Name: Combat!
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Rating: 4.9
Cast: Rick Jason, Vic Morrow, Jack Hogan, Pierre Jalbert, Conlan Carter

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Rick Jason

Vic Morrow

Jack Hogan

Pierre Jalbert

Conlan Carter

Dick Peabody

Tom Lowell

Steven Rogers

Shecky Greene

Horst Ebersberg

Combat! is an American television program that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans in France during World War II. The program starred Rick Jason as platoon leader Second Lieutenant Gil Hanley and Vic Morrow as Sergeant "Chip" Saunders.

Combat!

Saunders and his squad, "White Rook", go in to find out what happened to another squad, "Black Rook" that went silent while on a patrol  to find the location of a German big gun.  Saunders finds the missing squad in a dye factory and all are dead.  While searching the dye factory for Germans, they find a  hidden German deserter. Saunders must decide if the prisoner lives or dies when the squad make their escape.

Forgotten Front

On the frontline, the squad receives three new replacements straight from rear echelon duty in England. They are Gainsborough (a scared, overweight cook), Temple (an equally scared ex-ballet dancer), and Crown (a radio announcer whose cocky attitude masks his fear). Saunders reluctantly takes these newcomers on a dangerous recon mission and discovers that his survival depends on the ingenuity of these misfits.

Rear Echelon Commandos

Jeffrey Hunter stars in "Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd" as tanker Sgt. Dane, a man mad at the world, mad at the war, and mad at God. He's not too thrilled with Hanley and Saunders, either. During a German breakthrough, Hanley and a squad of men become cut off behind enemy lines. They are saved from a German ambush by the unexpected appearance of Dane and his tank. Their gratitude is short-lived however, as Dane’s recklessness and anger takes on a savage edge and they discover the secret he can’t live with: that he’s a failed priest now turned killer.

Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd

While in a French town on leave, Hanley's leg is pinned by some debris during a bombing raid. In the church building with him is an undetonated German bomb which is still timed to explode. Help arrives in the form of an British demolition expert who is suffering battle fatigue and is angry at Hanley for trying to pickup his girl at a local bar.

Any Second Now

The squad B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle) man who is also Saunder's friend is killed. Kirby believes the Saunders will give him the B.A.R. Saunders decides to give it to the new man, a cook that had qualified on the B.A.R. in  basic training. After the new man is killed his reasoning for giving the B.A.R. to the new man didn't matter.

Far from the Brave

Retrieving a downed pilot becomes even more nerve-wracking, because Lt. Hanley's battle-fatigued squad mistakenly shoots the messenger who delivered the U.S. war hero pilot's whereabouts to them. Lt. Hanley doesn't want this mission, but he's assured that a grizzled Maquisard truck driver will transport them safely to the farm where the French Resistance have hidden the wounded bomber pilot.

Missing in Action

While playing possum behind enemy lines, the wounded Hanley is captured, then interrogated. A When Hanley won't cooperate, General Von Strelitz takes Hanley away for further questioning. The German general calmly kills his chauffeur and forces Hanley to replace him.  Von Strelitz refuses to explain what he's plotting, and Lt. Hanley doesn't appreciate the promotion to Kapitan in the Heer.

Escape to Nowhere

Del Packer is a famous baseball star who was drafted into the army. He winds up as a replacement in the squad. While Kelly looks for a way to make some money by setting up a baseball game with a neighboring outfit, Billy, a devoted baseball fan, is awestruck to be in the same squad as one of his heroes. However, Packer has his own demons to fight, and while the other squad members are too star-struck to notice that something may be wrong, Saunders isn't.

The Celebrity

A worn out Sgt. Saunders must lead Sgt. Jenkins and his men into an area that had already seen lots of casualties. All of the men except Saunders and Jenkins are killed before they reach their objective.   After his capture Jenkins uses capture to enable Saunders to obtain the information needed.

Cat and Mouse

A wounded Frenchman has important information. He and another man are injured when a land mind goes off.  The squad takes refuge in a Convent of Cloistered Nuns. When Hanley arrives, he brings information that the medic died of a heart attack on the way. Saunders and Caje go to the village in search of the local doctor. The only doctor they find is a German doctor. They take him back with them.

