Tue, Jan 5, 1965
Lt. Hanley comes across three German soldiers in a deserted French town. Two are killed and he captures the third...a demolition expert. He tells Hanley that the entire town is mined and booby trapped to kill American soldiers. When Hanley finds out there is no way to prevent the returning French population from reentering the town he forces the German to disarm the mines and traps at gunpoint. Hanley must be on constant guard because the German is very clever and always thinking of escape.
Tue, Jan 12, 1965
King company is quickly overrunning a French Village, and the German withdrawal is in complete chaos. Most of the German troops are killed, wounded, or captured in the action, but one German officer, Hertzbrun, tries to blow a bridge before he leaves the village. Unable to blow the bridge during the attack, he takes refuge in a Catholic church where he exchanges his uniform for the vestments a priest and becomes "Father Hertzbrun." His intention is to impersonate a priest long enough for him to finish setting his charges, blow the bridge, and make his escape. Much to his dismay, as soon as the fighting is finished, he is asked by a GI to hear his confession. Unfortunately for Hertzbrun, he really has no experience in priestly matters, and his ineptitude leads to the failure of his ruse. A 44 year old James Whitmore is a pleasure to watch as he plays the German officer masquerading as a priest.
Tue, Jan 19, 1965
A loudmouthed cardsharp holds an ace in reserve over a young recruit, who volunteers for a dangerous recon in his stead. Corporal Jackson the older man, bitterly resents Caje being named temporary leader of Jackson's squad, after Sgt. Saunders sees how the Corporal lords it over the young Private Tommy. While Tommy slogs through a heavy downpour toward a German machine gun nest, Jackson in the comfort of a château, tries to wipe out the other poker players, plus sway them to his jaundiced view of the situation.
Tue, Feb 2, 1965
Frankie Avalon plays Pvt. Eddie Cain, the kid brother of an old hometown friend of Kirby's. Cain has somehow finagled his way to be assigned to Kirby's squad, and he immediately gloms onto his old buddy, "Wild Man" Kirby, and begins making demands of him. The cutesy little Avalon does a fine job of making his Cain character into an exasperating little twerp you cannot help but detest. Cain believes his brother, Tony, and Kirby were best of friends and that Tony was killed in their old hometown while saving Kirby's life. Accordingly, Cain also believes Kirby owes him a great personal debt in the form of Kirby's attention and protection. The cocky Cain immediately provokes the hostility of the rest of the squad, and Kirby has to continually make excuses for him. Cain keeps taking foolish actions, and he is unable to come to grips with his shortcomings until Kirby finally tells him the truth about how his brother Tony was killed back home. You may hate the character of Cain, but you have to love Avalon's performance in making Cain so credible.
Tue, Feb 9, 1965
Saunders, Caje, and Kirby are on a night mission moving through an abandoned French village when they notice an American paratrooper hanging from the church steeple in his entangled parachute - and the paratrooper is still alive. Immediately after they enter the church to rescue the paratrooper, two German trucks full of troops enter the village, stop just outside the church, and set up an armed perimeter with the apparent intention of establishing a command post. Saunders and his men ascend the steeple steps with the hope of rescuing the paratrooper under the cover of darkness and before the Germans take notice of him. The paratrooper's helmet falls to the ground attracting the Germans' attention, and they shine a spotlight on him. Saunders had already told the paratrooper to play dead. Even with the spotlight on him, he certainly looks dead as he dangles limply in his harness. Assuming he is dead, the Germans forget him for the rest of the night. Daylight comes and Saunders is still trying to figure a way to get the paratrooper inside the steeple and back to safety without being seen by the Germans below. Then a German soldier on the ground looks up and notices the "dead" paratrooper is wearing some very nice new boots, and he considers his own boots which are virtually worn out. Wanting some new boots, the German decides to go up the steeple to pull the paratrooper inside and take the boots for himself. Saunders kills the German with a bayonet as he arrives on the steeple bell level, dons the German's uniform, and then proceeds to pull the "dead" paratrooper inside. The other Germans on the ground cheer him on thinking Saunders is their comrade. They do manage to rescue the paratrooper who turns out to be an Army Captain who was on a commando mission that also played a key part of this episode, but the rescue was not completed until after Saunders and his men are involved in a firefight as they withdraw from the village.
