Episode
The Rat Patrol: The Fatal Chase Raid
Overview
The Patrol manages to ambush a German unit that is carrying US POWs. Three of these POWs are apparently out to kill each other. Sgt. Gribs -- whose cowardliness caused his men to become captured -- is fighting against Tex and Eddie -- who want revenge. Gribs bargains with Troy for protection, telling Troy that he has information vital to US Command. They start back to HQ, but one of the unit's jeeps breaks down. They continue to travel slowly across the desert until they can capture a German vehicle. Gribs parcels out small hints of his ""vital"" information to keep himself safe. It all ends in heroism -- or something close.
Details
- Series
- The Rat Patrol
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 8
- Air date
- 1966-10-31
- Runtime
- 30 min
Episode context
The Fatal Chase Raid is Episode 8 in Season 1 of The Rat Patrol. It aired on 1966-10-31. The runtime is 30 min.
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Episode 7: The Blind Man's Bluff Raid
During a skirmish with the Germans, Troy suffers a concussion from an explosion. He ends up alone and lost in the desert. By the time he is found he has a terrible case of sunblindness. Unknown to Troy, though, his ""rescue"" has been by a German unit that is pretending to be Americans so they can coax Troy to tell him where the rest of the Rat Patrol is. Dietrich is the engineer behind this ploy.In the end, recovering from the sunblindness in the nick of time, Troy escapes.
Episode 9: The Blow Sky High Raid
A very prized Germany radar station must be destroyed before a flight of bombers comes over. To do it, the Rat Patrol is given a new, special kind of explosives. Troy is apprehensive about carrying this dangerous cargo, which can explode with the slightest of bumps. Dietrich learns of the mission and tries to beat the Patrol to the area by utilizing an old Arabic legend of an unknown ""trigh"" (road) through the jebels (mountains). The Patrol is also in search of this trigh. But Moffitt gets them lost and Dietrich beats them there. Troy then manages to plant some explosives -- and bluffs Dietrich out of the radar station by telling him that he's willing to die himself rather than let the station do its work.
More episodes from this season
Episode 6: The Do or Die Raid
A large Panzer unit has a map showing a strategic oasis occupied by the Eighth Armored. U.S. Intelligence wants the map exchanged for a phony one which would show the oasis as empty. Accompanied by a veteran map expert, Sgt. Griffin, Troy and his men start into the German HQ. At midnight, using bows and arrows for weapons, they go into the area but Griffin has a heart attack and the team is trapped in the commander's office. In the end, Troy bullies the ""expert"" into keeping up the effort until they are finally able to finish the mission, whereupon Troy ends up endangering his own life to get Griffin out of the town.
Episode 10: The Moment of Truce Raid
Fanatical Arabs -- wanting to end the war on their land -- attack both the Rat Patrol and the German convoy that Dietrich leads, trapping both in a small desert fortress. This forces the two teams into a truce. One of the Germans -- a liasion to the Arabs -- tries to talk Dietrich into betraying the Rat Patrol to the Arabs but he refuses. In the end the liasion tries to go over to the Arabs himself. He ends up killed, and Dietrich and Troy are able to construct a trap of their own -- killing most of the Arabs and escaping.
Episode 5: The Chain of Death Raid
The Patrol captures a German truck at the end of a partially destroyed convoy. In the process, though, Troy and Dietrich end up alone in the desert -- a stand-off until Arab slave traders arrive and capture both, hauling them deeper into the southern desert on the first leg of the slave trail. Troy and Dietrich escape but are chained together and must make their way back to ""civilization"" through the heat, the sand, and the enemy -- both enemies. They agree, after both are nearly dead with exposure, to cooperate. The truce ends when they arrive at Dietrich's column, but before they get down to the convoy, Troy trips and Dietrich ends up unconscious. Troy frees himself and Dietrich is picked up by his people. Troy rejoins Hitch, who has been driving along at the end of the column. They reach an oasis and Troy is able to place the explosives which were the purpose of this farce in the first place. The oasis blows up and the Rat Patrol, again, escapes.
Episode 11: The Deadly Double Raid
Moffitt and Tully allow themselves to be captured so that they can get information from Craig -- an American POW -- about Rommel's new battle plans. However, Marston, another POW, tells them that Craig died. Dr. Phillips -- the camp medic -- supposedly has some information about the plan, though. When the medic treats Moffitt's arm he puts the code name of the mission on the underside of the bandage : Operation Nachtigall. However, it soon becomes obvious that either Phillips or Marston is a traitor and it is up to the Patrol to figure out which, as they are both now giving the Patrol conflicting information.
Episode 4: The Kill or Be Killed Raid
Dietrich is presented with an old scrap of parchment which shows an ancient water source deep in the desert. Allied intelligence sends Moffitt to find the map before it can be translated; he must get it by masquerading as a German and Troy has orders to shoot him should he find the information (and destroy it) but then not be able to escape. Which is, of course, exactly what then happens. Troy must face the decision of killing his comrade -- and friend -- or finding someway to disobey the orders and rescue the mission.
Episode 12: The Gun Runner Raid
An Arab convoy, disguised as Americans, traps and captures the Rat Patrol. The convoy's leader is Ned Cunningham, an ex-Yank hero turned gunrunner. He sells now to the highest bidder, no matter which side. He feels that the Rat Patrol is costing him too much business and so is going to eliminate them. But he then decides he likes the Patrol and will take them into the deal if they will cooperate. In the end, though, his duplicitious behavior causes his own death.
Episode 3: The Wildest Raid of All
As a prequel to capturing General Ernest von Helmreich, the Rat Patrol gets itself captured. They plan to use the general to stop an upcoming attack. However the general manages to attract the attention of a distant Nazi search party and the Rat Patrol ends up trapped in a ravine, cut off. To escape they construct a ""fake panzer unit"" of their own -- tricking the Germans into a retreat. They then make it to the largest of the Germans' ammo dumps which they proceed to blow up.
Episode 13: The Lighthouse Raid
Tully and Moffitt transport a liberated French underground general to a rendezvous in a deserted lighthouse. Hitchcock stands lookout, disguised as a German guard. Troy, though, is held captive inside the lighthouse -- betrayed by Mathias. Moffitt tries to reach him but ends up unconscious. In the ensuing fight, Mathias is killed and Troy manages to signal the trawler into the area to take the general to safety.
Episode 2: The Life Against Death Raid
During a desert battle, Hitchcock is badly wounded. Troy decides to risk taking him to a nearby German field hospital as their own hospital is too far away. Upon arriving at the hospital he and Moffitt nearly pull off the masquerade, except for a paranoid patient -- Captain Friedrich -- who tells everyone they are American spies. No one believes him but during the delay the doctor notices a tattoo on Hitch's arm from Ft. Benning, Ga. Troy forces him, at gunpoint, to finish the operation. They escape in a hail of gunfire after the surgery.
Episode 14: The Daredevil Rescue Raid
German artillery traps 2000 Allied soldiers and their only chance of rescue is an Allied armored attack. The necessary equipment, though, can only reach them in time via an ancient road which is now hidden by sand, a road only Moffitt's father can find. On the way to the landing site, Moffitt's father's plane crashes. Moffitt wants to go find him but Troy insists their first priority is to find the road themselves. Moffitt breaks away and goes to find his father but finds only the burned-out plane. Troy thinks the elder Moffitt must be dead. Moffitt says he was captured. Again Moffitt escapes the team and goes after his father -- finally rescuing him.