Combat!

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! (1962-1967) is an American television war drama created for ABC and aired in the early 1960s. The series follows a squad of American infantrymen fighting the Germans across occupied France during World War II, centered on platoon leader Second Lieutenant Gil Hanley (Rick Jason) and the hardened Sergeant Chip Saunders (Vic Morrow). Its engine is the simple, relentless pressure of the mission: each episode drops the squad into a new objective, a new ambush or a new stretch of hedgerow country, and the men must hold their ground while the cost of every day wears on them. Across five seasons and 152 hour-long episodes, the show is built as an episodic run of standalone engagements rather than one continuing story, so viewers can enter at any point. Supporting players including Jack Hogan, Pierre Jalbert and Dick Peabody fill out the squad, giving the group a lived-in camaraderie that carries the weight of the war. The tone is grim, earnest and unsentimental, with a focus on exhaustion, fear and the blurred line between duty and survival. The show humanizes its German opponents, treating them as soldiers rather than cardboard villains. Fans of Band of Brothers and other grounded combat dramas will find resonance in its close attention to the ordinary men who fight the war.

Viewers broadly regard Combat! as an acclaimed, humanizing war drama whose grim portrayal of infantry life in occupied France earns respect despite its dated format.

• Band of Brothersshared wartime squad drama, gritty ground-level combat, character-driven platoon stories
• The Rat Patrolshared 1960s broadcast war series format, episodic squad-based combat stories
• Hogan's Heroesshared grounded depiction of soldiers in World War II Europe, episodic structure

Release Date

1962-10-02

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

8.4 / 10 (123)

What is Combat! about?

A squad of American soldiers fights through World War II in occupied France, living with the grim toll of combat week after week.

What is Combat! like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Combat! as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.

Is Combat! violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Combat! as moderate.

What did critics think of Combat!?

Viewers broadly regard Combat! as an acclaimed, humanizing war drama whose grim portrayal of infantry life in occupied France earns respect despite its dated format.

Which shows are like Combat!?

Shows with a similar feel include Band of Brothers, The Rat Patrol, and Hogan's Heroes.

How long is Combat!?

Combat!: 5 seasons, 152 episodes.

Is Combat! still running?

No, Combat! has ended.