Tue, Feb 23, 1965
Sgt. Saunders and his squad are on patrol with a Captain from G-2 Intelligence. He informs them he intends to be captured by the Germans, allowing himself to be taken to a POW camp where an important writer for Stars and Stripes is being held. The Captain must get the writer out of the POW camp before he can talk, through a hidden tunnel he knows to be there. When the Captain steps on a mine and is killed, Sgt. Saunders and his squad are captured, but they intend to complete the mission.
Tue, Mar 9, 1965
After opening the episode with a short firefight in a French village, Saunders' squad is in a GI 2 ½ ton truck along with four GIs in need of surgery and a load of ammo needed for the front lines. Along the way, they get pinned down by a German machine gun crew and supporting infantry who are all well protected in an escarpment of large boulders. With a front tire shot out, Archie the truck driver backs the truck a short ways where it is protected by a large rock wall, but they cannot go forward or backward without being exposed to the German firepower. The conflict of decision becomes whether to get the four men to needed surgery or get the load of ammunition to the front lines. Archie is only concerned about the four men who need surgery, but Saunders has to consider all the men who need the ammunition to hold their positions against a German advance. The rest of the episode consists of various actions attempted while trying to take the German position along with the continuous battle of priorities between Archie and Saunders concerning getting aid for the wounded men and delivery of the needed ammo at the front.
Tue, Mar 16, 1965
Lt. Hanley leads the squad on a mission to find and bring back a French collaborator named Duval. The American intelligence folks want to interrogate him for the valuable information he has concerning the Germans, but the French Underground want Duval to hang him from the Tree of Moray for his treasonous activities. Robert Loggia guest stars as Etienne, the leader of the local underground forces. As the episode progresses, Hanley and Etienne jockey back and forth to gain possession of Duval. First the underground has Duval, and then Hanley's men get him, but his fate is not determined until the end of the show.
Top-rated
Tue, Mar 23, 1965
Unearthing a French baby buried under ruins, unites Hanley's men and a Nazi squad. All the troops' hearts go out to the desperate young mother, but as the German lieutenant warns "distrust is a crippling thing." Laying down their arms in an unauthorized truce proves challenging to the frayed nerves of both squads in the village devastated by both sides' heavy artillery. Hanley's squad needs to get out for a rendezvous, the Germans are hustling to re-occupy the ville.
Tue, Apr 6, 1965
A very large German railroad artillery gun is causing havoc with the American advance. When not firing, it is moved by rail from one secluded cave to another, and no one has been able to spot the gun so it can be targeted and eliminated. Artillery Lt. William Benton and Sgt. Stoner are sent to link up with Sgt. Saunders' squad which will serve as an escort to establish a forward observation post to find the German gun and report its location for targeting. When alone with Saunders' men, Sgt. Stoner is quick to tell everyone that Benton is the son of the famous Lt. General Benton and has been kept safely in the rear and allowed no combat experience. He belittles Lt. Benton by calling him Billy the Kid, and he lets everyone know he expects Benton to fail in this mission. Saunders does not like Stoner disparaging Benton, but even he questions Benton about all the extra equipment he is taking with them. Benton simply tells him it is needed and to get moving. When they get to the area where they intend to observe, Benton has the men set up the equipment in what seems to them a very strange manner, but Benton is a lot more capable than anyone knows. When they are spotted and shelled in their first position, Benton loses the use of his eyes, but they move to his second position where they are able to find the gun, complete the mission, and find out that Billy is no kid.
Tue, Apr 13, 1965
To clear the way for 5000 troops through a dangerous mountain pass, Hanley must blow up a German observation post. To succeed this time, a cocky sculptor who's now a demolition man is added to the stripped-down mission, in place of Hanley's sleep-deprived full squad. The all-business Lt. Hanley and the arty rock-hound Velasquez immediately clash, because the Corporal can't stop examining the local geology or expounding about the ancient rock fortress which became a famed museum, and is now the forbidding, mountain-top Heer post.
