Editing Decision Before Dawn (section)

==Plot==
By late 1944, as the Allies march [[Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine|toward the Rhine]], it is obvious Germany will lose the war. American Colonel Devlin ([[Gary Merrill]]) leads a [[Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)|military intelligence]] unit that enlists German [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] to cross back over and spy on their former comrades. "Tiger" ([[Hans Christian Blech]]), a cynical mercenary, is one such recruit. There is also "Happy" ([[Oskar Werner]]), a young, idealistic medical student. Monique ([[Dominique Blanchar]]), a former [[French Resistance|resistance]] operative, trains Happy and others in espionage techniques. Later, Devlin learns a [[Wehrmacht]] general wants to negotiate surrender of his entire command. Thus, a mission is organized. Devlin selects Lieutenant Rennick ([[Richard Basehart]]) to lead. He is a man who hates turncoats on both sides of the war. Tiger is chosen; he knows the area well. Happy is given a related task of locating the 11th Panzer Corps, which might oppose the mass surrender. All three parachute into Germany, then split up.

During his search for the 11th Panzer unit, Happy encounters Germans with differing attitudes towards the war. On buses and trains, in guest houses and taverns, he meets those who are still defiant, such as [[Waffen-SS|SS]] courier Scholtz ([[Wilfried Seyferth]]), and those who are now resigned to defeat, like Hilde ([[Hildegard Knef]]), a war widow turned hooker. Eventually, Happy locates the 11th Panzer, posing as a medic. He is selected to treat its commander, Oberst von Ecker ([[O.E. Hasse]]), at his castle headquarters. Afterwards, Happy narrowly escapes capture by the [[Gestapo]]. He makes his way to a [[safe house]] in the ruins of heavily-bombed [[Mannheim]], where Rennick and Tiger hide out. They have learned that the German commander they were to contact has supposedly been injured and in a hospital under SS guard; without him, the other German officers cannot and will not surrender to the Allies.

After their radio is knocked out, Happy, Tiger, and Rennick make their way to the banks of the [[Rhine River|Rhine]], where they plan to swim across to American lines. At the last moment, however, Tiger loses his nerve and runs away, forcing Rennick to kill him, lest their mission be revealed. As Rennick and Happy are about to swim for the opposite shore, they are spotted.  Facing torture and execution, Happy nonetheless bravely draws the Germans' attention away from Rennick by surrendering. His sacrifice enables the lieutenant to make it to safety. Thus Rennick survives, with his previous ideas on "treason" now challenged.