I Swear by Apollo

In a flashback story told as the men rest on a rainy night, Sgt. Saunders recalls the experiences of himself and several other men on the day of the D-Day invasion. This includes tales about Braddock, who won the platoon pool on when the invasion would take place; Doc Walton, who was reluctant to go into battle; Caje (called "Caddie" in this episode), who is accompanied by another Cajun; and Lt. Hanley, who at the time was still a sergeant and had little battle experience compared to Saunders. Following the landing, the men move inland and come upon a farmstead held by a squad of German infantry.

A Day in June

Braddock, while on duty as Lt. Hanley's runner, is "appropriated" by a tough-talking, overbearing colonel as his jeep driver. Unfortunately the colonel decides to drive the jeep himself  and his reckless driving results in an accident in which both men are knocked unconscious. When Braddock awakens he is captured by a German patrol, but since he happens to be wearing the colonel's coat--which he put on to keep warm while the colonel was zooming around the countryside--the Germans think that he actually IS a colonel, and nothing Braddock can say or do will convince them otherwise.

The Prisoner

After the battalion pushes the Germans out of a small French town, Pvt. Paul Villers, a member of Saunders' squad, asks permission to look for his father, a French doctor. Villers' was born in France but his parents divorced when he was four and his mother, an American, took him back to the U.S. He knows the town they're in is where his father was born and looks for him there. It doesn't take him long to find his father, but it takes him a bit longer to find out some things about his father that he wasn't counting on.

Reunion

D'Amato and Wharton, two close friends within the platoon, become separated from the rest of the men when the platoon comes under fire from a German tank and its machine gunner. D'Amato manages to flank the armor and capture the machine gun, which he then uses against the supporting German infantry. D'Amato is wounded in the process and by the time the rest of the platoon reaches the position, Wharton has taken over the machine gun making Lt. Hanley think that it was Wharton, not D'Amato, who singlehandedly captured the German armor.

The Medal

Sgt. Saunders is taken prisoner by a German patrol. He is being transported with three other men, two Canadians and a French civilian,  when they are freed by a group of Resistance fighters. The civilian turns out to be a Resistance operative as well. With the unwitting help of a woman named Annette, who provides ration coupons, Saunders is able to buy gasoline to transport the three Allied soldiers to Paris. Annette initially resists providing further help when they reach Paris, but reluctantly agrees to take in Saunders for a few nights, but it seems Annette has some secrets of her own ...

Just for the Record

A thirteen year old French boy wants to join the squad. After he is told he can't, he follows the squad. After Hanley is wounded, Caje tells him that he is now part of the group and his orders are to see that the Lt. gets back to town. When they get back to town, Lt. Hanley and the boy  discover that the Germans are setting a trap for the Americans. Hanley sends the boy to find Saunders and the men and to tell Saunders about the Germans so he can radio the information to HQ.

The Volunteer

Saunders' and Hanley's platoon is joined by a replacement soldier from Georgia named Moseby Lovelace, who comes complete with a new set of boots that the other troops, especially Saunders, highly covet. Lovelace is eager to see action, but not interested in the ordinary work of soldiering  such as digging foxholes. He jumps at the chance to join a night reconnaissance patrol headed by Hanley that will check to see whether the Germans have pulled back their lines.

The Squad

Ben Cooper plays Corporal Cross, the newest addiyion to the squad. For once, the new boy is a veteran. He is tormented by a fatal mistake he'd made on another hill. That mistake has crippled him, stripping away not just his ability to fire a rifle, but also his ability to be a soldier.

Next In Command

Doc, Braddock and several wounded GIs take refuge in a French Château owned by a wealthy aristocrat and his daughter. The father is concerned only with saving his estate and wants no part of them and orders them off the property. Unfortunately, a strong German patrol shows up intending to use the Château as an artillery observation post. The G.I.s are taken prisoner. While the captured soldiers make plans to escape, the aristocrat sees a kindred spirit in the seemingly cultured German commander, but doesn't realize that the officer has designs on the Château's treasures including the aristocrat's daughter.

The Chateau

P.F.C. Marsh runs into his wife Lt. Amelia Marsh at a field hospital.  He asks for a pass to spend time with her. While he is waiting for his pass, Kirby goes AWOL and ends up at the hospital. Marsh has to go out on a mission in place of Kirby and is wounded.

