The Bridge

The Bridge is the seventeenth episode of The Gallant Men. It was written by Herman Groves and directed by Richard C. Sarafian. It aired on January 26, 1963.

Plot summary
Able Company is handed an unusual assignment: a patrol behind German lines to escort two demolition experts, Lt. Hodges and Sgt. Varney, to a key bridge that needs to be destroyed. Taking the bridge out will strand German tanks and heavy equipment on one side of the nearby river and cut off the Germans’ main escape route. The Italian engineer who built the bridge, Lorenzo Dinetti, is going to accompany the Americans because he knows the bridge’s weakest points. Out of earshot, Capt. Benedict confides to Conley Wright that the patrol’s chances for success are not good.

Dinetti tires along the way to the bridge, much to Hodges’ annoyance. Now behind German lines, the group takes a brief break. Lucavich and Hanson scout ahead and spot two Germans on their own patrol. The German soldiers become suspicious and approach a grove where the two Able men are hiding. Hanson and Lucavich leap out and kill the Wehrmacht soldiers and hightail it back to the area where Lt. Kimbro, Sgt. McKenna and the others are waiting.

Kimbro decides to split the patrol in two and puts the snotty Hodges in charge of the group that contains Dinetti. Hodges makes no secret of his displeasure. The Americans enter the town of Cerreto and are quickly discovered by the Germans encamped there. A firefight breaks out, during which Sgt. Varney is wounded and at least three Able soldiers are killed. D’Angelo enters a seemingly abandoned inn and finds a scared young woman. She tells him all the Germans are gone, but a wounded soldier named Buckner is hidden in the inn.

The woman, Carla, says she stayed in town to care for her recently-deceased grandfather. Dinetti vouches for her. Kimbro decides Varney’s wounds are too much for him to carry on and cuts him out of the demolition mission. Buckner watches from a second-floor window as Able moves on toward the bridge. Carla brings Varney food, and the two make awkward conversation about the war. Carla returns to the inn and sees Buckner is bleeding badly. She is obviously worried, and the two embrace before he stumbles out the door in search of Varney.

Meanwhile, the patrol presses ahead to the titular bridge. Dinetti recommends approaching the bridge from six kilometers downstream, where the river is shallow enough to ford safely. Kimbro reminds him the group is already two hours behind schedule. Dinetti asks Hodges why he doesn’t like him, and Hodges says he needs to be “with the civilians,” away from the action of the war. He asks Dinetti why he would destroy his own creation. Dinetti replies he is too old to fight, but he feels he must aid the Allies any way he can. And that means blowing up the work of which he is most proud. The remark seems to make an impression on Hodges.

Back at the church, Varney notices a wire strung along the wall sconces. He follows it down a staircase into the basement and finds a German radio set. Buckner enters the church and notices the food Carla brought but no sign of Varney. He goes downstairs, sees Varney fiddling with the radio, and shoots him. With his dwindling strength, Varney is able to fire a round from his M1 into the German, killing him. Carla discovers the scene and tearfully tells Varney she loved Buckner and they were set to be wed. She discloses she knows about the bridge and Able Company’s mission and vows to alert the Germans.

The Able patrol safely crosses the river and meet the partisans who are supposed to work with them. The leader, Antonio, warmly greets Dinetti but is wary of the Americans. Antonio says the Germans have surmised the mission and doubled their guards at the bridge. He says it is still possible to approach the bridge slightly differently and still get the job done. Kimbro says if that’s the only possibility, so be it.

Dinetti, disguised as a peasant farmer, guides a hay-filled wagon to a German checkpoint. When soldiers check the hay, D’Angelo and another soldier pop out and spray the men with gunfire. The other Able men race out from a thicket and join them, loading the demolition supplies into a German truck and peeling out. They reach the bridge and make their way downhill to emplace the explosives. D’Angelo attracts the attention of a sentry and kills him. The rest of the group then follows, and Dinetti insists he be allowed to join Hodges, Hanson and Lucavich because only he knows the most effective places to place the charges. Hodges assents, and Kimbro approves.

Having learned of the killings at the checkpoint, a German platoon is roused and heads to the bridge. They arrive before the explosives have been set up and wired. Hodges makes Dinetti, Hanson and Lucavich leave so he can finish the job alone. German fire wounds Hodges, but he assures Dinetti the charges are ready. Lucavich and Hanson haul the wounded lieutenant back to safety. Dinetti activates the fuses and tries to hold off the Germans with a discarded M1. The Able men make it back to a rendezvous point where boats await them. They get into the river mere seconds before the charges blow, demolishing the bridge and taking Dinetti with it.

The next morning a big Allied offensive begins, and with no clear escape route the Germans are sitting ducks for air support. In his closing narration, Conley Wright notes the assault might not have been successful without Dinetti’s sacrifice.

G-2 report

 * The town of "Cerreto" in the script is perhaps Cerreto Sannita, a community in mountainous terrain about 35 miles north-northeast of Naples.
 * Carla’s fate is left unresolved. She is last seen running away from Sgt. Varney in the town square. He prepares to shoot her, but dies before he can fire a round. She appears to be emotionally overcome and simply falls down. And that’s it. She did not appear to be shot, but we never see her again and the episode forgets she existed.
 * Buckner was played by Anthony Becket, who will later appear as Lt. Bauman in “Ol’ Buddy.”
 * ABC’s other WWII-based drama, Combat!, featured a very similar episode in its second season premiere, “The Bridge at Chalons.” In that telling, Lee Marvin played the cranky demolition expert the main characters escort on a sensitive mission.
 * The backlot town square that’s supposed to represent Cerreto is also seen (much more heavily damaged) in “One Puka Puka.” The church is seen in “Next of Kin,” which is of course set in a different town. The interior of the inn D’Angelo enters at the end of the first act is the same set used in “One Moderately Peaceful Sunday," "Advance and Be Recognized" and “A Place to Die.” The church basement is the same set seen in “A Place to Die;" the staircase and adjoining wall are seen in "Some Tears Fall Dry" and "Robertino." The bridge so central to the plot is seen only as still photos and partial fake abutments seen in close-up shots.