Stupidity: The lack of security at the château is not plausible. The Germans typically would have layers of protection around headquarters or other sensitive areas. In the movie, there are two middle aged guys guarding the road into the Château. After that there are no checkpoints, no patrols, and no controlled access points into the castle. It makes no sense that dozens of officers would be left vulnerable to an attack by French resistance fighters, let alone an Allied airborne assault.
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
1 stupidity
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes
Factual error: When Resiman interviews him in prison, Franko is chewing gum. (In several shots you see it is chewing gum and not tobacco). First, during heavy rationing in the UK in World War 2 chewing gum was a rare and expensive treat. A military prisoner would not be able to obtain it for love or money. Secondly, US military prisoners were never, ever allowed chewing gum - it can be (and has been) used to jam locks.
Samson Posey: I reckon the folks'd be a sight happier if I died like a soldier. Can't say I would.
Trivia: Not really a mistake, given the need for drama in a war film, but the mission takes place the evening before D-Day, meaning the Allies had complete air supremacy, and knew the exact time, date and place of the meeting of the German officers, this mission would never have taken place. The brightly lit chateau would have been flattened by a squadron of heavy bombers. Lee Marvin, an experienced combat veteran, pointed this out to the producers and was told to keep his opinions to himself.
Question: What are the small tubes that are collected in Colonel Breed's H.Q.? General Warden seems to figure out what they are.
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Answer: Detonators (for setting off explosives).