The film's opening prologue and dedication states: "In October 1942, whilst the Eighth Army prepared for its onslaught upon the enemy at El Alamein, the Long Range Desert Group L.R.D.G. operating hundreds of miles behind the enemy lines, was harassing Rommel's communications and supply depots. This group of picked volunteers was cut off from the main army by the vast sand seas of the desert. Their methods were unorthodox, but the results they achieved were out of all proportion to the small number of men involved. It is to these officers and men of the L.R.D.G. that this story is dedicated."