Final Planning
Once Gabcik and Kubis arrived in Prague, they contacted several anti-Nazi organizations who helped them formulate the plan. They initially planned to kill Heydrich on a train but soon realized it was an impossible mission. Their next idea was to pull a cable across a road and stop Heydrich’s car near a forest, but after waiting for several hours, they were brought back to Prague to think of another plan.
They finally decided to assassinate Heydrich in Prague’s Liben district at a sharp bend in the road. Heydrich was a creature of habit and had his chauffeur drive him along the same route from his residence in Panenske Brezany to the city. Gabcik and Kubis performed the requisite reconnaissance and knew that Heydrich’s car had to slow down at a sharp bend near Bulovka Hospital. When the fateful day came, the duo was armed and ready to rid their nation of its worst resident.
The Fateful Day
On May 27, 1942, Gabcik and Kubis lay in wait as Heydrich made his daily commute. He left his residence at 10:30 am with no idea of what lay in store. The two assassins recruited a third man, Josef Valcik, to act as a lookout; he was positioned around 100 meters from Gabcik and Kubis. When Valcik saw Heydrich’s car approaching, he held out his shaving mirror so that it flashed in the sun. It was a signal to his two comrades that the time had arrived.
As usual, the arrogant Heydrich had no security escort, so he was an easy target. As soon as the car slowed down and took the bend, Gabcik jumped out with his sten gun. It was surely the end of the Butcher of Prague. However, Gabcik’s gun jammed and this gave Heydrich the opportunity to retaliate. He didn’t see the second assassin, so he ordered his driver, Klein, to stop, and then he stood up and drew his Luger pistol; it was a fatal mistake.
Kubis appeared suddenly and threw a hand grenade at the vehicle but misjudged the distance and it went too far. Instead of killing Heydrich, the explosion burst the car’s rear wheel, shattered a passing tram’s windows and sprayed shrapnel in Kubis’ face. As soon as they recovered, Heydrich and Klein jumped out of the car and chased the assassins with their pistols drawn.
Gabcik and Kubis had fired their guns at the Nazis after the explosion but missed the target and decided to flee. While Kubis was able to get away on his bike, Gabcik left the scene on foot and was chased by Klein. At this point, Heydrich had collapsed; it transpired that the shrapnel from the grenade had hit him as well. Meanwhile, Klein followed Gabcik into a butcher’s shop but was shot twice and severely wounded in the leg as the assassin finally made it to freedom. The two men believed their mission had failed, but the Butcher of Prague’s luck had run out.