Combat! (TV Series) The General and the Sergeant (1964) User Reviews

The French General

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 6 September 2017]

After liberating a French town, the elder French General Armand Bouchard asks Sgt. Saunders to come to his office. His granddaughter asks Saunders to be patient with the old man since the villagers mock of him. Saunders feels sorrow for the Bouchard and plays the game asking the general to help his squad and him to leave the town since he needs to establish an observation post. However, the general decides to follow the soldiers and suggests a location for the post telling that the place is empty. But when Saunders and his squad arrive at the spot, they stumble upon a machine gun nest. What will Saunders and his squad do?

"The General and the Sergeant" is a different episode of "Combat!" with funny parts in the middle of the dramatic story. John Dehner has excellent performance in the role of a general that wants to be useful in the war and finds inventive ways to lure the Germans. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O General e o Sargento" ("The General and the Sergeant")

Dehner is Superb

[jmarchese · 9/10 · 27 June 2014]

The General and the Sergeant is vintage John Dehner, who is superb as Lieutenant General Bouchard of WW 1 times. At the time this episode was made, Dehner was only 48 years old and yet brilliantly plays an 80 + year old man suffering from dementia.

Thankfully, Bernard McEveety directed this and he's top notch, guaranteed to get the most out of each episode.

Saunders and the Squad were more along for the ride on this one. It's beautiful the way they play along with General Bouchard at the request of Jacqueline Bouchard, the general's granddaughter (played by the beautiful Denise Alexander.)

The squad has orders to find a high point suitable for a lookout post. And who knows the area better than Bouchard? Lieutenant Hanley has given Bouchard orders to return to town, but the general is far from through. We learn the value of experience in the field even if the bearer is old and somewhat senile.

All in all this is a delightful episode in that it successfully goes against convention.

Age is just a number

[nickenchuggets · 8/10 · 3 October 2022]

Even though most episodes of Combat are, well, combat focused, the show didn't shy away from making a more comedy oriented episode every now and then. This episode is not as funny as the intro would make you believe, but it still feels more lighthearted than the average episode. In this installment, Saunders and the others are in a French village where they come across a girl whose grandfather, Armand Bouchard (John Dehner), was a general during the First World War. While the rest of the squad (particularly Kirby) think this old man is just a nut for still wearing the uniform he had almost 30 years ago, Saunders realizes that he might hold some worthwhile military related knowledge. Later, as Saunders and the squad are leaving the village, General Bouchard decides to follow them. Hanley shows up in a jeep and says Saunders and the others are supposed to have established a scouting area by this point, and Saunders has to explain to him that they haven't been able to because Bouchard keeps following them. The latter and Hanley get into an argument, with Hanley guessing that because Bouchard is a former general, he'll understand the importance of following orders. Hanley orders Bouchard to go home and stop following Saunders, to which Bouchard responds that he's not going to take orders from someone such a lower rank than him. The squad momentarily gets rid of Bouchard, but he shows up again, possibly saving everyone's life. The squad gets trapped by numerous German vehicles in a courtyard. Heavily outnumbered, they can't even move out from behind their cover without being discovered. Bouchard sings in front of the germans and makes them laugh, with them ultimately deciding to pull out of the area. As the general and Saunders say bye to each other, the general says how there's a mansion nearby which is unoccupied and will make a good observation area. However, when the squad approaches it, they are ambushed by machine gun and rifle fire. One squad member is dead and another wounded. Once again, Bouchard can't resist following Saunders and shows up to tell him there is a secret tunnel dating from the French Revolution which leads directly into the house. After finding the tunnel, Bouchard, Saunders and the others are able to sneak in back of the germans and capture them easily. Finally back in the village, Bouchard and his granddaughter look on Saunders' squad proudly as they get ready to leave. This episode was ok. It has some stupid moments in it, such as when Bouchard is showing Saunders his map which he has owned since before ww1. Bouchard places markers on the area representing Normandy, indicating that US forces haven't even invaded Europe yet (which isn't true), and when he points to "Berlin", he's actually pointing at Belgium. In terms of acting though, I think this one has it where it matters. John Dehner does a great job as Bouchard, since he portrays someone whose country means more to him than his own life. By most people's standards, he's outlived his usefulness and is quite old by this point, but he still does everything he can to help Saunders and the others fight the enemy. Being french, he also knows his way around better than the squad does, which comes in handy later. Apart from John's character, there isn't much to write about this episode, other than that it was entertaining. I'm looking forward to seeing more Combat episodes in the future that have at least something to do with world war 1.

Dehner to the rescue

[lor_ · 23 July 2023]

Signalled by the music, this is a mainly light-hearted story for Vic, who sentimentally gives an old retired French general (John Dehner, in a moving performance) a chance to participate a bit in operations as the troop sets up an observation post near a newly liberated town. His vast knowledge of local terrain can be of assistance, so Vic permits him to tag along.

Rick is more formal and puts his foot down, barring the general from interfering. But the general proves useful in playing the fool to divert the attention of the Germans, saving Vic's troops from a fight.

Unfortunately, to puff himself up the general lies to Vic and gets the troops ambushed by the Germans. To make up for it, he helps them again by pointing out a secret tunnel through which they can sneak up on the Germans. At the risk of his own life, he saves the day.

Appearing as the general's granddaughter is lovely Denise Alexander, who soon after went on to a career appearing on both soaps "General Hospital" and "Days of Our Lives" for over five decades and more than a thousand episodes.

John Dehner's episode

[Guad42 · 9/10 · 5 May 2024]

A bit of a companion piece to the episode with Eddie Albert as a shell-shocked World War I American vet. The plot has been covered by others so just few comments.

John Dehner was one of those actors who seemed to be in everything back then. Comedy, dramas, westerns, detectives - you name it, he did it. Much like William Windom, he never seemed to give a bad performance regardless of the character or quality of the script. Always projected gravitas when doing authority figures, I bet he had fun with this role. He plays it straight but with a slight twinkle in the eye. You will be glad he comes out ahead at the end of the episode. One of the best guest stars to appear on the show.

Watching Combat as a kid, Kirby was one of my favorites as I liked the BAR. Now I notice that Kirby is a non-stop complainer and his unsolicited advice to Saunders is usually wrong. A good fighter but would wear on me after a while. Now Cage is the guy you want with you when the going gets tough or hanging out in the rear. Doc too.

This is a good episode. Do see it.