Off Limits

Hanley and men must take town where Germans hold children hostage

No Time for Pity

The squad meets up with a lieutenant living in a cave.

Night Patrol

Hanley and his men are taken prisoners. The encampment comes under artillery fire. The Germans get all but Saunders out. The men use the artillery barrage to make their escape. When they get far enough away Hanley does a head count.  They find that Saunders is not with them and the men want to go back to look for him. Hanley won't let them. Saunders follows them with both his hand badly burnt from the fire that burned the ropes he was tied up with.  They raid a German camp looking for food and Kelly gets killed while he is putting on boots to replace those a German soldier took from him earlier.  They get back to their lines with a delusional Saunders not far behind carrying a dead German thinking it is his brother.

Survival

Sauders resents a female photo journalist until he sees the final results.

No Hallelujahs for Glory

Hanley is pulled off the line and sent to London. He discovers that he is to be used in a secret mission to aid a French physicist to escape occupied France before the Gestapo captures him. Hanley and the man's son were friends in college and Hanley spent one summer in France at the family's home. Hanley is the only man the scientist will trust, especially since it has been discovered that someone in the French resistance who is helping them is a double agent.

The Quiet Warrior

A young woman who cannot face the horrors of the war isolates herself in an idyllic garden which is unscathed by German bombs and refuses to leave. Saunders attempts to evacuate her before more Germans come.

Battle of the Roses

Kirby is on trial accused by Sgt. Midcaff who claims Kirby ran from the enemy. Kirby said there was a machine gun nest. After Kirby convinces Saunders he is telling the truth, Saunders and Caje must prove that Kirby is telling the truth about the machine gun nest.

Hill 256

A never say die German stays behind after the German withdrawal to wage his own private war. He is  aided by a beautiful but bitter Frenchwoman who has her own reasons to hate the town that her German lover terrorizes

The Sniper

The squad finds a baby in a barn and the mother had been killed. Saunders won't let them bring the baby along and the men don't like it. Saunders gives in and sends Littlejohn and Doc back for the baby. After finding out that the convent was destroyed and with time running out,  Caje goes to a bombed out farmhouse and dresses like a civilian to get the baby across the river. The rest of the squad cross downriver from the bridge. They get across as the artillery barrage starts.

One More for the Road

Saunders becomes one of "The Walking Wounded" and falls under the mercies of three broken souls more deeply wounded than he.

The Walking Wounded

Hanley, Saunders and their men are worried that the reckless bravery of a reputed one-man death-squad will get them all killed.

High Named Today

Caje must deal with killing a Frenchman. He does this by turning his attention to the dead man's daughter.The squad becomes worried about Caje. Saunders must find a way to bring Caje back to himself. before losing him. Saunders finds what he needs to bring Caje back when the town is attacked by the Germans.

No Trumpets, No Drums

Lee Marvin guest stars as a sergeant in command of a small demolition team that Saunders and his squad is ordered to take behind German lines to destroy a bridge. Lee Marvin does not believe the squad is large enough to handle the job of getting him to the bridge and back alive. He requests a platoon but is refused by Lieutenant Hanley. Marvin submits but has a huge chip on his shoulder due to a close friend being killed while on a similar mission. He has no confidence in Saunders or his men to get the job done and frequently ridicules them during the mission.

Bridge at Chalons

Hanley orders Saunders and his squad to take a bridge which is guarded by a heavily fortified house. Nick Adams guest stars as a self-centered wise-cracking private who only cares about saving his own skin. He reveals during the episode that he is a jazz drummer and is soon to be leaving the front to play in an army band entertaining troops and wants to be sure he keeps himself in one piece. In the end he sacrifices his life to complete the mission he ridiculed.

Bridgehead

James Coburn guest stars as a ruthless German spy masquerading as an American G.I. in order to get into an American Batallion HQ to create havoc. The jeep he is in hits a land mine and Coburn's German Officer is wounded. Saunders and his squad bring him and the two other German infiltrators back to their Company HQ for first aid. Saunders slowly begins to suspect there is something wrong as Coburn's character makes slight mistakes while speaking and interacting with the other men.

