During World War II, German U-boats are sinking thousands of tons of British
merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean. British intelligence, based in
India, believes that information is being passed to the
U-boats by a radio transmitter hidden on board one of three German merchant ships
interned in
Goa, then a
colony of Portugal. Since Portugal is
neutral, the ships cannot be attacked by conventional forces. The head of the
Indian section of the
Special Operations Executive (SOE) authorises attempts to kidnap and interrogate two known German agents, but these operations both fail. An approach is then made to a
Territorial unit of British expatriates, the
Calcutta Light Horse, to carry out the mission on its behalf. They all volunteer – all are trained in military skills and keen to 'do their bit'. Whilst the volunteers are trained, Stewart and Cartwright travel covertly to Goa. By a mixture of blackmail and bribery, they arrange diversions on the night of the raid. A party is to be held in the Governor's palace, a
brothel will offer free entry to sailors from ships in the port and a Carnival with fireworks will be held. Stewart has a brief affair with Mrs. Cromwell, a mysterious and socially well-connected woman, who turns out to be a German agent and the main conduit to the German 'Master Spy', known to the Germans and the British by the code-name
Trompeta (Trumpet). She is eventually killed by Stewart after she attempts to kill him, but not before she has killed Jack Cartwright. The raiding party sail around the coast in a decrepit and barely seaworthy
barge; they set
limpet mines on the hull of the German ships in Goa. They then board one which is being used to transmit signals to U-boats, catching the depleted crew off-guard. Despite Pugh's order that there be no shooting, several German sailors are killed. The ship is set alight and the party withdraws, watching as the ship sinks. The final scene shows a surfacing German U-boat which is expecting to hear a signal from the now sunken ship.
Differences from actual raid While certain elements are faithful to the real-life raid, in reality the ships were not blown up by limpet mines but scuttled by their own crew. It is widely believed the intention was the capture of the ships rather than their destruction. Only four German crew died, with the rest swimming ashore. The German spy known as Trumpet was in reality not a single person but a couple. Captured by Pugh and Stewart, they were interrogated by British Intelligence but all trace of them was removed from the records and their fate is unknown. ==Cast==