Hills Are for Heroes: Part 1

Lt. Hanley is assigned to take a strategic hill with a platoon. However they find that the hill is protected by two German nests of machine guns in two bunkers. Without any support of the artillery, he is ordered to send his men to be slaughtered while trying to take the hill.

Divided in two parts and directed by Vic Morrow, "Hills Are for Heroes: Part 1" is one of the best episodes of "Combat!". The faces of the American soldiers and Lt. Hanley that is forced to follow orders is heartbreaking. Kirby has also an important role in this dramatic and full of action episode. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Colinas São para Heróis; Parte 1" ("Hills Are for Heroes: Part 1")

"Hills Are For Heroes" is a story about realities of the military and how incompetence at the top can prove fatal to many below. King 2 must knock out two firmly entrenched pillboxes containing brutal German Maschinengewehr 42 machine guns while running uphill with virtually no cover. And King 6 has no back up for them with respect to needed artillery or tanks to get the job done. As Alanis Morisette said in her hit "Isn't It Ironic," "It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife." The "old man" referred to by Company Commander could be any of many high ranking big shots who've been promoted to their level of incompetence.

Gene Coon wrote an outstanding screenplay in which dialog is phenomenal across the board. Lieutenant Gil Hanley is at his very best playing the boss. He has outstanding comebacks for all of King 2's ails & concerns and even a wise remark for the "old man." Character development amongst the squad is excellent and Littlejohn's exchange with The Sarge is priceless. Kirby is vintage Kirby when dealing with Hanley. And for a 41 year old, Caje can really pick em' up and lay em' down.

Vic Morrow directed this hugely successful episode and it must have been fun watching him busting the studio's chops going way over budget. Extremely graphic machine gun scenes, close-ups of the soldiers' terrorized faces, and coordination of mortar fire and its effects on the pillboxes give the viewing audience a sense of being there. Vic had a fine collusion with A. D. Flowers on this one. It's a wonder no one was injured making this episode.

"Hills Are For Heroes Part 1" is extremely entertaining and gives one a sense of empathy for anyone mixed up in a war, especially when the top commanding officer is incompetent. German Maschinengewehr 42 machine guns were capable of firing between 900 & 1500 rounds per minute depending on the bolt used. Just listening to two of these fine weapons going at it get's one's undivided attention.

Sit back and enjoy!

Vic is severely injured, as Rick (with a large group of troops under his command) is ordered to take a hill that is heavily guarded by German machine guns protected in bunkers.

It's an extremely tense situation because there's no place to hide when approaching the fun emplacements, but it's vital to take that hill as part of an Allied advance.

Subsequent battles are realistic, especially the mortar explosions, as the troops use daring tactics to assault the machine guns. Rick's cold resolve to take the hill at all costs is impressive in an unrelentingly grim situation.

After some extraordinary first-person photography capturing a gung-ho soldier's point of death, Part 1 ends in futility, as Rick calls his men to retreat after yet another failure to take the hill.

I was a young girl when I saw episodes of "Combat" back in the Philippines with my father and brothers. (My mother was not into war shows.) Then in my late 30's, I stumbled on on it again. For the first time, I watched this episode. With age and experience, I began to understand what my father had gone through as a WWII soldier. The particulars may be different, but the mission was the same - conquer whatever hills the enemies are holding on! The top brass planned the strategies of a war with a bird's eyewview, while the infantry, in this case, executes the details in physically trying, soul-searching, horrifying and oftentimes fatal attempts.

Now in my mid 60's, it remains emotional to watch the intense portrayals of soldiers of years gone by. Their doubts, fears, and limitations were showcased in terrifying details. How those two German pillboxes became an impossible mission, and turned many of them into corpses...and heroes. The ending made the story even more memorable because they conquered those lousy stinking hills only to withdraw to their former lines!