Masquerade

Returning from patrol, Saunders and his men are captured by a platoon of German SS. They take the squad back to their base to be interrogated by their commander, an SS Captain played by Richard Basehart. Simon Oakland also guest stars as an American sergeant already held captive by the Germans.

The Long Way Home (1)

Still interred in a German POW camp, Sgt. Saunders and his squad must find a way to escape before they are all killed.

The Long Way Home (2)

The Wounded Don't Cry

Eddie Albert guest stars as an American WWI veteran living in France with his French wife he met while soldiering in the previous war.   During the shelling from a Big German gun nearby he becomes confused and believes he is still fighting WWI.

Doughboy

Glow Against the Sky

All  the squad except Kirby take to an orphan boy named Bizzue. When Caje is captured by the Kurts, the others begin to think just maybe Kirby is right.

The Little Jewel

A Distant Drum

Anatomy of a Patrol

When the men arrive in a town the French shoot a man for collaborating and his daughter blames the Americans - who later learn he was actually an undercover allied agent.

Regulars: Saunders, Hanley, Kirby, Caje, Billy Nelson, Littlejohn, Doc 2.

Ambush

Barrage

Thunder from the Hill

The Party

Gideon's Army

The Pillbox

The General and the Sergeant

Eyes of the Hunter

Suander And Caje are held hostage by two Germans while Doc try and get a vehical to get them out of town. When they get out of town Doc learns why the Germans wanted them for. He trys to stop them by recking the ambulance. We he does Caje get a broke leg and the German in the back get killed. When the 1 German have Doc & Saunders leave an injored Caje behind, Doc get a chance to jump him in the fight Doc kills the german with his bear hands.Saunders bring Doc to reality by letting Doc know he is wounded.

The Hostages

Mail Call

Counter-Punch

A Silent Cry

While in a reconnaissance patrol in an abandoned French winery, Saunders and Kirby stumble upon two Germans in an observation post. Kirby protects the radio in an empty building but is shot by a German officer called Heismann. Sunders kills one German soldier and Heismann rescues Kirby expecting to force Saunders to surrender. However the wounded Kirby destroys the German radio and Heismann uses his hunting rifle to hunt down Saunders. Meanwhile Saunders gets out of ammunition with the dangerous hunter seeking him out.

The Hunter

In this 2 partter Saunders and his men have to get the retreat message to a British troupe behind enemy lines. The British Captain uses his authority to keep Saunders and his men to help him fight the Germans

What Are the Bugles Blowin' For? (1)

What Are the Bugles Blowin' For? (2)

Weep No More

Pvt. Putnam (Putt) is a 15 year old run away. He lies to cover up his age and the fact that he is a green recruit. A friend tells Hanley he is only 15. When he panic he nearly get the Sarge & himself killed. At the end his hobby saves the day.

The Short Day of Private Putnam

Rescue

Command

Lt Hanley and his me  run into 4 Nuns looking for the American to  get help for their Mother Sappier.  The men must try and get the Nuns and themselves out of the town before the Germans get to the town.  The old Nun goes after a statue.  Sending Lt. Hanley and  Caje back into the town full of Germans and right to the Germans HQ.

Infant of Prague

When the 1 person in the squad that is diliked by most of the men is wonded,The Germans uses him a bait to try & get then men come after him. Order come in come to leave him if it not possible to retrive him. 1 person don't want to leave Mason behind.  The squad then try to save Mason.

The Glory Among Men

An embittered deserter is bribed into Saundes' squad across the mountains. They are captured by Germans and left to freeze, but manage a daring escape.

Mountain Man

Hanley and the men are rescued by a Greek colonel and his men.

Vendetta

Saunders faces a possible court-martial after a machine gun sergeant accuses him of bad judgment under fire when two of his men are killed.

Point of View

The Germans, caught in an allied pincer movement, launch an all out assault on the American lines.

The Duel

Sent to the rear to recover from injuries, Kirby and Caje encounter Harry White, a dice cheating schemer who has been fighting the war from a bar stool.

Silver Service

During a barrage, Saunders is trapped under a beam and the only man who can rescue him is Pvt. Kogan. The scared Kogan abandons Saunders as the enemy moves into town.

The Hard Way Back

Bringing a wounded doe to safety, Saunders, Caje, and communication Sergent Meider stumble upon a Germen patrol setting up a radio center.

