User Reviews

When I think of this show, the first thing that crosses my mind is a lot of gunfights, and this episode shows just how intense even small skirmishes in World War 2 can be. Bridgehead is a fairly straightforward Combat episode, with basically the entire thing focusing on a bridge that Saunders and his men must capture within a time limit. Because the episode actually takes place in real time, it feels more drastic than the average episode, as Saunders and the others are under a large amount of pressure to accomplish their task. The episode starts with the squad attempting to push forward towards a bridge with the assistance of a tank, which they hide behind and use for cover. The bridge must be captured so supply trucks can roll through. The tank just about reaches the bridge, and a house is located adjacent to it. German soldiers garrisoning the house fire dangerous anti-tank shaped charges launched from metal tubes (known as Panzerfausts) at the tank and destroy it in just 2 shots. Saunders suggests acquiring an artillery gun to pound the house into submission from afar, but Hanley tells him they need the bridge taken in under an hour and don't have time for that. Saunders and the others (including a wisecracking and disobedient newcomer named Private Hellar) now have to somehow clear this area of hostile forces with no armor support. Private Hellar (Nick Adams) proves to be a constant annoyance to everyone in the squad throughout this entire episode. A former jazz musician, he relentlessly questions Saunders' motives and says he doesn't want to be killed fighting for a worthless little bridge in the middle of nowhere. Saunders says that unfortunately, it's not really up to him and he may get killed today. Shortly after, the squad uses a civilian building for cover and tries to assault the house near the bridge. Billy manages to get close to the house while Saunders and the others are shooting at it and giving him cover, but he chickens out and doesn't throw a grenade in there. Not only this, but a squad member is killed in the battle. Saunders is angry because he lost a soldier and they're back to where they started. After trying a second time, Billy and another soldier manage to get inside the house and kill some germans, and Saunders takes Little John and Scott to flank the house from another direction. Unfortunately, when Little John attempts to throw a grenade into the house's window, he trips and lobs it into a corner right next to Scott. Scott tries to jump out of the way, but it's too late. Meanwhile, Kirby and Little John are hit by german bullets. Little John is taken to hospital, where he blames himself for killing Scott. After the germans start using their panzerfausts to blow huge holes in the walls behind which the squad is hiding, Saunders and the others attack their position one last time and are finally successful. However, Saunders notices Hellar is nowhere to be found. Hellar is by the bridge and notices that the last surviving german is rigging it to explode. Hellar and the german shoot each other, and before dying from his gunshot, Hellar manages to disarm the explosive and toss it into the center of the water. Saunders was right and Hellar did end up dying today, but at least he was able to redeem himself and save the bridge. This is one of the most intense Combat episodes in season 2 so far. It has a lot of gunfights, anxious moments where it looks like another squad member will get killed, and the use of the panzerfaust is a nice addition too (even if the germans fire it incorrectly). I found this episode's guest star to be essentially the only negative aspect of it, since Hellar is a thoroughly obnoxious person. He's always trying to scheme his way out of being responsible, which is probably what many draftees did, but it made me ambivalent towards his eventual demise. I hate to put it this way, but I feel like he is the only thing restraining this episode from a perfect score. The rest of the squad is always telling him to man up and become a better soldier, when in reality, they're just better off without him. In spite of this, Bridgehead manages to be another competently made Combat episode, and one that shows how much of a detriment certain people can be in a warzone.

Kind of an unsatisfying episode that maybe tried to pack too much into one episode to make it all work. The squad is ordered to take a bridge, but the Germans are well dug in at a house next to the bridge. They use an anti-tank weapon against a tank that strangely gets too close to the house (why it didn't use its cannon to blast the house to pieces a block or more away is unexplained) leaving the men to take it on their own. I thought they'd try the old western trick of setting the roof on fire, but Saunders instead decides to outflank the Germans.

In the middle of this is Nick Adams as Heller, a reluctant PFC who just wants to get through the war alive so he can go back to drumming. In a smaller part, Joseph Walsh plays PFC Jack Johnson, who takes a house with Billy Nelson while scared into uselessness. Unfortunately this is never really explored in the episode. Perhaps its because there's no time. In addition to the usual Saunders heroics, Doc (Conlon Carter) finally gets a good scene when Little John is wounded, and Little John (Dick Peabody) also gets a good scene as he grieves over a man he feels he killed with a badly thrown grenade. It's all really good, but you just wish they'd let one or two of these story lines play out fully rather than giving us tiny pieces of s many and then letting the Johnson thing go kind of unaddressed.

Interestingly, Walsh who played Johnson was nominated years later for a WGA award for his writing of "California Suite".

Cynicism creeps into this "Combat" scenario as Vic and his squad are assigned to take a highly strategic bridge. The fighting is almost non-stop in what seems like an impossible mission.

Guest star Nick Adams leavens the seriousness with nonstop wise cracks as he plays the part of a hipster jazz drummer, not caring at all about anything, Morale is as low as it can get, and even Vic can't raise their spirits. Even Doc, when he's fixing up wounded Little John, is fed up, asking for a rifle to join in the action, but that merely earns him a tongue-lashing from Rick.

The scene's stated message is that each man must find his own reason for fighting in order to continue. But the bridge remains something of a bridge too far. Adams is no help as Vic readies a final assault, and Nick tells his nihilistic philosophy to Rick -he's no help at all. Vic heroically has to do a dangerous mission all by himself -floating across the river to plant a bomb under the building where the Germans are holed up to guard the bridge against attack.

This is one of the most grim, most futile "Combat" stories, though Vic's track record and starring role gives the viewer confidence that he will succeed. And Nick, pretty much written off as dead weight, can still selflessly save the day.

Finale is a memorable mixture of hope and cynicism.