The most unrealistic aspect of COMBAT!

Hey Jarnoldfan,

You are absolutely correct about full metal jacket 30-06 ammo going through two feet of tree trunk and killing someone. The same is true of the German 8MM. However, saying Combat! is as hokey as a Republic serial is throwing down the gauntlet to a true Combat! fan. We are very good at suspending our disbelief when we see a Walker Bulldog shown as a German and an American tank in the same episode. On a side note, if you watch the shows often enough and pay close attention, you will see and even hear the ping of the M-1 clip being ejected. This happens frequently with Caje who seems to frequently empty eight rounds as fast as possible just so we can see him reload a fresh clip in its place. As far as Grease Guns go, you never see one on Combat!, and you never see any '03 Springfields.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

Jarnoldfan,

As far as I know everyone of your numbered points is 100% correct.

My reason for writing is about your first paragraph, where you use the word "hokey" to describe these elements of a series that has received tons of praise for being realistic.

I believe that derisive term should be saved for shows that feature all sorts of things that the majority of viewers can instantly recognize as being quite phoney. I suspect that the majority of Combat viewers cannot tell the difference between most of the weapons you mention. Make that more like 85%.

If they weren't using weapons from the 1960s, or the 1860s, then most of the weapons appeared to be correct to the average viewer. I suspect the producers didn't have the time to seek out weapons that would exactly match what their platoon should be using, and what the Germans should be using.

I know I've read that there were only so many types of tanks they could use and so they had to do the best they could.

I'll elaborate with an example from a field I know more about--baseball. If I was making a movie made about a baseball team taking place in 1938, and when we went to shoot I saw the equipment guy had obtained half a dozen gloves that were a style that came out in 1940, I wouldn't think it vital to hold up shooting until we could get more 1938 style gloves. The difference would not be that big and most viewers would not know.

Now if he got me some bright blue 1970s-style gloves, I would insist we get something closer.

I do not object at all to you pointing out these incorrect details. I am just saying they are small points and do not make the show "hokey" in any way.

I have seen many of those Republic serials. I would happily join you in using the "hokey" term there.

It's spelt ORDNANCE. And ordinance is a law or regulation.

Doesn't it depend on the tree? A 30/06 might go easily through a pine, but I doubt it would do so well through an oak.

Despite criticisms I see here, the fact that Combat! had the Germans speaking German, the French speaking French....NO SUBTITLES (except one ep when Saunders' crew had comandered a German tank, that one had subtitles, though I never knew why). It made for a lot more realism. It heightened the fear a soldier might feel when he has no idea of what the enemy is saying.

Sure there are things that are indicative of a 1960s TV show....look at the Germans who were shot; you often never saw their face, just the enemy meant to be eliminated; and they get shot and fall...no blood...no splatter...it would be different on the screen today.

I loved the original series as a kid; it still holds up well despite some flaws.

And Pierre Jalbert (Caje) was kind enough to write me a personal note many years ago; I thank him for reaching out to a fan, even so many years later.

One prop related question is Saunders cammo covered helmet. All the photos I have seen from the ETO show GIs with uncovered or net covered steel pots. The only cammo covered helmet like Sanders' was worn by Marines in the Pacific. This has bothered me sine 1962 and I would like to know if others noticed this.

Perhaps this liberty was taken so the audience could more easily recognize Saunders on their small B&W TV sets.

By far the most unrealistic aspect of the series is the way these men get shot to pieces every week, and show up again, good as new, the following episode.

I grew up in the sixties, and had an uncle who was a sergeant on the western front that served from right after Pearl until after the end of the war. I was much too young to understand what he referred to, but I do remember that he and my dad (who was stationed in the far east) would talk to each other during the episodes when they would spot things that weren't close to being realistic (American tanks with German crosses on them, and the never ending ammo of course being favorites). Even at 7 though, I complained about them talking during the show (like they did whenever I opened my mouth) and they nicely shut up so we could watch the shows. But unc did make it pretty clear that what we were watching didn't reflect the reality of infantry combat. Did say it was a good show, however, and, of course, all the kids idolized Saunders; whenever we played war, everyone wanted to be him. I was tallest so I was always Littlejohn.

In the early '60s my dad did many ballistics tests. Among other things, he put .22 Super Jet rounds through half-inch steel plates, and put craters the size of jumbo olives in one-inch steel plating. People would be amazed at what the right load and rifle can do with even a small-caliber bullet.