Top-rated
Tue, Apr 20, 1965
Sgt. Saunders is wounded and trapped behind enemy lines while trying to provide cover for Doc and Caje as they take a wounded Little John back to their lines. Saunders wakes in a German Field Hospital to find that a French worker has put him in German clothes to prevent him being shipped to a POW Camp. As a result he tries to escape by passing himself off as a shell shocked German soldier. Placed on a train going to the German rear with a German officer who considers many of the wounded as malingerers, Saunders and a captured American flyer manage to jump from the train and escape. As they try to make their way back to their lines the flyer is shot and killed by a German patrol and Saunders is taken with them. He is befriended by a veteran German sergeant who is convinced he is a wounded Afrika Corps soldier and decides to look after him. As they are travelling to their destination they are ambushed by Americans who are looking for prisoners and information and, in the fire fight that follows, Saunders has to shoot and kill the German sergeant.
Tue, Apr 27, 1965
Lt. Hanley receives a letter from the friend of the wife of one of his men, Steve Kovac [Chad Everett], advising that Kovac's wife is in hospital and dying. Unfortunately Kovac is on a patrol and Hanley decides not recall him until the news that his wife is dying is confirmed (at which time he will get an emergency leave). In the meantime, the patrol lead by Sgt. Saunders enters a French town to gather information and runs into the Germans. They manage to kill the Germans but another group moves in to occupy the building they have been fighting from which appears to be their headquarters building. As a result Saunders and the patrol is trapped and hide out in the basement of the building. The Germans assume their men have been killed by a patrol that has already gone and continue setting up in the building the patrol is hiding below. Not long after, under cover of an artillery barrage, the patrol manages to escape and return to base where Lt. Hanley breaks the news to Kovac. While he is preparing to return home news comes through that his wife has died and his leave is cancelled. Kovac reacts badly when he finds out that Hanley received the news in time to recall him from patrol but by then Hanley and his platoon have moved off as part of an overall advance. Kovac follows them with the idea of killing Hanley in revenge. In the meantime, the platoon has been ambushed and Hanley becomes pinned down in a fox hole. After talking to Saunders, Kovac realizes Hanley took the correct action and between Saunders and Kovac they manage to beat off the Germans and save Hanley.
Tue, Oct 5, 1965
Sgt. Barney McKlosky and his two Signal Corps men have to lay a telephone line cross-country from the company HQ to an outpost. Saunders' squad is assigned to provide protection and assist in laying the wire. Prior to the war, McKlosky was a linesman in Wyoming who broke his leg in a fall and nearly died because his co-worker did not come back with help. Since that incident, McKlosky trusts no one and holds everyone in contempt. While laying line across a bridge on the way to the outpost, McKlosky and Littlejohn drop a roll of wire in the river. Although both men dropped the wire by accident, McKlosky blames it all on Littlejohn and belittles him. He insists on scrubbing the mission for lack of enough wire, but Saunders figures a shorter way to the outpost and insists on going forward. Saunders' short cut, however, is not quite as short as he thought, and they still do not have enough wire to reach the outpost. Again McKlosky wants to quit, but Saunders takes them back to an abandoned village they passed earlier where he intends to strip the village of the extra wire they need. A German platoon arrives in the village, and a brief firefight ensues. Through a feint that pulls the Germans away, the GIs are able steal the Germans' truck and escape with their newly acquired wire to complete their mission. McKlosky finally realizes he can no longer cut himself off from his fellow GIs, and he seems to be able to finally leave his bitter past behind.
Tue, Oct 26, 1965
During a heavy firefight and facing overwhelming numbers the Allies are being beaten back. One of the German's shot during the firefight detonates a grenade behind the Sarge who is deafened by the blast. Alone and lost Sgt. Saunders tries to make his way back to American lines. Unable to hear anything, he is almost shot by a German patrol, but manages to get away. He finds a small dog that becomes attached to him and acts as his ears until it is killed by a German that surprises them. Saunders manages to take the German prisoner and tries to use him to guide back to his lines but in a struggle the German is killed and Saunders collapses just before the Americans come across him as they push forwards. The first thing he knows is when he wakes to find a medic checking him and hears the medic say "it's only a superficial face wound and you'll be alright"