Hilts and Ives escape again, in vain. When Hilts is released from the cooler, Bartlett asks him to escape, scout the area immediately surrounding the camp and allow himself to be recaptured; Hilts refuses. , Hendley forms a WLife with German guard Werner, exploiting it to obtain travel documents and other needed items. Soon, Bartlett orders “Dick” and “Harry” sealed off: “Tom” is closest to completion. The prisoners are enjoying a 4th of July celebration arranged by the Americans when the guards discover “Tom”. Despondent, Ives frantically climbs the barbed wire fence and is shot dead.
The prisoners switch their efforts to “Harry”, and Hilts agrees to provide reconnaissance from outside the camp. The information he brings back is used to create maps to guide the escapees. Blythe discovers that he is going blind due to progressive myopia; Hendley takes it upon himself to be Blythe’s guide in the escape. The last part of the tunnel is completed on the scheduled night, but it proves to be twenty feet (about 6 m) short of the woods due to faulty surveying. Knowing there are no other options, Bartlett orders the escape to go ahead. The claustrophobic Danny nearly refuses to go, but is helped along by Willie. Seventy-six prisoners get away, aided by an air-raid blackout. The escape is discovered when Griffith impatiently exits the tunnel in view of a guard.
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