Operation Fly Trap

In a newly liberated French town Saunders is reluctant to accept the ministrations of a courageous thirteen year old girl whose one ambition is to serve the troops as a nurse.

The Little Carousel

Sgt. Keeley has lost faith in humanity and invests all his devotion to his carrier pigeons, which he has trained for military use.

Fly Away Home

Hanley must take the place of a G-2 officer on a mission to spy on a German HQ.  One of the three men he must meet has killed an American that Kirby recognized and took his unifom.

The Impostor

Saunders learns that his hero and role-model has feet of clay.Sergeant Avery, thought killed in action shows up alive and well. and must clear himself of suspicion of desertion.

A Gift of Hope

Caje needs the help of a French civilian to try and rescue an injured and captured Hanley.  Other regulars: Saunders & Doc (2).

A Rare Vintage

The squad picks up a wounded GI, who is really the leader of a specially trained group of German infiltrators.

The Long Walk

Hanley and men are sent to evacuate the town of Bonnaire which is targeted for German attack. But the mayor, his three beautiful daughters, and the township people thwart Hanley's every effort.

The Town That Went Away

Littlejohn receives a birthday cake from his mother, with the explicit instructions not to open it until the 21st. He carries it on a dangerous patro; into enemy territory.

Birthday Cake

Hanley reluctantly accepts a captured German lieutenant's offer to disarm the mines his men have hidden. (60 mins)

The Enemy

A German captain is ordered to blow up a bridge that the Americans will use to enter a French town, but Saunders' squad moves in before he can complete his mission

The Cassock

Saunders assigns Caje as acting squad leader for 3rd squad till the replacement Sergeant arrives.

Losers Cry Deal

Saunders and a young soldier, Private Carey, are in a fight for their lives against the Germans. But Carey has never killed anyone or any thing, and will not defend himself.

More Than a Soldier

Eddie Cane, a cocky replacement, is anxious to join platoon with his old friend "Wild Man" Kirby. Cane's older brother was Kirby's best pal back home.

Brother, Brother

Saunders, Caje, and Kirby try to rescue a paratrooper captain before he is spotted by the Germans.

The Steeple

A German Bombardment strikes a prison releasing convicted criminals into the countryside. One unscrupulous convict assumes the identity of a French resistance fighter.

The Convict

After losing a superior office in the field, Saunders and squad allow themselves to be captured by the enemy to liberate a famous American correspondent being held by the Germans.

Dateline

Hanley takes three men into enemy territory to rescue a U>S> flying ace who has parachuted to safety.

A Walk With an Eagle

A German machine gun pins down Saunders and company, along with four seriously wounded GIs, a truck full of munitions, and a truck driver.

The Long Wait

Hanley's efforts to bring to London a Frenchman with information valuable to the Allies is hampered by a lynching party that wants him for themselves.

The Tree of Moray

A desperate woman searches for her missing baby as American and German soldiers watch helplessly from opposite ends of the street.

Cry in the Ruins

When their jeep hits a land mine, Saunders, a tank captain, and private Gavin attempt to maneuver an abandoned German tank through enemy territory.

The Hell Machine

Lieutenant William Benton, the son of celebrated General Bull Benton, leads a mission to locate a big artillery piece that is cutting up the American lines.

Billy the Kid

Corporal Velásquez is assigned to Hanleys outfit with orders to destroy a German observation post.

Heritage

Saunders trapped behind enemy lines passes himself off as a shell shocked German corporal.

Odyssey

Hanley does not recall a private from patrol until the news that his wife is dying is confirmed.  (At which time he will get an  emergency leave.)  But by then patrol is trapped and hiding in a basement.

Beneath the Ashes

Saunders' latest green replacements are a boxer and his cocky fight manager, Murphy, who wants to run both the war and Saunders.

Main Event

The squad, worn-out and exhausted, receives four green replacements. The story follows these four teenagers as they attempt to survive their first day on the front line.

The First Day

Kirby rejoins the squad in the field, bringing with him a new replacement, Kalb. Kalb is already known to Fleming. Fleming believes Kalb is a coward who ran at Omaha Beach and has been running ever since.

S.I.W.

A hostile signal corps sergeant, McClosky, balks at having Saunders as escort on a mission to lay wire.

Combat!

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