resistance.

With the objective achieved, the commandos depart in waiting motor launches and escape the port. The mission ends with the dock destroyed and the German threat diminished, though the cost in lives remains high.