Comedian Shecky Greene as Braddock provided welcome comic relief in the first season of "Combat!", and Robert Altman gives him a shot at stardom in this episode, based on his impersonating an American officer when they're both captured by the Germans. I always liked his work, but he's no Lou Costello (who he vaguely resembles on screen in mannerisms), Danny Kaye or Bob Hope able to carry a movie built on this sort of premise, let alone a tv series. (Note that the captured Shecky protests "I'm a buck private!", not coincidentally referring to the title of Abbott & Costello's biggest hit.)
It's amusing, especially his brief teaming with Keenan Wynn who makes the comically domineering Bud Abbott seem friendly by comparison.
Clearly such a light-hearted episode must have been a fun diversion for the show's fans, but in modern parlance it plays today as almost a "jump the shark" episode relative to the series as a whole. Altman must have enjoyed directing it, but the silliness and exaggeration presage a "Hogan's Heroes" sit-com approach to World War II stories rather than dead-serious, often powerful "Combat!" drama that made the show a classic.
It was fun to see Tom Skerritt in a supporting role looking oh-so young, later to be given one of his few starring roles in Altman's "M*A*S*H".